Three weeks into its fifth season The Walking Dead came back doing what it does best; “Four Walls And A Roof” ratchets the tension up to 10, delivers forward momentum, and characterization.
A Review By Clark Thompson
The extreme strength of this episode began with the opening scene, which saw Bob letting his captors in on the secret ingredient his body was harboring. Hearing him scream the words ‘tainted meat’ was every bit as horrifying to hear as I’d imagined it being when Dale did so in the comics. His performance here was fantastic, making it all the more difficult to see Lawrence Gilliard Jr. leave the show with his character’s passing. And just when I was starting to legitimately enjoy him. Figures.
This episode was filled with great performances, with even the good father Gabriel being more than redeemed by some brilliantly acted scenes. The moment he let the group in on his past transgressions was palpable. Turns out locking your congregation out of their sanctuary while listening to them damn your name as they’re torn apart can really shake a guy up.
It was clear that the confrontation between Rick and Gareth was impending, after the pacing of last week’s episode it seemed a remote possibility that it would even be half resolved by the end of this week. Yet, here we are just one episode later and it’s all said and done. A decision I applaud them for, as it made for an extremely natural feeling progression unhindered by arbitrary stalling.
Every scene was so drenched with tension and uncertainty, it ended up feeling longer to me than it actually was. From not knowing where their missing people were, to finding a one legged Bob in front of the church, to the giant ‘A’ representing the group’s Terminus train car prison symbolically painted on the church’s outer wall; the mounting terror was relentless.
Throw in a power struggle between Rick and Abraham while trying to formulate an action plan, and this was just about as The Walking Dead as it gets. And while the aforementioned near throw-down was effective, it was one of the beats in the episode that did end up feeling a tad unnatural. I feel like if the show wanted to introduce Abraham when it did, the writers should’ve committed to having him sufficiently developed by this point in the story, or at the very least have some bond forming moments with the main members of our crew. Yet, the very nature of the situation, with all the characters being separated, made that impossible.
There was an inkling of budding bromance in the apology scribbled on the map Abe gives Rick in the end, I couldn’t help but find it falling a little flat, as the show has given me absolutely no reason whatsoever to care about anything this guy wants to do. Like when he was toasting the ‘survivors’ last episode, his place in the group wasn’t such that he had any business addressing the group the way he did. I’m thrilled that it seems they’re finally ready to play their Abraham card, albeit at a time when he’s once again been separated from the group, I just wish he and his ilk hadn’t spent so much time doing absolutely nothing.
Getting back to episode’s big encounter, I’ve always admired this show for being as unpredictable as it is, yet dedicated enough to accurately representing its characters that it’s entirely possible to guess an outcome based on nothing more than how well you know any one member of the group. In this case I’m talking about Rick.
Jumping back to the season three finale, I think I must’ve been one of the few individuals that wasn’t surprised by the lack of a full scale battle between our survivors and the men and women led by the Governor. I knew this because I knew Rick had to know it was an impossible situation. I also knew he’d have a plan. I was right on both counts. This time I knew Rick was way to smart to actually believe he was going to get the jump on pursuers that watched him so closely. Well, at least not the way we thought he would. And once again I was right.
Don’t get me wrong, the tension was still there when Gareth and the rest of his degenerates were staking their claim on the souls left in the church, but Rick’s not that easily duped. I think most people would’ve seen this coming, but to the credit of the episode’s direction, it did little to provide relief until the moment we knew for a fact the termites had indeed been bested.
Now herein lies what would have to be my only other slightly negative criticism of the episode. While Rick’s brutal display of vengeance on Gareth’s group serves much the same purpose as it did in the comics, illustrating a further slip from the moral ideals Rick has been trying so desperately to maintain, I didn’t think they went far enough.
Yes, it was brutal. Yes, it was effective. But nothing could compare to the situation that unfolded in the source material at this point in the story. There’s no question of which one was more impactful, as we’ve all seen Rick and his friends slice, dice and bash human skulls in the past. What we haven’t seen was out and out psychological torture before the brutal act, which is more akin to what Rick thought fitting for his enemies in the original books. Not to mention the symbolic burning of the bodies afterward. I would imagine however, that for someone new to The Walking Dead, the route they went with here would’ve been more than adequate to drive the point home.
On a side note, Tyreese seems to have put his aversion to violence against the living to rest with the killing (even though he was already dead) of Bob, which is nice. He’s been pretty useless lately, and it was a huge slap in the face to see he actually let that scumbag from the premiere live.
Also, has anyone else had it with the group constantly being split up? I know Rick and friends had to wait for Darryl and Carol, but did the rest have to take off so quickly? And with Glen and Maggie no less. An interesting, yet equally frustrating choice, especially when we just got everyone back together for the first time since the prison two episodes ago. Damn.
Separation issues aside, this was an extremely enjoyable and well constructed episode, which in turn lent some much needed credibility to last weeks perceived flop. Funny how later episodes can lend substance to previous chapters that at the time felt a little empty. Happens all the time with this show.
The big question on my mind now is, why was Carol hiding back when Darryl approached the church? Am I reading something into nothing, or is something going on here? Well, I think we can look forward to some Beth screen time next week. Let’s hope it pays off.
What did you think of “Four Walls and A Roof?” Did we get rid of the Termites to quickly? Anyone else not feel sold by Abraham’s conflict?
Next week we’ve got “Slabtown”
—
Clark Thompson is a 31-year-old horror fanatic currently residing in Kelowna B.C. His main goals in life are to one day experience a zombie apocolypse,and/or undergo surgery to have his heart mounted on the exterior of his chest. You can reach him at clarkthomspon@yahoo.ca or on facebook Clorkwork Torange.
