Walking Dead Recap – Slabtown & Self Help

Tags

AMC, Beth, entertainment, Recap, review, Self Help, Slabtown, The Walking Dead, TV, TWD, Zombies

Okay, I lied. I said I was going to do a weekly recap. You know what? I’m going to lie again, so take that for what it is worth. I am here again to say hello and share what happened on the Walking Dead. This will be for the last two episodes so if I am hazy on one please forgive me.

“Slabtown”

First impressions of this were pretty positive. For starters, I was happy to see Beth again. She is not a perfect angel but she is one of the few characters who seem to have a strong moral compass. I am also taken in by her naive innocence that has somehow remained this far into the zombie apocalypse. This episode also gave us another facet of survival life. What it is like for people who stayed in Atlanta. It makes me wonder if there are other pocket communities.

I wanted to get extra input on this episode. I tend to do that when I either really like something or really hate something. Other people’s opinions can either confirm my thoughts or offer a different perspective. On Reddit there was a fair amount of impart to this episode. People either thought most of it was “unrealistic” or out-of-place. I will tell you now that I will not get into the “unrealistic” part. Come on people, it is a zombie show after all. As for out-of-place, I do not agree. It was a nice break from the Rick group and it was about time they explained Beth and her disappearance. We also get to see a nice teaser at the end.

“Self Help”

I am not sure if I liked this episode as much. It was another group view and this time it was the Abraham team. The first thing I had a hard time with was Glenn and Maggie joining them. It felt forced and I honestly am not convinced they have a massive impact. Glenn almost became a leader and strong character again but sort of fizzled out at the end. Maggie hardly had any importance other than she was there because Glenn was there. The parts I did enjoy were peeks inside the heads and lives of Eugene and Abraham.

For the most part, this episode ran heavier on the serious and somewhat dark side. The flashbacks that Abraham had, offered a story of sadness and loss that gives his character a little more depth. There is still a little more that should get explained about events but we have a pretty good idea at this point. The big part to take away from the flashbacks is Abraham was ready to take his own life. If not for Eugene arriving when he did, Abraham would be another corpse. This leaves us to wonder if that is the last thing driving Abraham and if he will give up again. I hope to see more of Abraham. He is a bit of a cliché but I don’t care. He entertains me.

As one who reads the comics and enjoys the show I have to say I really dislike Eugene. His mullet is terrible and he is a massive coward that has cost people their lives. That aside he still seems to have a place in the show. Zombies are fine for playing a substitute villain but when you do not have the living evil, you need some other type of discord to keep the story interesting. Eugene fits the bill with aces. Do not completely misjudge my thoughts on his character. I know he serves a purpose and his cowardice comes from fear and is innocent at its heart. In the end he just begins to redeem himself by confessing his biggest secret. At this point he has now become the outcast but is yet to receive total rejection. He is not a good person by definition, but in TWD who is? He is still smart and that could be enough to keep him around. Perhaps he can now save others, rather than allow them die.