The Walking Dead is a show that gets a lot of criticism for what it doesn't do well. Unfortunately, being popular makes it an easy target. The fact that seemingly everyone is watching this show and talking about it, coupled with with the fact it isn't the most highbrow entertainment out there (especially when compared to AMC counterpart Mad Men), means that detractors are especially eager to jump on the show when it's "bad". If only those same individuals were as willing to give the show a little credit when it's good.
"Clear" is a very good episode of Walking Dead. It succeeds on many different levels, and does a pretty good job of playing to the strengths of the show that many would deny even exist. On first glance, the concept for this episode doesn't seem like a home run. Most of the action this season has centered around Woodbury and the prison, and neither are present here. Many characters that have been central to the action of this season (The Governor, Andrea, Merle, etc.) are nowhere to be found. In fact, the only series regulars that appear at all are Rick, Carl, and Michonne. Not the most likely of combinations, and not one that would seemed destined to produce much dramatic fireworks.
But the producers took a risk centering "Clear" around these three characters, and it works splendidly. One of the more underrated aspects of the show over the years has been the relationship between Rick and his son. Granted, the Grimes family as a whole has been a little hit and miss. Lorie was annoying from the start. Rick has often ventured into that territory himself. And Carl may have been the worst of all until season three. But the relationship between Rick and Carl has always rung true, and there is an understated, yet effective, chemistry between Andrew Lincoln and Chandler Riggs. That chemistry is one reason this episode works.
I mentioned earlier that Carl ceased to be annoying in season three. Indeed, I would actually go so far as to say that his improvement as a character has been the one of the highlights of this season thus far. There aren't a lot of great child actors, and I don't think Chandler Riggs is one of them, but he has grown as an actor, and his portrayal of Carl has been solid. He is quite good in "Clear", too. Given the established chemistry of Lincoln and Riggs, throwing Michonne into the mix is an interesting decision, but I like it.
For a show with a fairly large ensemble cast, Walking Dead has a tendency to get stuck in a rut in terms of what characters are interacting with each other. Lost would often have those random episodes where two characters who don't normally run in the same circles would be thrown into a mission together. "Clear" reminds me of the Walking Dead equivalent of that. The result is that a character like Michonne has a chance to shine in this very focused episode. The introduction of the Michonne character was one of the most highly anticipated events of season three, and it's safe to say her character been somewhat of a flop overall. But she is humanized a bit in this episode, and it isn't a coincidence that she becomes much more interesting as a result.
So "Clear" works because of the compelling relationship between Rick and Carl, and because Michonne is the most intriguing that she has been in some time. But it also works because of the way it incorporates the lore of the show. The Walking Dead isn't the most dense show out there; it's no Game of Thrones in that regard. But we are three seasons deep now, and it was fun to revisit some of the character(s) and locales from previous episodes. It gave some insight into how far we've come (and how much Rick and Carl have changed, for better or worse). One area that Walking Dead has always excelled has been it's relative lack of dead ends from a story line perspective. Certainly, that is one by-product of not being a very dense show, but it is impressive nonetheless.
Merle, Sophia, now Morgan, all these characters seemed like they were gone for good at some point, only to wander back into the action and receive a proper send-off. Other, superior shows like The Wire and The Sopranos struggled with unresolved story lines (Lost goes without mentioning). The Walking Dead should receive credit for excelling in that area. Unfortunately, not every episode can be like "Clear" or the main story would never progress, but the show could learn something going forward from the hyper-focused approach of this episode. We can also only hope that Michonne will continue to become more interesting and live up to her promise as a character following this breakout episode. Either way, after a relatively quiet entry like "Clear", and with only a few episodes remaining in season three, things should pick up considerably in the next episode. It should be exciting.
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