Had heard nothing but great things about 'The Walking Dead' from friends and IMDb reviewers. It took a while to get round to watching, both from being busy and also not being sure whether it would be my cup of tea. Finally getting round to it a few years ago and slowly working my way through it, having had a very long to watch and review list, 'The Walking Dead' turned out to be very much my cup of tea and as good as the hype made it out to be, have found it extremely addictive.
Season 5 started off extremely well, brilliantly in fact. For me Season 5 had the most consistent start quality-wise, none of the previous seasons had equally brilliant first three episodes, that are up there with the most gutsy and powerful episodes of the show, like Season 5 did. It still shocks me at how an intelligent, well-made (so much so that it is easy to mistake it for a film) show about zombies could be made when so many films have tried and failed abysmally to do so.
The fourth episode "Slabtown" though disappointed somewhat while still having a number of good things. It is not as strong reminder of most previous episodes of how Seasons 1-5 of 'The Walking Dead' to me were absolutely brilliant and seeing the show in its full glory days (Season 6 was uneven, Season 7 was a huge disappointment and am still debating whether to watch Season 8). It is important in providing development for Beth and is an important story-building episode, it just feels a little bit of a let-down after such a promising start to the season.
Certainly "Slabtown" has a number of good things. It, like all the episodes before it, is superbly made. It has gritty and audacious production design, effects that are well crafted and have soul rather than being overused and abused and photography of almost cinematic quality. The music is haunting and affecting, having presence but not being intrusive.
There are moments of thought provoking writing and emotion. The beginning does intrigue and wrenches the gut, very creepy, and the conclusion has power. There is some great character development for Beth in "Slabtown" even when focusing on fewer characters and the hospital setting intrigues and gives the appropriate creeps.
Whether one enjoys "Slabtown" is largely down to whether you like Beth as a character. Quite a number of 'The Walking Dead' fans don't, don't mind her personally but do think that there are far more interesting characters in the show. Really did appreciate her development here and she is the most interesting and rootable she's been in a while. Emily Kinney gives one of her better performances here and Tyler James Williams is a creepy standout of the rest of the cast.
For all those good things, it would have been a monumental task following on from such a brilliant first three episodes and inevitably there would be comparisons and it is a disappointment in that regard. It is slow in spots and lacks surprises and suspense, predictability does creep in.
Also a little on the bland side compared to the previous three episodes and by top 'The Walking Dead' standard, the guts and adrenaline were evident, as was the intensity, but not quite there consistently.
Overall, good but didn't blow me away. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Season 5 started off extremely well, brilliantly in fact. For me Season 5 had the most consistent start quality-wise, none of the previous seasons had equally brilliant first three episodes, that are up there with the most gutsy and powerful episodes of the show, like Season 5 did. It still shocks me at how an intelligent, well-made (so much so that it is easy to mistake it for a film) show about zombies could be made when so many films have tried and failed abysmally to do so.
The fourth episode "Slabtown" though disappointed somewhat while still having a number of good things. It is not as strong reminder of most previous episodes of how Seasons 1-5 of 'The Walking Dead' to me were absolutely brilliant and seeing the show in its full glory days (Season 6 was uneven, Season 7 was a huge disappointment and am still debating whether to watch Season 8). It is important in providing development for Beth and is an important story-building episode, it just feels a little bit of a let-down after such a promising start to the season.
Certainly "Slabtown" has a number of good things. It, like all the episodes before it, is superbly made. It has gritty and audacious production design, effects that are well crafted and have soul rather than being overused and abused and photography of almost cinematic quality. The music is haunting and affecting, having presence but not being intrusive.
There are moments of thought provoking writing and emotion. The beginning does intrigue and wrenches the gut, very creepy, and the conclusion has power. There is some great character development for Beth in "Slabtown" even when focusing on fewer characters and the hospital setting intrigues and gives the appropriate creeps.
Whether one enjoys "Slabtown" is largely down to whether you like Beth as a character. Quite a number of 'The Walking Dead' fans don't, don't mind her personally but do think that there are far more interesting characters in the show. Really did appreciate her development here and she is the most interesting and rootable she's been in a while. Emily Kinney gives one of her better performances here and Tyler James Williams is a creepy standout of the rest of the cast.
For all those good things, it would have been a monumental task following on from such a brilliant first three episodes and inevitably there would be comparisons and it is a disappointment in that regard. It is slow in spots and lacks surprises and suspense, predictability does creep in.
Also a little on the bland side compared to the previous three episodes and by top 'The Walking Dead' standard, the guts and adrenaline were evident, as was the intensity, but not quite there consistently.
Overall, good but didn't blow me away. 7/10 Bethany Cox