Whither expert moustache trimming in the zombie apocalypse? The Walking Dead S4E11 – Dork Review

I thought the slow, multi-strand pacing of the last two The Walking Dead episodes were a gimmick for the first two episodes before drawing everyone together, but no, it appears that’s the approach going forward. Well, fair enough.

So, this week’s cast are Rick, Carl and Michonne on one hand, and Glenn and Tara on the other, meeting three new people and slowly ambling onwards. What awaits them, and is it more exciting than last week? Spoilers, etc.

Oh The Inhumanity

Well, if they’re going to divide their episodes into two clear parts, I may as well structure my review the same way. First up, Rick and co – much like the excellent first episode, this group seem to get more thoughtful, less SHOUTING OUR FEELINGS characterisation than others. The Carl/Michonne sequences, again, have a quiet charm that this show often lacks.

The all-new sometimes-emoting Michonne gets focus this week, making it all the more bemusing that they let her spend 1.5 seasons as a monosyllabic killing machine, really. Danai Gurira is great at this stuff, with the warmth and gravitas to lead this show herself if Andrew Lincoln ever decides he’s had enough.

Rick’s still hanging on for now, though, as he faces a bunch of party-poopers trying to claim the house he’d stupidly let himself relax in. It was a tense, straightforward sequence, and I enjoyed the sheer weariness Lincoln communicating despite not saying much, the way the COMMUNITY poster at the end spoke to him with its promise of not having to desperately claim deserted homes. A good episode at this end.

Shaving Routines Of The Apocalypse

Elsewhere, we finally get some new blood in the form of Abraham, Rosita and Eugene. They have a certain cartoonish smoothness to them – the show seems more of a comic-book adaptation when they’re on screen, and how does Abraham maintain that elaborate moustache with no shops or electricity? Nonetheless, they have drive and resolution, and at a time in the storyline where all the regular characters are broken shells of humanity, it’s good to have that.

Admittedly, only Abraham gets a huge amount of space so far, and Rosita’s only personality trait is told to us by Tara rather than demonstrated on screen. Would it have been hard to show her put herself in danger to save Abraham, or something like that?

Except for that one blip, though, it’s a decent move forward for the storyline. Nothing earthshattering, but it kept everything moving forward, I was reliably engaged and curious where it’ll go in the future. Will next week make other storylines just as interesting?

More The Walking Dead on Dork Adore | The Walking Dead: Too Far Gone – Dork Review

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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