TV Review: The Walking Dead (Season 5, Episode 4, November 2, 2014)

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

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EPISODE 4: Slabtown

THE HOOK: Rick’s Terminus reunion didn’t go as planned. Now, prisoners of this malicious new group of survivors, Rick and crew must plot their next move carefully if they hope to survive.

The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS, so I don’t recommend reading this if you haven’t watched this episode

THE LOWDOWN: As if I needed another reason to hate Hospitals. I knew nothing good would come of this place the second Dawn said, “You owe us.” Thankfully it’s not nearly as bad as it sounds, in theory (unless you’re a doctor), but it’s definitely not my shade of grey. I could handle the occasional frustrated bitch slap, eating guinea pig, or having to work off a debt, but the more we get to know this crew, the more obvious it becomes that this place is a house of cards just waiting for the right breeze. On the one hand, they “get it” when it comes to walkers and have a somewhat genuine want to help people, but that line gets blurry in a heartbeat once you start picking and choosing by way of who may or may not be a threat—or who may or may not be able to replace you. Not to mention that fact, that although it’s not exactly mentioned, their whole “saving” process feels a tad too much like kidnapping for my liking.

Despite his faults, I like the Doc, he was a straight shooter with Beth (aside from the assassination) and seems to be a pretty cool guy, considering. Obviously he’s a coward on every level, but at least he’s not trying to rape everyone like some of the guards. But hey, if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that rapists tend to get theirs in the zombie apocalypse and tonight is no different. I thought the aftermath of that scene would wipe them out, but as we saw at the end, it’s pretty much back to business as usual. Noah and Beth’s escape plan seemed rough around the edges to say the least, God knows I wouldn’t be keen on repelling down into the walker pit, but for two people winging it, they did okay. I was a little disappointed in Noah for ditching Beth (man can that dude run for a guy whose leg is injured), seemed like a dick move, but I think I get where it’s all headed.

Beth didn’t seem all that worried about getting caught—her face sure is taking a beating though, she’s starting to look like Frankenstein. I like that Beth’s a stronger person now, and seeing her coming out at the end ready to drop some fools was great, almost as great as her piecing together the Doc’s assassination. The look on his face was priceless. That’s right, Doc, she’s not just a pretty face.

THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 5’s fourth episode is a clever puzzle that comes together fantastically by episode’s end. From what I can tell, Noah’s the one with Daryl, and after he tells Daryl and Carol what’s going on back at General Hospital, Carol decides to check in. I can’t wait to see what kind of hell Beth and Carol unleash on those fools, it’ll be epic I’m sure. I loved the whole atmosphere of tonight’s episode, and I think the creepiness factor was escalated because it reminded me of the Hospital themed web episode I watched online. That one, was much more simplistic, but again, it was one Hospital you sure as hell didn’t want to wake up in. It’s a testament to this series when a Beth-led episode (minus the rest of the crew) packs this nice a punch. I was happy with it, and again, can’t wait to see more.

ZOMBIE KILL OF THE WEEK: Beth stomps the shiz out of a zombie head—sweet camera splatter!

BLOOD AND GORE: If you like amputations, exploding heads and throats getting torn out, then you’re in luck cause tonight’s episode’s got them all.

COOLEST SCENE: Beth’s growing on me, and when she (oh, so, calmly) lets the Doc know that she knows what really happened with the dead patient, my smile was ear to ear. You go girl.

FINAL VERDICT:

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