I’m semi-back after a brief hiatus. Smack in the middle of finals, so probably won’t be making regular posts for a while still. At any rate, this blog has proven to be a great place for me to vent my frustration with the entertainment industry, so I proudly present my random review of the season finale of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” Now, this is all just my opinion, so keep that in mind.
This post contains spoilers.
This post contains spoilers.
This post contains spoilers.
All right, then.
Let’s go in somewhat-chronological order. The group finally reaches the CDC, where they partake of a considerable feast and drink copious amounts of wine. This culminates in a scene between Lori and Shane that truly made me wince. Their ex-relationship feels like a plot line gone awry; in my opinion, you don’t bring in assault and attempted rape unless you’re clearly going somewhere with it, and I don’t get that feeling yet.
We still haven’t heard anything more about Merle Dixon (who I care about solely for plot-continuity reasons) or the father and son that Rick left behind in the first episode. Let’s hope the writers don’t pull a “Heroes” and accidentally drop / neglect those characters.
As observant as I usually am, even regarding TV shows, I totally missed noticing the countdown clock. (However, did anyone else notice that Jenner shot “TS-19” in the head in an MRI?!) Which then leads to a “decontamination” trope that brings out the stupid in everyone. And so I segue into a discussion of my favorite character on the show so far: Dr. Jenner.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Noah Emmerich in anything before, but now I am definitely a fan. He gives an incredible performance as Jenner, and gives us the best line I’ve heard this television season outside of The Mentalist: “You know what this place is?! We protected the public from very nasty stuff!!!” Now, Jenner isn’t exactly a likable guy, especially if you’re a fan of the other characters (I’m not), but he foils brilliantly for Rick, Shane, and the others, who throw axes and shoot at the military-grade metal door instead of trying to talk Jenner down.
But crowning the Imbecile List is one of my least favorite characters in a cast that I already dislike. Carol’s hero moment, possibly meant by the writers to define the group’s opinion of being “decontaminated,” made me cringe almost as much as Lori and Shane had earlier. “My daughter doesn’t deserve to die like this!” Oh, so your daughter deserves to suffer a painful, drawn-out death just before being reanimated as a glorified corpse? Great logic there, guy.
She does sort of redeem herself by producing a Chekhov’s Grenade with only minutes to spare, allowing most of the group to escape the locked-down CDC, kick some quick zombie ass on the way back to their cars, and get the hell out of town before the place explodes. I originally forgave the horrible CGI, thinking there was no way they’d get to blow up the real CDC anyway, until I realized that the building that gets asploded is not even a faithful replica of the actual place. Anyway, that’s small stuff compared to the one question that’s going to bug me until the show comes back in October 2011 or whenever (much too far away, in my opinion; they’re only going to alienate viewers and lose the momentum the show has gained), the one real question that will make me tune in to the show if I’m still around at that time:
What the hell did Jenner whisper to Rick just as everyone was leaving? Does Rick now know some vital medical detail that the writers will once again Chekhov into the plot long after it has lost its relevance? (I almost want to read the graphic novels to find out, except I suspect the show has long since derailed from the novels’ established plot.) We’ll see, I guess. I’ve grown attached to the show and don’t want it to turn into just another hour that I tune in to only for the pretties (see Hugh Laurie and Jesse Spencer, and possibly Simon Baker). Besides, the premise- Atlanta (and the world) being overrun by zombies- is far too lulzy for me to give up on. Or maybe it’s not lulzy, just true to real life. Hmm.
Life of a Raindrop 