Fanboys Anonymous

Hey there fanboys and fangirls, Chris "The Dace Man" Dace back with another zombified review. Another week, another episode of The Walking Dead, and yours truly is going to break down the episode all the way down to the commercial breaks.

We've had what I would call a very slow kickoff to this season thus far. (Tip: You can go back and check out my other reviews for more of my thoughts on episodes two and three). Is this episode finally going to ramp up the season and match last season's action that we all know and love?


See, I did it in caps and bold so it catches your eye before anything else. You have been warned. Let's get into it!

So we kick off this week's episode with Rick wrapping his hands and Carol in reflection, only to be interrupted by Lizzy. While they're conversing, we see Rick trying to fill the car with gas. We also learn that Carol and Rick are going on a food run... uh oh... this could set up a conflict. Rick then makes his way into the prison and starts re-creating the crime scene in his mind. Carol asks Lizzy if she has her knife, and we see Rick staring at a knife set. As Rick holds his nose outside, Lizzy says "I'm not afraid to kill, I'm just scared." The opening segment was shot fantastically. It shows the conflict within Rick, who now knows that Carol killed two members of their camp. Time for the theme and the first set of commercials.

And we are back checking in on Daryl's group. We see Ty's continuing breakdown as he becomes more and more negative. The group walks onto the next town. We cut over to Rick and Carol in the car. Carol is trying to justify what she did. We focus back in on Daryl and Michonne interacting briefly, talking about hanging around one place for a while, but then quickly kick back to Carol and Rick in a neighborhood discussing the plan to find first aid. Again we're back to Daryl's team where they come across a gas station and a new mission to get a car working. They encounter some walkers and find Ty isn't letting go of one, which almost gets him killed. Ty's anger is obviously building either to badass level or he's-going-to-die-soon level. Now we flash over to Rick and Carol, where they enter a house looking for supplies. Rick saves Carol from a walker coming down the steps and kills it. They then meet two survivors who offer them fruit. The one dude is the guy from Accepted who had ADHD... kind of feels like he still does on first impression. On to an awesome Steven Seagal commercial!

Aaaaand we're back! Carol is tending to the wounds of the new survivors they've met. The survivors explain to them how they gathered the fruit, which was from a greenhouse. They explain they were separated from another group. The girl has a bum leg due to being trampled at a refugee camp fire. Sam, the dude, had a dislocated shoulder which Carol fixed. Rick ends their scene by beginning his three questions with "How many have you killed?" We're back on Team Meds, with Ty and Michonne trying to uncover the car. Michonne calls out Ty on his anger and lack of control. Ty retorts with Michonne's anger towards the Governor, which she explains has faded—but she'd kill him if he showed up. Daryl and the other dude who's name I can never remember are inside the workshop looking around. We're back with Rick and Carol. The two new additions beg to help Rick scavenge and be allowed to come back with them to the Prison. Rick agrees, and they break up to search the neighborhood. Back to Daryl, who asks what happen to the other dude's group. He responds that he was the last one standing, and that's why he was alone. I don't trust the guy at all. No idea why, just a gut feeling that he's gonna screw up big soon. Daryl gets the car running again and gives an inspirational line to the fourth man, who's name I can't remember as always: "You won't be standing alone no more." We cut to our next set of commercials.

Welcome back, Walkers and Skin Eaters. We see Carol and Rick searching through a bedroom, debating whether Rick made the right call. Carol says he did, while Rick second-guesses it. Carol then grills Rick about him not questioning her, and then says he can't just be a farmer. She then says he was a good leader, to which he responds he never killed their own. Carol body-slams him by saying that he killed one. Oooooh, Shane reference. Then she tells him to man up, similar to the Carl speech Rick got last season of "He did what Rick couldn't do." Not gonna lie, I missed the next scene, but I did catch Rick and Carol still gathering. Rick and Carol then discuss their dead family. Rick asks Carol why she wont say Sophia's name, to which she responds... she's dead. They then find the female survivor dead, and the two head back to find Sam... that sucks, the chick was kinda cute.

We've returned yet again to Daryl's group getting all the med supplies they could ever need. Which raises one question with me. Why not take it all?  You have large friggen bags.... man up and clear them shelves. Anywho, they make their escape and see walkers, only to walk into a dead end and get locked in a dark room. Classic someone's gonna die scenario.. They escape the room with no deaths and some badass walker killing, and we cut back to Carol and Rick waiting on Sam. Carol says they gotta go, and we're back to Daryl's group. They get cornered and make it through a window. The other guy almost drops a bag which he refuses to let go of. They save him, only to find he had alcohol in the bag. Daryl is immediately pissed and ready to throw him to the walkers. Luckily Ty talks him down, and you as the reader now know why I had the shifty feeling on the guy that remains nameless to me. Hopefully we just cut to our last commercial break.

Aww, sweet wrestling nerd moment, Chris Jericho will be on Talking Dead. We get back to Rick and Carol, with Rick telling Carol she's screwed when people find out she killed the two in the Prison. He says Ty will kill her, or the people will want her gone, or worst of all, he doesn't want her there. This is a scene where Rick is basically telling Carol to piss off—he's going back alone. We get back to Daryl's group in a minivan talking about heading back to the Prison. Michonne tells Daryl he was right about the Governor's trail going cold, and that she doesn't need to go back anymore. They leave, and we're back to Rick and Carol. Rick sets Carol up with supplies for her to go on her own and sends her on her way. Goodbye, Carol. Music plays, we start seeing close-ups on all of the characters, and we watch as Daryl's group and Rick each head back to the prison. End episode.
Overall, I think this was a good episode. Still kind of slow compared to last season, but I think it was a very powerful episode, especially with Rick banishing Carol on his own and Daryl not speaking to Bob. (Finally got his name; hat tip to Chris Hardwick.) Looking forward to next week. By the way, no sign of Sam. I wonder if he'll pop up again.

As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Until then, for the few, the proud, and of course the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a leadership role—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!