10pm Sundays AMC
Now that's more like it.
After a slightly shaky second episode, The Walking Dead has come roaring back with a comparatively low-key episode that still manages to be emotionally engaging at every turn while continuing to blend the comic with new ideas.
The opening scene of this episode went a long way toward humanizing Merle, who was pretty much a racist cartoon character in the second episode. Not only was his plight objectively horrifying, but Michael Rooker really got into the role, turning from delusional and pathetic to vicious desperation on a dime. Pretty frightening stuff. Also debuting in this episode is Merle's brother Daryl, in a sequence involving a dead deer that's adapted well from the comic. Played by Norman Reedus (who I kind of made fun of in my Boondock Saints review), Daryl is an equally venomous, but significantly more competent version of his brother and his explosive, spur-of-the-moment characterization suits Reedus' acting style well. I don't know that either character will stick around, but I'm definitely more comfortable with their presence now than I was after the last episode.
In terms of major plot development, the big event would be Rick's arrival at the camp and his reunion with Lori and Carl. It was a very important moment and Andrew Lincoln sold every second of it, going for big emotion without veering into cheap sentimentality. The moment where he grabs Carl and hugs him was one of the most touching moments I've seen on film in a while. The episode takes its time with their reunion, mostly by way of a lengthy scene between Lori and Rick in their tent. It bodes well for the show's future (the comic contains a lot of zombie-less arguing and talking down the line) that it can execute scenes like this as well as it does here. Sarah Wayne Callis does a nice job of mingling Lori's relief and joy over Rick's return with the guilt and fear she feels over her affair with Shane. Despite her somewhat unfair and impractical treatment of Shane later in the episode (and the fact that she looks like a weird combination of Mary Louise Parker and Anna Gunn), having an actress bring life to the role is going a long way toward making Lori more likable than she was in the comic (where she's pretty much always either nagging Rick or needing to be protected by him). I do wish there had been more interaction between Rick and Carl in this episode, but I'm assuming that'll happen soon. Despite his increased screen presence in this episode, I still can't get a good read on whether or not that kid is a decent actor.
Shane, having found himself usurped from the position of power, both in the group and in Lori's life, spectacularly takes his anger out on Carol's abusive husband Ed (alluded to but never shown in the comics), by way of a savage beating which, despite being well deserved, is played for horror and done very well. One of the major themes of the comic is that the behavior of the survivors can end up being just as horrific as that of the zombies and this scene was an excellent indicator of that.
Most of the zombie action this week was deferred in favor of scenes at the camp, but it seemed to set-up next week as being pretty action heavy. Having Rick go back not only for the guns (which was the only goal in the comic), but for Merle and the walkie-talkies as well, was a good move and layered some interesting moral elements into the arguement regarding going back into Atlanta. I also really hope T-Dog dies. He seems like he could be a surrogate for Tyresse, an awesome character from the comic who shows up a bit further down the line, and I'll be pretty pissed if they just watered him down and saddled him with a stupid name instead of getting him right.
This one's a bit short. I really need to start writing these as soon as possible after the episode airs. I wait all week and my memories get jumbled and less precise. I watched Total Recall for the first time last weekend and never got around to reviewing it and by now I feel like I wouldn't have anything meaningful or coherent to say about it. Blogging is hard, you guys.
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