Episode Commentary: Wildfire
More death. More drama. Just another solid episode of “The Walking Dead” that shows this program is doing everything in its power to separate itself from its source material. All in all, it seems to be working, as the pacing problems that plagued the last episode were nowhere to be seen and more characters have left the camp, making the show a bit easier to follow.
Nevertheless, you have to wonder how much traction this new angle is going to pick up. Especially when there was nothing wrong with the plot development of the comic.
Okay, enough fanboying for now. Simply put, the show was good because you can see the drama building between Rick, Shane and Laurie. The one scene where Shane is ready to lose it and Dale catches him was easily the strongest of the episode and shows the themes of brutality, insecurity and selfishness many characters exhibit in Kirkman’s work. If they manage to create a few more scenes like this the rest of the season, it’ll be a memorable one.
However, how the creative team decides to handle this situation can literally make or break the show for many of the comic book fans. Considering that Merle lost his hand a few weeks ago, which gets Rick off the hook in the future, this show continues to change and morph itself into something completely different.
Again, it’s too early to tell if this is a good or bad thing.
Okay, now the fanboying stops.
Despite these apparent differences, its still stellar. This is a world brimming with emotion, much of it being bottled up with no where to go.
After these past few episodes, the season finale should be the place where everything hits the wall. That is if everything goes to formula.
With a few extra characters still hanging around as well, the creative team has some room to play and add some more gore. These characters aren’t very captivating to fans of the comic and of the show, but their deaths could add another dose of reality just when things get a little too safe.
Sorry T-dog.
The addition of Noah Emmerich will help the show as well. A veteran actor with undeniable skill, his appearance is tricky to understand now, but it seems he’s been working on something underground for quite some time. The casting team has done a great job picking the right people for this show, now it’s time to let them do their thing.
With many of the bells and whistles being stripped off this week and last, it’s going to be interesting to see where this show is headed.
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