Month: November 2016

The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 6 – Swear

“If it’s you or someone else, you choose you. You take what you can. You take out who you have to. And you get to keep going. Nobody’s in this together. Not any more.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

A truly interesting sidestep for The Walking Dead this week, as David Leslie Johnson’s clever script took one of Alexandria’s less interesting residents and put her into a situation the show’s not done before. Tara (for it was she) carried the whole episode with some aplomb as she found herself washed up on a beach next to a hidden community that was populated entirely by women. Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 6 – Swear”

The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 5 – Go Getters

“Everything just feels wrong.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Another week, another community menaced by the Saviors. In this week’s The Walking Dead, it was the turn of the Hilltop to be menaced by Negan’s ever-helpful ambassadors, in an ep that did a great deal for developing characters we already knew but not very well; along with answering the mystery of just where Maggie had got to while the Alexandrians were cleverly pretending she was dead.

Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 5 – Go Getters”

The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 4 – Service

“Let me put this to you all as clearly as I can. I’m not in chare any more. Negan is.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

It was Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner in The Walking Dead this week, as Negan took the opportunity to make his first visit to his new conquest – Alexandria. Last week we saw how these goods collections go from the Saviors’ point of view; now we got to see it from the perspective of their victims. And understandably, nobody seemed to welcome their new bat-wielding overlord. Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 4 – Service”

The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 3 – The Cell

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“Whatever he’s done to you, there’s more. There’s always more.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After last week’s side trip to the Kingdom, this week’s Walking Dead got back to Negan, but not to Rick and the gang. Instead, this was an interesting glimpse into Savior HQ, showing just how Negan runs things. As last week, it had a tight focus mainly on two characters. Fans may have been delighted to see an ep where Daryl was centre stage; but really, the story was as much, if not more, about Negan’s faithful lieutenant Dwight. In the process, seeing things from the perspective of one of the ‘bad guys’, we came to understand more about how Negan stays in charge. Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 3 – The Cell”

Class: Series 1, Episodes 3 and 4

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Episode 3 – Night Visiting

One of the real strengths of Patrick Ness’ writing for Class is its emphasis on character. Yes, each week’s central menace is whatever alien nasty has plunged through the Hellmouth Rift to Shoreditch this week; but each time, the plot is driven by how these developing characters, with continually developing back-stories, deal with it. After ep2’s focus on traumatised jock Ram, this week focused on Tanya, and her still-unresolved grief over the death of her father, established last time. Continue reading “Class: Series 1, Episodes 3 and 4”

The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 2 – The Well

“They needed someone to follow, so I acted the part. And I made it.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After last week’s gruelling exercise in emotional endurance, this week’s The Walking Dead was a change of pace, as is the show’s frequent wont. Not immediately following up on the devastating consequences of last week’s events by switching to another plotline is one of the show’s common tactics – it helps keep you in suspense about one group of characters by building up new suspense with others. Though quite frankly, after last time a change of scene was something of a relief. Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 2 – The Well”

The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 1 – The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be

“Clock’s ticking, Rick. Think about what could still happen.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

All summer long, the question on every Walking Dead fan’s mind has been – who died? Having read the comic was no comfort – the TV version has deliberately misled comics readers before. This intense, emotionally gruelling season opener, scripted by showrunner Scott Gimple and directed by veteran Greg Nicotero, showed no mercy to those waiting for an answer. Every possible drop of tension was milked in a clever, non-linear narrative that set out to achieve two things – firstly, to keep us from knowing for as long as possible who was on the receiving end of Negan’s beloved baseball bat, and secondly, to break Rick more thoroughly than we imagined possible. Continue reading “The Walking Dead: Season 7, Episode 1 – The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be”