Review:
The Walking Dead: Episode Six

106 – TS-19

The finale of The Walking Dead’s first series is here. Can the show maintain the quality right to the final hurdle? Or will they falter and nosedive right at the finish line? To be fair, it’s a bit of a mixed bag and a hugely divisive episode, but not one that will derail the show’s established quality.

Rick Grimes and his motley band of survivors have come through hell and high water, outlasting the military and even some of their closest friends. But now things get truly complicated, as they finally reach something resembling salvation – the Centre for Disease Control building in Atlanta, and its one surviving inhabitant, Edwin Jenner, a grouchy scientist. The question that remains now is: can they survive each other when they’re not forced to survive?

The reason that this episode is a bit of a mixed bag is simply that, for the vast majority of the narrative, there is no antagonist. This is more of a ‘reward’ episode, where the characters get their first taste of hope for months and it’s meant to be inspiring for the audience as well. It’s nearly successful, but the lack of genuine drama does not go unnoticed.

Still, there’s a heck of a lot to like in this finale. The opening, where viewers finally see what happened in those final days of chaos, as Shane desperately tries to save Rick as the hospital is overrun, is stunning. Not only is it well-made, acted and directed, but it inverts the assumption in the previous episode that Shane is a villain. He genuinely believed that his best friend was dead and did everything in his power to protect the man’s family. If he fell in love with Rick’s wife along the way, then he’s as much a victim as anyone else.

Other highlights of the episode include the sight of the characters celebrating the simple joys of life – hot water, food that wasn’t hunted and killed, red wine and so on. As an added bonus, the first hints are shown of just how much strain the ordeal has put the cast under. T-Dog whoops and hollers and simply enjoys the feeling of warm water on his skin, while Andrea sits down and weeps for her sister. There’s even a touching moment where an inebriated Rick finally shows a chink in his armour and confesses to Jenner that he has no idea how long they will survive.