Trust is hard and desperation for salvation & sanctuary leads some of the survivors astray, searching for some things they’ve already lost long ago…
But can one restore their home? In what begins as a mostly calm and story-focused installment, the tenth hour of The Walking Dead takes an intense, dramatic turn which once again proves the series as one of the most thrilling series on television! When one’s home is threatened, what are they to do? Lose their mind? Let rage guide them? Or enact revenge? How about all three! The quiet tension carried along erupts in brutal violence and ends with new allegiances. This isn’t the first time the zombie apocalypse drama has shocked us all, but it just keeps getting better and better with each hour! “Home” is a tantalizing taste of what violent mayhem is to come in the next few episodes, even as we get to see some great bits of character development!
Daryl and Merel are on the road! The Dixon brothers are a quite an intriguing pair. These are some of the first times we’ve really seen the brothers really interacting with one another for an elongated period. Merel, being the bullying chatterbox that he is, continues to poke and prod his little brother, Daryl concerning his time with Rick and his group. One can see how much in Daryl’s eyes that he’s missing his real home--his family at the prison. He isn’t the same jackass redneck he used to be when he spent his life with Merel. He’s changed quite and bit and has become really tight with the others. Daryl spends his time with Merel, annoyed and frustrated--he knows his brother is a danger. Merel continues to be the mouthy pusher he’s always been and he almost pushes it too far when the Dixon brothers come across a family in mortal danger of being ravished by a hoard of walkers. Daryl does the heroic thing and helps them out, in the awesome fashion he only knows how all the while Merel stands back and barely lifts a finger to help. But Merel is happy to oblige himself to the family’s own food and other vital materials. Daryl continues to prove himself as a changed, better man by getting Merel to leave the family in distress alone even by force…
The ensuing confrontation between the Dixon brothers uncovers some much needed development concerning their family dynamic. We all knew that Daryl and Merel never grew up in a particularly healthy household, but that truth is even more evident when Merel sees the scars on his little brother’s back. Daryl’s own past with Merel is not very positive. Merel, being the hot-headed, sharp-tongued, impulsive brute he is, abandoning his little brother when he needed him most has got to be one of the most troubling things that Daryl holds against him. Revealing bits and pieces of the Dixon brothers, especially fan-favorite, Daryl is always a welcome development in the series. Daryl’s breaking point is seeing Merel--a piece of himself--continuously act so reckless and cruel in an already devastated setting full of extreme violence and death. Merel may be blood, but Daryl finally comes to the conclusion that he has lost any final chance of getting his brother to change into someone worth trusting. But in reality, Merel is just a consequence of desperately hanging onto the past. Can Merel change enough to become a trusted ally in the future?
At Woodbury, Andrea is getting a bit fed up. The back and forth with The Governor is conflicting, and his trickery leads Andrea to believe that she can be a leader in the face of all the trouble the idyllic town has faced. Part of me is annoyed because I feel like Andrea is smart enough to see past this act, but at the same time, her desperation to hold onto this new home has got her stuck between a rock and a hard place. Andrea has what it takes to be a more balanced leader of the Woodbury town under the right circumstances, but with the diabolical and manipulative force that is the Governor hovering over her and confusing her intuition, she is left to ponder for herself. The Governor is feeling out who he can really trust, even intimidating his personal scientist, Milton in the process. The Governor is preparing for war and to do so, he must ferret out the weak links. He knows he has his few loyal mercenaries on his side, but the whole of Woodbury will need to be initiated. The Governor is just taking a jump on it, and leaving Andrea clueless and momentarily in charge. Although it seems some of Woodbury’s residents aren’t into the idea of Andrea taking over…
Rick’s mind is shot. The leader--the sheriff has fallen and he’s now fumbling around chasing after a vision of something he lost and cannot retrieve ever again. This ominous vision of his wife, Lori in a lush white dress is a reminder of better days. Before the zombie apocalypse began--before Lori and Shane--before all of the death and destruction and before all the big decisions and being in charge of other people’s lives broke him. Rick’s mind is desperately chasing after a small shimmer of happiness--the simple past which puts him at ease. With all the guilt and pressure that Rick has been pummeled with all throughout the series, it is only realistic to see him crack a little bit. This vision of Lori is “home”. But his home is dead and gone. A leader in Rick’s predicament and head space right now is of no use to anyone. So who steps up in his absence? A young man fueled by his irrational anger and desperation for revenge.
Glenn is very adamant concerning his want for revenge. The thing is, he’s making this incident--the incident that he and Maggie both suffered in Woodbury--all about him. Glenn is letting his rage guide him, which is something a few of the show’s characters have done and we’ve seen how disastrous that road can be for everyone. Glenn’s fervent determination is unlike him. He’s always been the mostly innocent scavenger, but now the brutality of this world has sort of broken him, and Maggie doesn’t like this version of him at all. He’s irrational and some may applaud Glenn’s impulsiveness, but in a situation like this, meticulous planning is ideal unless he wants to just charge into a war and get himself killed. Glenn is tougher than he looks, but he’s also a bit lame-brained as well.
Glenn's attempt to get Maggie to talk to him only gets thrown back in his face because of his gross negligence of her feelings. He’s making her experience his and only coming to the conclusion that only his raging opinions matter in the discussion. Glenn is so caught up in his temper-tantrum feelings that he’s turning into this caveman who isn’t really thinking, so much as gearing for a war he can’t win by himself, or even with his friends in their current weakened state. Michonne is a great addition to the team, but Glenn’s readiness to attack will only lead them straight into death. Glenn isn’t taking control, he’s losing it. And unfortunately, Glenn’s sneak attack comes too little, too late…
Hershel continues trying to talk some sense into his group, but they are falling apart at the seams. Sanity is becoming in question and some are letting their emotions guide them down the wrong paths. Even in that uncertainty, some members of the group take time to know each other. Carol attempts to make friends with prison dude, Axel. The two are charming together, and a warm side of this dark and dismal world. Axel reveals certain facets of his past to Carol and in the process seals a new friendship. Axel feels a peace with his circumstance and is finally able to open up to someone in this group. Too bad, it all ends in bloody shambles…
Just when we were all warming up to Axel (you know when Carol starts to like someone that its safe to like them as well), The Governor makes his shocking, brutal move with a shot to the charming prisoner’s head. Let this be a lesson: Never trust a man with nothing left to loose. Contrary to his words of peace and civility, The Governor is definitely on a warpath, and this bloody cinematic showdown is just a taste--a mere warning--a gory sample of what Rick and his prison has gotten themselves into. A monumental show of force and a test of the Governor’s own strength. If just a small group of the Governor’s men can do a damage such as this to Rick’s prison, then what’s stopping him from totally demolishing the place? This attack was meticulously planned and brutally executed, leaving viewers’ blood pressure to rise and almost giving us collective heart-attacks. In fact, I’d go so far to say that the last six or so minutes of this particular episode is one of the most excellently crafted action sequences I’ve ever seen on any show!
Downright thrilling and suspenseful, as we witness an unhinged antagonist nearly destroy our unhinged protagonist and his survivor’s home--their sanctuary. Thing is, Rick can shift in and out of his crazy episodes, but the Governor is stuck in his, which is darker and more sinister. When you come knocking on a man’s door with trouble of that magnitude, he is bound to be aching for his own revenge. But even in this devastating attack, Rick takes notice of those who are truly on his side. An invasion brings in the troops--Daryl, Merel, Michonne, and ultimately wakes up Rick from his troublesome state of mind. Some of these allies are rather surprising returnees that earn their place in Rick’s strengthened army. Nothing says trust louder than killing alongside some rather awesome friends, be the katana-wielding badasses, one-armed brutes, or crossbow shooting survivalists! It’s an incident that sets about a blood-soaked dysfunctional family reunion back at their home. It’s a moment worthy of applause and gives evidence that Rick and his people won’t go down without a fight. But on a side note (that might just be me being totally paranoid), did anyone else care to notice that Maggie left a baby alone in the less than safe prison…just making an observation…
This episode reaches an in-between point and presents a dangerous game changer. Slamming us with a big ending surprise that should mark an intense war raging in the next few episodes! The Walking Dead is still at the top of its game, thrilling and giving us some great character development for a myriad of our characters. This world is growing deadlier, and surprise!: The humans are the one’s delivering the horror and chaos. Desperation and trust can be hard to come by in such a setting, but when pushed into a devastating situation, one really begins to see who is in their corner and who isn’t. Things comes about slowly, but when it hits…oh, boy does it hit! The show literally turned into Modern Zombie Warfare for a moment and nearly gave this viewer an anxiety attack! From lot of talk, to an ending that creates a very loud bang, “Home” gets 4 out of 5 stars!
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© Patrick Broadnax 2013
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