For a time, it even feels like the episode is going to continue the slower pace the backhalf of the season seemed intent on taking. This wouldn’t have made the episode bad; in fact, much of the problems the series had last season with its quieter, slower moments have been fixed. There’s better characterization and the individual moments feel purposeful rather than stalling tactics.
However, if anything is going to stick in your mind, it’s that final sequence which is another breathtakingly well-executed, intense setpiece that is perhaps the best managed to date.
Everything leading up to that moment is mostly pretty good, although some of it we could have done without, and
establishes “Home” as the calm before the storm (with the storm coming sooner
than anticipated). I should have seen the Governor’s arrival coming when he
mysteriously went awol, but we moved away from Woodbury long enough that it
completely slipped my mind. That’s a moment in the hands of less confident
writers would be built up to and placed in a later episode, possibly even the
finale. Glenn scouring over a chalk map and nervously assessing a defensive
strategy against the Governor suggested that the attack would take place much
later down the road. But it’s to the show's advantage: constant threats on The Walking Dead are actually a good
thing, not a mindless one. In a world with zombies, there always needs to be
threats, zombie or non-zombie, otherwise there’s nothing to drive the plot.
Which is where the problems with the episode primarily come in: it's the slowest episode this season. The character-work is necessary, but the noticeably dialed down pace could be distracting or not all that enthralling. Though the end sequence with its return to breakneck pace is arguably the best moment in the episode, the prior content isn't bad.
Before the firefight, we do find ourselves getting some interesting
character exploration. Rick’s breakdown has me questioning what’s being done
with him (the visions of Shane and Laurie feel like something out of a completely
different show). But Andrew Lincoln plays this great, and he’s always at his
best when Rick is at his most emotionally vulnerable.
Glenn, without Darryl around and Rick on his crazy bender,
is nominally in charge, and in the wake of the Governor’s sexual assault on Maggie, he’s starting to go a bit crazy. He’s so insistent on vengeance upon
Woodbury and he’s acting so insensitively about Maggie’s psychological state
that it’s starting to drive a wedge between him and Maggie.
Darryl is questioning his decision to go backwoods trekking
with Merle. It’s a transition that feels like it happens to quickly (probably
to get him back in time for the fight at the prison), but it’s a rewarding,
believable development that shows emotional shades from Darryl we don’t see
often enough. The other zombie sequence of the episode is also a great scene,
not just because it’s a well-staged, exciting scene, but also because it purposefully
moves forward Darryl’s character arc. When Darryl sees a group of people being
attacked by walkers, his immediate thought is to help them, while Merle insists
they ignore them. When Merle prepares to rob them, post-zombies, Darryl can’t
stand it anymore; he pulls the crossbow on Merle and lets the people leave.
By episodes end, we’ve been reminded why we’re meant to care
about these characters in the first place. It isn’t just because zombies or
other threats could kill them at any moment; it’s because we’d rather not see them
suffer such a fate even though that possibility totally exists.
This episode felt much less shakier than last week's episode, and more cohesive in terms of plotting and theme even if it's primarily too slow for its own good.
Stray Observations:
-The ethereal music that played during Rick’s scenes made
them come off as if they took place in a heightened reality.
-The Governor makes Andrea leader, but it’s all for show, he
doesn’t trust her and asks Milton to keep tabs on her.
-Wait, when did Michonne become part of the group?
-Axel gets character development just in time for him to
die. It’s shame because I liked the character, and Melissa McBride was pretty
great in these scenes as Carole, a character who is starting to grow on me.
-Darryl and Merle planned to rob the camp blind, but never
got the chance. Here’s the thing: Darryl reminds me of Sayid from Lost. Sayid was told his whole life that
he wasn’t a good person; that he’d always be a killer, and he began to accept
that as his lot in life even though he never truly believed in it. Similarly,
Darryl has been led to believe that he’s a bad person; he had a tough, shitty
life; one in which the best person in it was racist, sexist Merle. Finally, he’s
found respect and he’s found a sense of place he never had before. But he’s
torn. He can’t accept that anyone would see him as good because he’s still
troubled by his past.
-A gunfight where no one gets hurt or injured except for Axel and a no named fighter. This was starting to stretch plausibility.
- That final sequence may have initially been abrupt
but once it got going, damn if it wasn’t intense and engrossing.
Grade: B
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