The Walking Dead - S04E13 Alone (2014)

Review

Once again Daryl is training Beth in tracking and dropping zombies though she does manage to trip over and do her ankle in a trap. This leads to the duo to finding an isolated Mortuary in the form of a mansion. Seems someone has lived in the building recently as there is no dust on the furniture or floor and the cupboard is well packed with food. Naturally nothing works out as expected as the walking dead arrive for dinner, Beth escapes through a window, and Daryl fights his way out. Unfortunately the most interesting hook up of the season comes to an end with an undefined car whisking Beth away to places unknown. Daryl does catch up with the Claimers however; the group Rick had a run in with previously.

Meanwhile there's some dissent in the Maggie, Sasha, and Bob group. Maggie wants to head to the increasingly signposted Terminus while Sasha wants to find some high ground and dig in for the duration. Guess Terminus is going to be the final destination for the season? Anyways after a bit of shenanigans and a small separation the trio set the controls for Terminus in an effort to find Glenn.

With only three episodes left I kind of think we are not going to get all the story arcs tied up by end of season. Not that I'm complaining, some things can be left for season five to resolve rather than being rushed. The only problem I have with episodes like Alone is that they seem more filler rather than coherent. Sure we get to learn some more Bob back story, how long is this Dude going to survive? - but the actual episode doesn't really advance things towards a satisfying finish. Was there a writer's strike in 2014?

Interesting enough episode, though could we speed things along

I just wanted to mention the clothing department's work in this episode, you be rocking it folks, and strangely first time I noticed that cause I probably suck and stuff. Everyone is wearing the sort of clothes you paint the house in; you know the crusty old stuff with frayed edges and the odd rip and tear going down. Remembering we are over four years into the apocalypse, your local department store isn't going to be running end of year sales any time soon. Sorry for the detour kids but praise where praise is due and another indication that the show runners aren't leaving anything out of the equation, except for the hair, which seems overly washed and everyone is seemingly just back from the hairdresser.

Amusing the haters are claiming a lack of undead action this episode, say what! Did they watch the same television I rocked through? In my episode there's a single walker that gets taken down early, then Daryl battles a ton of them before finally Maggie and Sasha go back to back against the decaying dead! There's another scene involving biters, being careful not to use the Z word here, but more on that next paragraph as that scene rocks. Anyways don't listen to people that have a problem with the show as apparently they wouldn't recognise a walker if it leapt up and bit them on the arse! Plenty of undead action folks, two thumbs up on that front, and the walkers are starting to really look icky and decaying. As my man Ash Williams would say, "Groovy".

Director Ernest R. Dickerson kicks festivities to a high level with his introduction of Maggie, Sasha, and Bob facing possible undead action. They are in a mist shrouded clearing, cannot see more than a couple of feet before them, but can hear the walkers moaning just out of sight. Dickerson knocks the scene out of the ballpark with constant shifting camera views, we don't know where the attack is going to come from, and gradually raises the tension as his three central characters try to peer beyond the mist. It's almost surreal when the walkers do eventually attack, almost Mario Bravo in the handling of the scene. Lock and load kids this scene is worth the price of admission alone.

The unfortunate aspect to Alone is the pacing is all over the shop and to be frank some of the developments are less than interesting. While the Daryl and Beth storyline has been entertaining to say the least, the other major focus group this week is weak. Sasha, Maggie, and Bob group, divide, group, divide, all within forty odd minutes which had me wondering if there wasn't something better I could be doing, like mowing the lawns or something. Very uneven season y'all and this episode presents that in a microcosm.

On the bright side we may have at least two new set of antagonists for Rick's crew to deal with. Daryl runs into the Claimers, introduced earlier in the third part of the season and then left hanging, and who ever snatched and grabbed Beth are going to be a focus later this season or next season, hey major character snatched off the street, expecting some retribution there. Whether or not either new group is connected to the mysterious Terminus remains unknown.

The episode is held together by the title "Alone" and what it implies. Clearly Bob's storyline both past and current details what we are meant to take from the track being laid down. He was with two groups, and was the sole survivor from both groups, guess that's implied rather than spelt out, and then spent quite some time alone. By the end of the episode he is smiling for once, when Sasha asks him why he replies that he is no longer alone. So easy peasy even for me kids, strength in numbers, safety in numbers, get yourself a crew if in an apocalyptic situation.

We might not have noticed it but one of the chief concerns about the franchise is being addressed in trimester three of the current season, namely the previous lack of development of secondary characters. Of course this might simply be lining up the next series of deaths, but we live in hope. Ironically the usual whingers are of course complaining about how slow the episode is, but hey you can't be all things to all people. I'm digging getting to know about more about different characters, but you know Game of Thrones death count amongst the major characters.

Another excellent episode advancing us towards Terminus and whatever that may entitle which is no doubt nothing good. We get some background on Bob, a slight dip into subthemes, and more zombie action than you can poke a Georgia redneck at, what's to complain about. Well a bit too much divergence of groups for starters, but hey let's not allow that to damage our viewing pleasure overly. If you haven't been following the show then you can pretty much give this episode a miss, if you are a confirmed fan then you will want to dial in, recommendation to Deadheads only.