Intro
Before the time of The Walking Dead, there was a rise of a
lot unknown comic book TV shows like Painkiller Jane, Flash Gordon, and Human
Target. I invested in these shows because at the time I was at college and I
didn’t have time to delve into comics. So, I decided to tune into the comic
book TV shows to make up for that. So, when The Walking Dead TV show was
announced I decided to tune in because the comic book genre pecked my interest.
Ever since then, the show has evolved to one of the best TV shows I have ever
seen. What I always liked best about this show is that it’s not just about
zombies or survival. It’s really about being human and revealing its darkest
side making it, its own kind of monster. Especially with this season showing
all aspects of a human being like for example, mental disability and going
against your moral senses. Even though, I have yet to read the comic books
because I just got back into comics, (I’m catching up on Marvel and DC as of
right now, then switching to other companies as I go) my boyfriend helps me
from time to time on the differences of the TV show and the comic books. So, I
will definitely delve into that with this review. I will compare it, but I wouldn’t
say which is better. What I like this
show is that even though there are differences there’s a high caliber of how
they are each their best in their own way. So, looking at this season I
definitely feel that this show is getting better and better because it shows
all aspects of being human and it’s time to dive in the best and worst moments
in the season.
Story
After the war with The Governor had ended the citizens of
his town had moved into Rick’s prison. Since then, everyone had maintained
their way of living until a deadly plague had caused many people to die. Eventually,
they found a cure and got ready for their second war with The Governor. After
this war, the group got separated and had to find their way to meet again at
the Terminus.
The Good
What I like about the most about this season is the great
character development. I felt they really did great with it because each
character had their roles and sort of separate goals that can relate to each
other. They also had risks, morals and change to make them go against what they
believed in. Their changes also affected them, emotionally, psychically and
psychologically. So since character development was its initial focus I decided
to discuss it what the characters had the best and what made them the best to
each of their own.
The most memorable character of the season was of course
Herschel. Since the time of the
plaque came to play almost everyone was sick and people were dropping like
flies. Herschel went through incredible feats to make sure everyone was well
even if it meant risking his life to getting himself sick. He even went days in
and out without sleep making cures to see if they worked on stopping the
plague. Herschel helping everyone out even if he had to do all alone made him a
remarkable man. He even showed how much he was able to do even for an old man.
He also showed how much he cared about people like Glenn, going through massive
zombies just to get to them and make sure they were well. I feel the actor did
a phenomenal job on Herschel’s will and personality. It definitely marks the
season of the most memorable character ever in the show’s history.
I know
everyone feels The Governor was this season’s worst development, but I
disagree. I felt he was definitely one of season’s greatest character
developments. The reason I felt this way is because we got to see his human
side. We realized he was not just an evil man. He had somewhat of a good side
as well. At the beginning of the season, we see this man all alone to once
again having a family. A family that was very much like his own like a wife and
daughter. They instantly became his when he grew to save, care and love them.
He even guarded the woman he loves’ sister. But, even though he was a
well-cared father and husband doing anything to protect them, his selfishness
drove him to still be a killer. The selfishness caused him to create an army
against Rick’s army. But as this war went on, it caused the loss and the
betrayal’s trust of his family and this even drove him wild to lose himself. It
really showed how can revenge or a vendetta can really ruin a man and destroy
everything he worked so hard for to gain again. I know a lot people were tired
of The Governor, but this was a question that needed to be answered and they
did a pretty good job at it. Plus, it really gave the character a very good
closure. The next character that mostly everyone can agree on was Carol. She is
definitely one of the greatest characters that had to go through a massive
change in her morals. She had to kill two people (one of them was Karen who
Tyreese loved dearly) because of the plague and she didn’t want the disease to
spread further. So, she felt like she had no choice and I was so happy that
Tyreese found a way to forgive her in the most amazing episode of the season.
When I saw this episode I definitely thought it was one of the most
heartwarming moments of the show ever.
The
Grove was an episode that went through the biggest challenges ever on TV
especially during in this time of children killing events. Just seeing Carol realizing
it was a mistake to teach Lizzie to kill and she had to once again make that
tough choice was heartbreaking. Another
reason I loved this episode was how they made Mika such a sweet, tough and
lovable character and we also get to understand Lizzie’s mental state of mind
about why she felt a certain way. It definitely made me feel sorry for her.
This is an episode I recommend anyone to see if they want to like the show.
This episode was also an adaptation of a storyline in the comics, it had some
differences like it was two boys instead of two girls and it was Carl who has
to make the tough call. But these differences benefited their own unique
strengths like Tyreese’s forgiveness for Carol (TV show), the gain and loss of
a love for Dale from Andrea and Carl having the choice of killing his best
friend, Ben and dealing with the emotional aftermath (comic books).
Michonne is another character that defy great
change to the entirely of the character. She definitely went from being a quiet
ninja to a funny laid back person she used to be. And it was all because of
Carl that brought her back to her old ways. We also get to see a moment’s past
that made us feel her pain. In this
season, we also explore other characters’ changes like Rick’s emotion path of
still trying to be a leader even though he was losing faith in himself and Carl
realizing he still needs his father. There were also some comic book
differences in that moment and I felt the TV series made it longer by
separating the characters moments of being by themselves to make the dependence
of needing each other more meaning and it also lead a plotline that Darryl
needed to define his character. Darryl was another character that definitely
felt alone too and always tried to fit in and I think this was why his ending
chapter was meeting with Rick and Carl because he was just like them. We also
get to explore Glenn and Maggie’s love for each other going strong even after
losing each other in The Governor’s chaos. It even gave Sasha a defining hope to think that Tyreese wasn't dead. This character definitely challenged
my perspective because at first, I disagreed and disliked her for the way she
thought. But I started to understand her perspective after much thought and
discussion with my boyfriend. We also got to explore Bob’s past that connect
the love for Sasha and truly made me had respect for who Bob is as a character.
Anyways, I felt all these characters went through heartbreaking moments at
best.
The Bad
The most disappointing moments of the season was in an
episode called, Still. It was an episode that gave some character development
for both Darryl and Beth. I’m glad they made an improvement on Darryl’s
development on later episodes. But in this episode, the actor Norman Reedus did
a terrible job on acting drunk and I was shocked because he usual pulls off
good acting. I guess being drunk isn’t really his forte. With, Beth I felt I
couldn’t feel any sympathy for a naive teenager who would risk her life to just
find some liquor especially when all she can do is mope and sing. She has yet
find in anyway on how she can defend herself. She still relay on people like
Darryl to become the white knight to save her. Sometimes I feel she is sort of
stupid and just seeing her singing all time shows no potential in the character
whatsoever. I really hope in the next season they can make her useful and
likable because at this point I can care less of what happens to her and I
think almost everyone can relate to me with this character. Another character
is Eugene, I really can’t take his supposedly “smart-ass” self seriously at the
moment and if they are trying to prove that point, then they are doing a
terrible job at selling it.
Verdict
I give this season a 5.4/9.4 out of 5/10 stars. It was a
very gratifying season especially with the character development. They made
some great moments and took risk in changing characters in new ways and yet I
can still find the characters respectful and likable. Most of the actors also
did a great job on the acting of the characters. It felt very real and
engaging. It really made me feel for the characters because of the realism they
gave. The only downside from the season was moments with Darryl and Beth and
maybe a few new characters. But besides that, I think this was a worthwhile
season to watch and I hope people will tune in and appreciate it. I honestly
can’t wait to see what they have in store for Terminus in the next season.
