"Isolated" may have been my favorite episode of Walking Dead so far this season. Season 4 has been solid if unspectacular so far, but "Isolated" feels like the best realization (so far) of what I consider to be a new approach for the series. Walking Dead has moved further into the realm of human drama than ever before this season, and that approach, while arguably a risky one, definitely pays dividends in this episode. Luckily, the show has quietly assembled a pretty solid cast of actors who, while often suffering from the flimsy characterization and writing that has defined Walking Dead over the years, can actually emote a little when given the chance.
"Isolated" is indeed a very emotional episode with lots of characters facing a life-threatening illness (and kudos to the show for actually infecting some important characters), and their loved ones dealing with the repercussions of that fact. Chad Coleman, whose Tyreese is a prominent member of the Michonne-captained "Walking Dead Underdeveloped Character All-Stars", is excellent in this episode, and Scott Wilson (Hershel) is solid as well. Carol and Rick (among others) also have emotional scenes to slightly less effect, but the overall tone of the episode is nevertheless very good due to some solid performances.
After last season and the Governor experience, it feels a little odd for the show to be lacking a "Big Bad", but the threat of the illness alone is really working for now. The idea of an epidemic in a post-apocalyptic scenario is a pretty clever one and I can't remember it being explored very much elsewhere. I'm curious whether thar story line will linger for a while, or if Darryl returning with the antibiotics in the next episode or two will be the end of it. If that is the case, of course, Walking Dead may have another significant story line to explore revolving around Carol, of all people.
The revelation that Carol murdered Karen is likely to be a controversial one among some people, but I'm actually intrigued by it. The show did somewhat lessen the impact of that particular "bombshell" by dropping some very unsubtle hints throughout "Isolated", but the way it was eventually handled was pretty pitch perfect (Rick asking Carol if she was responsible, followed by a casual "Yes" from Carol and a fade to black). Some may find all this a little out of character for Carol, but those people have somehow overlooked the gradual transformation of Carol into one of the coldest characters on Walking Dead.
I'm curious to see how things develop from here (and how our characters handle Carol), but I hope the show doesn't become too mired in the sort of moralizing that bogged everything down in season 2. If they can avoid that pitfall, it should be interesting to see the fallout from this situation and how it will affect characters such as Tyreese and Darryl in particular.
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