Monday 26 September 2016

The Walking Dead- Season 1, Episode 4: Vatos

"Admit it, you only came back to Atlanta for the hat."

These are still early days for this fledgling show, and each episode is unveiling more and more about this post-apocalyptic show and what it can do. This one plays a trick that can only be done once early: there's another group of humans nearby (it'll be interesting to find out how common this is) and, while at first they seem threatening, they are only being that way out of charity towards their elderly patients. They know that, in the long run, they are all doomed, but as they await their inevitable fate they do the right thing. It's all very noble.

We begin with a bit of bonding between sisters Andrea and Amy, which ought to give us a pretty strong hint that not both of them will survive the episode. Another subtext here is, of course, traditional gender roles as touched on last episode; fishing is traditionally men's work, and the sisters are causing a bit of friction with the more reactionary of the menfolk.

Meanwhile, Jim is going a bit peculiar and digging a load of graves in a vaguely supernatural
Premonition of the zombie attack on the camp that is coming at the end of the episode. This is shocking when it comes, and the death of Amy on the eve of her birthday is utterly heartbreaking. Her death, in a nice touch, is properly dwelt upon and given meaning, not least by a lingering camera, but the gang ends the episode homeless, fleeing in a motorhome...

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