The Tower Pulse

The Tower Pulse

The Tower Pulse

Polls

What is your favorite spring sport

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Z-Scale: Walking Dead disappoints despite interesting mid-season finale

Z-Scale%3A+Walking+Dead+disappoints+despite+interesting+mid-season+finale

By Price Zimmer ’14 | Entertainment Editor

After losing focus with a weak effort the past few weeks, “The Walking Dead” delivered one of the most thrilling and satisfying episodes yet, with the mid-season finale titled “Too Far Gone”.  It is the payoff that seems to have been missing the last season and a half. Despite this episode being rather belated, the fourth season has been an overall improvement which will make the audience hungry for more.

For those who have not heard, “The Walking Dead” is a zombie television series based off the Robert Kirkman comic book series of the same, which follows Rick Grimes and his ever-changing band of post-apocalyptic survivors through what was rural Georgia. Grimes is a former police officer who wakes up from a coma caused by a shoot-out just prior to the apocalypse and sets off to find his missing son and wife, though both series chart mostly his struggle for survival after that point and the tragic consequences of living after the end of the world.

A large part of the success of this series relies on the strength of the performances from the cast because a gruesome zombie apocalypse filled with blood and guts at every turn does not mirror real life. English actor Andrew Lincoln, who plays Grimes, is solid, despite a somewhat limited range of emotions he is able to command the screen and draw out genuine empathy at times.

The powerhouse performance comes from another English actor, David Morissey as The Governor, a charismatic villain that is nuanced a multi-faceted, much like in the tradition of Shakespeare.  Morissey is an excellent foil to Lincoln, he exemplifies one of the main themes of the show: that the zombies aren’t the biggest threat to survival, but it’s the other survivors, those who could help you best are those who can do the most damage; which is why it is safe to say he has been one of the very best aspects of the show for awhile now and the stakes have never been higher for the show or the characters in it.

On the whole, “The Walking Dead” has bounced back from a rough season with good performances, slightly improved pacing, character development, plenty of action and only a few relatively minor plot structure details that can be forgiven.  While the dialogue is mostly filler in between zombie fights, the performances are still pretty good throughout the cast and the series leaves in a perfect spot to pick back up in February.

Grade: B-

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All The Tower Pulse Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *