This is the most gripping episode I can recall, and only three episodes of the show so far are better than this one (The Grove, Days Gone Bye, Coda). I wasn't expecting much going into this episode. It absolutely blew me away. I give out 9/10 ratings very rarely. This episode is worthy of that honor (really should be an 8.6, but rounds up to 9).
So, what made this episode so good? Well, it wasn't the plausibility. While everything else in this episode shines, I had a difficult time believing that this is, in fact, how things would go down. I didn't buy the speech about Satan, I didn't buy Carol in any scene (that's not the actress' fault, it's the story's fault), and most of all, I didn't buy the man talking to Rick saying things like "we've lost stuff." It's the zombie apocalypse. No sh*t you've lost stuff.
But aside from that, this episode was damn near perfect. The acting was downright fantastic, particularly from Melissa McBride (Carol), and Steven Yeun (Glen). The writing was... again, I had a hard time believing some of it, but that didn't make it any less enthralling. And what really makes the episode shine is the directing.
To all the film snobs declaring war on the episode saying "It broke the 180 rule!," well, you're right. It did. And it made it a little confusing, but I assure you, the creator of the show was the director of "The Shawshank Redemption." It was on purpose. I'm, of course, referring to the INGENIOUS revolving door scene. Specifically, Glen's reaction to a very gruesome death. One shot, he's on the right of the frame. The next, he's on the left. While this isn't 'wrong,' it's frowned upon in film, because it tends to confuse the viewer. And it did, but in this case, that's good. We should be confused. Directors are allowed to break rules; so long as they do so on purpose. And that's what this was.
All in all, the endgame to the fifth season has officially kicked off, and if this episode is anything to go by, it'll be one hell of an endgame.
So, what made this episode so good? Well, it wasn't the plausibility. While everything else in this episode shines, I had a difficult time believing that this is, in fact, how things would go down. I didn't buy the speech about Satan, I didn't buy Carol in any scene (that's not the actress' fault, it's the story's fault), and most of all, I didn't buy the man talking to Rick saying things like "we've lost stuff." It's the zombie apocalypse. No sh*t you've lost stuff.
But aside from that, this episode was damn near perfect. The acting was downright fantastic, particularly from Melissa McBride (Carol), and Steven Yeun (Glen). The writing was... again, I had a hard time believing some of it, but that didn't make it any less enthralling. And what really makes the episode shine is the directing.
To all the film snobs declaring war on the episode saying "It broke the 180 rule!," well, you're right. It did. And it made it a little confusing, but I assure you, the creator of the show was the director of "The Shawshank Redemption." It was on purpose. I'm, of course, referring to the INGENIOUS revolving door scene. Specifically, Glen's reaction to a very gruesome death. One shot, he's on the right of the frame. The next, he's on the left. While this isn't 'wrong,' it's frowned upon in film, because it tends to confuse the viewer. And it did, but in this case, that's good. We should be confused. Directors are allowed to break rules; so long as they do so on purpose. And that's what this was.
All in all, the endgame to the fifth season has officially kicked off, and if this episode is anything to go by, it'll be one hell of an endgame.