User Reviews

Rick and others have made it to Atlanta, where they have discovered that Merle has managed to escape by sawing off one of his hands. They follow his bloody trail, hoping to catch up to him, but encounter a seemingly hostile group that act like a gang. This bunch also wants their hands on that cache of guns that was left in the street a while back. Back at the camp, Jim (Andrew Rothenberg), has begun to behave erratically, digging a bunch of holes in the ground for some unknown purpose.

For the balance of this episode, the writing centers more on the toll that this situation is taking on various characters, not just Jim. Andrea (Laurie Holden) and Amy (Emma Bell) have a quiet moment at the outset that culminates in tears as they realize that the world they knew for so long is gone. We actually don't see that much of the zombies, or much blood and gore, until the final few minutes - where things go to Hell quite quickly. (This marks the first episode where we actually first see zombies munch on human flesh.)

Robert Kirkman himself wrote the sensitive, intelligent script, coming up with some key emotional moments, as well as a bit of suspense. The actors all do well under capable direction by Swedish-born Johan Renck, a music video director whose other TV credits include 'Breaking Bad' and 'Chernobyl'. The script has some nice, human, humorous points such as Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) being asked about the watch which he is always seen winding. Among the more interesting developments is the fact that this hostile other group can't be taken at face value.

Overall, a solid episode that illustrates the balance that this series was able to maintain between dramatic, character-driven moments and purely visceral ones.

Eight out of 10.

Vatos is an all-around great episode. Things get much more brutal on all fronts. Rick, Daryl, T-Dog and Glenn encounter a group of survivors who kidnap Glenn and attempt to steal Rick's guns. After a stressful negotiation, Glenn is returned unharmed and Rick and co. head back to camp.

Meanwhile, walkers attack the camp in a huge swarm, killing Carol's husband Ed and more notably Amy, Andrea's sister. Laurie Holden delivers a remarkable performance as Andrea. While also containing the most action in the series so far, Vatos is also the saddest episode so far.

Season 1: Episode 4 "Vatos"

Following a slowly paced episode,"Tell it to the Frogs",with lack of action but with strong moments and of course an interesting character development,The Walking Dead reaches one of its highest moments in Season 1 with this particular episode.

Rick's group was heading downtown to help Merle and return to the camp.They reached the rooftop only to realize that he cut off his own hand to escape.They decided to keep searching for him.In the meantime at the camp,Jim(Dale's mechanic) had a strange dream, showing himself digging some graves.They group at the camp decided to force him to stop because he was going to hurt himself or some other member with his acting.I liked how Jim accused Shane about his reaction against Carol's husband. I found very interesting all Jim's story arc because they let us know some things about his past.It was very emotional and of course very horrible to hear how he escaped from a herd of walkers.It was very intense,we learned that the walkers were feeding on his family so he could run away from them. In Atlanta,Rick's group chooses to continue searching for Daryl's brother but they needed to take the bag with the guns that Rick dropped a few episodes back.It was very interesting to see once again Glenn organizing everyone.From where to stand and wait,to where to go if he overran by walkers.During the execution of Glenn's plan things were gone crazy because some people showed up and kidnapped Glenn.Daryl manages to catch one member from the other group.They held him as hostage and they interrogated him to show them his group location.Reaching the location of the Mexican group Rick speaks with its leader and he asked them to give them the guns in exchange of Glenn.Rick decides to storm their hideout but in the end he learned that Vatos was a group who protects they abandoned elderly people during the Apocalypse.Rick gives them some of the guns and the group returns to the main avenue to head back to their camp.They discovered that the van was gone so they believed that Merle was going back to storm their camp and take revenge. Meanwhile,at the camp they were having a feast with the fish that Andrea and Amy caught.There was a very interesting monologue of Dale,speaking about the legacy in which people must pass to another,from father to son.And when we thought that everything was perfect and quietly,in a blink of an eye there was a walker attack with the first victims Carol's husband and Andrea's sister, Amy.The things were gone crazy in lack of extra hands,firepower and ammunition.The group was weakened.Fortunately,Rick arrived at the very last moment and helped the others to clear the camp,but it was too late. I truly believe that this episode was the highest moment of the series until now.It was interesting,with strong,unforgettable moments. I can't believe how emotional a series can be.From a little sing of hope that show us in "Tell it to the Frogs",they demolished everything in the blink of an eye.It had character development and it was action packed.It pushed moreover the story and it let us wondering what they group will decide to do after the overrun.For me it's a 10 out of 10 and i'm very pleased with the result and all the things they've done with the series thus far.

Really? Elderly home protecting Latino gang. I couldn't believe they did that. But at least that was fun, what can't be said for the rest of the episode. And how predictable was it that they got attacked? They were in tent. If Will Smith can survive in a house, so can they. I mean not that I care, the characters are awful, anybody can die for all I care except Laurie Holden, she's sexy.

And yes, they van was stolen. And couple of episodes back one of them hot-wired that sports car. Can they do it again? There are cars around, zombie can't drive. No, not zombies, sorry, walkers, because if we call them something else, not zombies, then this will not be another zombie series, it will be something new, something wild.

The episode 4 can be said that a sad part I've seen so far. The part where Amy died. She's so cute. I really loved her and seeing her died, it's so sad. Anyone who was in that group didn't deserve to die which made me wondered why Amy didn't turn into zombie. And also the others who got eaten by those disgusting zombies. I also wondered how the hell they got there so fast.

The episode 4 was full of sad things. But seeing the scene where G taking care of all those people is really touchable. At first, I was thinking that they wanted to get all of those Rick's guns just for themselves. But when I saw that they want to protect them, I really like G. Not everyone can do that by risking their lives to protect the whole group of old people. I like G for that.

There wasn't any scenes for Merle, so, I guess they will get him out in the next scene. I really want to see how he turned into. Will he be a guy who is getting his revenge on Rick and that black guy or the whole group? I really want to know. And also I was amazed to see that Jim's dream really comes true. Most of the dreams are just dreams. They won't become reality. That's why I was amazed to see his bad dreams really comes true.

This episode is a bit drama and it's the second one I've seen in the season 1. I don't quite like drama, I want to see more action. But they made this episode a bit drama, so, I'd say I don't quite like this episode. Furthermore, the death of Amy really made me sad.

As usual, the walking dead's episode 5 didn't make me disappointed. Every episode I've watch so far was so cool. Even some of those episodes were into kind of drama, but it's still watchable for me. So, I kept watching more and more episodes. I really hope that things wouldn't go wrong to make me not to continue to watch the rest.

Summerising, this episode was somehow boring, but it's touchable and so, it still works. I'll be looking forward for more episodes. I'm totally loving the walking dead TV series.

This in one the early episodes that brings drama, action, love, sadness all in one. Rick choice of leaving camp again, Laurie not wanting him to leave, Daryl going after is his lost brother. Glenn being the loyal one and going with rick on a death mission. Shane not trying to keep the camp as one.

They ran into another survivor group and that put a whole other speed on the episode. Thinking they are both bad groups, they find a middle and work it out.

The last action scene reminded on of the move "Aliens" when the Marines made their last stand against the aliens. You can feel the tension, the hurt, the relief, and the lost.

Just great all the way around.

What the hell even was this episode??? Granted, I'm only 4 episodes in so far so I haven't seen the rest of the series, but man they really jumped the shark in this episode. Jim digging the holes, only for him to reveal at the end "I remember why I was digging those holes now." What is he, a psychic? Lame as hell.

Then we have the "Vatos" gang, who are so cheesy and stereotypically portrayed it's laughable. The "ese" and "carnal" lingo they use over and over again feels so forced and over the top that it pulled me right out of the episode. And then in the middle of the big confrontation where it looks like Rick and his gang are about to get into a shootout with them A GRANDMA WALKS OUT AND STOPS EVERYTHING????? I'm sorry it was just so laughable and awful. The reveal that the "Vatos" were actually good people helping the elderly was such a lame reveal too but I actually don't mind it that much, it was kind of sweet.

The first 3 eps were great and had such great pacing but this one was just straight up just so bad it's good. I'm going to keep watching, but I'm not excited for more groan-inducing melodrama straight out of a soap opera. I think it would've been better if the entire season was dedicated to Rick trying to see his family, seems to me like they used their ace in the hole way too early.

After the first 3 episodes you get a feeling of how dangerous it is to walk in the city packed with zombies! But in this episode that seems not to be true anymore, at least they don't show it and suddenly you start to think "hey wait it is not so dangerous anymore to enter the city grab some stuff you need and walk (not drive) home". They probably took the sewerage to get to the mall again, but then how do they got to the latino gangs hideout, how do they left and got back again without any zombie interaction. How can the gang live in the city with millions of zombies inside? Is a wall enough to keep them out? then there must be many others hiding like this I guess! Second point is the latino gang itself. It is so cute that these badass Vatos Locos stayed to help the elderly people that I have to change my mind about gangs in general! seriously the whole scene was kind of out of the place...I hope they won't play a role later! After showing such a realistic scenario of the zombie apocalypse this scene just don't fit in. But the rest of the episode was pretty dope though. Nice ambush in the end, where the the people are actually hiding in the wild without any guards in the night, it was just a matter of time! I feel sorry for Amy though, I liked her! But I am sure she's coming BACK!

With a series like "The Walking Dead" drama needs to be present at almost all times. At least, most of the time. Developing characters and calm moments definitely make the show feel full and complete but seeing action packed and thrilling moments consistently being thrown to us onscreen is also amazing.

The main elements of this episode were Jim's unknown reason for digging holes at camp, Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog trying to save Glenn from being taken, and the ending where the camp is terrorized by a bunch of walkers.

Regarding the Jim elements of this episode, it didn't seem to mean much until the ending. However, it still felt like a perplexing moment for viewers and wasn't boring to watch even if the basic premise seemed recycled in some form in the alternating shots between storylines. It worked fairly well for a more somber story part in the show.

As for the group trying to save Glenn, it was iffy. The pacing of this wasn't that great. It felt really rushed, even if this would be a real scenario in real life. Something about it felt off, like the characters didn't feel three dimensional. It wasn't something I disliked, I just wasn't a huge fan of it. As for a one episode element, it is understandable. However, it felt like it should have been fleshed out a little bit longer.

As for the ending, it was intense. Andrea's sister, Amy, and Carol's husband, Ed, were killed when walkers attacked their campgrounds. Rick and the others who were out in the city made it back to them all while the attack was occurring and helped put an end to it. This was done well and showed us our first taste of how walkers can dismantle a group so quickly and is completely unexpected.

The reason Jim dug holes was for this reason. Although this may be seen as a cop-out by some, it didn't fee that way to me watching it. It was a little odd but wasn't anything that was disappointing. It simply symbolizes the toll that this new world everybody is living takes on people. It can create delusions with some people very quickly and they buy into it.

This was a good episode with some great moments. Although some parts felt somewhat basic, the overall structure was still decent enough to be a good episode. That is why "Vatos" gets an 8/10.

The best episode after the pilot so far! An incredible and action packed last 10 minutes. Followed by one of the first main character deaths which leads into the next episode, gut wrenching and brilliantly acted by both Laurie Holden and Emma Bell.

As each scene unfolded in this episode I kept thinking, "Hey, WOW, good idea. That actually makes sense." As opposed to the previous two episodes when I was becoming more and more irritated as time went on, THIS viewing upped the ante. Or at least brought it back to sensible.

The writers took a look at some questions that had been flitting around the back of my head and I was happy to see them explored: the changing hierarchical relationships in the group; somebody using military strategy to plan for a goal; people starting to succumb to sunstroke; taking care of severe wounds by cauterizing them; realizing that those left alone are as dangerous (if not more so) than the walkers; characters thinking about the motivations of their compatriots (beyond survival, then what?); other groups/gangs that must be near urban centers to scavenge; the backstories of how random groups of people band together for mutual benefit.

And the ending, whoo-hoo! Bravo! Because a great number of people (namely, four guys in my office) have been running scenarios of what to do in the event of a zombie catastrophe. And making camp somewhere with a defensible perimeter was at the top of the list. Sitting out in the woods like a duck on pond was a mistake that really came back to haunt them. I was waiting for that problem to be shoved in their faces.

I'm glad this show is back on track with smart writing and sweet goriness. Next to the pilot this is the best episode, hands down.

MAJOR SPOILER QUESTIONS: So now I wonder, how long will it take before she has to kill her sister? And what will they eventually do with Merle, because my guess is he ferried those zombies up the mountain to take his revenge?

This episode is amazing in every way! There is human conflict ... walkers invasion and a little bit humor! Character of The Episode: Daryl Dixon

We have spent the last 3 episodes making it to the final scene of Episode 3. Now it's time to look forward and wonder where we go from here. Getting out of Atlanta, Finding Merle, and Protecting the innocent.

The Vatos are a special group in that on one hand they are exactly like the world before, but on another they are exactly what this world creates. A group of scavengers from all walks of life ready to pull a trigger to take what they need to survive. Such a small group to establish a re-occurring theme upon, but Frank did it beautifully.

Daryl and Rick begin a friendship here, and that's a spark we don't see really light off for a while. However, it's a spark that we know the moment we see it especially with a rapidly changing Shane in the mix of it all.

Of course as we all know it doesn't matter how much humanity can be added back into it on a human level, because this world is unforgiving with the dead. The first camp is taken away from us by the end of this episode, and moving forward a change of venue will become the first priority.

It starts slow but ends shockingly, making you crave more. The episode gives you a western cowboy feel to it considering the group that Rick encounters. Unlike episode three, it gives you that horrifying zombie apocalypse vibe at the end of this installment with tons of walkers emerging from the dark forest around the Survivor's camp. What's worse is that we lose Amy and seeing her sister mourn over her death. It was a rollercoaster of an episode.