When we last left
Rick (Andrew Lincoln), he was digging through a zombie's intestines looking for
what remained of his wife. It was a grim moment and another illustration of The Walking Dead's increasingly
despairing outlook. At IndieWire
earlier this week, Alison Willmore wondered whether the series is presenting an
argument for the end of humanity. Given the trajectory it's taken thus far,
that's not a far-reaching notion. That the writers continue to delve deeper
into human despondency and ax more members of the cast in the process quite
frankly makes it difficult to see any redeeming future for the characters, and
perhaps the series itself. Nevertheless, every so often an episode gives us a
fleeting moment of stillness and humanity that cuts through the surrounding
gloom. Such a moment arrives late in "Hounded" just when you think
Rick might be headed for a total breakdown. For much of the episode, he's away
from the group and preoccupied with strange phone conversations with unknown
callers. His desperate pleas for help initially suggest that he may be losing
it, but this thread evolves into an unexpected moment of catharsis that the
series needed as much as its protagonist.
Rick's storyline is one of several in which characters strike up or
rekindle a connection. Daryl (Norman Reedus) also experiences a similarly
heartening event after he discovers that Carol (Melissa McBride) is still
alive, a scene that's intercut with Rick's return to the group. These developments
are why "Hounded" may represent The Walking Dead's most significant attempt to revive a sense of
hopefulness. But the cruel joke of the episode is that these tender
brushstrokes are threaded into a more cynical view that comes into focus
through other plot circumstances. Namely, this episode places events in motion
that will lead to an eventual collision between the Woodbury community and the
prison survivors.
No comments:
Post a Comment