The Walking Dead: Season 4, Episode 8 “Too Far Gone” (B+)
It’s staggering to consider that the events of this episode take place over the course of just one hour. Cramming more action than has been present in the entire season thus far into the final fifteen minutes of this mid-season finale certainly paid off, as it provided the show’s most emotional and intense moments since Sophia came stumbling out of the barn in season two. It’s strange to think that we got to this point pretty much only at the start of this episode, with the disease wreaking havoc on life at the prison for five episodes and then the Governor beginning his quick ascent back to power in the last two. Revealing that he had taken Hershel and Michonne prisoner to use as bargaining chips to take the prison led to an unexpected encounter that had devastating effects all around. I wanted to scream at Rick for not mentioning the many horrific acts committed by the Governor to his people, though it was clear that, even when Rick offered the compromise of them all living peacefully together, the Governor was never going to let things remain tranquil. Brutally killing Hershel was horrifying, but it said much more about the people around him, that they were willing to stand by someone who wouldn’t accept an offer of peaceful coexistence and to follow him blindly into battle. Even more disturbing was the emotionless way in which Lizzie executed Alisha, a miserable sign that there’s no innocence left in this universe. The Governor being stabbed by Michonne and left for dead or worse was a fitting fate, though being put down by the mother of his new dead daughter, who he had no trouble finished off, was just as appropriate. I’m hopeful that the back half of this season will be full of the constant thrills and excitement that this first set didn’t necessarily have, and that it won’t be all about a search for the missing baby but instead the horror of being on the run once again with no new home in sight.
Season grade so far: B+
Season MVP: Danai Gurira as Michonne
No comments:
Post a Comment