THE WALKING DEAD “Them” Review

Can The Walking Dead continue to excite following the mid-season premiere? Or will it return to it’s average standing? Read on to find out.

The official description from AMC:

Life on the road has left the group beaten and beleaguered. Will they be able to trudge along? Are they even the same people they once were?

It’s that time of the week again, as we sit down to watch the latest episode of The Walking Dead. Following hot on the heels of the mid-season premiere, it feels as everything is up in the air, as with two recent deaths in the group, there are a lot of variables to play with. There’s also a lot of speculation as to what’s on the horizon, as though the group haven’t found it easy since Terminus, the series desperately needs something big if it’s going to survive.

Our group never seem to catch a break, as still reeling from Beth’s tragic death, they are once again reminded how dangerous the world is, losing Tyreese not long after. Though this development may have came as a shock to some viewers, surely upsetting others, I personally found it to be brilliant. Not the death of Tyreese itself, more the fact that the showrunners aren’t afraid to get down to the nitty gritty, sidestepping the natural route of avoiding death for a few episodes. Moving on from this, writer Heather Bellson delivers an emotionally driven script, as though the focus on moving the group forward is still lingering, the turmoil within certain characters stick out like a sore thumb. On the other hand, there is a strong part of me that feels the series is spreading the emotional strain a little too thin, as though I’m all for exploring character depth, the frequent use of brooding does feel a little stagnant, and at times even dull.

Having been used to a high quality of acting from our cast, I was rather surprised to find myself underwhelmed by their performances. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong about the acting on display, with there being some fascinating moments. It’s more a void of criticism, finding it hard to either praise, or tarnish the acting on display in most scenes. Despite this, there were three actors that showed a high level of emotion, Norman Reedus (Daryl), Lauren Cohan (Maggie) and Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha), all of whom are grieving for the deaths of Beth and Tyreese. The other actors were neither here nor there, as apart from the leadership skills of Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) questioning his faith, there was little of notice to take from these character developments.

Ultimately “Them” was a little disappointing, as though the emotional struggle following Beth and Tyreese’s deaths proved interesting, the general atmosphere within the episode felt lacking. The episode also seemed to lack the proper focus needed to drive it forward, as though there was a clear message, it unfortunately was underwhelming.