“Disease is rife among the background nobodies! Send help!” The Walking Dead S4E5 – Dork Review

We were away from The Walking Dead’s hellish prison base for one episode, but in that time, it’s descended into a pit of disease and misery, where everyone except Maggie and Carl is locked in a cell block to await the mercy of death.

I’d rather die of plague than be eaten alive by zombies, but I guess it’s hard to make that decision. So, can the infected hold on long enough for Daryl and chums to make it back with drugs? Spoilers below!

Dawn of the Non-Whiny

Much of this episode spotlights Hershel, and that’s fine by me. He’s grown into a strong and pleasingly non-whiny character since season two, and here we see him tending the sick, defying expectations and being an all-round legend, but never forgetting his humanity. Meanwhile, so-called leading man Rick can’t even prop up a fence.

I enjoyed Scott Wilson’s performance as Hershel a lot, although the impact of his doctoring was reduced by me having no idea who most of his patients were. Predictably enough, the few we did recognise were the ones who survived. We’re in the mid-season period of The Walking Dead, meaning lots of dead nobodies.

Still, even if nobody important was killed, there was an exciting sequence in the second half when everything went to hell – perhaps more dramatic and cool than last year’s finale, in fact. Nice to see the show closing off arcs at their natural length, rather than dragging them out all year. Only hope they replace it with something just as good.

Govpocalypse Now?

Rick and Carl’s scenes were sweet if forgettable and I must admit, I’m struggling to remember the last time Glenn did anything except worry and almost die. Still, all went together to create a sense of crisis in this particular episode.

And then, yes, the Governor reappeared at the end. I’m not sure where’s left to go with that guy, but it was inevitable. Not to mention, the next episode looks very Govcentric, so I’ll have plenty of opinions about him in that review, I’m sure. See you in a week for that!

But focusing on the episode here – nothing mindblowing, but great final action sequence to wrap up that virus storyline and plenty of strong moments for Hershel, who’d earnt a good showcase after his years of service. Let’s see where they go now the disease is vanquished. (And good work Team Daryl, bringing back the medicine in time to save almost nobody!)

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Nick Bryan

Nick learned to read and write at an early age. This has developed into an unhealthy need to either write stories or consume them for later dissection. He reviews film and TV on Dork Adore and The Digital Fix, lives in London and enjoys a nice white beer.

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