Sadé Green reviews the second episode of The Walking Dead season 5….
What is more disgusting than a Zombie? A soggy Zombie… seriously, total nausea-inducing grossness.
‘Strangers’ may not have been as action-filled as ‘No Sanctuary’, but it will still fill that Walking Dead shaped hole you get left with every Tuesday morning (or Monday morning for you USA readers). With some storylines being resolved, a couple of fairly intense action scenes, the rest of the episode is filled with character development – a slow episode some might say, but stick it out till the insanely dark end and you will literally be speechless with shock.
Having fled Terminus, this episode sees Rick and the Family back on the road – this time however, they have no supplies and far less weapons. After hearing distant screaming, and running to the poor woman’s rescue, we meet Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam, The Wire), who is in fact a man. After failing the three questions quite admirably, Rick struggles to trust him. As Father Gabriel takes them all to the church where he has been holed up, they realise that something isn’t quite right. Later on a supplies run go ahead, with Rick insisting on Gabriel’s presence. Cue the soggy Zombies in a flooded basement and there goes your sleep for the week. This is the stuff of nightmares people. After a fairly easy fight, one of the Family gets pulled under the water by a remaining Zombie. It’s not clear what happened beneath the surface, but a bite is certainly hinted at.
We later see our group, merrily eating dinner together. A safe haven has been found. Romances seem to be blossoming, especially between Sasha and Bob, which just so happens to be very cute, especially as Tyreese looks on at his sister’s happiness, as content as can be. Alternatively, there seems to be a lot of foreshadowing in this episode too. This is certainly less cute and quite annoying. Foreshadowing brings out anger in the best of us, especially when it is as blindingly obvious as it is in The Walking Dead – subtlety never hurt anyone people. In the meantime, Daryl recognises the car that kidnapped Beth and he and Carol go in pursuit of the culprits. Let’s just hope it doesn’t end with their kidnapping as well.
This episode focused on pairings – Rick and Carol, Bob and Sasha, Bob and Rick, Carol and Daryl, Carol and Tyreese – everyone had something to say to each other. After so long apart, it was lovely to see everyone trying to rebuild their relationships. There was less action this week, but the action we did see was tiring; so intense. Combined with the most shocking twist you will ever see on television, you will be left with your mouth hanging open, chanting ‘Oh My God’ over and over to anything that will listen: the chair, the dog, the lamp, the remote control. They’ll probably all mirror your shock, it’s that grim.
Annoyingly some negativity seems to have stemmed from this week’s episode. Audiences seem to get angry when an episode has less action than normal. But one of the best things about the show is the character development. Sure the writers might not be as good at developing the characters in comparison to shows like Breaking Bad or the Sopranos, but paired with ever-improving action, and the slowly decaying horrendously gory Zombies, what the hell are people complaining about?
Overall, some have said that this was a slow episode, particularly in comparison to the fantastic ‘No Sanctuary’, it can’t be denied that it was a very sleek episode. From the slo-mo walking over the crest of a hill, a camera focusing on each of their fear riddled faces; you might just be thinking, ‘How can they all look so cool when they haven’t washed in so long?’ but hopefully most will understand how this marks the start of a new journey for the gang. As they all eventually agree to trek to Washington DC together, the audience feels like this is start of a fresh new life for them all. Flirtations are rife, apologies are accepted; what could go wrong?!
ZOMBIE KILL OF THE WEEK
Okay, okay, so maybe I was wrong. Fiery Zombie eating your face might not be the worst way to go in a post-apocalyptic world. If you watched until the end of the episode (if you didn’t then what is wrong with you?) then it might be safe to say that we have found a new worst way to go. We’ll see what happens in episode 3 regarding that matter! Despite the crazily dark ending, one Zombie death will certainly remain in our nightmares this week. Soggy, glasses wearing librarian looking Zombie in the flooded cellar – remember? Well as she lunges towards Priest Gabriel and he squeals like a small child, one of the gang pulls her away and three swift whacks to her face and her head has been pulverised to mush. Judging by Gabriel’s reaction, perhaps he once knew her? We’ll have to wait and see…
Sadé Green
Originally published October 25, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
