The Walking Dead: After (4x09)

Yay! Hiatus is over! One of the strongest things about The Walking Dead is the show's ability to focus on a few key characters at a time, instead of overwhelming us with the entire ensemble. This particular installment only told two stories: Michonne's, and Rick and Carl's. While I missed Maggie, Glenn, Daryl, Beth, etc., I was still happy that they chose to really take a closer look at only a few plot threads. Next week, we'll learn about the others.

So. Carl and Rick are struggling to find a place to stay the night. Rick is badly injured. He can barely walk, and Carl isn't inclined to wait up for him. He's bitter and desperate and grieving for Judith, Hershel, and basically for the whole rotten situation they've found themselves in. Eventually, the two of them find a house to stay in. Their bitterness towards one another continues. Rick falls asleep on the couch, and the next morning Carl has trouble waking him up. A group of Walkers right outside the house are getting worrisome, so Carl goes outside to take care of them. He very nearly gets himself eaten, but he manages to kill them all and escape.

He makes his way to another house, where he has another close scrape with a Walker, but manages to get food and make his way out alive. He yells at Rick, who is still asleep, and tells him that he'd be fine if Rick died. He's angry at his father, because he feels like everyone who died was Rick's fault. It was his responsibility to take care of them, but instead he just went about gardening and didn't take defense seriously enough.

Carl falls asleep, and is awoken by his father, who is so sick and weak that for a moment Carl thinks he has died and reanimated as a Walker. Carl lifts the gun, tears streaming down his face, but he can't bring himself to do it. He resigns himself to his fate, but then Rick manages to gasp out his son's name, revealing that he is still alive. The next morning, the two of them talk and seem to be in a better place.

Meanwhile, Michonne employs her old Walker-pet trick by de-jawing two of the Walkers from the prison and tying them up. She uses them to blend in with the Walker crowds. We also see flashbacks of Michonne with her lover, Mike, and another friend named Terry. It turns out that these two are the ones who became Michonne's Walker "pets" from when we first met her. Michonne continues wandering around, at one point becoming so enraged about a Walker who resembles her that she slaughters the whole pack surrounding her. While quite an impressive feat, it also means she has unnecessarily done away with her protection. However, luck seems to be on her side, as she is able to find Rick and Carl. The episode ends as she knocks on the door, and Rick looks through the window to see her.

Alright, so let's list what I didn't like about the episode.

.... Nothing, really. I guess my only teeny-tiny complaint would be that I thought it was a bit difficult to pull of the Rick-is-a-Walker thing. The actors pulled it off just fine, but it seemed a bit like a cheap trick. However, this is a very small flaw in an otherwise brilliant episode.

So, let's list some of these brilliant elements, shall we?

- The acting. Particularly from the kid who plays Carl, Chandler Riggs. He ran the gambit of emotions in this one, and really played up his anger and grief very well. I was impressed. And Andrew Lincoln was just as wonderful as he always is, playing Rick. You could sense his grief as well, but he was still very determined to put on a brave face for Carl. Danai Gurira as Michonne... wow. Seeing her in her old life, where she was a rather high-society girl, was quite shocking. Her tough skin has always been a part of her, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have very deep emotions.

- Setting details. I just loved the haunting moment where Carl looks at the TV and the video games, and experiences this strange relic of the past. Then, he rips the chord away to use to tie the door shut. That was a powerful moment. The Walker trapped behind the barricade, the one that stole Carl's shoe, the giant tub of pudding... I just love all of these details.

- Lack of crowding. I already praised this earlier, but I just really appreciated how much room these plots have to breathe. We see Carl, Rick, and Michonne, and we don't need to bother with everyone else. We'll see them next week.

- Michonne's back story. I just really appreciated learning more about her, because she's not what you would expect. It breaks my heart to think about a version of Michonne who could have gone to pretentious art shows and argue about them with her friends.

- Rick and Carl's relationship. The anger and resentment between them is very interesting, and I think it's been pulled through this entire show very well. Now, after the most recent near-death experiences, hopefully they can patch things up and have a stronger foundation to build on.

There you have it! For an episode with surprisingly little plot, it fully captured my attention!

9/10