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Reviews
The Walking Dead: Clear (2013)
Weakest episode of the season so far
I'm writing this review as I'm slowly making my way through the story with my sister, and man this episode blew compared to all the others before it. The storyline between the Governor and Woodbury and Rick's group at the prison was intriguing and suspenseful, the build-up of Rick attacking Woodbury to save Glenn and Maggie and Michonne ultimately stabbing his eye out was expertfully done. The will she/won't she dynamic of Andrea is good as well; she's the most annoying character in the show at this point because she's shown over and over again that she sides with the wrong people, but why the hell does her loyalty ride with a man she just met over the group that kept her alive and Michonne, who protected her for over 8 months? I get that she wanted a normal life but I digress.
This episode revolves around Rick taking Carl and Michonne with him to go find weapons. They get attacked by a masked man on a rooftop but eventually take him down, only to discover (gasp!) that it was Morgan, the man who saved his life in season 1! Oh my goodness what a twist!!! In reality though, this felt like a complete waste.
1) How did Morgan not recognize them? I know he was suffering from some sort of psychosis but I don't buy for a second that he doesn't recognize Rick until after he stabs him. Could not suspend my disbelief there.
2) Morgan felt totally shoehorned in. This was a filler episode through and through, a total slog fest that sidetracks the intriguing Woodbury vs Prison plot line in favor of an appearance from a fan favorite that goes nowhere. Morgan is too significant of a character to get one episode. Why does he say no? Why doesn't he at least try to go with Rick? I get that he's basically broken after the death of his son and he realizes the danger that Rick is actually in, but I think this could've been handled so much better. Rick should've came across Morgan naturally; he can still be in his broken, despaired state, but Rick convinces him to go with him. He helps defend the prison, but he's kind of crazy and out there and aloof and distant now, a completely changed man from what we knew. It isn't immediately revealed what happened to his son; of course, we as the audience know. He's dead, but Morgan keeps that close to his chest, unable to rationalize the events and ultimately running away from it, much as Rick was doing earlier this season.
I haven't seen the entire season yet, but once the inevitable raid by Woodbury on the prison strikes, Morgan is there to help Rick out, finally overcoming the death of his son and in my ending for the character he either dies fighting, sacrifices his life for Rick and the gang, giving them another chance because he didn't want to keep living like that, or he survives the battle and then decides to head out on his own again, deciding that he wants to honor his son and do things on his own terms.
This is hypothetical of course, but overall, to me this episode just reeked of filler, they brought an old favorite back just for fan service that overall did very little for the main plot (yay, they have guns now). I would've much preferred if Rick found weapons on a run through town and he encountered bandits and it was a 10-20 min section in a 44 min episode. With all that being said, seeing Michonne help Carl was pretty cool, and it's nice to know that she's going to fit in just fine with the rest of the group.
I was a little concerned when I saw just how many episodes were in each season from this point onwards in the show, and this was the first episode to have my fears truly realized. Filler episodes with gratuitous fan service disguised as "meaningful character development" that grinds the pace to a halt and doesn't affect the main story very much. Definitely the weakest episode of the season so far, next to the one where Milton tries to talk to a dead guy.
The Walking Dead: Vatos (2010)
The first 3 eps were great....what happened?
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.
Friends: The One That Could Have Been: Part 1 (2000)
Mid
Super mid episode. Interesting concept, but the execution was way off. Phoebe is a chain smoking a**hole who gets a heart attack. Monica is fat again and we have to endure more painfully cringe one-note fat jokes. Chandler seems to have ZERO confidence and his jokes just don't hit at all, it's missing something.
I guess what I'm trying to say is in this alternate universe they're all the worst versions of themselves, and it just makes them so unlikable. And I get it, it's an alternate universe episode it's fun to imagine how they would be if all the events that kicked off the start of the show didn't happen. But not like this. Unfunny, unimaginative, and in my watch of the entire series so far, one of my least favorite episodes.