Monday, March 3, 2014

The Walking Dead: Season 4 Episode 12 - Still


Hello fellow walkers and welcome back for the "Oscars" rendition of The Walking Dead!  Now, I'm not sure if the creative team behind this show had enough foresight to realize that they would be airing this episode against the Oscars, but it certainly seemed that way.  Now, while I really enjoyed the character building episode for Daryl and Beth, it also doubled as an episode where there wasn't MUCH plot movement so anyone that skipped this one wouldn't miss TOO much.  Of course, if you count digging into the souls of quiet brooding characters and quiet because they rarely have lines characters as plot movement then there was plenty here!  Anyway, I don't think there's too much to discuss in the recap but let's give it a shot anyway!
Discussion Points
Basically the episode kicked off with practically 20 minutes of Daryl not saying a word and Beth trying to fill in the blanks for why he has copped such an attitude.  During this one sided conversation was Beth's quest for her first drink of father forbidden alcohol.
  • We got to see Daryl and Beth check into a golf course country club and take out some golfer walkers.  Of course it wasn't all fun and games as we saw horrific scenes of suicides and implied scenes of post apocalyptic social status revolution.  But, the horror end point was the bar where all Beth could find was peach schnapps.  Comedy ensued while Daryl would not let her first drink be that.  Of course, it probably went deeper as it didn't seem Beth was ready to disappoint her father either. 
  • But, when they got to a house that Daryl and Michonne had previously found on a supply run, and supposedly eerily resembles the place where Daryl, Merle and Dad grew up Beth was ready to get some Moonshine on!  
  • Now, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the drinking game of "I Never" has been played on at least 2 pop culture phenomenon shows of the past 10 years.  So, I can't help but feel that they used that to their advantage and borrowed it for "Character Backstory unveiling".   (LOST and Game of Thrones in case the suspense was killing you).  Of course, in every version of those games they always get a little TOO deep and TOO personal.  It led to Daryl getting angry at Beth's image she built up in her head of who Daryl is.  (i.e. someone that's been to jail and NOT as a prison guard)   And of course, it led to Daryl's unintentionally (maybe) hilarious recap of who we all assumed Beth was up to this point.  Well-off daughter who slits her wrist for attention (well not really, she wanted out of the horror) and just randomly sings in public.  Granted, it was the booze talking and it led to Daryl revealing that he blames himself for the Governor's invasion of the prison.  It led further to some awkward backwards hugging from Beth.  
  • After things calmed down, they drank more together and shared more.  Supposedly, we learned some huge mysterious backstory for Daryl that I didn't realize we never had.  He was his brother's lackey with no personal direction in life until he met Rick and crew.  I could've told you that!  But, he was pouring his soul out to Beth.  Beth was basically trying to cope with the loss of her family and bring out her inner brave (cue Sara Bareilles tune).  In the end, her idea was to get rid of their past demons by burning down the Dixon-like house to the ground.  Daryl apparently didn't need much convincing as they took the remaining moonshine and did just that.   The episode ended with a hint of a smile coming from Daryl as he walked away.  Here's to greener pastures you 2! 
Sure, I'm sure there was more there that I missed to cover, but I think I covered the gist of it.  Daryl and Beth bonded.  They're personally in a better place than they were the last episode we saw them.  And they're moving on from the horror each one of them has faced to this point.  And for the record, can I say that I took a break from the Oscars to watch this episode and still caught up to real time before that crazy show was over?  Crazy.  Anyway, hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week!

14 comments:

mj said...

I know you will probably defend this show as it's been lately - cause you are very loyal to show you love - but it's getting worse each week.


I was all for the character development - but the pace is a snails crawl. Feeling like we are at the farm again. SIGH There was no need to actually spend 40 mins on just 2 chars. Just no reason. I learned nothing actually new about Daryl - we'd all pretty much guessed at his life before. And all we really learned about Beth was how she is dealing or not dealing with the death of her dad and maybe now Maggie from her perspective. The def could have given us all that info in way less time.

Is Gimple saving the show money by haviing most actor off for a week at a time ? LOL

I'm not saying that it was totally uninteresting - just that it did not need to be 40 mins of air time. It's feeling dragged out.

The big reveal that Daryl was Merle's lackey - was no reveal at all. Season 1 clearly showed Daryl just did whatever Merle told him to for the most part. Maybe that he'd never had a job was new - I did always assume that someone in his family had to have a job just to keep the lights on basicly. But I didn't care about that all this time really.

That said - laughed at her new white sweater that did not last long. You'd think they take some new clothes for both of them with them ?? Just saying

The real point was that Daryl blames himself for the prison since he stopped looking for the Gov - that was heavy. And that Beth now feels she might not have any family left and is going to start making her own choices - hence wanting a drink she could never have before.

Laughed aloud when Beth is guessing he was a motorcycle mechanic - I think in the early days there was a lot of conjecture on whether he was a mechanic. But we didn't like go nuts trying to figure it out !

I didn't hate the ep - nor did I hate last weeks with Michonne and Carl - but they need some better pacing is all I'm saying

Talk Dead - the guest comedian was annoying ! LOL Though loved the 'salutes'.

Mike V. said...

MJ,

While I recap this show, I am able to note the difference between the Elite shows and the ones that lack in certain areas. I guess I did say the episode was decent, but I think I was more happy that I didn't have to think to hard for the recap as we were more focused on the Oscars! lol

Now, while I disagree about there not being a need to focus on specific characters, I would agree that there was no need to spend that much time on THESE 2 characters. lol I even noted in the very short recap (because there was nothing to discuss) that we already guessed/knew Daryl's backstory.

I respect them giving Beth additional screen time, I guess. But I always just assumed she was on the chopping block, which she pretty much admitted in this episode! lol

The white sweater was pretty funny I'll agree.

See, I loved last week's episode because I wanted to dig into THOSE characters. And there was a palpable tension between HUMANS vs a random walker hanging outside a house in the woods.

I might agree on the pacing though. At this point it seems like season 4 will end when everyone reaches TERMINUS when we were probably thinking they'd all be getting there by now. lol

It's very clear that this show doesn't have the emotional depth of an ensemble piece quite like LOST did where it can afford to give each character an episode to flush out their backstory. But, there are certain characters where I don't mind spending more time with. And those would be with the people that I assume to be mainstays....Rick, Carl, Michonne, Daryl (not with Beth), Glenn/Maggie. But Daryl stuck with Beth? It's clear there's not much to tell there!

Didnt see all of Talking Dead yet. Got too tired after those drawn out Oscars! lol

Mike V. said...

ugh...i hate that I can't edit my comments! 'think TOO hard" :)

MJ said...

To be clear - don't have problem with ging into these chars more in depth - even little Beth LOL My issue is that what they told us did not require 40 MINS to do so. They are dragging it out. Last week what we learned with Carl and Michonne and the stupid game of clear a room and get some info also seemed to drage waaaay out. Love to get more info on Michonne- but don't need it dragged out 40 mins. I had no issue the first time - with Rick and Carl - but it was told better. Maybe it's the lame-a$$ games as a telling device that are annoying me ? LOL - nah - it's taking 4 mins to tell us info that could be told in 15 or 20. ;-D

MJ said...

40 mins ! darn it not 4

Anonymous said...

Oh - meant to add - the whole truck thing was intense. Thought the walkers could smell people though? If so - they would have surrounded the car instead of just leaving ??

Leslie said...

Watched this and the Oscars, but not Talking Dead yet. I am okay when they slow things down a bit because there is always a payoff, but I admit this was a LOT of Daryl and Beth. I think Beth had more lines in this episode than in her whole time on the show! lol The white sweater thing was funny, but why didn’t she go back and get another shirt? I guess maybe it feels pointless in the world they are in now. And, why can I watch walker after walker getting killed, but skinning the snake grossed me out?!?!

Mike V. said...

With the Michonne/Carl stuff I think I enjoyed it because of the emotional heart strings they were pulling at. Michonne stumbling into the room where the family basically offed themselves as a family to avoid a worse fate was so horrific and really portrayed the stakes of this world better than it has been done in the recent past. I think they tried that again last night with the "Rich B**CH" dead woman, but not nearly as effective.

But, I do get what you're saying. They certainly didn't need all of that time dedicated to the story they told last night. But, I guess they wanted things to simmer and be drawn out for effect. But, something like that might have worked if it was Michonne and Daryl out there in the woods not talking and dancing around issues. We're just not AS invested as Beth, no offense to that actress! lol And yes, I'm sure the episode was also intending to make us MORE invested in Beth.

As for the trunk thing...yeah they can smell people. I don't know what they put on the latch of the trunk. Not sure if that was guts to help them blend in...or if it was just some cloth to keep the trunk from fully closing. lol In any case, I'm guessing the Walkers were hovering the car for a long time. They tried to show the passage of time. They probably eventually went searching somewhere else for food...or something drew them away (maybe a passing deer or something). Long story short...I bought it! lol

Mike V. said...

Leslie - Good point with her going/not going back for another shirt....I agree the pointlessness of it is probably what that was! And yeah...the skinning of the snake was sooo nasty! I couldn't watch it. lol

Totally agree, as I've stated, on too much Daryl and Beth.

Anonymous said...

MJ - I watched Talking Dead last night and you are right....that guest comedian was annoying!

mj said...

Lol Leslie - felt same with snake.

Husband thinks they are making us care for Beth cause she's dying soon. Lol this show has a history of giving B chars a story before offing them

Mike V. said...

I mentioned the same thing in these comments about Beth. That maybe they're TRYING to make us care about her because she's about to die off. lol She pretty much implied she's going to die soon on the show also.

Not sure who Anonymous was, but I totally agree on Talking Dead. I recognized the guy from Curb Your Enthusiasm, but he was over the top and I had to fast forward through most of Talking Dead. But, that was also because Norman Reedus and the actress playing Beth weren't terribly interesting either! lol

Leslie said...

Oops! I was Anonymous. That comedian is on the new comedy, The Millers, also, but he was more annoying as himself! lol

Mike V. said...

@Leslie - I should've known that. We're usually the only 3 commenting on TWD! lol