The Walking Dead: Season 5, Episode 14: Spend
Not a bad episode. I do like the improvement in the show’s pacing. Building tension is always better when it’s spliced with a little payoff. The action was good in this episode and it’s very interesting to see how much trust is withering away. Rick and his group are becoming the thing they have been fighting against since this show’s beginning. Just look at Carol’s solution to Jessie’s domestic issues. She’s become so heartless. Strangely enough I think she’s the most well written character at this point. Her experiences have had lasting effects on her like no one else. She has consistently been moving in one direction since season one.
The character progression is starting to become clear, I just hope this doesn’t lead to more of Rick’s usual flip-flopping. It was good to see things happen with some of the characters who’ve been becoming background noise though. Abraham stood out and Tara got injured. Does anyone care about Tara? Who is she? Why does she matter so much? Why does Rosita even exist?
What I find to be interesting is the that in a show that is so focused on interpersonal turmoil, sometimes the relationships just pop out of thin air. When did Noah and Tara become such great buddies? They spent almost all of last season trying to make us care about Beth through her relationship with Darryl, but now they’re just kind of rushing it. You can almost tell who’s going to die by how the episodes begin, except a pretty good red herring opening for Tyreese’s send off. He was black though so you kind of have to see that coming. Black people don’t do to well on this show.
Did anyone notice how extremely heavy handed the foreshadowing was? Someone really put a led foot on the predictable pedal on this one. Noah trying to have plans for the future, everyone suddenly loving him the most (particularly the set decoration known as Tara) and the most obvious part was the music. This is like the first song that has been played on a radio on the entire show (don’t quote me on that) and the only line it says at all, while showing Noah’s face mind you, was “Now you’re going to die.” That’s just terrible. That’s not trusting your audience, it’s spoon-feeding them.
I will say though, that the impact of Noah’s death was felt as it was seen. Him looking eerily through the glass at Glen as he was torn apart made it quite painful. Glen’s reaction was very well acted as well. You could definitely see the hopelessness on his face as if he felt at fault for trusting the cowards who led them to that moment. It’s good to see that not everyone is as competent as the people they have been finding all along.
I think this season could end on a high note. It certainly is trying to restore my faith. I just hope there’s an actual season finally instead of another lead in to next season. As much as I disliked season two, they did that finale right. They ended the arc and teased the next one. Let’s make the next couple of weeks worth it season five!
Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.
