Talk about trying to give ZSC Command a collective heart-attack. This week’s episode of “The Walking Dead” was tense. It’s been no secret since season one of the show that every single character could possibly drop dead without warning. Fans are accustomed to fighting the urge to cling to a specific character, outside of Rick and Daryl, for fear their hearts will be ripped out whenever the writers decide it’s time for that character to go.
You know the drill. There’s spoilers down there, and they bite.
We went through this emotional torment with Amy, Sophia, Shane, T-Dog, Lori, Oscar, Axel, Merle, and Andrea. Despite that, some of us still pick favorite characters. And by golly, the writers keep trying to kill off a much loved survivor here in the Command Center—Glenn. We respect Glenn’s commitment to not only his fiancé, Maggie, but her family and all of the other survivors in the prison. He knew the instant Maggie saw how sick he really was, she’d risk herself and everyone else to breach quarantine and take care of him. They need her in good physical and mental shape. The council is shrinking rapidly, not that any of the others knew until Rick returned without Carol. Nevertheless, with Glenn and Hershel in quarantine, Daryl taking himself and two others, and Rick looking for supplies with Carol, that left Maggie the only council member to organize the healthy prison population. While we have no clue the actual survivor count at this moment, it has to be enough people that they need someone to wrangle them, keep them from accidentally setting off events that’d completely compromise the prison. Getting Maggie to understand that is another struggle. Luckily, she’s had her father’s example to learn from. Hershel is an excellent caretaker—putting others before himself, being patient, kind, willing to look a fool in order to calm someone down. But on the flip side, he won’t coddle someone. He tells them the truth about what’s going on. If he can spare them the heart-breaking details, he will. Only if they do not directly impact someone’s health or safety. With such a good example in their lives, it is no wonder Maggie and Beth are two of the saner, calmer people in the prison.
“A sad soul can kill quicker than a germ.” – Steinbeck
We’ve seen this theme run through “The Walking Dead” since season one, episode one. Very early on in the series there were a few types of people in Rick’s path on the way to reconnect with his family. The survivors who scraped their lives into a bag and ran to safety. The unlucky who weren’t quick enough to escape and became walkers. And, lastly, the people who gave up. Moments before Rick found the horse he rides into Atlanta, GA, he came across an entire family who’d committed suicide in order to escape what they must have considered the end of days. “God Forgive Us” was scrawled on the living room wall where two of the bodies were found. Suicide became the easy answer for those whose hearts could not accept their surroundings. Jacqui and Jenner chose a quick death in the CDC explosion. Andrea tried to do the same, mourning her sister’s death so much she couldn’t function, until Dale smacked some sense into her. In season two, Beth cut her wrists after Hershel’s walker catch-and-release program resulted in the poor girl witnessing her mother die for the second and final time. The suicides didn’t stop this season. In episode 401, crazy as heck Clara killed herself with Rick as a witness in order to be with her decapitated walker-husband.
But suicide isn’t the only way people have been escaping the trying task of simply living day to day. The premiere for season two took the survivors on the road after the CDC explosion. When they hit traffic, they discovered numerous people still in their cars, desiccated and looking like they’d just given up on getting away once the cars stopped moving on the freeway. Caleb, Dr. S., took a similar route—for vastly different reasons—in the newest episode when he refused medical attention from Hershel. Instead, he insisted Hershel treat the others. Caleb gave up on himself, but not on hope. It was his hope that the extra time could save at least one other person suffering from the flu. Would things have ended differently if Hershel treated the doctor? Probably not. The flu is too strong to be denied its victims. Some of the people who died, were going to die anyway. They were too far gone. But the time was what may have saved Sasha and Glenn, not to mention the IVs Caleb put together moments before he succumbed to the final stage of the flu.
In sticking with tradition, the writers snuck in a little tidbit at the end of this episode. Did you blink and miss you-know-who lurking outside the prison fence? The fires of hell are about to open up and swallow our favorite survivors. All bets are off for the next few episodes.
As they stand now, do you think the prison population can survive another attack from humans? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Talk about a slow simmer building to an explosion. This week’s episode was paced just right, giving viewers enough walker action to keep their hearts racing while simultaneously messing with their heads. Was anyone else uncomfortable watching this episode? In the Command Center, we all scooted up to the edge of our seats—except Juliette because, duct tape.
Warning: There’s spoilers down here. And they float. Oh yes they do.
Sanity seems to have a different meaning in a post-apocalyptic world with zombies on the loose. Statements we’d consider absolutely off-the-walls make some odd sort of sense. Most of the time. However, when Carol’s protege, Lizzie, talks about wanting to die so she can change and come back to life, it still sounds absolutely insane. Her conviction is on par with Hershel when we first met him. Only, with a child’s innocence, she’ll wind up dead and gnawing off her sister’s face if someone doesn’t intervene.
Carol could be that someone. Only, she’s lost her parental drive. Sure, she’ll keep someone safe and make sure they can protect themselves, but the love she carried for Sophia, the love that allowed her to leave the quarry camp in season one after her husband was eaten, is long gone. Buried alongside the daughter she refuses to acknowledge anymore. Why? Because when she found Sophia, it wasn’t her daughter any more. Her daughter died in the woods, not in front of that barn. She’d been holding onto the ghost of her child and now, when all of Carol’s gut-wrenching decisions are changing the way she approaches their messed up world, she can’t open her heart to anyone else. Should anyone look up to her as a mentor? Probably. Carol’s spine is made of the purest steel, forged in the heat of Ed’s abuse long before walkers were even heard of. But steel is cold, unforgiving. She’s relied on that strength for too long. It’s changed her in ways Rick can’t fathom. Which is why, when push came to shove, he had to let her go. Carol became a liability. His focus has to be on the greater good. Once word got out that one of the council members turned murderer, it’d be chaos amongst the healthy population of the prison survivors. For a while Rick relied on Carol’s love to keep the group going. When it turned into ice cold calculation and execution, she forced his hand. And she didn’t fight it. Carol knows she made him turn her out. She’s sane enough to accept responsibility for the murders. But not enough to feel remorse. Something snapped in her mind, sending her to sociopath land. The same happened to the Governor when his walker-daughter was put down. Would Carol go that far into madness?
We’ve known for a while that Michonne is not a social person. She has a handful of people she trusts and comes back to the prison just for them. We see the longing to belong in her eyes more and more as she helps the prison crew on runs. Her talks with Daryl over the last two episodes have given more insight into what makes the two most skilled fighters tick. Oddly enough, the social outcast managed to make her see that she has a home, she just never stays put long enough to feel the love everyone can provide her with. She chooses to be alone, no one forces it on her. Could this be the end of Michonne’s solitude? Possibly. It will take a while to see if being around people makes her antisocial tendencies rear their ugly head. It’s a self-defense strategy. If she doesn’t connect with someone, when they die it doesn’t hurt her. She’s gotta be tired of hurting herself by pulling away from everyone, though.
Tyrese’s head is still not on straight. He went on the mission to grab meds in order to help his sister and honor his dead girlfriend. Only in the new episode did viewers realize, he’d planned for the trip to the vet school to be a one-way suicide mission. He climbed into the car fully aware that he wouldn’t come back. He’d pour everything into killing walkers. And he has. Can the others pull him back from the ledge? There’s no way for Tyrese to get closure. Not with Carol gone. It’s unclear if Rick plans to ever tell the big man who was really the one to light the match and burn those two. And what would he do, then? Hunt Carol down like Michonne hunted the Governor? He would. In the state of mind he’s in, he’d be fully capable of finding her and killing her, with no concern about his personal safety. That’s terrifying. You can’t depend on someone who has nothing to live for.
Bits and pieces of Daryl’s past keep coming up to haunt him. He takes it personally when Bob attempts to fall off the wagon. Why? Because he grew up in a family of addicts. Merle being the worst of them all because while he was rarely around, when he did make an appearance, it was to make his little brother’s life hell. Seeing Bob willfully harm himself and risk their safety because of an addiction set Daryl off. He takes personal responsibility for each and every person he brings into the prison. He holds them to a high standard because he’s choosing to trust them, to make them a part of his family. For someone who went their entire life without, family is important. It is why Daryl gives everything he has to help Rick, to cover the other man’s ass when his sanity took a field trip to the aquarium. Family is why Daryl consistently reminds Michonne that she has a home with them. She doesn’t need to go out looking for fulfillment if she’d just stay put and let the love he’s nurturing in the prison to calm her. Daryl is all heart. He just doesn’t show it in traditional ways.
Do you think we’ll be seeing Carol again? How far can she make it on her own? Let us know what you think.
Being alone is rarely a pleasant thing. Humans crave contact with others, need the interaction to keep themselves happy and mentally healthy. Finding companionship in the zombie apocalypse is next to impossible. From what we’ve learned on the show since day one, human nature demands that most folks take care of numero uno first, then their family. If you’re a stranger, kindness has to be earned. Even after making that vital, living connection, there are moments when a person may find themselves surrounded by others, yet utterly isolated by circumstances no one else can understand. This week on “The Walking Dead” we saw a lot of people suffering on their own, forced to make terrifying personal sacrifices in order to keep one step ahead of not only the walkers, but also the illness plaguing the prison population.
Spoiler Warning: This review contains potential spoilers. If you aren’t caught up with the show, what are you waiting for?
The graveyard in the prison yard is larger than the garden. That alone speaks volumes about the harshness of life for the characters on the show. By the time this illness plays out, many others will join the dead already in the ground. At some point, they’ve stopped creating new life and instead focus on tending to those who’ve passed. Rick tried to convey the importance of focusing on the living to Tyrese, explaining how his time was better spent securing their future food sources than looking into the past and crippling himself with their losses—a rare moment for Rick considering how far afield his mind wandered last season after losing his wife, Lori. Is justice something that even factors into their world? How far can it go toward righting wrongs in a lawless world full on unnecessary death? Tyrese is uneasy killing walkers, even those who are an immediate threat to his survival, yet he demands the head of whoever killed two of their own. We’re seeing a turning point in his life. He’s consumed by rage, becoming a different man. Rick is still on that road and no longer recognizes himself, especially after his fight with Tyrese. What will Tyrese do when he learns the truth? Venturing too far down that road leads to trouble.
Glenn wishes he could move on into the future. He’s never been one to linger in the past, with the exception of Maggie’s abuse at the hands of the Governor. The couple have been the poster children for a promising future since they finally got over that awkward relationship stage in season two. Despite all odds, they found love. They’re planning to marry. At some point, Maggie wants to start a family—when Glenn feels it is safe enough to birth and raise children. Everything they do is focused on tomorrow, what it could bring in the way of happiness and an end to their troubled times. The two of them aren’t stupid. Nothing is going to be fixed overnight. And now, the bright lives ahead of them are in trouble. Glenn is sick and without him to keep her grounded, Maggie turns to her family. Only they’ve been separated from her because of the illness.
The Greene family firmly believe in duty above all. If there is any way they can be of help to their fellow survivors, they do it. Maggie remains on duty as a council member and one of the guards while everyone she cares for is taken away from her. Beth has grown in leaps and bounds emotionally since leaving the farm and accepting the reality of their world. She doesn’t behave like a teenager, takes responsibilities no one should ever ask from someone her age. Would anyone so young willingly be locked away from her loved ones to care for a child who isn’t part of her blood family? Not only that, Beth has learned to accept her father’s calm demeanor. She’s become the voice of reason for the family, allowing Maggie and Hershel to act in instinct—something their positions on the council require. There’s not a lot of time to think when one threat to their survival will eat them alive, and the other takes no prisoners and cannot be stopped in a world where modern healthcare is as rare as a unicorn. Hershel sets the bar for honor and sacrifice for his girls when he willingly walks into the quarantined section of the prison to care for the sick, knowing full well the medicine they need may come in a day, or a week—there are no guarantees in their world.
“We don’t know if we get a tomorrow.” Unlike Glenn and Maggie, Carol is not as convinced they can make everything work in their favor. She’s stood by, quietly caring for everyone under their roof as she’s always done. But there came a point when she knew it wasn’t enough. Being the quiet, motherly figure wouldn’t keep the children from getting sick. Wouldn’t provide the water they need to keep going on into a future she can’t even fathom at this point. Her hand aren’t tied by the position she’s in with the council. At one point or another, they’ve all done horrific things to protect the group. In this episode, we saw just how far Carol would go. Her transformation throughout the series is astounding. We met Carol when she was broken, powerless in the face of her husband’s abuse. After she lost her daughter, her only living relation, she adopted the group as her new family. Some of the impotent rage she suffered then, simmering over the weeks spent searching for Sophia, blew up this week. She went to the dark place and gathered that rage close in order to do what she thought necessary to protect everyone. Only time will tell if it changed her like Rick’s kills changed him, and Tyrese’s rage is beginning to morph him into a colder man.
Too many lives hang in the balance. It is impossible to figure out what will happen next on this show. Daryl, Michonne, Tyrese, and Bob are on foot, surrounded by thousands of walkers. We have no clue how many folks in the prison are sick, or will be sick and waiting for medicine that may never arrive. How long can the remaining council keep them safe and healthy with two of their best fighters in the field?
Did Carol go too far in this week’s episode? Could you have done what she did? If not, what would you have done differently to stay one step ahead of the illness in the prison?
Last week’s episode of “The Walking Dead” must have been the writer’s idea of the calm before the storm—despite the attack at the store and unfortunate death because of it. This week, we really got to see how quickly things can go wrong for a group living in a fortress when someone is working from the inside to sabotage everyone’s safety. Not to mention, the zombie FX for the second episode in season 4 were some of the sickest we’ve seen to date, but not quite as downright disgusting as the Well Walker. KNB EFX outdid themselves . . . again.
Caution: Spoilers below! You guys know the drill.
Who the heck is dumb enough to feed the walkers? This mystery saboteur must be crazier than a basket of cats, hamsters, and puppies combined. The prison was secure, safe. Whoever is at fault for luring in the walkers puts themselves at risk, right alongside a large group of people who only have the council to fight for them. Aside from one or two of the newcomers, for the most part the council takes care of the killing. And scouting. And runs into nearby towns for supplies. There’s a handful of folks working their backsides to the bone to protect the strays Rick, and then Daryl, brought under their wings. Is it fair? No. But they know better than most, the vast majority of people can’t do what is necessary to protect themselves from the undead and living threats in their newly reformed society. Look how fast cell block D was overrun with walkers. The threat started inside and ate away at the living like cancer. In less than an hour, about a quarter of the people living in the cell block were eaten or turned into walkers. It was a great reminder of how quickly things can go downhill. The fallout from the attack drove the final nail in the coffin—without the council, these people would be food—when the two girls failed to fully understand that their father wasn’t their father anymore, and the walker they’d claimed as a pet of sorts, would rather eat the soft meat of their livers than play tag. Sure, they’d be running, but once he caught them it was game over. Permanently. This is why Carol’s scheme to teach the children weapon’s skills is vital.
All of the pressure to be the savior is starting to weight on Daryl. He’s fully stepped into Rick’s abandoned post, doing everything necessary to keep the people safe. Only, Daryl doesn’t have the massive guilt handicapping Rick. From a young age, he was forced to fend for himself—to survive growing up and endure his messed up family. Life hardened Daryl’s heart long ago, something Rick is only developing now with the loss of his wife, his best friend, and the hazy future for his son and daughter. But can Daryl learn to open himself up again? Last week there were glimpses of a softer side to his personality. We even saw a smile or two, though they were hard to spot past the mask he wears to keep everyone at arm’s length. This week, there was none of that. Is there time for emotions when Death comes knocking on your front gate every day? Not when everyone relies on your skill as a killer to make it to tomorrow.
A cold-hearted killer is what Michonne set herself out to be once the first walker attacks happened. Or so it seems. We know so little about her history, about how she came to be the woman who saved Andrea with two mutilated walkers in tow. Heck, we don’t even know who she was before the undead rose, before everyone was infected with the virus. Michonne is a pro at not forming relationships. She doesn’t do permanence, relies on herself to get by, and yet still stops in to visit with the prison council. There’s a part of her true self leaking through her uncaring mask. A part which shattered her calm when she held Judith for the first time. Not only did we see her break, we saw her vulnerable. A position she is never in. She’d rather be eaten than have someone see her unable to fend for herself. The shadows haunting her eyes while she held Judith were heartbreaking. Did Michonne have a child, or maybe a younger sibling she raised? It is possible. Her past is by far one of the greatest mysteries on the show. In time, we’ll learn more. But only when she’s ready to open up.
Rick and Carl spent quite a bit of time opening up to each other, trusting each other again. For quite some time, it seemed like Carl blamed Rick for stripping him of his childhood, for putting a gun in his hand and turning him into a killer. After all, it was Carl who cleaned up Rick’s two biggest mistakes—Shane and Lori. But even when he loathed his father, Carl still wanted to immolate him, using Rick’s passed-down deputy hat as his totem for when he meant bloody, violent business. Carl didn’t seem happy with his invisible farmer’s hat. Then again, neither did Rick. Despite putting distance between himself and violence, it still found Rick. Only now, only after the attack on cell block D, does Rick understand it has to be all hands on deck. He has a skill the others need. Now he just needs to learn how to distance himself, to find the cold, calm place where he’s capable of pulling the trigger and not killing a piece of his soul. Is Rick’s return to the fight too little too late? They’ve suffered massive casualties and more are bound to be on the way with the mystery person baiting zombies and taking out anyone who may be infected with the deadly strain of flu going through cell block D.
The prison has been compromised. Unfortunately, there’s nowhere for them to run—not with so many people in tow. What would they do with those suffering from the flu, leave them to die alone in the prison, locked in a cell on death row? Could Tyreese’s conscience handle that? Or is he too far gone after the attack on Karen? We’re two episodes in and so far, there’s a slew of questions to answer.
Here’s a few questions for you, readers. What would you do in the council’s shoes? How would you deal with this deadly flu outbreak?
Reviewer: A. Zombie
Rating: R (bloody violence and gore, adult language, some sexual content
Starring: Michael McKiddy, Ross Kidder, and Markus Taylor
Awhile back, this movie came across the front desk of the ZSC—okay, their Twitter account. But with the insanity that’s happened since, it got shuffled under a pile of reports on zombie bunny behavior and lost. Well, they found it and passed it off to me to review. So how does Deadheads measure up? More importantly, what is the movie about?
A guy wakes up inside a lab and frees himself. He stumbles outside and discovers, not only is he undead, a lot of other people are too! However, Mike has been revived with his intellect intact, he’s not one of the mindless undead he encounters. Somehow he happens to stumble across the only other fully functional zombie wandering the woods, Brent. Together they decide to drive across the country and visit Mike’s girlfriend—almost fiancée—in Michigan, who is completely unaware he’s spent the last three years taking a dirt nap. But the trip won’t be easy. The corporation who owns the lab want Mike and Brent back, no matter what.
Deadheads is a love story, a buddy comedy, and a splatstick film…with zombies at the helm. They’re intelligent zombies who do far more than drool on themselves and fight over scraps of flesh like starving dogs. Actually, they’re pretty funny, too. Not as funny as I am. It takes a few years of being dead for the self-censoring mechanism to rot away. The dialogue alone is worth giving the film a chance. Make a game out of catching the massive amount of pop culture references.
The film raises a good question: If you were to come back to life as a zombie with all of your self—personality, memories, etc—intact, would you see it as an opportunity to make something of the life you were ripped out of? Would you reconnect with your family and loved ones? Here’s the thing, Mike’s girl never knew he was dead. She thought he’d left town. Anyone else attempting his mad scheme would cause undue trauma to the people they care about. Of course, with the limited exposure of the zombie outbreak—Mike and Brent are some of the first to escape and wander far from the lab—no one knows they’re undead or considers the possibility of them being more than sick guys on a road trip. Though, let’s be honest, they are covered in blood and Mike is sporting a pair of bullet holes in his skull. Middle America is seriously unobservant.
I have to give it to the filmmakers, Deadheads was shot really well. Despite being a “Zombedy”, it is almost too pretty—even when there are close-ups of severed body parts and intestines. Speaking of the FX makeup, it holds up to scrutiny. The main pair of zombies are “different”, not nearly as rotten as their mindless counterparts. Even then, the level of rot is believable and consistent throughout the adventure. There are som instances of computer-generated gore that fail to impress and could have been left out altogether. Zombies don’t bleed. Why they felt the need to add bad CG blood in one particular scene baffles the mind.
For the most part, the characters were written and acted convincingly. There is a zombie slayer who would fit in perfectly with Jinxie’s Yellow Brigade—she’d appreciate his ruthless tactics. However, two of the characters seemed to be created to annoy the ever-loving hell out of viewers, McDinkle and Emily. McDinkle is written to be obnoxious, that much is true. The overacting drove it over a cliff into a fiery crash of “holy hell, get this guy off the screen”. Needless to say, there was cheering any time someone hit him. Emily is supposed to be a frazzled, slightly ditzy and girly personal assistant to the main corporate bad guy. Done correctly, she would have balanced the malice of that character. Instead she is visibly acting, being a caricature instead of the character. After her first scene, I renamed her Food.
Overall, I’m giving Deadheads three and three-quarter decapitated heads out of five. This is a feel-good zombie movie you can sit down and enjoy with friends without worrying too much about grossing anyone out. I wouldn’t suggest children watch it, though. They curse more than sailors on shore leave.
There comes a point where you judge a movie by its cover… and fail miserably—complete with flailing arms and desperate cries of agony. No, the cries weren’t from victims of a zombie attack on the screen. It was me. Crying and beating against the door of my cell. Lets just get this review of DIE-ner over with, shall we?
Here’s the story we were promised: A serial killer hitches a ride to a failing diner in the middle of nowhere. Realizing the opportunity handed him when the place is nearly deserted, he kills the minimal staff and sets up his own sort of murderer’s paradise. That is, until his victims start coming back to life with a hunger for flesh.
What came across felt, for the most part, like a string of bad auditions. There was even the bad audio where one actor could be heard clearly while the other’s performance sounded muffled as they stood behind the camera. Top that off with plain ol’ bad acting and five minutes in I wished for someone to come put me out of my misery. Only one actor, the guy playing the witless sheriff, seemed to be trying to do his part with any believability.
Normally I’d say, well… if the acting sucks and the script isn’t worth a damn, lets see how the makeup effects hold up. These too were disappointing. Protip for wannabe filmmakers: fake blood from the Halloween store looks awful on screen. Opt for a higher quality “Stage Blood” or make your own. A gallon of homemade blood is cheap and doesn’t look like you dipped your actors in red food coloring, then left them to dry in the sun.
This is one of those movies where everyone, even the zombies are Too Stupid To Live. That does not make for entertaining viewing. And where I’d normally try to find something nice to say, I can’t in this case. Oh wait; there was lots of duct tape. Everyone likes duct tape, right?
DIE-ner is bad heaped on bad, topped with bad. I give it one-and-a-half severed feet out of five. Save yourself the misery and avoid this film.
Being alone is rarely a pleasant thing. Humans crave contact with others, need the interaction to keep themselves happy and mentally healthy. Finding companionship in the zombie apocalypse is next to impossible. From what we’ve learned on the show since day one, human nature demands that most folks take care of numero uno first, then their family. If you’re a stranger, kindness has to be earned. Even after making that vital, living connection, there are moments when a person may find themselves surrounded by others, yet utterly isolated by circumstances no one else can understand. This week on “The Walking Dead” we saw a lot of people suffering on their own, forced to make terrifying personal sacrifices in order to keep one step ahead of not only the walkers, but also the illness plaguing the prison population.
“We don’t know if we get a tomorrow.” Unlike Glenn and Maggie, Carol is not as convinced they can make everything work in their favor. She’s stood by, quietly caring for everyone under their roof as she’s always done. But there came a point when she knew it wasn’t enough. Being the quiet, motherly figure wouldn’t keep the children from getting sick. Wouldn’t provide the water they need to keep going on into a future she can’t even fathom at this point. Her hand aren’t tied by the position she’s in with the council. At one point or another, they’ve all done horrific things to protect the group. In this episode, we saw just how far Carol would go. Her transformation throughout the series is astounding. We met Carol when she was broken, powerless in the face of her husband’s abuse. After she lost her daughter, her only living relation, she adopted the group as her new family. Some of the impotent rage she suffered then, simmering over the weeks spent searching for Sophia, blew up this week. She went to the dark place and gathered that rage close in order to do what she thought necessary to protect everyone. Only time will tell if it changed her like Rick’s kills changed him, and Tyrese’s rage is beginning to morph him into a colder man.
Rating: Unrated (Violence, Adult language)