The Walking Dead - Season 5 Episode 4 - "Slabtown"
Episode: Slabtown
We've approached the halfway line between the beginning of this season and the midseason finale and in this episode the audience are finally shown the whereabouts of Beth, who got kidnapped in episode 13 of Season 4. However, I thought this episode lacked a lot of what I hoped it would be as I thought it wasn't eventful for something we had been hyped up to see for so many episodes. It was good to find out where Beth finally was and who captured her and the introduction of new potential villains was very exciting but I felt that this episode had much more to deliver to its audience. In this episode, Beth awakens in a new place which appears to be a hospital. However, when Dawn, the police woman in charge explains to Beth where she is, Beth begins to think her new so called sanctuary is a dangerous place to stay.
Even though the episode wasn't that exciting for me, it made it difficult to choose a scene in this episode that stood out to me. However, I did enjoy the dialogue between the Doctor and Beth. It got personal between both characters which is what I enjoy watching. I like how they both are attempting to realise their purpose in this new world that they live in, especially with Beth as her attitude is very "not bothered" when it comes to what happens next, an aspect not considered in Dawn's new safe haven. The Doctor, a cowardly yet intelligent man, seems frightened of this new world that they live in and I thought him talking about what he does was inventive as it was different from the typical Doctor's occupation, it seemed to me that he is trying to keep his mind off what is happening in the hospital as he is very secretive about it when mentioned. This did keep the episode alive with an unknown narrative.
Beth had to be the character that interested me in this episode above all the others. I was also disappointed with the representation of the people that kidnapped her, they didn't give any presence and didn't possess any threat to the series from what I could gather in this episode, however, it is an early introduction for them so things could change. Beth, the struggling to survive teen who lived day after day sleeping in broken down cars after the fall of the prison, awakes to find herself attached to a drip in a hospital bed, clean and undisturbed. Her suddenly being like this makes her question that something isn't right which is interesting as this is what she was looking for since the apocalypse occurred. It seems that her character represents the fall of old fashioned society and that things will never be what they used to be but you can still survive, a very interesting aspect that can be taken from this episode.
In terms of camera-work and direction for this episode, I thought that the setting was brilliantly constructed. In my view, there was nothing better than a hospital to entrap Beth from the rest of the group as it developed an eerie factor about it. Also, hospitals are stereotypically scary when the public are asked about them so I thought it was great to bring it into this show, it shows the directors really understand what discomforts the audience. The camera shots kept everyone involved in the episode as well as featuring off screen activity when Dawn is whispering to her other colleagues which added mystery to the narrative. All in all, the construction was of the hospital was very good whilst the camera-work was just above average but yet still inventive in some parts, especially at the end when Carol came in on the hospital bed and the musical slow motion.
As an episode, I wouldn't have considered this one to be an "outstanding" episode which was a shame for the audience when they were so keen to find out who took Beth. It was enlarged for something that was quite small when it came to the conclusion of the kidnapping. However, I am still intrigued to see what these new villains are capable of as I expect Rick's group will attempt to rescue her and Carol. The setting was the best part of this episode as it was very attentive to detail and created a mysterious safe haven for these survivors but letting the audience detect something isn't quite "safe" about it, keeping them in the loop, wanting to carry on watching despite the downhill in the series from this episode. Not the best, but still opens up chances for different things to happen which I'm excited to see.
Episode: Slabtown
We've approached the halfway line between the beginning of this season and the midseason finale and in this episode the audience are finally shown the whereabouts of Beth, who got kidnapped in episode 13 of Season 4. However, I thought this episode lacked a lot of what I hoped it would be as I thought it wasn't eventful for something we had been hyped up to see for so many episodes. It was good to find out where Beth finally was and who captured her and the introduction of new potential villains was very exciting but I felt that this episode had much more to deliver to its audience. In this episode, Beth awakens in a new place which appears to be a hospital. However, when Dawn, the police woman in charge explains to Beth where she is, Beth begins to think her new so called sanctuary is a dangerous place to stay.
Even though the episode wasn't that exciting for me, it made it difficult to choose a scene in this episode that stood out to me. However, I did enjoy the dialogue between the Doctor and Beth. It got personal between both characters which is what I enjoy watching. I like how they both are attempting to realise their purpose in this new world that they live in, especially with Beth as her attitude is very "not bothered" when it comes to what happens next, an aspect not considered in Dawn's new safe haven. The Doctor, a cowardly yet intelligent man, seems frightened of this new world that they live in and I thought him talking about what he does was inventive as it was different from the typical Doctor's occupation, it seemed to me that he is trying to keep his mind off what is happening in the hospital as he is very secretive about it when mentioned. This did keep the episode alive with an unknown narrative.
Beth had to be the character that interested me in this episode above all the others. I was also disappointed with the representation of the people that kidnapped her, they didn't give any presence and didn't possess any threat to the series from what I could gather in this episode, however, it is an early introduction for them so things could change. Beth, the struggling to survive teen who lived day after day sleeping in broken down cars after the fall of the prison, awakes to find herself attached to a drip in a hospital bed, clean and undisturbed. Her suddenly being like this makes her question that something isn't right which is interesting as this is what she was looking for since the apocalypse occurred. It seems that her character represents the fall of old fashioned society and that things will never be what they used to be but you can still survive, a very interesting aspect that can be taken from this episode.
In terms of camera-work and direction for this episode, I thought that the setting was brilliantly constructed. In my view, there was nothing better than a hospital to entrap Beth from the rest of the group as it developed an eerie factor about it. Also, hospitals are stereotypically scary when the public are asked about them so I thought it was great to bring it into this show, it shows the directors really understand what discomforts the audience. The camera shots kept everyone involved in the episode as well as featuring off screen activity when Dawn is whispering to her other colleagues which added mystery to the narrative. All in all, the construction was of the hospital was very good whilst the camera-work was just above average but yet still inventive in some parts, especially at the end when Carol came in on the hospital bed and the musical slow motion.
As an episode, I wouldn't have considered this one to be an "outstanding" episode which was a shame for the audience when they were so keen to find out who took Beth. It was enlarged for something that was quite small when it came to the conclusion of the kidnapping. However, I am still intrigued to see what these new villains are capable of as I expect Rick's group will attempt to rescue her and Carol. The setting was the best part of this episode as it was very attentive to detail and created a mysterious safe haven for these survivors but letting the audience detect something isn't quite "safe" about it, keeping them in the loop, wanting to carry on watching despite the downhill in the series from this episode. Not the best, but still opens up chances for different things to happen which I'm excited to see.