The Walking Dead: Four Walls and a Roof
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The good
Face off between the crew and the Hunters. Touching moments with Bob as Sasha and others deal with him being bitten
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The bad
Tyreese becoming more like Gabriel.
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The ugly
- Total score
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.
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.
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.
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