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Kareem Ali 4.5

The Walking Dead: Four Walls and a Roof

 

  • The good

    Face off between the crew and the Hunters. Touching moments with Bob as Sasha and others deal with him being bitten

  • The bad

    Tyreese becoming more like Gabriel.

  • The ugly

    • The Walking Dead: Four Walls and a Roof is the third episode in the season and has the crew reeling from the latest attack by the Hunters. It opens up with Gareth trying to explain to Bob why they’re eating his leg, and Gareth states that it’s not anything personal. He goes on to tell Bob that at Terminus they had a factory of sorts, and they wanted Bob and the rest of the crew to either join them in their cannibalism or become their food for the next month. And the only reason they’ve become hunters is because their base of operations, Terminus, which they used to lure unwitting victims, was destroyed. After his misplaced speech extolling the principles of their lifestyle, Gareth tries to console Bob about his missing leg by saying they did a pretty good job amputating it but Bob is actually laughing at all of them eating his leg. Bob proceeds to show them that he was bitten by a walker so they’re all eating tainted meat, and attempting to vomit wouldn’t change the fact they already ate it. Since no one knows the ramifications of eating tainted meat there’s nothing they can do but wait it out after dropping Bob off in the woods. And with Sasha and others frantically looking for Bob, it’s only a matter of time before the Hunters zero in on their next meal/target.

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    Last episode was a slow burn but with a huge payoff at the end with the Hunters being revealed and enjoying a cookout with Bob’s leg as the main dish. So I was really looking forward to this episode to see how things would unfold, and I’m glad I can say that the story progression was similar to the premiere episode again. It jumped right into it with Bob and the Hunters, and his “tainted meat” chant basically set the tone for the episode. On one hand there were the Hunters arrogantly justifying their cannibalism and attacks, and on the other hand there’s the crew defiantly responding and protecting their family. Naturally the crew would suspect Gabriel being involved in Bob’s disappearance based on his behavior and also the fact that a message was scratched on the outside of the church damning Gabriel. And this confrontation would be a powerful moment as Gabriel would confess to what has been eating him alive since the zombie outbreak began, and the meaning of what was scratched on the outside of the church, although it would have nothing to do with Bob. And as I mentioned in my review of last episode, this would put Gabriel in a relatively unique position in terms of the way characters have responded to the zombie apocalypse. And the crew wouldn’t have to wait long to get an answer about Bob’s fate as he would be dropped off at the church as quick as spoiled food is discarded.

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    Bob would explain what happened to him as well as seeing Carol and Daryl drive off somewhere. And before any aid would be administered to him he would come clean and show them he was bitten by a walker. Of course the impact was immediately clear especially since he and Sasha were in a deep relationship. However it also reminded me of the episode from last season, The Walking Dead: Alone, where it focused on how he was wandering lifelessly prior to being found and brought into the crew. So this wasn’t just felt from Sasha’s position or the others but Bob’s as well knowing how much changed for him over time. The general sentiment would be one of revenge but the fact that the Hunters were basically living walkers made them threatening to everyone. And deciding on the next course of action led to some contention within the group with Abraham taking a firm stance that now was the time to head to D.C. and threatening to leave the group that night. Just like last episode it was good to see Abraham get some shine, and this was an excellent scene too as he and Rick would go back and forth with a final agreement being put into place. There would also be a moment between Sasha and Tyreese about what she should do, and Tyreese would recall how he felt after Karen was killed and what he wish he could’ve done. This episode had probably the best moments between the two since they’ve been introduced, and it would capture the difficulty and pain in all these situations.

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    Where this episode would excel would be during the course of action decided on, and the intensity in which these events would unfold. I was seriously on the edge of my seat, and it wasn’t even as if I didn’t have a clue what would happen but the manner in which this was done. It was definitely exciting and provided one of the most memorable moments in the series to date. I won’t give even the slightest thing away but I will say that 3 episodes into the season and 3 times has there been big moments that resonate long after the episode ends. And it’s not just big moments but story progression too since different situations aren’t dragged out unnecessarily. And that’s part of why this is shaping up to be even better than last season.

     

    SUMMARY

     

    The Walking Dead: Four Walls and a Roof is an excellent episode that has plenty of engrossing moments early on yet still has a big payoff at the end.  Bob isn’t the first character to be bitten by a walker yet this episode does a great job in taking advantage of the character development from last season and recent events to make it a touching moment. The implications behind eating tainted meat in light of the fact that everyone is already infected made the Hunters existence even more frightening from the standpoint that they were essentially living walkers. There are still some questions that remain regarding certain characters but the story progression is handled so well that I’m fully confident there won’t be a long wait for those answers. And I’m looking forward to that.

     

     

  • Rating ( 9.4 )
  • Total score 9.4

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