It should be no surprise at this point that Better Call Saul is building a pretty impressive following from its AMC audience. The shows quality has been shining like a beacon from the opening moments of its very first episode. What is surprising, though, is how it continues to reveal so many layers to a character who, while always entertaining in his original iteration, never really seemed all that complex.
In “Them,” the group find themselves at a new low when they run low on food and water and find nothing in sight. With the elements against them, and delirium running amok, the group must face Beth and Tyreese’s death, while trekking to Washington in hopes of finding a new home and safety.
After a solid opening hour, Better Call Saul continues to up the ante with an even more promising follow-up.The beginning section, one of the episodes strong points, features a decidedly downplayed Tuco Salamanca (at least compared to the Scarface-like caricature that we’re used to from Breaking Bad). Strangely, the quieter, more subdued Tuco is actually far more menacing than the psycho drugged-up version. His intense close-ups and lean-ins add a brutal new dimension to this character, while his rage-fueled response to a trespass against his grandmother is strongly reminiscent of a certain key S3 scene from BB, in which Tuco’s uncle firmly intones that “family is all!”
It’s just an episode to bid a heartbreaking goodbye to our big man Tyreese, but mostly it’s about warning signs and how poorly the group has responded to them. Tyreese mainly failed to find the warning signs within the house he was raiding for character Noah, thus he’s bitten and lies relatively infected and dying from a vicious bite wound. Now he has to face his demons, which come back to find him and show him why he’s basically been the poor man’s survivor the entire the entire time he’s been on the show. The only reason he’s survived so long is because of his size and strength, but beyond that there isn’t much Tyreese has done beyond mow down a few zombies here and there.
Right from the opening moments of Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan’s highly anticipated prequel to his aforementioned AMC hit, brows will furrow and heads will be scratched.
Dawn and Father Gabriel’s refusal of the circumstances around them brings the ongoing situations to a head in the midseason finale, leading to an unexpected death and the loss of the group’s temporary residence once again.
“Crossed” cuts back and forth between four groups in four different locations in order to set up the big midseason-finale next week. While it seems a wide decision to check back in with Rick and Michonne after several episodes spent elsewhere, the episode feels like a filler/transitional episode. There are far too many characters to follow in far too many places, and the end result feels somewhat disjointed. It succeeds in moving the chess pieces into their necessary places for next week’s dramatic showdown, but lacks the tension and urgency viewers were anticipating. With plenty of dialogue and little action, “Crossed” is the weakest installment of season five yet.
“Consumed” follows Carol and Daryl in pursuit of the mysterious vehicle that belongs to Beth’s kidnappers. The dynamic duo make good progress into the city eventually making their way to a safe house while running into the occasional zombies along the way. The hour proves harmless enough for the pair of seasoned veterans, and while at times exciting, “Consumed” it is a predictable, voyage into the heart of Atlanta. But despite a lack of suspense and horror, “Consumed” is a welcome return to two of the show’s most compelling characters; and an episode that gives two of our least talkative survivors a chance to express themselves. The journey is the destination this week. “Consumed” gives Carol and Daryl some much-needed breathing room to examine how much they’ve both changed in five seasons.
The cast of the television series MythBusters (one of my favourite shows ever) perform experiments to verify or debunk urban legends, old wives’ tales, and the like. Last season, they aired an episode titled, “MythBusters: Zombie Special” which focuses on one of pop culture’s running obsessions: zombies: Just in case the undead ever do come …
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; The Walking Dead does well with episodes featuring fewer characters that we know. “Slabtown”, written by Matthew Negrete, is a testament to the improvement of storytelling ever since Scott M. Gimple took over as show-runner. That the hour maintains the quality and entertainment of previous episodes without Rick and the gang, is good news. Putting Beth, and only Beth, in the spotlight back in season two would have been ill advised, but ever since last season’s “Still,” Beth is a character we’ve all come to know and love. Of course “Still” is one of those episodes mentioned above, in which the writers focus solely on fewer characters; in that case the focus was solely on Beth and Daryl, and unsurprisingly “Still” is one of last season’s best instalments. Beth’s time travelling with Daryl.
The Walking Dead spin-off series has been in development for well into a year now and still very little has been clarified on what the new series will be like. The new show is being developed by Robert Kirkman, the comic books creator, and former Sons of Anarchy scribe, Dave Erickson, which have stated that …
Last week in “Strangers,” we saw the group taking shelter with the mysterious Father Gabriel, before deciding on a proposed plan to head out to Washington. Only we knew their plans would be interrupted as the episode ends with Bob discovering a new threat lurking in the woods and Carol and Daryl drive off in chase of Beth. This week Rick and the others realize the threat of the surviving Terminus cannibals, while Bob shares a surprising revelation about his departure.
After last week’s action extravaganza, “Strangers” is unsurprisingly a much quieter episode of The Walking Dead. Written by comic creator Robert Kirkman, “Strangers” follows the entire group traveling side by side, and introduces us to a new character (the mysterious Father Gabriel played by Seth Gilliam). The group takes shelter in a church, before making a decision about Abraham’s proposed plan for D.C.; meanwhile Bob discovers a new horror lurking in the woods. Gareth and his Terminus buddies are back for more disgusting cannibal mayhem.
The highest-rated scripted show on television returned tonight, as The Walking Dead Season 5 kicked off with “No Sanctuary,” written by showrunner Scott Gimple and directed by special effects guru Greg Nicotero. Season 4’s finale left us on a cliffhanger, and “Sanctuary” picks up the action right in Terminus, giving us tons of answers about the place and its inhabitants.
TVLine has posted some more hints at what the in-development Walking Dead companion series on AMC will bring with a brief breakdown of the leading characters. SEAN CABRERA | A Latino male in his early 40s, Sean is a good man trying to do right by everyone in his life. CODY CABRERA | Sean’s whip-smart and rebellious teenage …
The 2014 Primetime Emmy Awards are now less than a week away, and everyone is excited to see if the final season of Breaking Bad can beat True Detective – and also – if Veep can stack up against Modern Family. In anticipation of the broadcast, the Television Academy has put together a fun 6-minute …
The Walking Dead 128 Written by Robert Kirkman Art by Charlie Adlard, Stefano Gaudiano, and Cliff Rathburn Published by Image Comics After last issue, it’s inevitable that Walking Dead 128 will feel a bit slower in comparison. This is an issue that’s mostly devoted to exposition and developing the setting, which means that there isn’t …
AMC hopes to score an Emmy after two years without a statuette for their hit series Mad Men. And to help the network secure a victory, they began rolling out an aggressive, and nostalgic campaign for the Matthew Weiner drama. What better way to promote a show about advertising, than with these 1960s-inspired one-sheets. Enjoy!
With an episode like “The Strategy,” the former perennial Emmy-winner still proves it can outshine the best of contemporary television even when contemporary television is becoming increasingly high quality.
Walking Dead #127 takes some pretty bold leaps in storytelling, and for this reason, this is one of my favorite issues of all time. Comic books often fall into the trap of circular storytelling, rehashing the same types of conflicts over and over again so that the drama becomes stale. Kirkman, it seems, will not be falling into that particular pit trap, and he does so by moving us two years into the future.
“The Monolith” is one of many Mad Men episodes that shows how certain characters react to change. Rather than limit those ideas to the new IBM computer being installed at the offices, the episode focuses more on how Don Draper and Roger Sterling deal with changes in status quo.
Don’s journey in “Field Trip” builds up to his sit-down with the partners, when he is given the chance to say “Okay.” He’ll take whatever they give him. There’s some genuinely upsetting scenes along the way, though.
What I think the episode does is simply encourage us to be aware of those things–to notice when we are immersing ourselves in self-pity and to remember that we are not suffering alone