After the all out battle at the prison that was the mid season finale of The Walking Dead, they wisely opted for a genuine cliff hanger to end season four; one that sets the stage perfectly for the next installment, while decisively closing the door with a bang on much that has come before.
And if anyone closed a door in this episode, it was Rick Grimes, who truly and without apology, embraced his savage side when he bit open Joe's neck and gutted that pedophile who was menacing Carl. Gone forever was Farmer Rick, as well as the man who fought with Shane over sparing a scavenger's life. This is a now a man fully awake to the savagery of the world after the Zombie Apocalypse; one who will do whatever it takes to protect Carl and his adopted family.
In fact family, and what makes one, seemed to be a sub theme of this episode; look at the moment when Rick acknowledges Daryl as his brother and think about the latter's relationship with Merle and how he has always been an outsider from the beginning. Then there was the scene where Michonne tells Carl of the fate of her son, his father and her friend in the refugee camp, and how the real Michonne went away in the face of all that horror, only to be drawn back out again by caring people like Carl, Andrea and Rick-her new family. Contrast them to the people inside Terminus-they share a bond of "blood," but not in a way that makes them better or stronger. Who are we? Carl asked his father early in the episode and later referred to himself as just another monster, but the answer was plain to see.
We found out what was really going inside Terminus and it turns out to be more evil than the Governor on his worst day. There was the introduction of the a new character, Gareth, the leader of Terminus, who will hopefully be the Big Bad in season five.
It was great to see Herchel in the flashbacks at the prison; he is sorely missed.
I know a lot of fans were disappointed that there wasn't another bloodbath to end the season-although the massacre of Joe's group surely counts for something; same for those who wanted all the plot lines tied up: what happened to Beth? Where's Tyrese, Carole, and baby Judith? They'll just have to wait.
And who closed the railroad car door after Carl? No one was standing there.
"They're screwing with the wrong people," was Rick''s reply to Abraham at the end of the show, letting us know he is a man who has seen the worst and done the worst and is no longer afraid. Bring on season five.
And if anyone closed a door in this episode, it was Rick Grimes, who truly and without apology, embraced his savage side when he bit open Joe's neck and gutted that pedophile who was menacing Carl. Gone forever was Farmer Rick, as well as the man who fought with Shane over sparing a scavenger's life. This is a now a man fully awake to the savagery of the world after the Zombie Apocalypse; one who will do whatever it takes to protect Carl and his adopted family.
In fact family, and what makes one, seemed to be a sub theme of this episode; look at the moment when Rick acknowledges Daryl as his brother and think about the latter's relationship with Merle and how he has always been an outsider from the beginning. Then there was the scene where Michonne tells Carl of the fate of her son, his father and her friend in the refugee camp, and how the real Michonne went away in the face of all that horror, only to be drawn back out again by caring people like Carl, Andrea and Rick-her new family. Contrast them to the people inside Terminus-they share a bond of "blood," but not in a way that makes them better or stronger. Who are we? Carl asked his father early in the episode and later referred to himself as just another monster, but the answer was plain to see.
We found out what was really going inside Terminus and it turns out to be more evil than the Governor on his worst day. There was the introduction of the a new character, Gareth, the leader of Terminus, who will hopefully be the Big Bad in season five.
It was great to see Herchel in the flashbacks at the prison; he is sorely missed.
I know a lot of fans were disappointed that there wasn't another bloodbath to end the season-although the massacre of Joe's group surely counts for something; same for those who wanted all the plot lines tied up: what happened to Beth? Where's Tyrese, Carole, and baby Judith? They'll just have to wait.
And who closed the railroad car door after Carl? No one was standing there.
"They're screwing with the wrong people," was Rick''s reply to Abraham at the end of the show, letting us know he is a man who has seen the worst and done the worst and is no longer afraid. Bring on season five.