The Walking Dead - Season 5 Episode 5 - "Self Help"
Episode: Self Help
When I found out from the promo after the previous episode that this was going to be about Abraham's group and there whereabouts, I did start to feel a little nervous that they were following the same structure as the second half of Season 4 after the prison battle. However, this episode was acting as if it was "taking a break" from all the action and happenings going on with the other groups. This episode was the introduction and conclusion of this group's travels due to what happened with Eugene. I did enjoy this episode as a whole but I thought that it was all going a bit too fast considering I'm a reader of the comics. It was filmed very well with the different stunts they had to construct and the narrative was different than the usual "fight to survive" aspect which consistently runs through the episodes, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. In this episode, Abraham's group are continuing their travels to Washington D.C, but when their vehicle breaks down and the truth spills, they find that their journey might not be worth persevering.
Every time I pick a scene out of an episode, I always try and pick the scenes that benefit the audience or play a vital part to the narrative of the episode or maybe the season rather than the scene that contains the most action or commendation to the directors. However, the scene that I chose was Eugene's confession that he wasn't a scientist and didn't know how to cure the disease. It was great to finally see Eugene, a weakling that can't protect himself, rise up and be the dominant person in this scene. Seeing him restraint by the truth was all thanks to some superb acting by Eugene and I loved watching it. Not only did this surprise the audience and the group for that matter, but it completely changed the atmosphere within the group and I was nervous about what would happen to Eugene, whether they would abandon him or maybe kill him. This scene affects everyone in this show as they were all counting on him to make Washington the end but it made the audience eager to see what the group would do next, especially me.
Eugene impressed me this episode in terms of characters. His development in not even half a season has grown on a large scale. I enjoyed his shyness and liability act from when he was first introduced to now as it made the audience wonder how he had survived this long without having the attributes that can kill walkers. The exposure of his secret, the only thing keeping him alive, suddenly made his character unknown and have no purpose which was a sudden conversion for him. The most important thing about Eugene was what would happen next for him as that kept on running through my mind as the narrative continued. Would Abraham abandon him? Or would they keep to the "code" of surviving together and forgive him? All these questions were left open for an answer as they weren't answered in this episode. The brainy scientist who had the world at his feet due to his intelligence of the disease suddenly became a worthless and unforgiving character which the audience had to handle and the portrayal of this conversion was done very well. I'm very excited yet nervous to find out what the rest of the group make of this character's confession.
"Self Help" was filmed more outdoors than indoors which was a change of scenery for the audience as the only main location they had seen so far was Father Gabriel's church. I enjoy episodes that are filmed outdoors as they are oppose more of a threat from the walkers due to no walls being hid behind. The stunt that was constructed with the bus breaking down and crashing was precise and realistic and developed the audience's fear of them not making it. During Eugene's confession, the group was rarely filmed as a whole but rather individual mid shots of characters expressions and reactions. Not only did this create a similar feeling between the group but it produced more sinister angst in the atmosphere and this is the sort of atmosphere this show is renowned for when it comes to cinematography, very enjoyable to watch as a viewer.
This episode was a good hiatus from the rest of the season as well as seeing the future of Abraham's group. It was comical, such as the sex scene with Abraham and Rosita which relaxed the audience from the high tension. It released a lot of answers with Eugene and the cure which were certainly needed to be answered and this was presented in cooperation with the cinematography that produced an atmosphere that the audience get nervous about as its unexpected and doesn't give anything away to what might happen next, a feature I certainly enjoy watching with The Walking Dead. A good episode to watch and I'm looking forward to the repercussions this will have on the rest of the season as we're nearing the midseason finale.
Episode: Self Help
When I found out from the promo after the previous episode that this was going to be about Abraham's group and there whereabouts, I did start to feel a little nervous that they were following the same structure as the second half of Season 4 after the prison battle. However, this episode was acting as if it was "taking a break" from all the action and happenings going on with the other groups. This episode was the introduction and conclusion of this group's travels due to what happened with Eugene. I did enjoy this episode as a whole but I thought that it was all going a bit too fast considering I'm a reader of the comics. It was filmed very well with the different stunts they had to construct and the narrative was different than the usual "fight to survive" aspect which consistently runs through the episodes, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. In this episode, Abraham's group are continuing their travels to Washington D.C, but when their vehicle breaks down and the truth spills, they find that their journey might not be worth persevering.
Every time I pick a scene out of an episode, I always try and pick the scenes that benefit the audience or play a vital part to the narrative of the episode or maybe the season rather than the scene that contains the most action or commendation to the directors. However, the scene that I chose was Eugene's confession that he wasn't a scientist and didn't know how to cure the disease. It was great to finally see Eugene, a weakling that can't protect himself, rise up and be the dominant person in this scene. Seeing him restraint by the truth was all thanks to some superb acting by Eugene and I loved watching it. Not only did this surprise the audience and the group for that matter, but it completely changed the atmosphere within the group and I was nervous about what would happen to Eugene, whether they would abandon him or maybe kill him. This scene affects everyone in this show as they were all counting on him to make Washington the end but it made the audience eager to see what the group would do next, especially me.
Eugene impressed me this episode in terms of characters. His development in not even half a season has grown on a large scale. I enjoyed his shyness and liability act from when he was first introduced to now as it made the audience wonder how he had survived this long without having the attributes that can kill walkers. The exposure of his secret, the only thing keeping him alive, suddenly made his character unknown and have no purpose which was a sudden conversion for him. The most important thing about Eugene was what would happen next for him as that kept on running through my mind as the narrative continued. Would Abraham abandon him? Or would they keep to the "code" of surviving together and forgive him? All these questions were left open for an answer as they weren't answered in this episode. The brainy scientist who had the world at his feet due to his intelligence of the disease suddenly became a worthless and unforgiving character which the audience had to handle and the portrayal of this conversion was done very well. I'm very excited yet nervous to find out what the rest of the group make of this character's confession.
"Self Help" was filmed more outdoors than indoors which was a change of scenery for the audience as the only main location they had seen so far was Father Gabriel's church. I enjoy episodes that are filmed outdoors as they are oppose more of a threat from the walkers due to no walls being hid behind. The stunt that was constructed with the bus breaking down and crashing was precise and realistic and developed the audience's fear of them not making it. During Eugene's confession, the group was rarely filmed as a whole but rather individual mid shots of characters expressions and reactions. Not only did this create a similar feeling between the group but it produced more sinister angst in the atmosphere and this is the sort of atmosphere this show is renowned for when it comes to cinematography, very enjoyable to watch as a viewer.
This episode was a good hiatus from the rest of the season as well as seeing the future of Abraham's group. It was comical, such as the sex scene with Abraham and Rosita which relaxed the audience from the high tension. It released a lot of answers with Eugene and the cure which were certainly needed to be answered and this was presented in cooperation with the cinematography that produced an atmosphere that the audience get nervous about as its unexpected and doesn't give anything away to what might happen next, a feature I certainly enjoy watching with The Walking Dead. A good episode to watch and I'm looking forward to the repercussions this will have on the rest of the season as we're nearing the midseason finale.