Review: The Walking Dead: Beside the Dying Fire

Okay, wow, that was a hell of a season finale. While the first half of season two dragged a bit (and let’s not forget that the entire creative staff was replaced along the way), I think The Walking Dead completely picked up the pace in the second half. There are still issues with characterization and writing, but it feels like the show now recognizes its strengths and is embracing them fully. I’m feeling pretty good about The Walking Dead these days, and I’m already looking forward to the show’s third season.

The finale wastes absolutely no time. Last week was saw a bunch of zombies in the woods, but this week starts by showing us where they all came from, and just how big the swarm really was. The sheer numbers of zombies that showed up at Hershel’s farm was impressive. It seemed like a completely unstoppable horde of innumerable zeds, and I loved it!

The show maximized the tension by getting the group separated almost immediately. Rick and Carl were already on their own, but everyone else quickly jumped into cars to try to lure the zombies away. It was a futile effort, but it worked wonders for amping up the tension and getting characters away from the safety of the group. It also pushed the emotional stress levels through the roof, with several characters desperate to reconnect with their family, and in a very reasonable and believable way.

One other thing The Walking Dead did right? The characters weren’t universally stupid. Some of them were clever on their feet, while others panicked and got themselves into trouble. It seemed reasonable to me. Where Rick and Carl had the wherewithal to lure the zombies into the barn for a good old fashion barbeque, others panicked and ran off in separate directions, making the chaos all the more confusing and frightening.

But of course the whole scene was not without frustrating moments. The biggest for me was the notion that these people, living long under the imminent danger of the walking dead, wouldn’t have any sort of exit strategy or rally point for when the inevitable happens. Sure, they all sort of ended up back at the highway, but there was no plan of “If we get overrun and separated, everyone should make their way back to X.”

One thing that really surprised by about Beside the Dying Fire was how quickly they were all off the farm and relatively safe from the horde. The first half of the episode was a kinetic tour de force, but it also left room for all the repercussions. People were lost, mostly Hershel’s family. There was confusion. Where was Lori? How about Andrea? Should we wait? Are the zombies coming back. I expected that was how the episode would end, with everyone on their own and no one knowing what to do next. But it kept going.

Everyone did find each other (other than Andrea, but more on her in a moment), and there was a heartwarming reunion scene, followed by a rather chilling moment of “Okay what do we do now?” There were only a handful of them left, with little in the way of supplies, especially fuel for their vehicles. They set out, looking for some fuzzy notion of shelter, uncertain of what they might find.

And in the darkness, Rick finally had his moment. The stress and fatigue of the day still on his shoulders, he finally lost his cool and declared himself the leader of the group. Anyone who didn’t like it could leave, but from here on out, he was the boss. It was an interesting moment, and not at all what I expected. Rick seemed unhinged, and dangerous, and not at all the man we’d had in the comics at this point. It’s an interesting change, and I’m excited to see where the show takes it.

Of course, this was preceded by the episodes worst moment: Rick tells Lori what happened with Shane, and she’s horrified. She’s scared of her husband, or disgusted by him. It’s hard to tell. Lori is generally a character of inscrutable motivations, but I just can’t understand the response she had to this news. Surely she realized this was the endgame with Shane; she practically said it in the tent a few weeks ago during her Lady MacBeth moment. So why the backslide?

Speaking of the comics, the fanboys got a few moments in last night’s finale as well (comic spoilers ahead). Not only did we see the prison looming in the background as the credits rolled, but we also got to see a character fans have been clamoring for since the show started: Michonne, the sword wielding badass lawyer. She had a hell of an introduction too, saving Andrea’s ass just as she was about to be overwhelmed. We never get to see her face, just the hood, the sword, and her entourage of limbless, jawless zombies. It was kind of awesome, and that comes from someone who’s not a huge fan of the character.

So where do things go from here? I couldn’t say, but I am excited to tune in next fall to find out.

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