Air Date: Sunday, March 9, 2014 at 9/8c on AMC
Rating:
“Doesn’t matter who you are … yeah, doesn’t matter.” – Bob Stookey
The Walking Dead opens “Alone” as the camera pans in on the face of a man who is utterly alone. We watch a few shots of what a person looks like when left to their own devices, thrown into a world that is so unlike what they’ve come to know. Living solo can do serious damage to one’s psyche. Some people can’t handle the thought of being alone. Others crave the solitary confinement. During “Alone,” we learn who those people are and what fuels their desire for, or the absence of, company.
Observations and thoughts:
Bob is wearing the stink of despair.
The realism of Bob’s (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) circumstance is one of the most common you’d expect to see during an apocalypse. Homeless, hungry, and hung over, he wanders. How many other survivors do you think may have been doing the same thing before someone found them? His comment shakes me up too—no matter who you were in your life before, what matters is the here and now. Survival comes first. Your name, occupation, and status in life are of little import. Gilliard Jr. does a damn fine job with his portrayal of a man with no one to claim. Bob barely making it from one day to the next is a bit suspicious. He’s fine going with people he doesn’t know just to not be alone. That in itself makes me question Bob’s motives. Gilliard Jr. slips into the role with ease, using his charismatic ways to give Bob a smidgen of my sympathy. I’d be keeping a close eye on him.
In one of the scariest scenes of “Alone,” we watch three survivors face the unknown. Fog surrounds them, thick as pea soup, and they have no idea what lurks in the mist. I caught myself holding my breath, waiting for the moment someone would fall to the bite of a walker. The tension was almost too much to bear.
Sanctuary for all; community for all. Those who arrive, survive. I’m starting to get a not so good feeling about this “sign.” Who wrote it? Who knows if the words displayed on it are true? During the zombie apocalypse, you can’t be so trusting.
The soundtrack fits The Walking Dead more than I realized. Having a lone singer over the chords of a guitar elicits a sense of loneliness felt in the tone of the show. Even in a group, one can be alone. I get the feeling no one truly feels like they belong anywhere now that the world has gone to zombies.
What will the survivors find in Terminus? Is it a sanctuary?
Has everyone who has seen the sign for Terminus come across the same exact sign? “All these tracks leading to the same place…” Exactly! It’s almost like they’re passing through a place in time moments apart from one another. Just goes to show how relative time is to those in dire straits.
What looks like a scene straight out of a romantic comedy, isn’t really. I find it hilarious to think Daryl (Norman Reedus) carrying Beth (Emily Kinney) could be the start of something romantic. No, he’s just being a gentleman. Thank goodness. I’m not interested in seeing these two hookup. There’s enough romance on The Walking Dead with Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Glenn (Steven Yeun) professing their love every five seconds.
If you ever thought Daryl wasn’t a super bad ass, “Alone” should rectify that notion. Who single handedly fights his way through a group of ravenous undead without breaking a sweat? Daryl Dixon, that’s who. The much needed action is brought to us by the lone Dixon brother. I hate when The Walking Dead gets too serious and doesn’t focus on the threat at hand. Nothing gets my heart rate going like a walker attack.
Memorable lines:
Beth: “There’s still good people, Daryl.”
Daryl: “I don’t think the good ones survive.”
**
Sasha to Bob: “If you’re so happy to be alive, then why are we walking into the heart of darkness?”
**
Bob to Sasha: “I’m not alone.”
**
Ah, Beth. Got your wish to “not need” Daryl, didn’t you?
A lot happens in “Alone” to make me question where the groups will end up. Terminus looks like a good place to start but I’m worried it won’t be all it’s being made out to be. Once they reach their final destination, will a new leader assert him/her self? Which group will make it there first? Will the bonds being forged during this trek holdfast when secrets are revealed? I think it’s going to be a wild ride. And how about the group Daryl falls in with? Let me know what you thought about “Alone.” Drop me a line in the comments section or tweet me @ellemoe.
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Photo credit: Gene Page/AMC © 2010-2014 American Movie Classics Company, LLC. All rights reserved.
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