Walking Dead fans
know from experience that slowing down can be almost unbearable. Season two was
practically a case study in what slow pacing can do to this series, and that
can be incredibly painful.
But the series makes the more cautious outing work (mostly) by filling it with character scenes that feel meaningful and often work either to advance current plots, or develop new or underdeveloped characters. Season two failed because it never used its quieter moments to either move the plot forward or tell us something interesting we didn’t know about a character. And with no real purpose, it became grating and frustrating.
But the series makes the more cautious outing work (mostly) by filling it with character scenes that feel meaningful and often work either to advance current plots, or develop new or underdeveloped characters. Season two failed because it never used its quieter moments to either move the plot forward or tell us something interesting we didn’t know about a character. And with no real purpose, it became grating and frustrating.
Now not every scene in “Suicide King” works. Beth has had so
little in the way of development that when she starts espousing her opinions on
what the group should do I had no clue how to feel. There had been almost no earlier
scenes where we got a moment in which Beth went: “Hey, this is who I am and why
you should care about me”. Similarly, Carole is practically a nonentity; so much so that it’s
hard to feel bad for her when Darryl chooses not to come back (Better still:
putting Carl and Carole together. It’s like the writers wanted to find the ultimate
unengaging pairing).
However, despite these few scenes that don’t quite work, generally
speaking the stakes feel much, much higher. The mere fact that major characters
(albeit ones I didn’t really care about) died earlier in the season has me
nervous about nearly everyone. When Darryl was forced to fight his brother to
the death by the Governor, I was at times both nerve racked and thrilled.
Darryl is the character who’s arguably been the best utilized by the series. Enough
groundwork has been laid down for him to be more than just a caricature
redneck, and in the hands of Norman Reedus the character has become not just a
total badass but the heart and soul of the series. The group’s rescue of Darryl
comes off as a bit too easy considering how hard it was to get in and out in
the first place, but it's hard to imagine a much nicer fix to that scenario.
The show never would have been able to manage something that
truly left me wanting more (i.e. the mid-season cliffhanger that left Darryl’s
life in the balance) pre-third season. Sure, if the writers had done better
character work and created more interesting conflicts perhaps season two could
have, but besides Darryl, Rick, Maggie, and Glen, almost every character felt
like simply zombie chow in the making. Now even Chad Coleman’s newly introduced
Tyrese receives a couple scenes that endear us to him already. That’s a major
step up from what the series has attempted in the past. While some of this
still doesn’t work, it’s a vast improvement that continues this season’s great streak
… just at a more deliberate pace.
Stray Observations:
-The whole argument between the group in the woods outside
of Woodbury was some great writing and acting. The cherry on top: Rick knocks
out Merle.
-I’m interested to see the dynamic of Darryl and Merle; it
seems good for now. I just hope they don’t contrive some terrible reason to
bring Darryl back into the fold.
-Glen smashing the zombie head in was another great scene: It tells
us everything going on inside his head, and Steven Yeun plays it great.
-The Governor meanwhile is losing his shit. He kills a dying
man in front of everyone.
-The Governor admits everything he's been withholding from
Andrea. Did not expect that but it makes sense considering how crazy the
Governor has apparently become. Andrea seems to be stepping up into a leadership
position. A.K.A. Andrea does something that makes her character less unlikable
for once (too bad it’s undercut by the fact I know about only three other people in
Woodbury).
-The cut to commercial where it gets all wonky while Rick
watches the baby cry was a weird editing choice.
-Written on the box the baby is in in: “Lil’ Asskicker”. D’Awww.
-Who wants to play: spot how they hide the fact that Hershel
is missing a leg. It's getting pretty obvious.
-Admittedly, that ending was totally bizarre and I’m not
sure I entirely like it. We’ll see how it plays out.
Grade: B+
It's a testament to how good that character is written and portrayed that we so badly want Darryl to go back with the group, even though it, from his perspective, doesn't make as much sense.
ReplyDeleteThe series seems to be setting up a plotline where Darryl's relationship with his brother is explored. Ever since Merle went missing in the middle of Season 1, we knew this day would come, and they've handled it fairly well so far. I'm less certain where they go with it from here, but they're dealt with Merle and Darryl well thus far this season so I'm game for it. I suspect somehow they'll manage to get Darryl back to the group eventually though. My only worry is that they'll bring him back to the group in some terrible or contrived way.