Original air date: November 9, 2014
Review (with SPOILERS): Meh… This was an episode that tried to do some big things and just kinda missed. It was going for something special with the Abraham character that didn’t come off, but due to the professional way this show is now handling its business, it isn’t a fatal flaw for the season.
The problem with the Abraham story is that I just don’t believe that zombie apocalypse survivors are THIS gullible and non-cynical. Since meeting Abraham, we saw that he had this single-minded mission to get Eugene to Washington to save the world. It was always kinda assumed (at least by me) that Abraham was taking this mission as a military man and military men like missions, but this episode changed what was driving him to more of a protective thing by showing us his family (?), how he lost them and just as he was recovering from that loss, along comes Eugene needing help and giving Abraham a new mission. It’s like they were trying so hard to show that Abraham’s entire reason for being was The Mission; and now that The Mission has been exposed as fraudulent, they’re going to make him go through some existential crisis. There was just so much about Abraham’s story that didn’t quite come off. I didn’t buy this single minded “We are going to Washington, dammit!” drive. I didn’t buy the way his family cringed after he beat a man to death with a canned good. And I really didn’t buy him just accepting Eugene’s story at face value and then sticking with it for months just because Eugene dropped a few names and used big words. I mean, hasn’t anyone ever tried to Big Time(tm) Abraham before? Hasn’t Abraham ever bought a used car where some dude tried to mislead him? Has his family so not gotten used to death that they are shocked when their Dad violently defends themselves? Are military men so inflexible in their thinking that they can only go straight forward? The whole thing was just too blunt.
And there were a few fumbles with the extras on the story-telling, like when Rosita fell right into line with Abraham in the library and there was a question about moving on, but was there to tell Abraham he was nuts for wanting to go through the zombie herd rather than detouring. It’s like the earlier scene was there just to support the later scene, and given that Rosita has been a nothing character so far, she had no significance in either instance. Or all the talk about Eugene’s hair making him seem like something he isn’t, which was ironic because he actually was just some dude with a mullet. And they let Tara talk and give fist-bumps again… UGH!
I always wonder how stories like this one happen. Surely someone in the writers’ group said, “Guys, I don’t think this is going to work quite right.” Maybe they were just rushed? Or maybe they should just stick with what they’re good at, which isn’t this sort of storytelling.
But, most of this just negativity just doesn’t matter because of some good things this show is doing this season.
For one thing, the whole Eugene charade is OVER. It is so refreshing to see TWD not linger on stories. Previous showrunners would have milked Eugene’s story for 7-8 episodes. Remember the Sophia Saga? Now it’s over and done with. We’re moving on to something else. Ditto for Abraham’s clumsy story. I thought Abraham’s story was kinda weak, but it is over and it won’t be there to bother me again. That’s the benefit of moving on quickly: Bad things just go away.
Another thing that I really enjoyed was seeing different characters interacting. Glen/Maggie were getting deprived of screen-time in Rick’s group because they were competing with Tyreese, Carol, Darryl, Rick, Carl, etc. They also didn’t really have anything to do, except be the hope that life/love could continue in the zombie apocalypse. Now in Abraham’s group, they are vital cogs in the machine. They fight, they make decisions and they get to talk to characters we haven’t seen them with before. Good stuff.
And they found a new pinnacle of zombie killing: The Water Cannon. Man, to paraphrase Abraham, that was some shit! Seeing the water cannon just blasting zombies to bits. Pretty cool. I wonder how long they can keep finding new ways to kill zombies?
Conclusion: The episode was a bit of a miss, but since TWD is moving quickly this season we don’t have to linger on this failure for long. Onward and upward.
Grade: B-
-Dean Stell
Filed under: Image Comics |
Weekly Comic Book Review 
Good review. I definitely agree with your point about how fast they’re wrapping things up. They have A TON of source material to pull from, so there’s no real need to linger on any particular story.
As for Tara… Tara is close to Eugene. Based on how his love life has been in the comics, I’d like to see him have a love interest on screen. But, Tara’s gay, right? 😦
In the comics Abraham’s wife and daughter are raped while the son is held and made to watch by the other survivors Abraham and his family are with. They did not make this clear on the show, but it was mentioned on Talking Dead afterwards. I actually think that not mentioning that on the TV episode made his family’s reaction to him killing the man more realistic because I can’t imagine they would resent him killing the people that raped and tortured them as they did in the comic. But I still find it a bit hard to believe his family would run from him in that situation. That they would feel he is more dangerous to them than the apocalyptic situation outside is pretty hard to believe. And they obviously did not make it very far so clearly the danger was imminent.
I also had a big problem with the water cannon scene. The water blast did not look strong enough that it was ripping zombies apart. It looked like it was mostly just knocking them down, but then they were all dead. So water now kills zombies? I didn’t get it at all. But obviously the water cannon was strong enough that it was ripping the zombies to pieces, but it didn’t really look like it to me.
And Glenn and Maggie, I thought, were kind of annoying in this one. They had the one scene in the book store where we get to see once again how much they love each other. We get it. They’re in love. Otherwise the scene served no purpose. But I get your comment that being in this smaller group gives them a chance to play more important roles.
And did anybody know that Abraham and Rosita were lovers prior to this episode? I know my memory is bad, but I don’t remember them revealing that before. Not that it really matters, I guess, but I was surprised when they were suddenly bumping and grinding in the book store while Eugene looked on.
Did Abe’s wife wife take the kids to be intentionally eaten and killed or did they just panic and run? Maybe I am reading too much into it. I get the vibe the wife didn’t want to live in this world or could trust her husband, given the note they left for abe to find
Thank you for not spoiling the story – everyone who read the comics knew Eugene was full of shit.
From what I understand, in the comics, Abe’s family were raped by his friends and neighbors as he went for supplies.
So the incident where he beat the man with a can of peas and his family cringed and were afraid of Abe, I thought was really moving.
The apocalypse had just happened, the world changed and Abe trusted his friends with his family.
Maybe to the family, Abe abandoned them. Killing everyone won’t un-brutalize his fam or get rid of the zombies. Not everyone is prepared for the apocalypse like Abe or Rick.
His wife and kids giving him the stink eye, that;s abandonment and loss of trust. His wife, young kids were raped by his friends and neighbors and the undead are walking around. And he covered in blood saying everything will be OK. It was tragic and very effective.
Abe had a psychotic break – I think he knew Eugene was full of shit and needed a reason for going on.
I thought it was tragic. Made Abe look pathetic and Glenn and Maggie look stupid.
What is the etiquette for the apocalypse? If Abe hadn’t walked into Eugene he would have ate a bullet.
Eugene was very compelling, a coward who had let other people die
for his fear. The way he spoke on the preacher. His complete social ineptness – very tragic. Not evil, just a fucking stupid guy.
And the storyline was over quick.
I hope they keep this up.
But I can also see that if you know the comic stories how this can be boring or trite
Dean, I have noticed you haven’t been blogging as much lately. You always write about the books I enjoy (most of which you turned me onto after my return to comics) and no one else is writing about them! I hope to see more form you in the future.
Regardless of whether you his family’s reaction (and note the story is pretty much the same in the comics) I think abraham’s is perfectly believable. He lost his family and was ready to commit suicide. Eugene came along and gave him something to believe. At the end of the day it’s all about faith. Abraham had faith in Eugene because he sorely needed a purpose. Which is to say that the mission was essentially Abraham’s religion. It was sacred to him. Now this is a case where he obviously put his faith in the wrong man, but it doesn’t change the fact that abraham needed to believe eugene just so he had a reason to keep living. And to be honest I don’t think the situation is comparable to abraham buying a car from a dishonest saleman. This is the apocalyspe baby. This is life and death. When you find someting to believe in, even if it’s of a dubious nature, you hold on to it with both hands because really ti’s all you got. And yes Tara is annoying.
Yeah, I see where you are coming from about this episode as a stand-alone. Typical clumsy dialogue and too on the nose repetitive scenes.
But taken together within the season, I found it compelling and interesting. This season, so far, the series has been exploring the reasons people are making decisions. Abraham’s “mission” is a nice companion to Dawn’s “we’re going to be saved” reasons for why she justifies her actions (or inactions). Abraham’s mission to get Eugene to DC was his great motivation.
I know its cliche and silly, but Abraham about to give up and then finding a reason to live with this mission worked for me. He needed to believe it, so he believed it unflinchingly. I’m looking forward to how his character reacts/evolves from here. (It’s rare for this show that I get invested in character rather than story, so that’s a plus right there.)
Glad to see I’m not the only one who takes issue with Tara’s fist bumps. I mean, what happened to shaking hands or hugs? And yes, the water cannon was a cool moment. Like the walkers walking through fire during the premiere, it’s something we haven’t seen much of before.