Well, didn’t The Walking Dead teach us a lesson with this episode! Was I the only person that saw the clip of the funeral and think nothing of it, because it's obviously Beth’s? The moral of the story is don’t assume that the first funeral you see, is the last person to die!
Now, before I get into the midseason premiere, the last time I wrote one of these reviews my set up was to watch the episode with breakfast and then write the review. However, my life has changed a bit. I now have a lovely little puppy called Exley, who barks at cartoons, but isn’t bothered by zombies! He is weird and wonderful and I love watching the episodes with him on my knee. Most of the time, when I scream at the TV, he just looks at me funny and then goes back asleep. So, I watched this episode with lunch instead. Well, a protein shake, if that counts.
I have basically wished Christmas and January away to get to this episode and I wasn’t disappointed. I loved this episode, plus it was kind of reminiscent of A Christmas Carol (in a weird zombie way) so I don’t see the point in making us wait until February to see it. It should have been on, on Christmas Day! Right before the Queen’s speech! – Kidding.
Ghosts of Christmas Past, or The Walking Dead Past!
As mentioned above, someone does die in this episode... and it is Tyreese. This did not surprise me at all because he was struggling with life in the zombie world. He still had the morals of old, which don’t really have a place in this world. I thought this was evident by Rick and Glenn’s conversation about why they went to Richmond and wanting to kill the psycho cop that killed Beth. As mentioned in previous reviews, she didn’t mean to kill Beth and Rick knew that, but he killed her anyway.
Even though we only saw a few characters in this episode, I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything because there was that much going on. So, let me get to the point here, whilst Tyreese is dying from blood loss, from two different hungry walkers, he has hallucinations, in which he sees people that have died in the past. In particular, the Governor, Bob, Lizzie and Mika, Martin (the weird dude that told him people who save babies don’t survive in this world) and Beth.
Each of them had a lesson for him. Martin basically said he told him so; Lizzie, Mika and Beth said that it's better in the after life, Bob was on a fence and the Governor was saying that Tyreese didn’t have what it takes to survive anyway! This is the part where I nearly lose my shake, and Exley went mental!
The Governor reaches for Tyreese’s arm, and then the scene suddenly switches and Rick is the one holding his arm as he chops it off to save his life! I was so shocked that I lost grip on my shake, Exley barked because I made a halfway screaming sound, and then he tried to head butt the TV!
Style of Filming
The main difference that I liked about this episode was the style of filming. It was full of artsy images and flashbacks, which made me feel like everything was up in the air. I felt like how I imagined the character’s feel, desperately looking for something to hold onto. Therefore, I thought this change was very well done.
Noah
I did feel for Noah in this episode because he has held onto his family throughout his capture in the hospital, and to finally arrive home to see nothing left must have been devastating. When he pulled the blanket over (what I assumed was) his Mother, I very nearly cried!
Tyreese’s Death
On a whole, I wish he hadn’t died because I feel like he went out with a whimper rather than a bang. In the comics, the Governor kills him, so I wonder why they kept him alive in the show, only to be killed this way. In the comics, he becomes second in command to Rick, but they didn’t go this way in the show. He was a much weaker character on screen, I feel.
Having said that, I felt like there wasn’t much more that he could offer to the story. Daryl is Rick’s second in command really, so they couldn’t have made him a stronger character. I just feel like Tyreese has been a non-starter in the show and I wish that they had done more with him before he died.
Rick
Weirdly, I thought this was the most calm and collected that we have seen Rick in a very long time. He seemed to be thinking rationally and he wasn’t just making decisions willy-nilly. He was actually thinking about other people and possibly considering their point of view. Did any of you get that vibe from him or was it just me?
Rating
I give this episode a 7/10. I did like it but I thought they could have done a bit more with Tyreese, although, admittedly, I don’t know what! Maybe it was just his time to go.
Am I the only person that starts sweating every time someone has a baseball bat this season? (Negan)
Check out the promo for next week’s episode, which I am really looking forward to because I have always wondered how they always seem to have water!
Raff is a massive Disney Geek, Thrill Seeker, Gamer and Comic Book reader. Basically she's an all round massive geek! Read more reviews from Raff at nerdasylumonline.com and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & YouTube.
