With the expectation that The Walking Dead would abruptly slam on the brakes this week, we instead find “Slabtown” jumping the freaking track.

So far, this is my favorite episode of the season, hands down. Whatever happened to Beth, as throwaway a character as she’s been, has certainly been on my mind lately, and the payoff is huge. This episode gives two aspects I didn’t necessarily expect from this particular story juncture: sheer nail biting suspense peppered with meaningful character development. 

Rejoining Beth in her high rise hospital room, almost feels like a dream sequence. A doctor and police officer, both in clean uniforms, enter the room and the intrigue, along with an eerily unsettling vibe, is immediate. Especially when we’re presented with the extent of the haze of apparent normalcy clouding this would be sanctuary.

Hospital equipment and lights attached to car batteries hum with the familiar sounds of a past life, while clean uniformed cops roam the halls, a man in scrubs mops the hallway in the distance. To think their could be anything this well put together at this point is mind boggling. Turns out the only things not so well put together are the people that built it.

These people are still waiting for rescue, and delusional enough to believe that ‘saving’ people and forcing them to contribute to their efforts was in line with some kind of greater good. And more so, that the abuse and entrapment of these individuals was justified if it meant keeping the machine running. “If we take, we give back.”

We meet a lot of different kinds of people on this show, some are outright Evil, some are crazed, and others straddle that fine line. These people don’t fit this model. While some of them definitely did lean towards evil, their delusion made them horrifying, and the skewed sense of self importance and self right righteousness it brought. I mean, these people were wasting energy doing laundry. A brilliant twist on the show’s established ranks of antagonism. 

These people cling to an all but forgotten hope of being rescued from this hell on Earth. Either too stubborn or stupid to let go. In a lot of ways, they had a good thing going, but it was the delusional nature of their core philosophy that unnerved me in a way I no longer thought possible from this show, if for no other reason than sheer de-sensitivity.

From beginning to end this is a spectacularly well realized episode. From the unsettling surreal quality emanating from Beth’s hosts, to the harrowing escape plan, there was scarcely a moment I didn’t feel uneasy. That feeling was only multiplied by the supremely eerie setting of the fifth or sixth story of a besieged hospital. Sure, it was safe from the dead, but it was effectively a prison with no clear escape route, inhabited by insanity.

The two main sources of antagonism in this episode; Dawn, and her more sadistic male counterpart, Gorman paint a supremely off kilter picture with their every word and action. Moments like Dawn taking her anger over the loss of a prospective contributor out on Beth’s face, and the excessively creepy scene featuring the aforementioned sadist and a sour apple sucker, were truly hard to watch Beth endure.

This is the episode’s  greatest strength, as it took a character we never really cared much about and turned her into an underdog that we had every reason to root for. Allusions to Beth’s suicidal past juxtaposed with her current strength illustrated her journey to becoming a survivor. In short, Beth’s character has gained a depth that will no doubt continue to resonate for as long as she remains a part of the show. No small feat.

This thread is ultimately brought full circle by the daring escape, which ends in heart wrenching failure. The build up and subsequent release presented here, for me, encapsulates everything that can make this show such an utter joy to watch, albeit a nervous, white knuckled joy. Neither element would’ve been nearly as engaging on its own, but together they form an expertly paced thrill ride.

The episode was light on the undead component, that is, until the last few minutes, but what we do get is on the same level as the rest of the material presented. Due to the desperate situation Beth and the newly befriended Noah are in, the encounter with the walkers feels more threatening, and sickening than they have in quite some time. 

The looming terror of the elevator shaft used as a dumping/munching ground for the recently deceased, which ended up becoming the duo’s escape route, was electrifying. And the darkened, rotter filled basement, illuminated only by the shots fired from Beth’s jacked pistol was extremely effective in conveying the unabashed urgency of the moment. The zombies were scary again, and it was awesome.

While the episode did begin on a note of intrigue, where it ended has me more excited to see what comes next than I’ve been since we left off last season. With her one true ally (Noah) gone, and Dawn more pissed off than ever, Beth’s situation seems extremely grim. That is, until she see’s Carol being wheeled in on a stretcher. The single most exciting moment of the season thus far from where I’m standing. How the hell did this happen!?

As of right now, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about what’s going on with Rick’s group, as surprised as I am to even type those words. Right now I’m more concerned with finding out how Carol wound up getting separated from Daryl, and just who Mr. Dixon was escorting at the end of the previous episode. I’d have to say my money’s on Noah at this point. Either way, I hope we follow this plot line for a while as I have an incredibly strong need to see how this all plays/played out.

If the next few chapters of this little diversion are half as strong as this one, it’s going to be a thrilling couple of weeks ahead. This is my definitive WD experience. Hat’s off.

What did you think of “Slabtown?” Was Beth’s struggle a compelling hour of television? When do you want to see Rick next, and where the hell is Morgan?