Beth and Daryl's journey reveals more about their characters as they cope with their losses and try to find a reason to keep going. Memorable scenes include Beth and Daryl's bonding over a game of "Never Have I Ever" and Daryl's emotional breakdown as he opens up about his past, showcasing their vulnerability and humanity in a world that has stripped them of both. Meanwhile, Glenn reunites with Tara and encounters Abraham's group, setting the stage for their journey together.
Angela Kang has submitted a brilliant script. No two ways about it, she got a very plumb assignment and she knocked it directly out of the park this week. The slow build of the episode from the opening onward, the way Daryl barely says anything while Beth tries time and time again to get him to open up, the fruitless search for alcohol (only to yield Peach Schnapps, the worst possible thing imaginable), and the inevitable opening up of the locked chest of emotions for both Beth and Daryl was just stunning, both in content and in execution. It's kind of a silly, aimless quest for the two to undertake, but Beth is insistent and Daryl is unwilling to let her wander off to die. Considering the trauma they've underwent, and the fact that as far as they know everyone they've ever loved is now officially dead, why not have a walkabout?
Norman Reedus is he a fan favourite, he may also be the best actor in the regular cast. This is a really emotionally ripping performance from him, and I think the reason why it works so well is that it builds so slowly. As Daryl goes through his day, you can see him repressing, see him looking twice at Beth, see his patience begin to slip, and when the alcohol begins to take hold and he eventually gives up on Beth's drinking game, he's by turns legitimately scary and legitimately heartbreaking. Full credit for Emily Kinney, too, because she gives him a lot to work with and against, and she's got a harder character in the sense that she's supposed to be the positive one (and it's very hard for positive people not to be annoying to those of us who aren't positive).
Impressively, this is the first episode of The Walking Dead for director Julius Ramsay, who has a short film to his credits and a lot of experience in the editing bay. That's probably one of the reasons why the show moved from scene to scene so smoothly. The fact that it was mostly set in two locations, a moonshiner's shack and a golf course clubhouse, helped keep things appropriately claustrophobic, but nothing was quite as claustrophobic and impressive as the opening sequence. From the smooth tracking shot of the long-dormant car crash to the way the scene with Daryl and Beth crammed in the trunk was shot, it was a very impressive Walking Dead debut. Even though Daryl and Beth aren't going to die in the beginning of an episode, it's still really scary to behold. The sound design was spectacular. More impressive was the set design, both of the accident scene after the horde passes - great attention to detail in the massing of footprints - and in the abandoned country club, where it's clear that a lot of horrible things happened after Day Z. A bottle episode in the proper location can be an awesomely frightening thing; this is a great example of that.
Angela Kang has submitted a brilliant script. No two ways about it, she got a very plumb assignment and she knocked it directly out of the park this week. The slow build of the episode from the opening onward, the way Daryl barely says anything while Beth tries time and time again to get him to open up, the fruitless search for alcohol (only to yield Peach Schnapps, the worst possible thing imaginable), and the inevitable opening up of the locked chest of emotions for both Beth and Daryl was just stunning, both in content and in execution. It's kind of a silly, aimless quest for the two to undertake, but Beth is insistent and Daryl is unwilling to let her wander off to die. Considering the trauma they've underwent, and the fact that as far as they know everyone they've ever loved is now officially dead, why not have a walkabout?
Norman Reedus is he a fan favourite, he may also be the best actor in the regular cast. This is a really emotionally ripping performance from him, and I think the reason why it works so well is that it builds so slowly. As Daryl goes through his day, you can see him repressing, see him looking twice at Beth, see his patience begin to slip, and when the alcohol begins to take hold and he eventually gives up on Beth's drinking game, he's by turns legitimately scary and legitimately heartbreaking. Full credit for Emily Kinney, too, because she gives him a lot to work with and against, and she's got a harder character in the sense that she's supposed to be the positive one (and it's very hard for positive people not to be annoying to those of us who aren't positive).
Impressively, this is the first episode of The Walking Dead for director Julius Ramsay, who has a short film to his credits and a lot of experience in the editing bay. That's probably one of the reasons why the show moved from scene to scene so smoothly. The fact that it was mostly set in two locations, a moonshiner's shack and a golf course clubhouse, helped keep things appropriately claustrophobic, but nothing was quite as claustrophobic and impressive as the opening sequence. From the smooth tracking shot of the long-dormant car crash to the way the scene with Daryl and Beth crammed in the trunk was shot, it was a very impressive Walking Dead debut. Even though Daryl and Beth aren't going to die in the beginning of an episode, it's still really scary to behold. The sound design was spectacular. More impressive was the set design, both of the accident scene after the horde passes - great attention to detail in the massing of footprints - and in the abandoned country club, where it's clear that a lot of horrible things happened after Day Z. A bottle episode in the proper location can be an awesomely frightening thing; this is a great example of that.