4th episode - "Vatos"

[babomb]

Back to the development of the characters. The younger Dixon seems to be poised as either a long standing survivor or a sudden victim to jolt the viewer. Although I like Glenn, his vulnerability to the group is sort of being brought out now. If it wasn't already apparent, Shane's character has a military background and is becoming seemingly essential to the survival of the group. Which probly means-   It's been building all along toward his death as the season finale. which sucks because him and Rick do operate well together having been partners and that's not something easily developed with a person. When he's gone Rick will have to stop bein the cowboy.

[MinionZombie]

Okay my fellow Brits - chime in now that we've seen it. I'll pimp my full thoughts soon, but generally it was a bit of a mixed bag for me (the titular Vatos, really being the bit I didn't particularly like for example) - but I still rather enjoyed it and the ending kicked mucho arse. Yeah, the younger Dixon seems to be getting set up as a possible long-stander, I was pleased that they improved his character in episode four - i.e. not just a total redneck dick, he actually has some use in that when he's not being a redneck knob'ed he's actually good at sweeping through a building and essentially hunting zombies. Good to see some more 'stretched lip' zombies too ... oh and Greg Nicotero as a key zombie.

[SymphonicX]

Okay my fellow Brits - chime in now that we've seen it. I'll pimp my full thoughts soon, but generally it was a bit of a mixed bag for me (the titular Vatos, really being the bit I didn't particularly like for example) - but I still rather enjoyed it and the ending kicked mucho arse. Yeah, the younger Dixon seems to be getting set up as a possible long-stander, I was pleased that they improved his character in episode four - i.e. not just a total redneck dick, he actually has some use in that when he's not being a redneck knob'ed he's actually good at sweeping through a building and essentially hunting zombies. Good to see some more 'stretched lip' zombies too ... oh and Greg Nicotero as a key zombie. I missed Greg there, where was he?? Ep4 - last nights one yeah? I loved it. Fantastic. I've been a bit unimpressed so far, its been good but a bit ho hum between not very interesting moments and a few genuinely intense, edge of your seat, stuff. Last night however was like episode 2 on crack - fantastic, had a bunch of rollercoaster moments from social issues to very gory ones. I liked the mexican gang thing, it was a bit of a push but I think it worked well - Young Dixon, whatever he's shaping up to be, is a nice addition to the series, a loose cannon - I think he'll be the thing to pull back Merls from slaughtering everyone, one handed of course. Michael Rooker was excellent in ep2 and it was nice to see good ol' Henry in the series, he plays a great redneck, and is actually an allround fantastic actor - very under rated. ("yeah....I killed my momma...") But back to ep4, the end sequence was awesome and the whole ep really struck a great balance in the four parts between character, action, gore, suspense, horror, etc. ep5 and 6 need to be absolutely epic though - without a doubt. Not sure how many eps for this series? Was 10 for The Pacific wasn't it? What about this, an equally hyped, big budget TV series? If there's only 6, then that's quite disappointing.

[MinionZombie]

Symph - it was six episodes from the very beginning, which makes sense really as the first trade paperback story arc is six issues of the comic book. There was indeed a lot of attention and hype surrounding it, but it was also quite the gamble - we've never had a zombie tv series before, so it's unfair to compare it to the mega-budget The Pacific, which was preceded by the also mega-budget smash hit that was Band of Brothers (both of which had titanic names attached to them - Spielberg and Hanks). Darabont and Hurd aren't nobodies by any stretch of the imagination, but Hanks and Spielberg have them outgunned in terms of clout, I would say. Fortunately it has become a hit show, but its success was by no means certain. Season 2 will be 13 episodes however. I wonder, being 13 episodes long, if it'll incorporate Volumes 2 and 3 of the trade paperbacks (two story arcs) ... that'd be cool to see. ... Anyway, here's my thoughts on episode four: http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2010/11...our-vatos.html Straight out of the gate, episode four was a mixed bag for me - the opening scene was troublesome. The purpose of the scene was good, but the dialogue used to get there didn't work for me, it felt forced and convoluted and as if we'd joined a conversation half-way-done (in that perhaps we could have used some more time with Amy and Andrea to get to know them a bit better). Later in the episode we have the titular gang, and again it didn't play particularly well for me. It didn't feel entirely necessary, and it felt undercooked. There was some interest provided by it, but the gang weren't awfully compelling and their segment of the episode generally seemed a bit weak. Fortunately, being a mixed bag, there was plenty of good stuff too that allowed me to still enjoy the episode. While there isn't a huge amount of high pressure tension on offer with The Walking Dead (unlike other TV big hitters like 24 or Lost) - so far at least - we finally get some time with the character of Jim, in an impressive couple of scenes that developed the already impressive counterpart scenes from the graphic novel - indeed, this episode was written by franchise originator Robert Kirkman. A nice touch was Glenn's intelligent approach to leading the gang through Atlanta - Glenn has been consistently entertaining throughout the season, and is one of my favourite characters. Furthermore it was good to see Daryl Dixon fleshed out a bit more as in previous episodes he was mostly the 'unpleasant redneck', but in this episode they were able to set him up as a useful member of the team - someone who is skilled at zombie hunting (when he's not having an impassioned wig-out, that is). So after the first half which was a mixed bag, the second half - particularly the fourth act of the episode - really brought things up to standard. It illustrated exactly how enough shamblers can catch you off guard and provide a real threat - when you're dealing with one, all the others will continue to steadily advance, and you can easily find yourself overwhelmed and distracted. This sequence provided some real treats for the gore hounds, and as I'd figured, some of the nameless potential cannon fodder lived up to their purpose and took it on the chin so-to-speak. However, it wasn't just the background fodder who got it in the neck ... suffice to say, Laurie Holden got to act her arse off in a wonderfully performed moment that, for me, stole the entire show - but another nice character moment was provided by Dale talking at the campfire about his watch. DeMunn's intelligent and amiable performance continues to capture exactly who his comic book counterpart is. So all-in-all it turned out to be a good episode, despite the wobbles of the first half, and it'll be interesting to see where they go with the two remaining episodes of this season - by the looks of the 'next time on' teaser they will be straying from the source material once again with a new side plot. As a reader of the graphic novels (I've done the first four trade paperback volumes so far) it's nice to not just have a direct translation, but at the same time I haven't fully made up my mind yet about how much they're working outside of the established box, but so far it's working quite well - it's not been perfect, but it's been good.

[Tricky]

I really enjoyed this episode too, I havent had any real gripes about the series at all up to this point, and a lot of the gripes I have read on here are from people who have read the comics, which I havent, so they arent issues for me because its all new unexplored territory. I'll definitely be getting the DVD box set when it comes out! I dont know if this is how its going to play out, but my thoughts are that because Ricks van went missing, I'm under the impression that the vengeful Merle lured a load of walkers into the back of it, then released them in the vicinity of the survivors camp, but I could be wrong! Any others think that?

[kidgloves]

^^^^^^^ I've seen that theory banded about on the Internet. Bit ridiculous when you think about it. Merle has ONE hand. Is probably still in some serious pain. Besides, the van had no separator between the cabin and the back. Tricky. My mate is convinced that was a chieftain tank in the 1st episode. Do you know what tank it was?

[Tricky]

^^^^^^^ I've seen that theory banded about on the Internet. Bit ridiculous when you think about it. Merle has ONE hand. Is probably still in some serious pain. Besides, the van had no separator between the cabin and the back. This is true, although in TV land it could still be a possibility! This is a Chieftain and it does look very similar to the one in the show, but its a British main battle tank that has been out of service for over two decades so quite why it would be at a US military blockade is anyones guess! I would have expected an Abrams there!

[mpokera]

as I stated I enjoyed the episode a great deal but in all the nitpicking I have seen on here there seem to be a few basic problems no one is mentioned. Firstly and most glaring I think is that the 'Vatos" plan would never have worked even this long. You just can not fortify a building in a zombie ruled city and have any long term survivability at all. Why havent the acquired a moat of, I don't know, a few MILLION zombies around their building by now? Its the main problem of a zombie apocalypse, you might be able to keep them out (for a time) but you would just be surrounded and unable to resupply at all. Secondly they feel so secure right outside the city they dont even post gaurds at night? Hard to imagine, and pretty much got what was coming to them for that omission.

[Andy]

I have to admit, when they found the gang of survivors in the holed up in the city, i did jump up off my sofa shouting 'THAT DOSNT HAPPEN IN THE COMIC!' At first, i thought they were seriously jumping the gun and introducing woodbury very early on.. but i was pleasently suprised at being proved wrong and the twist they took with that. The attack on the camp was fantastic, i have to agree all those zombies finding their way to the camp just as merl was mega-pissed off and ricks van went missing, considering the lack of zombie activity before (they were suprised to see one zombie up there last episode) was very coincidental and i did think straight away that merl must have something to do with it, if not rounding them up and putting them in the back of the van, maybe driving through atlanta making loads of noise then driving back to the camp very slowly so that they could follow? but again it would be really hard to do that without being noticed by someone, I dunno but i cant wait to find out. This series has been one of the best things ive seen on TV in a long time.

[kidgloves]

This is a Chieftain and it does look very similar to the one in the show, but its a British main battle tank that has been out of service for over two decades so quite why it would be at a US military blockade is anyones guess! I would have expected an Abrams there! When I showed this guy the comicon trailer to get him onboard with the show the 1st thing he said was "what the hell is a chieftain doing in that blockade. It's one of ours" He's an ex-military guy and has pics of him sat on a cheftain when he was in the forces. He still insists it's a chieftain and says he could see why they used it to look like an Abrams. Something about the turret shape being unique. I was just curious. Maybe a tank collector rents them to the movie business or something. This guy loves the show btw and so does his missus. Just shows the universal appeal.

[MinionZombie]

Merle is gonna have to come back into it in the next two episodes somehow, there's no way that he's not gonna show up again, I'd say. And if anyone was wondering which zombie was Greg Nicotero, he was ...   the zombie that bites Amy.

[bassman]

Merle is gonna have to come back into it in the next two episodes somehow, there's no way that he's not gonna show up again, I'd say. I wouldn't be so sure....

[Tricky]

Yeah looking at it closely its definitely a Chieftain, I'm suprised they used it in TWD when its filmed in the US and there must be an abundance of Abrams tanks available for use in filming! Maybe its the same one that was used in the film "Reign of fire" that turns up with a load of americans too

[rongravy]

is it just me or does the vatos' leader remind anyone of a hispanic denzel washington?

[MinionZombie]

I wouldn't be so sure.... Hmmm ... IMDb has him listed as appearing in 5 episodes. I know it's not always the most reliable thing, but for this sort of information it's usually pretty reliable. Then again he doesn't technically appear in episode four, so it's already wrong, unless they're counting "previously on" footage ... ... plus his hand makes an appearance. I duno, I just think it would be really weird for them not to resolve the whole 'where is Merle?' subplot this season to be honest, like for nothing to be said about him in the remaining two episodes. He'll have to make a return somehow. The theory regarding him taking vengence upon the camp is an interesting one, but as has also been said, not without it's logistical and plot-hole problems. *intrigue mode on*