Episode Title: “The Grove”
Writer: Scott M. Gimple
Director: Michael E. Satrazemis
Previously on “The Walking Dead”:
One of the reasons that Scott Gimple seemed like a logical choice to take over as the showrunner of “The Walking Dead” is that he’s one of the few writers who can really bring out the emotionally charged moments of the storyline. Last season, Gimple even found a way to make the audience feel something for Merle as he faced his demise.
The problem is that Gimple doesn’t write as many episodes as previous showrunners and the series has been missing the heart that he brings to his scripts. “Still” – the Daryl and Beth episode – was a huge misstep two weeks ago; which was only slightly redeemed by “Alone.”
However, “The Grove” was easily the strongest episode of the second half of season four. This had some gut wrenching moments that were among the best of the series. The episode’s story was loosely adapted from Robert Kirkman’s original comic. But the story was actually better executed in the TV show than in it was in the source material.
There are full spoilers ahead for “The Grove,” so if you missed last night’s episode of “The Walking Dead” then you should probably skip this review or else you’re next after Mika
It’s been pretty obvious that Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino) had major psychological problems before this episode. But she turned out to be even crazier than we previously believed. Lizzie’s counterpart in the comic was a male character (who briefly appeared on this show last season), and her action’s mirrored his as did her fate. However, the tragedy was more deeply felt here as a surrogate family died before it could fully come together.
On the road to Terminus, Carol (Melissa McBride), Tyreese (Chad Coleman), Mika (Kyla Kenedy), Lizzie and baby Judith come across an abandoned house near plentiful fruit trees, a well filled with water and free-roaming deer. Outside of the prison, it’s the most attractive sanctuary that they’ve come across.
Carol and Tyreese don’t have the same dynamic as their original counterparts, which is largely due to Tyreese’s late introduction to the series and Daryl Dixon’s role on the show. On this show, there’s a lot of unspoken tension between them as Carol killed Karen (Tyreese’s girlfriend) in a misguided attempt to stop an outbreak at the prison. For his part, Tyreese is either oblivious to Carol’s hesitancy towards him or he’s misinterpreted it. Either way, Tyreese trusts her and he’s content to make a go at living in the house with Carol and the three children as a makeshift family.
It could have worked. Minus Lizzie’s mental problems, the four of them actually make a good team and an attractive family that can survive in the post zombie apocalypse. At one point, Carol, Tyreese, Mika and Lizzie moe down a group of burned walkers in impressive fashion. On a side note, those burned walkers were a terrific visual. For a few minutes, everything seems like it’s going to be fine.
But this is “The Walking Dead” and there are no happy endings on this show. Lizzie is so convinced that the walkers are just different that she flirts with the idea of letting one bite her after once again outing herself as the one feeding walkers back at the prison. To prove her point, Lizzie murders her own sister just so Tyreese and Carol can see Mika rise again as herself. Even more chilling than that was Lizzie’s assertion that Judith was next.
Gimple had a nice misdirect when Carol said that she’d take Lizzie because she can’t be around Judith or other people. But it’s Carol’s Of Mice and Men moment as she takes Lizzie outside and distracts her… before shooting her dead. It’s a horrific turn made even more so by Lizzie’s pleas for Carol to not be angry with her. Lizzie doesn’t even see her own death coming.
Following that, Carol and Tyreese bury the girls before she hands him her gun and tells Tyreese that she killed Karen. That’s an unmistakable suicide attempt as Tyreese has openly stated his desire to avenge his lover. And yet, Tyreese finds it in himself to forgive Carol, but he promises that he won’t forget. This was Coleman’s strongest moment as Tyreese since his introduction. Tyreese has finally become a more fully realized character on this show.
McBride and Coleman both had great performances in this episode. It’s a rare episode that can make the supporting characters into characters who can hold their own story. But I’m now more interested in Carol and Tyreese than I was beforehand. I’m still not convinced that the experiment of keeping the former prison survivors separated for the second half of the season was a good move. However, it was almost worth it for “The Grove” alone.
