Season 6 started off so well. Absolutely loved the first three episodes "First Time Again", "JSS" and "Thank You", and loved every bit as much one of the show's best character-driven episodes "Here's Not Here". So the season started off with episodes on the same level as the best of Seasons 1 to 5, when 'The Walking Dead' was actually alive before it went really downhill post-Season 6. The previous episode "Now" was a major disappointment and my lowest rated episode of 'The Walking Dead' up to this point.
Lets talk about Season 6's sixth episode "Always Accountable". The good news is that it is a much better episode than "Now", it would have had to have done a lot bad to be the same as or worse than that episode, and there are a lot of good things. The not so good news is that it still isn't a return to form, with a few things that could have been executed much better, and is not near as good as the previous character-driven episode "Here's Not Here" that was also quite intimate and focused on fewer characters.
"Always Accountable's" strengths are a great many. It is so great to see more of Darryl, one of my favourite 'The Walking Dead' characters who had been criminally underused for so long, and luckily he is far from wasted and is a very compelling character interesting enough to carry the episode. "Always Accountable" also sees the first appearance of Dwight and Sherry, their chemistry with Darryl having tension and pathos.
Visually, the grit and audaciousness is still there with some beautifully and cleverly composed photography too. The direction does bring out enough uncertainty and tension. The music is suitably haunting and isn't over-bearing. "Always Accountable" starts off with a lot of promise with a tense beginning and Darryl's subplot is both unsettling and tragic. The ending is exciting and the most momentum filled the episode gets. The acting is very good, especially Norman Reedus, and there are moments of thought-provoking dialogue.
That is something that happens too far and between though. Most of the dialogue is forced and too talky, especially in the Sasha and Abraham subplot. One that had little to it and was dull, not really going very far or advancing anything else happening in the episode.
Pacing is uneven, with momentum at the beginning and end but the mid-section with Sasha and Abraham drags. While Darryl advances as a character neither Sasha or Abraham do very much and only really at the end does the story properly move forward.
In a nutshell, vastly improved over the previous episode but doesn't see the season or the show on form. 7/10
Lets talk about Season 6's sixth episode "Always Accountable". The good news is that it is a much better episode than "Now", it would have had to have done a lot bad to be the same as or worse than that episode, and there are a lot of good things. The not so good news is that it still isn't a return to form, with a few things that could have been executed much better, and is not near as good as the previous character-driven episode "Here's Not Here" that was also quite intimate and focused on fewer characters.
"Always Accountable's" strengths are a great many. It is so great to see more of Darryl, one of my favourite 'The Walking Dead' characters who had been criminally underused for so long, and luckily he is far from wasted and is a very compelling character interesting enough to carry the episode. "Always Accountable" also sees the first appearance of Dwight and Sherry, their chemistry with Darryl having tension and pathos.
Visually, the grit and audaciousness is still there with some beautifully and cleverly composed photography too. The direction does bring out enough uncertainty and tension. The music is suitably haunting and isn't over-bearing. "Always Accountable" starts off with a lot of promise with a tense beginning and Darryl's subplot is both unsettling and tragic. The ending is exciting and the most momentum filled the episode gets. The acting is very good, especially Norman Reedus, and there are moments of thought-provoking dialogue.
That is something that happens too far and between though. Most of the dialogue is forced and too talky, especially in the Sasha and Abraham subplot. One that had little to it and was dull, not really going very far or advancing anything else happening in the episode.
Pacing is uneven, with momentum at the beginning and end but the mid-section with Sasha and Abraham drags. While Darryl advances as a character neither Sasha or Abraham do very much and only really at the end does the story properly move forward.
In a nutshell, vastly improved over the previous episode but doesn't see the season or the show on form. 7/10