Another season of “The Walking Dead” has come and gone. Massive headlines, massive ratings, and the phenomenon keeps chugging along. With season four split in to three very brutal and effective story arcs, we break down the fourth year of the series, and explore ten of our most shocking moments of “The Walking Dead,” season four.
Is there such a thing as civility in the land of the dead? Will there ever be such a thing as civility and kindness and consideration? Do you really have to become a savage and evade all sense of morality to survive? Was Shane right? Was Shane prophetic? Would Shane have become Rick’s mentor in the apocalypse, eventually? One thing I loved about “A” beyond answering all questions, while still keeping us in the dark is that Rick finally comes to fruition as his comic book counterpart. One thing about Rick that’s always rung true in the comics is that Rick knows he’s a warrior, he knows he can survive if he thinks on his feet. What we see at the final scene of “A,” is that Rick finally knows the type of man he is. He knows he’s a warrior and he shalt not be fucked with. Most of all, don’t ever lay a hand on Carl.
What’s worse than a bad zombie movie? A bad zombie where the zombies are painfully easy to kill. How can you be terrified of zombies that can be killed by drum sticks and golf clubs? It’s also a lot of fun when the director can’t seem to decide if his zombies are shamblers or runners. Sometimes they run, sometimes they shamble around in a sleepy haze. Sometimes they bite relentlessly, but when lunging at our characters, they’re easier to fight than a toddler with a full diaper. Which is a shame, because nine times out of ten, the zombies look creepy as all hell, while director Logan McMillan manages to paint a pretty atmospheric apocalypse. For the first fifteen minutes, at least.
I’m just going to throw it out there without fearing a spoiler troll. So we find out in “Empire of the Dead” that doctor Penny Jones is indeed the little sister of Barbara and Johnny from “Night of the Living Dead.” So that would mean that they were named Barbara and Johnny Jones. And that the scenario that took place in 1968, really was present times. The world we gander upon in “Empire” is set in New York five years after the zombie apocalypse ensued, so, it’s 1973? Or is “Night” set in modern times? Which one is it? And what happened to Barbara after she survived Johnny dragging her away from the zombie horde? Do “Dawn of the Dead” and “Day of the Dead” just not count anymore? Does “Empire of the Dead” officially wipe them out of existence?
You can definitely look at director Eric England’s horror drama in two plains. You can either watch it as a gory tale of a woman rotting gradually in to something beyond herself, or you can look at it as a metaphorical tale of a woman rotting in to the ugly being she’s probably always been her entire life. When you cut it down, the character Samantha is the protagonist, but never really is an empathetic individual. She’s this lecherous, vapid, and utterly narrow minded being who does nothing but ride on people’s good will and expects big returns. That’s not to say she deserves what is coming to her, but who’s to say her final transformation isn’t what she’s been her entire life?
Claiming your territory is the law of the land, Carl and Michonne really like candy, a wall o’ zombies, and Rosita’s smoking hotness, all that and more on this episode of “The Walking Dead”! Once again the casting crew for “The Walking Dead” have really done their job in sticking true to the comics by casting Christian Serratos as series hotty Rosita. She was always cute during her years on Nickelodeon, but she virtually disappears in the character garb and has proven to be an interesting heroine. This time around the episode is split between three portions of characters, all of whom are getting ever closer to the enigmatic Terminus. Except Glenn has finally found a sign by Maggie to meet her there, and he’s more desperate than ever.
Director Aaron Longstreth really has an epic story on his hands, and he manages to depict so many themes and expository shots in a short time frame quite brilliantly. I really want a sequel. Or somewhere down the line a feature film continuation, because Longstreth is at the top of his game here and delivers a quality apocalyptic horror film that will appeal to audiences that love fodder like “The Walking Dead” and “28 Days Later.” Speaking as a fan of both, I loved “Shelter 5.” I watched it twice.