Overall this season has been a huge improvement over the previous one. New showrunner Scott Gimple is steering the series more toward the comic book, and seems to be actually listening to fans and addressing some of the previous season's problems. The pacing's picked up quite a bit, characters have been fleshed out and they've committed far fewer boneheaded acts this year. Let's hope they keep up the good work.
SEASON ENDING SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Plot:
Rick, Carl and Michonne meet up with Daryl and finally make it to Terminus. As you might expect, things don't go well.
Thoughts:
• The episode starts with a flashback from the beginning of the season. For a minute or two I was sure I'd downloaded the wrong episode.
Hershel figured prominently in the flashbacks, trying to convince Rick he could hang up his gun and become a farmer and build a life for himself in the prison. I wonder if they had these scenes planned out all along and shot them months ago, or did they bring Scott Wilson back just for this episode?
• Frankly I was amazed there were no major cast deaths in this episode. I totally expected either Glenn or Maggie to bite the dust, especially after last week when she told him he didn't need a photo of her because she'd never leave his side again.
• That was some pretty heavy-handed foreshadowing there when Rick showed Carl and Michonne how a rabbit snare works. He explained how you want to make a funnel shape along a trail and then set your noose in the middle of it, so any animal running by will have to run right into the trap. Say, that's just how Terminus works!
• Rick & Co. see a guy in a field surrounded by walkers. He swings a branch wildly around him, and it looks for all the world like one of the walkers flinches and steps back. Whoops! Zombies don't have reflexes!
• Joe and the Claimers, who we recently found out have been tracking Rick for a couple of weeks, catch up to him during the night. Joe then accuses Rick of strangling one of the Claimers (after they invaded Rick's home). It's true, Rick did strangle the guy, but I can't for the life of me figure out how Joe would know that. Seems like he and his group would have been too busy trying not to get bitten to stop and look for finger marks around their newly reanimated friend's neck.
I guess Joe must have read the script!
• Kudos to the creators, I guess, for making another incredibly uncomfortable and brutal scene. The Claimers hold Rick and Michonne at gunpoint while one of them prepares to rape Carl. Yikes!
Funny how the three most horrifying scenes of the season-- Hershel's grisly death, putting Lizzie out of her misery and now this-- involved humans and not zombies. Who are the real monsters on this show?
• The day after the Claimers incident, Carl's all moody and doesn't want to be around his dad. I suppose seeing your father tear out a man's throat with naught but his teeth would be kind of off-putting, but... if Rick hadn't done so, Carl would have been butt raped for certain (and then no doubt killed). You'd think he'd be a bit more appreciative of what Rick did for him.
• Daryl tries to explain to Rick why he was with the Claimers. He says he knew they were bad, but he didn't think they were that bad.
Well let's see, Daryl. Last week they literally kicked a man to death just for lying… I'd say that's pretty bad.
• I'm wondering why there's not a massive zombie herd marching down the railroad tracks that everyone's been walking on for the last half of the season. Back in Season 2 we were shown how a couple walkers saw a helicopter in the sky and followed it, and as they staggered along they picked up more and more zombies like an undead snowball rolling down a hill, until a gigantic horde converged on Hershel's farm.
So why didn't that happen in this episode? All these various groups have been following the same set of railroad tracks, so you'd think they'd be dragging along a big ol' herd in their wake.
Earlier in the season Daryl and some others went on a supply run to find medicine and ran into a huge horde. So they are out there...
• After two seasons we finally get the last piece of Michonne's backstory. She lived in a refugee camp with her boyfriend Mike, their infant son Andre and their friend Terry. Walkers attacked the camp while Mike and Terry were high and they let Andre die, getting bitten in the process. Enraged, Michonne "neutered" them by cutting off their jaws and arms and dragged them around on chains.
This all dovetails perfectly with what Michonne told TV Andrea about her "pets" in Season 3. She said they were people she knew and "they got what they deserved." I always wondered what she meant by that, and now we know. Well done, writers!
• Rick was smart enough to hide a weapons cache outside of Terminus and then sneak in the back way. Good move. If this was Season 2 or 3 they'd have ridden a parade float through the front gate.
• Once inside Terminus, Rick and Co. meet Gareth, the leader. He welcomes them, but tells them they'll have to give up their weapons. The Terminus people frisk everyone (except for Michonne-- was the frisker afraid to paw at a woman?) and then immediately give them back their weapons.
Huh? Why make them relinquish their weapons and then give 'em right back? Were they hoping to build a false sense of trust in Rick and his people?
• So what were the Terminus people doing in the warehouse? It looked like they were poring over maps or something. Maybe they were making more "Those Who Arrive, Survive" signs.
• Speaking of the Terminus signs... apparently at some point the Terminites canvased the area for miles around, putting up those signs to funnel unsuspecting survivors into their trap? A pretty good idea I guess, if you're a cannibal. Why go hunting when you can get your food to come to you? I wonder how far out they planted the signs?
• As I've been saying for weeks now, Terminus is bad news. How could it be anything but on this show? It's pretty obvious at this point that the Terminites are cannibals. Last week Mary, who's apparently the designated short order cook, told Glenn and his group that they'd get them settled in and then get them each a plate.
This week Michonne asks Alex why they let anyone in, and he says, "People become a part of us. We get stronger." If that's not another way of saying "Eatin' people builds strong bodies twelve ways," I don't know what is.
Not to mention the fact that Mary seems to be perpetually manning their grill, but there's no sign of cattle or other livestock anywhere...
• Did you catch all the items that Rick spotted on the Terminus people? For the record, one was wearing Glenn's police riot gear, one had Daryl's poncho (which Maggie had been wearing), one had the pocket watch that Hershel gave to Glenn, one had the orange backpack Rick took off a dead hitchhiker months ago, and one was wearing what appeared to be Bob Stookey's khaki pants.
• Rick and the others make a break for it and try to escape. At every corner they're shot at by rooftop snipers. At first I thought the snipers were the worst shots since Imperial Stormtroopers, but eventually realized they weren't trying to hit Rick & Co. They were trying to guide them to the railroad car.
There was also a quick shot in which they ran by what appeared to be a cage full of bloody human skeletons. The remains of walkers, or humans? My money's on humans.
• Eventually they're caught and herded into a boxcar labeled "A" (hence the episode title). Very ominous, especially if you know anything about railroad cars and the Holocaust.
• Rick, Carl, Michonne and Daryl meet up with Glenn, Maggie, Sasha, Bob, Tara, Eugene, Abraham and Rosita in the car. Why, it's a veritable family reunion. The only ones not present are Beth, who was obviously abducted by someone unconnected with Terminus, and Carol, Tyreese and Baby Judith. I'm betting Carol's going to be instrumental in rescuing everyone next season.
• Rick says the Terminites are going to feel stupid when they realize they screwed with the wrong people.
Rick says pretty much the same thing in the comic when confronted with a group of cannibals (that were different from the ones at Terminus, which doesn't appear in the book), except there he says, "They f*cked with the wrong people."
Now I'm not for cursing just for cursing's sake, but in this case I think it would have been justified if they'd gone for it and said the f-word. They said it occasionally on Breaking Bad, so why not here? It would have been more realistic and had a lot more impact than the practically G-rated "screwed."
• So it looks like a couple of my plot predictions were wrong. Earlier in the season I suspected that Joe and the Claimers were a scouting party from Terminus. Nope! They had nothing to do with the place.
Then I thought that Rick and everyone would be captured by the Terminites, and Daryl would be the "man on the outside" who had to rescue them. Again, nope! But that prediction may not be totally off, as I have a feeling Carol will come into play somehow and help free them.
And now the moment you've all been waiting for: The Third Annual The Walking Dead Season End Awards, Even Though This Is Season 4!
Best Showrunner Award
Scott Gimple, c'mon down!
I have to admit I was a little apprehensive when it was announced he was taking over Season 4, as he was the THIRD showrunner in four years. Happily, he proved me wrong. He's gone a long way toward solving the show's problems and wrote many of the best episodes of the season. Let's hope he stays on for good.
Fastest Return From The Edge
Goes to Carl Grimes. At the end of Season 3, Carl gunned down a young, twitchy Woodbury resident just for looking at him funny. It seemed like he was on his way down a dark and dangerous path.
Then suddenly at the beginning of this season he's fine, his problems having apparently been resolved offscreen during the summer hiatus.
Reddest Redshirts Award
Goes to the remaining Woodbury residents. At the end of last season the Governor bugged out and killed most of his own people, leaving just a few kids and seniors still living in Woodbury. Rick graciously invited them to live in the prison.
Halfway through this season every single one of them was dead. So much for Rick's hospitality.
Second Chance Award
And the winner is: Carol Pelletier!
As I'm fond of endlessly pointing out, the TV series seriously botched the character of Andrea. I think Scott Gimple realizes this, and is slowly turning Carol into the character Andrea should have been all along.
Worst Prescription Award
Goes to Hershel Greene. During the flu epidemic at the prison, he asks Daryl to go on a run and bring back antibiotics for his dying patients. Whoops! Herschel was supposedly a veterinarian and should know that antibiotics are useless against a viral infection like the flu.
Breaking The Color Barrier Award
Goes to Scott Gimple (I guess). In the first two seasons of the show, fans accused the writers of having a "one black character or less" policy. According to some, there could only be one black character, and the only way to add another was to kill the existing one.
That's all in the past now. As of this episode we've got four main black characters on the show. Well done, Gimple!
Misdirection Award
Scott Gimple again! In past seasons whenever an episode would focus on a previously underdeveloped character or they infodumped their backstory to us, that was a sure sign they were doomed to die the next week. It happened over and over and over again.
This season several characters have opened up and been fleshed out, and… nothing happened. I think the creators know we figured out their pattern, so now they're playing with us.
Good Grooming Award
Goes to Rick Grimes. In the first couple of seasons Rick had a hairy chest. This season in Claimed, he examined his bruises in a mirror and his chest was as smooth as a baby's bottom.
Nice to see that even in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, Rick can still find time to do some manscaping.
Most Improved Character
Goes to Michonne er... whatever her last name is. I was positively giddy when she first popped up in the Season 2 finale, but my happiness was quashed during Season 3 when she was portrayed as little more than a snarling, growling animal.
It's taken a while, but they've finally fixed her character and now she actually speaks and has a personality.
Priorities In Order Award
Goes to Rick Grimes. In Internment Rick returns to the prison after banishing Carol. He runs up to Maggie and breathlessly asks, "How's Carl and Judith and Glenn and Herschel and all the other main characters?"
Eh, never mind the other thirty or forty people you're responsible for, Rick, whose names you apparently never even bothered to learn.
Love At First Sight Award
It's a tie! The award goes to Tyreese and Karen and Tara and Alisha.
Karen showed up at the prison in the Season 3 finale. When Season 4 started up, she and Tyreese were practically married.
Then when Tara follows the Governor to his new camp, she takes one look at Alisha and the next day they're keeping company.
I guess you gotta move fast in a world where every day could be your last.
Didn't Think That Through Award
Goes to the Governor. He wants to kill Rick and everyone in the prison so he and his followers can move in. How does he try to accomplish this? With a tank. He knocks down the security fences (letting in hundreds of walkers) and blows several gaping holes in the side of the prison, rendering it effectively useless as a secure refuge. Good job, Gov!
I Need A Shower Award
Goes to Daryl and Beth, who team up after the destruction of the prison.
Believe it or not there's a sizable group out there in the dark, scary bowels of the internet that want to see these two characters hook up. Despite the fact that, you know, Daryl is thirty five if he's a day and Beth is seventeen. Ew.
Most Telegraphed Name Award
Goes to whoever named Terminus "Terminus." The word means "the end" (among other things). Gee, that's not ominous at all, is it? Why didn't they just name it Cannibalville?
Best Makeshift Weapon Award
Goes to Maggie's No Parking Sign weapon that she wielded to great effect in Alone.
Least Adorable Kid Award
Could it go to anyone besides Lizzy Samuels, the show's resident child psychopath and bunny killer?
Worst "Code" Award
Joe and the Claimers, come on down! Basically they're a group of grown-ass men who live by a code of calling the equivalent of "shotgun" on everything.
Least Convincing Genius Award
Yep, you guessed it-- Dr. Eugene Porter, the man who claims to know what caused the zombie apocalypse and how to reverse it, but who doesn't seem like he could figure out how to make a grilled cheese sandwich.
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