The Walking Dead "Self Help" Review

This week instead of slumming it with Beth we get to hang out with Abraham and his crew on a all new The Walking Dead. (MILD SPOILERS!!)

Synopsis: Abraham was intent on leaving the church to head to D.C., and it looks like he encounters trouble along the way. Glenn doesn't appear to be in top form either. The group will have to push through to survive the challenges they face and each other.

High Points

• Finally a focus on Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene
• Flashbacks to Abraham's past
• Intense look at walker killing from Eugene's POV
• Some Cable Nudity (SEX!)
• Eugene is a perv and no one is surprises
• Zombies are really bad at wet t-shirt contests
• The truth comes out
• Great performances from Cudlitz (Abraham) and McDermitt (Eugene)
• Fantastic comic book parallels

Abraham is no Keanu Reeves

Low Points

• A slug would make it to DC faster than "The Group" will
• The scenes at night were so dark that it was hard to see what was happening
• Kind of slow

Verdict: Abraham and his crew have been on The Walking Dead for almost a full season  now. They have had very little focus upon who they are or how they came to join Rick's group. So it was great that this week saw that crew so well represented. Abraham's personality and history are spot on with his comic counterparts as are Eugene and Rosita's characterizations. With the focus upon them this was really an emotional episode for Abraham. The ep did a fantastic job at splicing in Abraham's flashbacks into the current story to make the biggest emotional jab land beautifully. Reminded me a lot of Michonne's flashback episode last season. Overall I give "Self Help" a 8.0 out of 10. It didn't move the story along a lot, but it did drop one long awaited comic book bombshell. Also had SEX!

Gotta love Cable

The Walking Dead "No Sanctuary" Review/Thoughts

The escape from Teminus is on in The Walking Dead's Season 5 premiere. SPOILERS!

High Points

• CANNIBALS FINALLY!!!
• Terminus Meat room was fucked 
• Commando Carol
• Zombie Fireworks
• Moral conflict presented by hostage
• Exciting action and gore
• You are the butcher or you are the cattle
• Judith becomes the hostage
• Tyrese unleashes his beast mode
• Eugene and Abraham are spot on
• The gang's emotional reunion
• Robin Lord Taylor  (Penguin) throat slit
• No Beth and no singing
• MORGAN REVEAL!

Being a pledge sucks. #Clench

Low Points

• Freeing "We are the same!" Jesus Guy (Heavy Handed)
• Confusing time jumps
• Not enough Michonne or Daryl
• Quickly back to status quo

Verdict: 5 seasons in and I have finally accepted that The Walking Dead may never truly follow the comics. That being said I extremely enjoyed this premiere episode of the zombie survival series. The escape from Terminus brought tension, action, gore, and even fireworks. This show is at it's best when the group is in conflict with other humans because those situations bring up the moral dilemmas of living in a zombie ridden world. Particularly the scenes between the Terminus hostage and Tyrese were quite compelling. Can you be a good person in a world that consistently calls for extreme action? In this single case yes, but that is the ever lingering of the show and it was on full display in those scenes. Carol's character has really grown on me and her helping the group escape was exciting and a perfect bridge to bring her back in the fold. I'm happy to be rid of Terminus this quick, but fear it will lead to more "just walking around". Screw the "walking around" status quo let the story move on to the trip to Washington DC. Overall I give the premiere episode 8.5 out of 10. Great episode and start to the season.

Thanks for reading. What did you think of The Walking Dead's premiere episode? Sound off in the comments. Make sure to check out our reviews every week and follow our live action tweeting of every episode @Caped_Informers and @cstrand73. See you next week folks!

Rick Grimes' "CARL" Counter: Sadly Rick only said Carl one time. But at least there was no Beth!