[7.5/10] Connie and Virgil’s run-in with the feral folk in that house is one of the scariest things The Walking Dead has ever done, which counts for something. Maybe I’m overreaching here, but it felt like a conscious homage to Hitchcock, which I am here for. (I could just be over-extrapolating from the shot of someone looking through a hole in the wall.) Given the participants, this was a chance for the series to show rather than tell, and it worked.
But don’t think about it too hard. You have to say that a lot with The Walking Dead, which isn’t great, but something we’ve come to terms with after eleven seasons. How have these feral folks survived this long? I guess by herding and then cannibalizing prey? They don’t seem to be with it enough for that, but it’s well within acceptable tolerances for the show’s approach to poetic license.
More to the point, it’s terrifying. The episode does a nice job of convincing you that maybe Connie’s fears are all just PTSD after being trapped in the Whisperer cave. Once again, dropping out the score and the sound when we’re in her perspective is a nice means of using the medium to put us in the character’s headspace. And the way the feral residents of the house creep along the edges of the frame at first is well done to create a suspenseful tone.
The wild people themselves are terrifying, with their unkempt loincloth look and unsettling movements. And the show plays it right, with the added difficulties of communication between Connie and Virgil making the threat that much more diffiuclt to overcome. I’m not super compelled by their bond here, but the script does solid enough work to give it shading. And again, you can’t think about it too hard, but I kind of like Connie’s “rub mymself with viscera and let the zombies have at it” solution to the problem.
Plus, the reunion between Connie and Kelly was heartwarming in a way I didn’t expect, since I can’t pretend to be super invested in their relationship. Still, the acting from the two performers is superb when they come together, and you can feel the relief and guilt and joy wash over the two of them when they’re finally reunited.
The other side of the coin is that the Daryl portions of this one did very little for me. We get it. Daryl’s in danger as a double agent. Pope is crazy and could do something threatening at any minute. Some guy who has a crush on Leah continues to bristle at Daryl’s presence. How far will our hero go not to get caught? It’s all just old hat for The Walking Dead at this point.
None of what’s done in his half of the show is bad exactly. There’s some minor tension to Daryl trying to cover for Maggie and company hiding under the floorboards. We’ve just seen this sort of shtick a million times by season 11, so it no longer holds any real zing. The same goes with the hint that the prisoner gave up Daryl’s real connection to Alexandria and our usual crew of survivors. The nuts and bolts of the storytelling are fine, but the story’s so overfamiliar at this point that it packs no punch, and the new characters aren’t compelling enough to overcome that.
Overall, the Daryl sections of this one are a big yawn despite some unpleasant torture scenes, while the Connie portions are gory and frightening, but worth the cost of admission.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-09-24T16:59:13Z
[7.5/10] Connie and Virgil’s run-in with the feral folk in that house is one of the scariest things The Walking Dead has ever done, which counts for something. Maybe I’m overreaching here, but it felt like a conscious homage to Hitchcock, which I am here for. (I could just be over-extrapolating from the shot of someone looking through a hole in the wall.) Given the participants, this was a chance for the series to show rather than tell, and it worked.
But don’t think about it too hard. You have to say that a lot with The Walking Dead, which isn’t great, but something we’ve come to terms with after eleven seasons. How have these feral folks survived this long? I guess by herding and then cannibalizing prey? They don’t seem to be with it enough for that, but it’s well within acceptable tolerances for the show’s approach to poetic license.
More to the point, it’s terrifying. The episode does a nice job of convincing you that maybe Connie’s fears are all just PTSD after being trapped in the Whisperer cave. Once again, dropping out the score and the sound when we’re in her perspective is a nice means of using the medium to put us in the character’s headspace. And the way the feral residents of the house creep along the edges of the frame at first is well done to create a suspenseful tone.
The wild people themselves are terrifying, with their unkempt loincloth look and unsettling movements. And the show plays it right, with the added difficulties of communication between Connie and Virgil making the threat that much more diffiuclt to overcome. I’m not super compelled by their bond here, but the script does solid enough work to give it shading. And again, you can’t think about it too hard, but I kind of like Connie’s “rub mymself with viscera and let the zombies have at it” solution to the problem.
Plus, the reunion between Connie and Kelly was heartwarming in a way I didn’t expect, since I can’t pretend to be super invested in their relationship. Still, the acting from the two performers is superb when they come together, and you can feel the relief and guilt and joy wash over the two of them when they’re finally reunited.
The other side of the coin is that the Daryl portions of this one did very little for me. We get it. Daryl’s in danger as a double agent. Pope is crazy and could do something threatening at any minute. Some guy who has a crush on Leah continues to bristle at Daryl’s presence. How far will our hero go not to get caught? It’s all just old hat for The Walking Dead at this point.
None of what’s done in his half of the show is bad exactly. There’s some minor tension to Daryl trying to cover for Maggie and company hiding under the floorboards. We’ve just seen this sort of shtick a million times by season 11, so it no longer holds any real zing. The same goes with the hint that the prisoner gave up Daryl’s real connection to Alexandria and our usual crew of survivors. The nuts and bolts of the storytelling are fine, but the story’s so overfamiliar at this point that it packs no punch, and the new characters aren’t compelling enough to overcome that.
Overall, the Daryl sections of this one are a big yawn despite some unpleasant torture scenes, while the Connie portions are gory and frightening, but worth the cost of admission.