The Walking Dead
Episode Title: “Slabtown”
Channel: AMC
Director: Michael
E. Satrazemis
Writers: Matthew Negrete and
Channing Powell
Genre: Drama,
Horror, Thriller
Runtime: 44
min
Rated: TV-14
Original Air Date: November 2,
2014
All
right, this week we've got the first of this season's side episodes.
With the fracturing of the group it was to be expected, and this week
it's all Beth, all the time. Beth is not my favorite character,
she's somewhere in the middle tier of the group that's not hated
either, she just does what she does and I'm OK with that. After her
abduction by the occupants of a car baring a cross my mind
immediately went to weirdo cult or something similar. What new
dysfunctional group of survivors would we be introduced to? Well at
first glance, a well ordered and efficient group that seems to keep
the inhabitants of Grady Memorial Hospital safe and fed.
That's
the trouble with the first glance though, seldom is the nature of
things revealed that quickly. Through the course of the episode
we're shown a take on indentured servitude in the post-apocalyptic
world. It's a little like a company store; the inhabitants are
nursed back to health, and then charged with the cost of their care.
They can pay off their debt and win their freedom through working for
the corrupt police force that runs the hospital, but continued
lodgings and food cost the tenant more, which they have to work to
pay off. You get the idea. The police officers also trade favors
for extracurricular activities with the women in the hospital.
There
were some interesting characters introduced in this episode that I
wouldn't mind seeing going forward. Among them are Steven Edwards,
an actual doctor that I'm sure could be an asset and Noah, a fellow
inhabitant of the hospital who hatches an escape plan with Beth.
Dawn, the leader of the police in charge of the hospital is in way
over her head, balancing evils without any of them really being
lesser. The aforementioned escape plan goes about how you'd expect
and at the very end of the episode we see a very important new
patient in the hospital. That appearance has me excited for the next
part of this little Beth-arc.
Beth
did get to prove to the audience that while she might not be able to
survive by herself, she does have guts and can carry her own weight.
Maybe this was a way to set her up as having a bigger role going
forward. Unless something major happens during next week's episode
“Slabtown” felt like a detour that that could have been avoided.
Conclusion:
The weakest episode of this season. That's not to say it was
horrible, I'm just not sure that Beth is a strong enough character to
have me fully invested in her plight. The entire episode was really
just filler, stalling for time until the big reveal at the end.
Rating:
6.75/10
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