The Walking Dead “After” Review (4×09)

Well, we’re back.

Last year left us with a dead Governor, a decapitated Hershel, and a split group, and The Walking Dead‘s midseason premiere is a toned down, contemplative look at three characters: Michonne, Rick, and Carl.

Now, I admire the fact that the writers are willing to take a step back and settle things down. Yet, Chandler Riggs just isn’t good enough of an actor to completely sell those emotional moments or convey nuance with little dialogue. Then again, the show’s very adept at getting that teenage aspect out of him, that Carl who’s still growing up and learning the tricks of the trade; after all, being a teenager will undoubtedly bring those boneheaded decisions and those moments of fear and those moments where you sit on a rooftop eating pudding.

I get it all, but I just don’t find Rick and Carl engaging anymore; that ship sailed back in season 2. I am, however, a bit intrigued by Michonne’s flashbacks, in which some back story is shaded in; we find out that she had a son and a husband, and those scenes are really excellent at summing up her character. More of that, please.

The end of the episode brings us a genuinely sweet moment in which Michonne, full of relief and joy, makes her way to Rick and Carl. In a show that attempts to elicit some genuine pathos, but fails a lot of the time, this is one instance that pays off.

GRADE: B-

OTHER THOUGHTS:

-Is it just me, or are the Walker sequences just not that exciting anymore? When Carl was attacked, I was just meh on the whole thing.

-Danai Gurira gets to show of some more range here.

-Hershel’s decapitated head makes a nice cameo.

-Sorry for the short length. I’ve spent the last two hours cranking out three reviews, so I’ll wrap it up now.

Photo credit: AMC, The Walking Dead

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