Game Review: The Walking Dead: Surrounded by Button Shy Games

The Walking Dead: Surrounded designed by Jason Tagmire and published by Button Shy Games

The publisher Button Shy Games is famous for its unique design model. All the games are eighteen cards with an instruction booklet and a small wallet. Some games require other materials provided by the player (like tokens or something to write notes or scores on) but typically the whole game is just the small deck of cards. Occasional expansions add more cards or substitute some cards. In The Walking Dead: Surrounded, players build a tableau of eighteen cards alternating locations and character cards, hoping to set up many locations with more humans than zombies adjacent. 

The cards are two-sided with the fronts showing locations and the backs four different characters on each edge.

Sample locations

Some locations have a special rule at the bottom, a person or a walker already there, and/or an end-game scoring symbol (a number or an item in the top right corner). 

The character cards are a mixture of walkers and humans, with the humans divided into leaders (with a star next to their picture) and survivors (with a head and shoulders next to their picture). Some humans have special abilities which will be described below.

Sample characters

To start the game, the cards are shuffled location-side up. The first location is put on the table and the second card is flipped to the character side. One of the zombie sides must be placed next to the location. The game then proceeds with playing cards from the deck, building a checkboard pattern of alternating location and character cards. The player has two choices with the next card on the deck.

First, the top deck card can be played to Explore, using the location and putting it next to one of the characters already in play. After the location is played the next card is flipped and a zombie-side of the card must be placed next to this new location. In some cases, that may not be possible (the location has two or one open sides available). Then the player is free to place the card next to some other location without having to match a zombie to any location. 

The second choice is to flip the top deck card and play it to Occupy an open location. The card can go to any legal spot (i.e. a location with an open side) with no restriction on placing a zombie next to a place. If the card has a Walker on the location side, then it can only be played as an Explore.

Some humans have an Ability, so when they are played to a new location (through either the Occupy action or the zombie-spawn after the Explore action) the special power may be used. Move lets the player move a card at the location to another side (if available). Look lets the player examine both sides of the top or bottom card of the deck. Burn lets the player take any card from the tableau and put it on the top or bottom of the draw deck. The only restriction on Burn is that the map has to remain contiguous, i.e. no cards only adjacent diagonally to other cards.

The game ends when the deck runs out of cards. Then the score is totaled. At each location, subtract the number of zombies from the number of people. If the number is negative, that's a negative score and the location is overrun (some locations have penalties for being overrun--additional negative points!). If there are an equal number of people and zombies, the location is empty. If there are more people, the player scores one point for each survivor. Leaders score a little differently. If there is more than one leader, they eliminate each other. Any leader left scores one point and additional points for any other survivors still at the location. The player can strategically use the Walkers to take out an extra leader or two if necessary. Any location that is surrounded by cards scores if it has a symbol on it (a number or an item). 

A high-scoring final situation

The game says one to four players play cooperatively, but this is basically a solo game because there is only one goal and people would just group-think the play (or an alpha player might take over). Players don't have individual hands, they just play off the top of the deck.

The rules come with special scenarios that add achievements in order to win. For example, Fuel Up requires locations with gas cans to be surrounded in order to win. Each scenario has levels. For Fuel Up, Standard level requires two gas-can locations to be surrounded; hard level requires the two locations not to be overrun (i.e., more humans than zombies); expert level requires the two locations to also have a leader and at least one survivor. Other scenarios involve other resources or limit the number of special actions or require specific leader/follower configurations. My favorite scenario is Betrayer, where the player works against humanity and tries to make a very low score--less than -10 for standard, -15 for hard, or -20 for expert!

The game creates a nice puzzle with a bunch of variations. After I mastered the basic game, I had fun trying to accomplish the various scenarios. The game involves a small amount of "luck of the draw" which can be mitigated by using the abilities to recover or move needed cards. It's similar in feel to Sprawlopolis but a little easier.

The cards use art from the comic books (which I have read), so it's nice for fans to see familiar faces and locations (even when I don't quite remember everyone). The theme is well suited to the game, trying to manage a very difficult situation.

An expansion, Under Siege, adds six new cards with new abilities and bonuses. The mercenary ability lets that character kill all Walkers at the location but doesn't count as a survivor or leader. A new bonus item, Dynamite, is added and must be surrounded or else the player loses a point at the end of the game (surrounding it gains a point, so a two-point swing is involved). The expansion adds some more challenge and variety to an already interesting game.

Recommended, highly for fans of The Walking Dead.

The game and expansion is available from the publisher's web store. 

Book Review: The Walking Dead Vol. 32 by R. Kirkman et al.

The Walking Dead Vol. 32: Rest in Peace written by Robert Kirkman, penciled by Charlie Adlard, inked by Stefano Gaudiano, and gray tones by Cliff Rathburn

The rumblings of a civil war in the Commonwealth get worse as Rick and the governor work to keep things calm. One of Rick's people tried to assassinate the governor; Rick foiled the plan by killing the assassin. Still, everyone is on edge. One or two people are so far gone that they start pushing everyone else over the edge. Back at the Hilltop, Maggie is worried that Rick hasn't come back and sends some scouts to check on the situation. By the time the scouts get there, things have gotten much worse and Rick definitely needs the help. Things come to a resolution and then there's a big time jump forward to see the impact of the decisions made in the Commonwealth.

This part of the story gets back to the lean, direct storytelling of the best years of The Walking Dead. No miscellaneous side romances pad out the book. The conclusion is very surprising but very satisfying.

Recommended, highly for fans of the series.

Book Review: The Walking Dead Vol. 31 by R. Kirkman et al.

The Walking Dead Vol. 31: The Rotten Core written by Robert Kirkman, penciled by Charlie Adlard, inked by Stefano Gaudiano, and gray tones by Cliff Rathburn

Rick takes the Governor of the Commonwealth on a tour of the various communities he's allied with. She is impressed and wants to open up trade and even unify. The Commonwealth has big goals--taking back the country and even the world from the zombies. The only problem is the highly stratified society of the Commonwealth. As the leader, the Governor rules with a small army of men in riot gear who look an awful lot like stormtroopers from Star Wars. When they get back to the Commonwealth, Rick is ready to make the alliance but others in his group see a big problem: the Commonwealth is more or less a police state. Some of Rick's people want peaceful integration; others want the next big war. Some of the citizens in the Commonwealth seem open to an overthrow, making things even more complicated.

The main problem of integrating the two communities is interesting. There's a bunch of soap opera side stories about people hooking up which are pretty uninteresting and seem like the creators needed to make a page count. Sticking with the main story would have been much better.

Slightly recommended.

Book Review: The Walking Dead Vol. 30 by R. Kirkman et al.

The Walking Dead Volume 30: New World Order written by Robert Kirkman, pencils by Charlie Adlard, inks by Stefano Gaudiano, and gray tones by Cliff Rathburn

The group sent to meet the mysterious new community run into a heavily armed and armored group at the rendezvous point. They are taken to the community which is called the Commonwealth. Michonne, Eugene, and crew meet the governor, who decides to interview Michonne. Michonne was a lawyer in the pre-zombie life, so she is considered the highest-ranking in their group. Michonne is less interested in the interview because she saw a picture of one of her daughters on a memorial sign just outside the Commonwealth. She has a tearful and moving reunion. Eugene finally meets his radio pal Stephanie, which goes well. The governor seems reasonable if a little controlling.

Meanwhile, the relationships back at Rick's compound get more soap opera than ever before. I found that stuff fairly boring. Happily, most of the focus in this book is on Michonne and her daughter, which is easily the best part of the book. The new community has some problems with it (though which community doesn't?) that Rick seems ready to deal with, but how exactly?

The on-going story has good and bad parts. The good outweighs the bad in this issue.

Recommended.

Book Review: The Walking Dead: Vol. 29 by R. Kirkman et al.

The Walking Dead: Volume 29 Lines We Cross written by Robert Kirkman, penciled by Charlie Adlard, inked by Stefano Gaudiano and gray tones by Cliff Rathburn

Having pretty much vanquished the Whisperers and driven the ocean of zombies into the ocean, Rick and his people begin recovery from the Whisperer War. Rick decides to release Neegan from his imprisonment and give him his freedom outside of their communities. Not everyone is happy with this, especially Maggie (Neegan brutally killed her husband Glenn a long time ago) and Dwight (Neegan's lieutenant who betrayed him a long time ago). Rick isn't happy to discover that Eugene has been in radio contact with someone from another community far away. Eugene has been discreet with the radio woman about their location. Rick decides to make friends with them if they can. Most everyone he asks to go to the meet-up with the mystery community refuses, leaving it to Michonne and some others. Meanwhile, Maggie rebuilds the Hilltop community with Carl's help. She also sends someone to keep an eye on Neegan.

The last issue seemed like a recovery of the better storytelling days earlier in the book. This book vacillates back and forth. Rick's story and Neegan's story provide an interesting parallel as they grieve over dead wives and question their choices. Carl has a bit of drama over being an adult (which feels like a retread of previous issues). Two gay couples decide to be open and self-approving in a "lecture the reader" sort of way. Another character flags up the diversity of Michonne's expedition group, another instance of "look how inclusive and non-judgmental I am" from the creators. Being lectured to is bad storytelling, whether you agree with the lecture or not. The good parts aren't enough to outweigh the bad here, so I think I'm finally done with The Walking Dead.

Not recommended.

Book Review: The Walking Dead Vol. 28 by R. Kirkman et al.

The Walking Dead Volume 28: A Certain Doom written by Robert Kirkman, penciled by Charlie Adlard, inked by Stefano Gaudiano, and gray tones by Cliff Rathburn

Last issue left a veritable ocean of zombies heading for Rick's stronghold. That seems like it would be the "certain doom" of this issue's title. Rick's people have worked out a system for driving away small herds of zombies and they put the plan into action for the hundreds of thousands of zombies heading their way. Mounted on horses, Andrea, Michonne, Eugene, and others lead the zombies off a cliff into the ocean. The process takes a while and they can only take a few hundred at a time, so the massive horde will hit their walls. Can the walls survive? Will the people inside be ready? And what about the leftovers from the Saviors (Negan's old gang) who seem to be rooting for the zombies, not for Rick's people?

The drama is less soap operatic than in previous volumes, though the long and drawn out death of a major character at the end of this issue is fairly melodramatic. I found some of the "deep" conversations sparked by the character's death rather shallow and unconvincing and contradictory, so it wasn't as satisfying. The art seems to have gone up a notch in quality and supports the storytelling better, which I liked.

Recommended for fans of the comic series who have been a bit disillusioned with the past few issues (i.e. me).

Book Review: The Walking Dead Vol. 27 by R. Kirkman et al.

The Walking Dead Volume 27: The Whisperer War written by Robert Kirkman and art by Charlie Adlard, Stefano Gaudiano, and Cliff Rathburn

Negan returns to Alexandria with the head of Alpha, leader of the Whisperers, as a peace offering. Rick Grimes is reluctant to accept that Negan has reformed but is willing to give him the slimmest of chances. So Negan goes out with the rest of the army that Rick has amassed to fight back the advance of the Whisperers and their horde of walkers. The army is composed of people from the other communities, some of which are more supportive than others. Trouble is brewing within their alliance in addition to their trouble the Whisperers.

The story weaves back and forth between the tactics of fighting the war and the relationships various people have. The shift from horror combat to soap-opera conversations is a bit grating at times, and the cast of characters is becoming large and unwieldy. I have a hard time remembering every person and every little detail that comes up. The war part is a lot more interesting but feels like only half the book.

Another ho-hum issue of The Walking Dead.

Book Review: The Walking Dead Vol. 26 by R. Kirkman et al.

The Walking Dead Volume 26: Call to Arms written by Robert Kirkman and art by Charlie Adlard, Stefano Gaudiano, and Cliff Rathburn

After the Whisperers have marked their territory with the heads of people from Rick's Alexandria community, there's been an uneasy truce. Secretly (but not too secretly) Rick has begun training his people for another war. He manages the political situation at Alexandria but not well. One boy decides to sneak Negan out of jail with disastrous consequences for many.

The political situation in Alexandria is interesting. Rick wants to keep the people up in arms against the Whisperers. His methods are a little too clumsy to be completely effective. His relationship with his son is touched on briefly. The story is definitely losing interest in the father-son dynamic. The focus is shifted to Negan, who has a rather unbelievable character development in this story.

Overall the story still reads like its best days are behind and getting further away. I think I keep forgetting how disappointed I am with the series, since the trade paperbacks come out every six months or so. I don't remember how disappointing the last one was and I jump back in once the library has a new issue. It's probably time to stop. Sorry, Walking Dead!

Book Review: The Walking Dead TP25: No Turning Back by Robert Kirkman et al.

The Walking Dead Trade Paperback 25: No Turning Back written by Robert Kirkman, penciled by Charlie Adlard, and inked by Stefano Guadiano

At the end of the last issue, Rick and company discovered the Whisperers' latest atrocity, killing twelve Alexandria people and leaving their heads on sticks to mark the border between the Whisperers and Alexandria. Rick's people process their grief pretty quickly and move onto anger and revenge. Most everyone wants to attack the Whisperers immediately. Rick doesn't think that's a good idea since they know nothing about where the Whisperers are or how many of them there are. He wants to make a plan before doing anything. The people get the impression that he wants to do nothing. They want blood for blood. Infighting breaks out. The situation becomes so desperate that Rick goes to the imprisoned Neegan for advice! Can Rick keep everyone civilized and strike back at the Whisperers?

This book is a return to form for the series. A lot of debate and discussion go on about the nature of leadership and the importance of keeping people safe. The issue is a bit low on zombie killing which doesn't bother me since the main dramatic interest is how the survivors try to live together with some modicum of safety and happiness. This issue makes me excited for more (something that hasn't happened for a while).

Book Review: The Walking Dead TP24: Life and Death by Robert Kirkman et al.

The Walking Dead Trade Paperback 24: Life and Death written by Robert Kirkman, penciled by Charlie Adlard, inked by Stefano Gaudiano

Carl Grimes is chasing after his newfound girlfriend Lydia who is the daughter of The Whisperers' leader. The Whisperers are a group of people who survive by flaying zombies and wearing the skins so the zombies won't bother them. They live a primitive life with no names and no buildings. They are classic hunter-gatherers. Lydia's mother claims they are free but hardly anyone outside the group believes it. Carl has promised not to return without Lydia, so readers get to see a bit of the Whisperers' lifestyle.

Rick Grimes is off visiting other places and picking up shipments, so he doesn't know Carl is gone. Rick has some nice character moments and is looking forward to the fair his community is putting on. The fair is a big hit but Rick chases after Carl as soon as he finds out what has happened. Michonne and Andrea tag along. Will they be able to get Carl away safely?

The biggest problem in this issue is the Whisperers. Sure, they look scary in their hollow-eyed skins and they do horrible things. But their set up is completely unbelievable from either a social or survival standpoint. A small side plot involves Neegan nearly escaping from his jail cell and was easily the best part of a disappointing book.

Book Review: The Walking Dead TP 23: Whispers Into Screams by Robert Kirkman et al.

The Walking Dead Trade Paperback 23: Whispers Into Screams written by Robert Kirkman, penciled by Charlie Adlard, inked by Stefano Gaudiano

The mystery of the whispering zombies is explained in this issue. They are a group of survivors who roam the open countryside by wearing the skins of zombies to cloak their smell. They even walk with groups of real zombies for protection. They had a run-in with a patrol from Rick's people in the last issue. Some of Rick's people are killed but two get away, taking a captive with them. The captive is a sixteen year-old girl named Lydia. She is imprisoned in the town run by Maggie Greene. She and Jesus (one of the two who brought Lydia in) start to interrogate her.

Maggie has more problems on her plate. Carl and Sophia have another run in with some other teenagers that gets very violent. The parents of the other teenagers are difficult to deal with and are egged on by ex-ruler of the town who clearly wants to take over again (even though he is mostly incompetent). Carl winds up in the cell next to Lydia and starts to build a relationship with her, which jeopardizes the interrogation by Maggie. Also, readers naturally wonder if the girl is playing Carl to get an advantage or she is being honest with him.

Happily, the issue resolves most of the drama while leaving a new, clear path for the story to follow. The Whisperers are an interesting idea but the explanation given doesn't quite hold together. I'm intrigued enough to read the next issue when it's available at the library.

Book Review: The Walking Dead TP 22: A New Beginning by Robert Kirkman et al.

The Walking Dead Volume 22: A New Beginning by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Steffano Gaudiano, and Cliff Rathburn

A small band of survivors is on the run when they are almost overrun by a massive herd of zombies. Turns out Rick's people were diverting the herd away from their home base of Alexandria. They invite the survivors to come and live at Alexandria. Rick is now an established (and semi-legendary) ruler who interviews them to see if they'll fit in. The tables have been turned as this story is a new beginning for the familiar characters.

Alexandria is expanding. The munitions factory is turning out lots of ammo and a windmill is grinding out flour--bread is becoming available once again. Carl is ready to have his own career but Rick is reluctant to let him go. Domestic issues parallel the problem of the newcomers--creating trust is a two-way street and requires a lot of work and some faith. People need not only the physical expansion to accommodate more people but also personal expansion to accept more people.

Meanwhile, a new hazard in the form of talking zombies is a threat with its own intriguing possibilities. Kirkman and company have found a way to continue the story without it just being re-runs of people eking out a living in the post-apocalyptic world. Well done!

The Walking Dead Ep. 516, Conquer

The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 16: Conquer

TV rating

TV-MA

ZPAA rating

Teens and up

Offensive content

Lots of zombie beheadings and half-headings with a surprising variety of weapons; gory entrails hanging out of a human who was eaten by a zombie; human-on-human violence several times with some gore; betrayal; smoking half a cigarette.

Synopsis & Review

After Rick's "I need to take over because you can't handle reality" speech from last week, the proverbial poop hits the fan. Alexandria leader Deanna plans to have a town meeting about the situation, specifically that Rick had a stolen gun and was pointing it at people. People have a whole day to plot, scheme, and otherwise prepare. Carol eggs on disgruntled husband Pete in an obvious ploy to make him hostile at the meeting. She does some more Lady MacBeth-style conniving, even in Rick's group. Glenn follows someone outside the walls and winds up fighting for his life. Fr. Gabriel goes off the deep end much further than Sasha has been going, which is bad for both of them when she comes to him for help. The town meeting winds up as more of a pro-Rick rally than anything else which I found a bit disappointing.

Meanwhile, Daryl is off hunting for new people to come live in Alexandria. He and Aaron get caught in a trap set by another group of crazy evil survivors, the Wolves. Daryl and Aaron show a lot more community spirit than the people left in Alexandria, surprisingly enough.

This episode is a mixed bag. I felt like the political back and forth in Alexandria over Rick was just plot mechanics designed to put him in charge rather than a natural story line where he wound up in charge. Glenn's battle was more interesting but also a bit unbelievable. Daryl's plot line was the most interesting by far but I worry the new villains are just a rehash of previous villains.

My enthusiasm for the series is waning. I have the summer to decide if I'll bother renting the next season as it comes out or not.

The Walking Dead Ep. 515, Try

The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 15: Try

TV rating

TV-MA

ZPAA rating

Teens and up

Offensive content

A mild amount of zombie kills; bad attitudes; human-on-human violence including an extended fistfight with bloody faces and threats of eye-gouging; bad language; a suspenseful cliffhanger ending.

Synopsis & Review

"If you don't fight, you die" is a line said by Rick several times in this episode. It's an idea that has kept him going since he woke up in that hospital way back in episode one. Making it requires effort. He thinks the Alexandria people are not making enough effort which makes them weak and vulnerable. They can't handle an abusive spouse because they want the benefits he provides. They have at best semi-competent runners collecting resources, which led to the fiasco in last episode where multiple people have been killed. They aren't living in the real world, he thinks. He's ready to take over--the Ricktatorship that was threatened three seasons ago but never really happened after the end of season two.

A lot of people are having trouble dealing with the real world. Sasha is off shooting as many walkers as she can; Carl's new girlfriend sneaks out and taunts walkers to feel more alive; Carol makes a gesture of Machiavellian kindness that is apparently received as such. Rick's assuredness is a result of too much Carol (the bad angel on his shoulder encouraging him to take over) and not enough Daryl (the good angel on his other shoulder who wants to fit in and make things work--but he's off recruiting new people for Alexandria, so Glenn has to be a poor substitute). Rick does want to fight but since he's not out among the walkers he's gonna fight the Alexandrians.

The problem is the deeper issue of what a person should fight for--his own good or the good of everyone around them. Rick seems to be mistaking the second for the first in an admittedly complicated situation. He's going too far in the wrong direction...can he be pulled back in time?

The Walking Dead Ep. 514, Spend

The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 14: Spend

TV rating

TV-MA

ZPAA rating

Adults only

Offensive content

Back to the gore levels of the season opener with plenty of zombie-on-human violence with blood and torn flesh; human-on-human violence; plenty of bad language and attitudes; plenty of tense situations.

Synopsis & Review

The power cells are on the fritz so Glenn and a few others go out on a supply run for tech supplies. The warehouse they go to is dark inside and has a section full of zombies, so naturally things go poorly for them.

Meanwhile, back in Alexandria, Daryl leaves on a recruiting hunt, leaving Rick under the influence of Carol, who has turned a bit psycho. Rick also seems to be sliding into her way of thinking. They've stolen guns from Alexandria's stash and one family may already know about it. They are the same family where Rick was hitting on the wife in last week's episode, so he's twice as motivated to do something wrong about the situation.

Father Gabriel is also clearly disturbed, though he tries to warn Alexandria's leader Deanna that Rick and company are evil. He's too high strung to be completely convincing but Deanna has a lot to think about. She better think quick!

The episode is clearly setting things up for the season end (which I'm guessing will probably be the end of Alexandria as well). The gore was too much for my taste, hopefully it will get scaled back like it did after the season opener. We'll see...

The Walking Dead Ep. 513, Forget

The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 13: Forget

TV rating

TV-MA

ZPAA rating

Teens and up

Offensive content

Some foul language, usual zombie kills, one animal killed by a swarm of zombies, menace to a child, slurpy spaghetti eating.

Synopsis & Review

Rick is playing most, if not all, the angles in this episode. He's plotting with Carol and Daryl to have a side stash of weapons in case they need to take over Alexandria. He's accepted the job of Constable for Alexandria thus putting him in charge of safety for the new community. He's hitting on one of the local married women but maybe that's just because he had too much to drink at the welcoming party. He's playing it a bit Machiavellian.

Carol is just interested in taking over Alexandria. She pushes hard to get a stash of weapons and proves she'll do just about anything (though mostly it's lying) to get things her way.

Daryl is caught in the middle. The traditional outsider/loner of Rick's group, he finds more motivation to blend in. Alexandria recruiter Aaron works hard to integrate Daryl into the community, if not at the welcoming party at least over a spaghetti dinner. Daryl has an instinct that Rick and company could do well in the Alexandria community if they tried.

If only Rick and Carol were more on Daryl's page, it would be better. Unless there's something fishy going on at Alexandria...

The Walking Dead Ep. 512, Remember

The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 12: Remember

TV rating

TV-MA

ZPAA rating

Teens and up

Offensive content

Less than the usual number of zombie kills; human-on-human violence that's pretty mild by this show's standards; some rough language; Daryl kills a possum, carries it around with him, and eventually guts it; some blatant lies.

Synopsis & Review

Rick and company go into Alexandria, a walled town that was a posh suburb designed before the zombie outbreak to be a self-sustaining community. U.S. Representative from Ohio Deanna Monroe got stuck there during the outbreak and she's been leading the community since. He husband (who is curiously absent from the episode) was an architect and used material from a nearby construction site to build the massive walls around the community. The people have been living with electricity and running water for a long time.

At first, Rick's people are cautiously optimistic. Rick is cautiously pessimistic, being reluctant to share information and having everyone stay in the same house (even though they've been offered two). As they all go for an interview with Deanna they start to settle in more. She is giving jobs to everyone based on their previous lives and what they have been doing since. Glenn, Tara, and Noah get assigned to the supply run crew, which is run by Deanna's son who is a bit stuck on himself. Things don't go well for them. Rick has better experiences, leading him to think they should stay, and take over if they need to.

Interesting new possibilities are opening up. Deanna appreciates how Rick has taken care of his group like family and hopes that he will do the same for Alexandria. Several of Rick's people are worried about "getting weak" by living there, another issue that has potential to play out well in the next episodes. I am cautiously optimistic about the rest of the season.

The Walking Dead Ep. 511, The Distance

The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 11: The Distance

TV rating

TV-MA

ZPAA rating

Teens and u

Offensive content

The usual assortment of bloody zombie deaths; bad attitudes; one gay kiss.

Synopsis & Review

The group takes Aaron in and interrogates him about who he is and where he is from. He's mostly open and upbeat even after Rick punches him out. Aaron is sent from a large community to bring in people because humans are the most important resource to them, even more so than their massive metal walls. Rick has a really hard time buying into Aaron's story though the others are more open to a hopeful outcome.

The episode deals with Rick's pessimism about finding others who can be trusted. At one point, he admits to Michonne that he can't think of any reason why he'd join Aaron's community but he'll go to the gates anyway just to find out if there would be a reason. He still has a kernel of hope. But is this just another Terminus/Woodbury/etc.?

Fans of the comics (like me) probably have a better idea about what's coming, but that doesn't lessen the excitement. What did lessen the excitement was a couple of missteps. I was never convinced Aaron might be lying so a lot of the tension is lost there. The group gets divided at one point and then later gets back together, though how they found each other isn't clear at all. Maybe there's a deleted scene that makes the connection. Also, Aaron says that Rick's group has to "audition" to join the community but that seems like it's forgotten by the end of the episode. Unless next week's episode begins with the audtion...

The Walking Dead, Ep. 510, Them

The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 10: Them

TV rating

TV-MA

ZPAA rating

Teens and up

Offensive content

Not much language (in fact, the characters do very little talking in this episode at all); plenty of zombie kills but not as gory as earlier episodes.

Synopsis & Review

The group is on the road to Washington, D.C., but everything is running out. They're out of gas, so they walk. They're almost out of food and water, so Daryl scavenges unsuccessfully. They're almost out of hope, so they just trudge on. Doubt is setting in and people still haven't dealt with their losses (specifically the losses of Beth and Tyreese).

The characters are so focused on surviving that the meaningfulness of life is lost. Efforts to deaden their pain, be it through drinking alcohol or killing walkers or shunning the help of others, don't really help. The writers are trying to have introspective characters but this episode pales in comparison to last week's episode. This episode slogs along slowly with the promise of more at the end--more hope, more chances at survival, something more interesting happening.

Not a great episode, but okay.

The Walking Dead Ep. 509, What Happened and What's Going On

The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 9: What Happened and What's Going On

TV rating

TV-MA

ZPAA rating

Adults only

Offensive content

The usual variety and gore of zombies and head wounds, including some corpses with nasty head wounds. Not much language, no sex.

Synopsis & Review

I didn't review the first half of season five for two reasons: (1) life was very busy back then, and (2) the first episode's gore was so graphic I wasn't sure I'd keep watching. It's one thing for a movie to have a lot of gore--it's two hours or less. If a TV show goes that route, the viewer can't know if the makers will continue the high levels. It could get to be too much. I stuck with the show and am now back, though the title of this episode was not very encouraging mostly because it looks lazy. It sounds like a recap episode as when Alias's budget ran short and they did a "highlights from the last few episodes" show. Those were annoying. This episode does have a lot of retrospective moments, but it earns them.

New group member Noah wants to go back to his secured neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. He convinces the others to go because it may be a chance to settle down safely. Since they don't want to stay at the Atlanta hospital and the cure in Washington is a hoax, they don't have many other options. They head off to Richmond. Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Tyreese, and Noah scout ahead to make sure it's okay.

When they arrive, they discover the compound has been overrun. Noah starts to have a breakdown. Tyreese stays with Noah while the others scavenge for any useful supplies. Tyreese comforts Noah as he always does for others. Noah gets up and races back to his home. Tyreese tells him not to go in but Noah insists. Nothing happy is inside. Noah covers up one of the bodies while Tyreese checks the rest of the house. He's bitten by a zombie and lapses into a seeming hallucinatory state. He sees dead people he knew (like Bob, the Governor, Beth, etc.) and discusses with them whether his optimistic view is the right one to have in the situation. It's an interesting debate that is both well thought out and artistically displayed. Flashes of his life both haunt and comfort Tyreese. His choice to live early on in the series is validated by the good he's been able to do. But, as they say, all good things come to an end. Tyreese dies from his wound in spite of Rick and company trying valiantly to save him. He does have a good end--he's the first character in a long time to get buried and have a pastor reading over his grave.

This was a very sad but very beautiful episode. It looks like the show is back on track.