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The Walking Dead: Inmates

Beth: “We’re not going to die. None of us. I believe now. I believe for Daddy. If this doesn’t work I don’t know how I could keep going.”

The beginning of this episode was beautiful and poignant. The juxtaposition of Beth’s diary entries with the slow motion of Beth and Daryl fleeing the prison and walkers was heartbreaking.

Everything has been destroyed, again, so how do you keep on going? I also enjoyed how all the stories connected to each other starting with the journey of Beth and Daryl that foreshadowed tragedies that didn’t end up being the reality. Many people have survived but they are fractured, separated into some very interesting pairings and in different stages of shock and dismay.

Daryl is done. He is on autopilot but any hope and much of his softness have disappeared. He doesn’t comfort Beth and is barely talking. He follows her into the woods when she leaves but takes his time. He will keep moving, but something is gone. Beth is holding on desperately to hope, but I’m not sure how she will keep moving after the carnage at the side of the tracks. She gave up once before and I’m hoping she doesn’t do it again.

Poor Tyreese is nanny to Lizzie, Mica and Judith. I actually cheered when Judith showed up despite the fact that I was pretty sure that the writers hadn’t killed her off. Tyreese was lovely with the girls, particularly Mica. He was doing his best although it was pretty clear that people with babies don’t survive long in the wild. Changing Judith was truly horrendous although I love how Lizzie made a face and then just chucked the dirty diaper. I guess environmental concerns are not at the top of the list. Mica was scared but she held her ground when the walkers showed up while Lizzie the one who is supposed to be brave has obviously gone over the edge. I was sure she was going to suffocate Judith. Luckily, Carol showed up, as unlikely as that may seem. I also cheered for her although it must have meant that she was lurking around the prison or meant to return. Of course, there is still her secret from Tyreese, which makes this little group very interesting.

Maggie has also gone over the edge. I don’t think she can continue without Glenn which is driving her to do reckless things. Of course, as Bob implies, why should she go on if there is no meaning. Bob is creepily happy. Has he had an epiphany or has he joined Maggie on the other side of crazy, just more quietly? Sasha is still all business although she couldn’t leave Maggie and Bob to clear the bus by themselves no matter how foolish she thought it was. While Glenn wasn’t on the bus (and I was worried) he does wake up stranded at the prison by himself. I was afraid he was going to just lie down and give up but like Maggie, he can survive and keep going as long as he has her. He made it out of the prison and saved Tara too. He is one smart boy and continues to be one of my favourites.

So we got what I hoped for, a continued look at each of our characters and their choices as well as some extra walkers and gore for those who need such things. We also have two new plot points: Terminus, a possible community, and three new characters in an armored vehicle. They may be connected or they may not. I also wonder if Terminus is going to be a prison or a Woodbury or something better or worse. I haven't always loved this season, but I can’t wait for next week.

Bits and Pieces

The wild grapes were a bit domestic looking. Things like that annoy me.

I thought the children were on the bus. Where did they end up? Were they part of the group by the railroad track? I had trouble keeping track of the Woodbury people.

Glenn is such a smart boy. Body armor, molotov cocktails and plain old shoving got him and Tara out of the prison, with supplies! Too bad he is still so weak from the flu.

Things I could live without: The walkers tearing the boy and his father apart beside the railroad tracks. The various scenes of walker head smashing.

Quotes

Daryl: “Faith, faith didn’t do shit for us.”

Sign for Terminus: “Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive, survive.”

Bob: “Damn. It means I let myself get shot up for nothing.”

Sign on the side of the road: “Hitchhikers might be escaping inmates.”

Sasha: “Shit happens. Not everything needs to mean something.”

Tara: “Hope you enjoyed the show, assholes.”
Big guy: “You got a damn mouth on you, you know that? What else you got?”

Glenn: “Things aren’t over.”

Beth: “If you don’t have hope what’s the point of living?”

9 comments:

  1. For me, this episode was not as strong as last week's. 'After' felt a lot more reflective and introspective, whereas 'Inmates' felt a bit more externally driven. I'm glad to know what happened to the rest of the crew after the prison collapse, but I tend to like the former type of character exploration a bit more. This mostly just felt like running and killing, and running again. With some crying for good measure. Maybe it would have worked better for me if it had focused on just two pairs of groups, and given the stories a bit more room to breathe and the characters a bit more space to interact with each other in ways that didn't involve running or stabbing.

    That said, I did really like the stuff with Glenn, especially him loading up his bag, finding Tara, and leaving the prison. He suddenly felt like the guy who was more than just Maggie's love, and it was nice to see him recapture some of his initial spirit!

    And, yay, Carol's back, and with Tyreese, the girls, and Judith! I was hoping that would happen, because I love the irony that Rick exiled her because he didn't trust her around his children anymore, and now she's taking care of Judith. He's gonna have some crow to eat when reunion time finally rolls around. And maybe Carol will, too, if it turns out her pushing knives on Lizzy has amped up the kid's crazy and made her a growing danger to the group.

    I don't think Carol was lurking about in the woods. After so many episodes and the mid-season break, it feels like has been a long time, but it has only been a couple days since Rick exiled her. He left her, came back to the prison and that night all hell broke loose with the sick and the fence. The very next day the Governor showed up and destroyed everything, and the day after the exodus Carol found Tyreese and the girls. I'm guessing she spent the night in the car after Rick left, woke up the next morning and said "to hell with Rick, I'm going back for the girls," but when she showed up the Governor was at the gates (or everything had already blown apart). If she managed to see Tyreese and the girls leaving, she might have trailed them but kept her distance overnight, out of fear of how he might react to seeing her. So a little lurking perhaps, but not much. :)

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  2. I think a lot more time has passed than a couple of days asI think the illness probably took a week at least if you also factor in the trip to get medicine etc. Of course not a long time so I think you are right. Carol probably drove around for a while and then decided to even go check on the girls - so maybe not lurking. I can see what you say about fewer stories and more depth but I think the writers try to balance things out for the various fan groups. Even with the running and the gore my youngster complained about how slow the show has been since it came back!

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  3. Yeah, I'm in the fan camp that likes it slow and reflective, but I know that's probably the smaller camp. :)

    Part of my unhealthy obsession with the show is a fixation on the timeline of the thing. I'm fascinated by the difference between how much time it feels has passed and how much time has actually passed. Sometimes it feels like a lot of time has passed and it hasn't, and at others it feels like less time has passed than actually has (because of the gaps between seasons). So I keep pretty meticulous notes on the timing of everything, and then I check them against the timeline on the Walking Dead wiki. (I did mention this obsession is unhealthy, right?)

    Based on what we've seen on screen this season (with events from one episode generally flowing right into events in the next), only one week has passed between Rick meeting Clara in the woods and Michonne knocking on the front door of that house. And it has only been roughly 15.5 months since the global outbreak (and only 13.5 months since Rick woke up in the hospital, so barely more than a year). I know that seems totally nuts, but that's why I find it so fascinating!

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  4. Me too, of course. If the characters weren't so interesting and the situation so extreme, I wouldn't sit through the gore.

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  5. Wow! So how long did that flu last? I do find the timing on this show pretty nutty sometimes. I get that what we are seeing right now is directly after the prison smash with at least one overnight but I get confused about things like going for the medicine somewhat far away and walkiing back pretty quickly. I should probably do things like look at the wikki but I try to stay away from outside influences (even Talking Dead)so I know the reviews are my own response. However, now that you've piqued my interest here I go...

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  6. The flu lasted about 4 days before they got it under control. It hit Patrick hard late on Day 1 (the pigs were sick that day, too), K+D showed symptoms on Day 2 (and were murdered), the team left on the meds run on Day 3, then came back late on Day 4 (after the fence collapse). Everyone that survived got their meds that night, and were shown starting to recover early on Day 5, before the Governor showed up.

    Of course, earlier I goobered up my tally when I was counting up the overall passage of time, so maybe someone should double check me. (It's been 16.5 months since global outbreak, and 14.5 months since the hospital wake-up.) That's what I get for using the word "meticulous." Sigh. I will now go sit in the box and feel shame.

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  7. No shame because you were very close and I couldn't even figure it out. I guess a flu could work that quickly and end that quickly but it's not likely. At least Glenn is still recovering. I went and looked at the timeline and found it very helpful in putting things in order. The show does jump around a bit. So they've only been through one winter and another is on its way with everyone split up and out in the open again. Tenacity doesn't cover it.

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  8. It was nice to see Glenn in expert scavenger mode again. With him taking such a backseat recently it's easy to forget that was his "thing". It was also cool to see he's able to hold onto the bigger picture and was willing to help Tara, even if she's not exactly one of my favorite characters,
    Tyreese really got the short end of the stick with his group. Hopefully Carol's presence will balance it out. At least until Tyreese finds out her little secret that may or may not be true.
    Like some of you here, I prefer the slower more introspective episodes over the action and the whiz bang boom, but I think this episode did the job well. They already took a chance with a slower Carl-centric episode so this was the smart play.

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  9. I have one doubt after watching this episode: is Tara’s sister dead? Tara made it sound like she is, but the last time we saw her, she shot the Governor and that was it.

    Carol showed up for the rescue! Yay! I thought she would show up for the rescue when the prison was attacked, but that would’ve been far too convenient. This was a cool surprise, actually, and a nice change of pace for TWD: I was sure at least one of the girls was going to die.

    Now I strongly believe Lizzie is the real killer and Carol covered for her.

    Good episode, taking the characters out of the prison has produced good results so far.

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