Well, that didn't take long. Woodbury, its residents, and their story are already a thousand times more interesting than the exploits of Rick and his crew in The Walking Dead. "Walk with Me" is probably my favorite episode of season three thus far and one of the reasons is simply because we don't see any of the "original" main characters. A quick glance at Wikipedia confirms that this is the first episode in the series that doen't feature Rick or Lori, and I have to say that fact only contributed to my enjoyment of this episode. It's safe to say that I'm suffering (and have been since around the middle of season two) from a significant case of Rick and Lori fatigue. The Walking Dead is an outstanding television show, but strong and or likeable characters has not been it's strength. Aside from the annoying-ness of television Lori, even characters that were, by most accounts, standouts in the comic book, such as Michonne and Glenn, have failed to gain much traction as intriguing presences on the show.
It's quite a dilemma when a show fails to make you care about characters that you are supposed to like. But it isn't unheard of. Lost is a show that I watched and enjoyed for many years without particularly caring for the two characters that were arguably most central to the show, Jack and Kate. Obviously, the nature of that show helped. There was a huge ensemble cast, and "centric" episodes focusing on different characters. So even though I couldn't care less about Jack or Kate, I always stuck around knowing a great character like Sawyer or Ben would show up and do something awesome. The Walking Dead would be wise to learn from Lost in that regard, and I think this episode is a great start.
For a show that has been criticized for being dull or slow-moving, switching the action between different places and the perspective of different characters is a great way to introduce another element of intrigue and story development to the show. Right now, I have no idea who T-Dog is other than the token black guy, and that's embarrassing given how long he has been a central character on The Walking Dead. Why not pair T-Dog up with another more well-known and liked character like Darryl, and send them off on some mission outside the prison where they encounter some trouble and have to work together to get something done? The episode will feel fresh, you can develop the character of T-Dog, see two characters who rarely have time together interact, and there is plenty of room for zombie action, as well. Sounds good, eh?
But enough with my shoddy fan fiction and back to "Walk with Me". This episode manages to overcome the penchant of this show for introducing characters I don't care about. The resident of Woodbury, and in particular The Governor, are the most welcome additions to The Walking Dead in quite some time. The creepy and awkward scientist and the henchmen with the bow and arrow (black Darryl?) are two characters that instantly piqued my interest. But of course the star of the show is The Governor.
When it became clear that this third season would feature the town of Woodbury, there was a lot of excitement around this memorable character from the comic, and who would play him. David Morrissey seemed like an odd choice, because he doesn't bear much physical resemblance to the comic book character, but I think the creators of The Walking Dead hit a home run in casting him in this role. This episode works because of Morrissey. He plays the southern gentleman role flawlessly, but its clear from his nuanced performance that there is something lurking underneath.
The way Morrissey so naturally alternates between charming and menacing, often times in the same scene, is remarkable. Because of his great performance, "Walk with Me" has a sense of dread and suspense that builds and builds throughout the episode, finally culminating in the scene where The Governor and his men take out the soldiers near the end. Because of this sense of suspense, of something sinister lurking just below the surface and about to bubble over, "Walk with Me" manages to be intriguing throughout, despite a relative lack of zombie action this week. Of course, that's what you can do when you have strong actors, and characters. I'm already dreading going back to the prison next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment