Last week we found ourselves following the aftermath of the prison war. The gang as we had grown to know in season two and three split up in to smaller groups and on their own. The mid-season premier picked up with a beaten and battered Rick Grimes with his son Carl journeying away from the prison. The episode also dived into the history and deeper emotions of Michonne. The three converge at a house by the end of the episode but only after an emotional roller coaster of a journey for the two parties. Now that episode nine is in the books, we look ahead to episode 10. With many questions still on our minds, we only have some resolutions for three of the main cast members. Who will we encounter this week? Will it be as emotionally gripping as last week's episode? Will there be shocking deaths that occurred off camera during the skirmish between the Governor and Rick?
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 4, EPISODE 10: "Inmates."
We kick of this week's episode with voice-over work from the beautiful Emily Kinney, and see Daryl and Beth running through the woods from the prison away from walkers. Beth's voice-over explains the past few months while at the prison, which echoes a transition from fear to hope as the images shown explain a reversed transition. Daryl and her collapse in the field from running, ending the voice-over on a very optimistic note of hope. Cue that infamous intro music and roll into the main title!
Back from the first round of commercials, and we see Daryl and Beth around a camp fire. Beth is pleading a case to Daryl that they need to do something, to go find the others, and she is very eager to get moving. The thing I like most about these string of episodes following The Prison War is the fact that we will get to dive much further into characters we usually don't interact with much. The determination in Beth's voice as they start tracking others shows the character's growth from the girl we saw in season two trying to off herself. The interaction between Beth and Daryl is new to the show as well; up until this point, these two have had very little interaction. The two stumble upon two walker bodies and blood not belonging to them. After a scuffle with a walker, the two press on to railroad tracks, where they find the remains of their former bunk mates at the prison. At this point Beth breaks down and we cut to a night scene. There's another voice-over/journal entry of how she's not going to give up, and presses on in the memory of Herschel.
We return and this time we are following the sisters from The Shining, Tyrese, and the big reveal: baby Judith, who is very much alive. We find Tyrese playing daddy to three girls as he tries desperately to keep them safe, while Judith's crying concerns the creepy girls. There's a flock of birds that startles Mika and she runs into the woods. Tyrese and Lizzy pursue and catch up with her. Tyrese then hears screaming and he goes to check on it, leaving the girls by themselves with Judith. The brave Lizzie says they'll be fine; Mika, on the other hand, is scared out of her mind. Tyrese comes to the same railroad tracks Daryl and Beth found, but earlier than them, and tries to save two inmates caught by walkers. We cut back to the girls, where Lizzie is going psycho and holding her hand over Judith's mouth to quiet her crying. That girl is totally out of her mind. Tyrese fails to save the two inmates, but, much to his surprise, Carol returns with the girls. One of the inmates Tyrese failed to save tells the group to stick to the tracks. Carol explains to Tyrese she caught the end of the battle and lies to him about what transpired between her and Rick several episodes before. Following the tracks, they find a map with the word "Terminus" on it. Are we seeing the beginning of the Washington D.C. arc from the comics, or is this something completely out of right field? Time for commercials as we're half way through this week's episode!
Maggie, Bob, and Sasha take us into the next segment with Maggie sharpening a knife as Sasha tends to Bob's gunshot wound. Bob optimistically tells Sasha the others had to have made it. Maggie is hellbent on going to find Glenn and she takes off into the forest. Mr. Smiles (Bob) says they shouldn't split up, and Bob follows Maggie. When we cut to the next scene, Bob and Sasha argue over if they should be looking for Glenn or not. The three find the bus parked in the middle of the road—now filled with walkers. Maggie, just like the viewers, fears for the worst. They decide to let the walkers out of the bus to verify the dead and Maggie increases her kill count, bashing the head of, presumably, a girl she was jealous of. To her surprise, she finds no sign of Glenn among the dead, so she enters the bus. The music, her slow movements, the blood-soaked bus, and a mysterious figure crawling towards her lead the audience to assume the worst. They don't show a face, but judging by Maggie's reaction, it's not Glenn, so slow your rolls. If they stick to the comics, he's got a much worse fate coming down the line. Maniacal laugh, and now a commercial.
We return to Glenn saving this girl's sorry ass. If you ask me, he's putting in some time if Maggie is dead so he can get some. After bombing a car, he and his new squeeze make a run for it, successfully escaping the prison. From this scene, we can see the prison is ridiculously over-swarmed. We learn from the girl that her sister was swarmed after shooting the Governor. She also drops the bomb on Glenn the way Herschel was killed. Glenn tells her that he needs her help to find his wife and then guilts the hell out of her even more. She hates herself, but when Glenn takes on a few walkers, she sees how weak he still is from the sickness. The last scene introduces Abraham and crew! YES! YES! YES! YES!
This episode tied up many loose ends from the mid-season finale as well as opened the doors to the future. Carol is back and we get the first look at Abraham and his crew from the comics. I, for one, am ecstatic and was yelling yes really, really loud. Time for a new chapter and time for some fun!
So see ya next week, walkers! As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until then, for the few, the proud, and of course the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and, in this case, riot gear—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
