Voted 8/10

I like quieter episodes that focus on character interactions. So I appreciated that this episode had a lot of that. Its about time they dusted Michonne off and did something with her. Because she is one of the most, if not the most iconic character in this show. She should never be sidelined. Danai rocked that speech too.

It was nice to see some of the old Glenn back as well. Without Maggie. That relationship has really made both characters very dull and uninspiring so I'm happy to see Glenn function on his own. I really liked him in this episode. It was sad to see him very downtrodden, but I also appreciated his pragmatism. On the contrary, I thought Rick was rather lost in this episode. He did not know what to do half the time so Michonne also got a bit impatient with him.

This show is depressing enough as it is, but this episode really showed how desperate everyone is. The depressing gloom that weighed on everyone's shoulders was very raw and real. I felt for Noah. All that hope he had that his family could be alive was shattered when he saw the burned down Shirewilt houses.

Which leads me to Ty's unfortunate demise. I have mixed feelings about his death. On one hand, it was poignant and beautifully acted by C. Coleman. I applaud him. I hate that this show gets rid of talented actors like clockwork. Its getting to be ridiculous now. I just felt really bad for Ty, but on the other hand it was hard to believe that Ty just gave up so quickly. He had some time to chop off his arm or even get Noah to do it. He saw that Hershel survived a bite to his leg so he had knowledge of this. Maybe Ty would've still died regardless, but I personally wanted to see him try to save himself. The hallucinations did a lot to show how Ty was struggling with his conscious, but I also think that they went on for far too long. After awhile, I thought there would be a family reunion. Maybe Andrea walks and starts chatting with Tyreese. Maybe Sasha. I also don't understand why Beth was there as some others said. I don't know how Tyreese could feel guilty about her death. Beth died due to her own actions. I think any dream-like sequence with Beth should've been saved for Maggie. Instead Karen should've made an appearance her death was the reason for a lot of his turmoil.

Which leads me to my other complaint, I'm over predictable deaths. I mean...really over it. I think it was obvious Ty was dead meat when he walked into that house. I don't want anymore moral compasses in this show because they are bound to die. This pattern has gotten to be stale. I wish the writers would bury it and never dig it up again.

Then I can't help but see the other pattern of black guys dying before they even reach their fullest potential. I'm been tired this. Been fed up with it. I wonder will I ever see a season where black male characters are given pivotal story lines that affect the overall narrative, instead of just being another body count. I wonder will this pattern ever be broken because I'm tired of it.
I can bet money that Noah is dead meat next. So Bob, Tyreese, Noah and I guess Father Gabe will bite it next season if another black guy shows up.

 

I agree. I liked the hallucination idea, but there would have been no loss to their impact if they cut half of that time spent on them out. I got bored of the hallucinations repetitive nature, and it's pretty rare for that to happen. I'm usually hot or cold on a show, but bored? Nope.

 

Finally watched the episode for a second time and without any hesitation I give this episode a solid 9.

A few thoughts:

Beth - several people have complained about the appearance of Beth in the hallucinations, and that it should have been Karen instead. While I think Karen would have fit in the moment I also see the reasoning for Beth. I did not take Beth's appearance as a way to illustrate guilt and Ty letting go of that guilt. I do not think he experienced guilt over her death, and he pretty much said this in his chat with Noah at the beginning of the episode. He certainly felt remorse, sadness and loss in regard to her death. I think that Beth's appearance was due to Ty's indirect involvement in her death. Yes, yes I get it, Beth made the decision to attack Dawn and basically offered herself for sacrifice. But Ty was there, he witnessed it, he was part of the plan to rescue her and it failed. Whereas with Karen, he was in no way part of her death, he did not witness her death.

Michonne - more so Danai, this woman can convey a broad range of emotions with a simple look. Much like Andrew Lincoln. This is why the two of them together in a scene is always a treat. They have that chemistry. Their exchange about whether to travel to DC was subtle yet powerful. We were allowed a glimpse into Michonne's fear - that if they continue on as they are, as individuals they will continue to spiral downward. She witnessed this during the conversation between Rick and Glenn. She realizes that they are all physically tired and mentally exhausted and they need to find that place that offers them some degree of security so that they are able to regenerate and hopefully find that part of their humanity that has slowly been eroding.

Tyreese/Chad Coleman - on my first viewing I did not shed one tear. I was so ensconced in trying to follow every little detail that I did not allow myself to completely feel the episode. On my second view - well just call me a baby and hand me a box of tissues. Chad Colemans performance was spot on

I said in an earlier post that he (the actor) portraying Martin stole this episode. Upon second viewing I want to amend that statement. The performances in this episode by the actors was a collective theft - so many great performances. Yet, I still loved the performance of the actor playing Martin.

 

Talking about Michonne being an iconic character, here's your proof
i was re-watching 509 this afternoon when my home care assistant arrived the point in the show was when our girl Chonny was telling Rick they have to go to DC
this woman is about in her mid 40s from a small Eastern European country with limited English when she saw what I was watching she said; "Ah, you like Michonne, she is great, yes? I love her too, she is wonderful woman, very popular in my country"
wow! Just Wow Michonne rules the world, it's testament to Danai's skill as an actor

 

I've never made a smelling mistake in my wife.

 

yaaap

 

Yup - our whole family didn't care much for this episode either, which is sad. I was REALLY REALLY hoping 5B would be better than 5A and so far am very underwhelmed. Espeically given the hype they gave to this mid-season premier.

It was definitely good to see Glenn without Maggie, though. I enjoyed that. That and seeing the Governor again were the two highlights of this otherwise lackluster episode. (wonderful cinemotagraphy aside)

 

I gave it a 7, pretty weak mid-season premiere in my opinion, the flashbacks just gave it a cheap look..The whole scenes where Tyreese was bleeding out and hallucinating were very boring and took forever for the group to find him, I saw what Greg Nicotero was trying to do but it didn't work for me, Plus it was a huge let down having Tyreese die so soon, (c'mon Beth JUST died)...But it wasn't all bad, enjoyed all the walker scenes.

 

This episode was so mixed with good and bad. It had so many dark moments that were really spectacular, and Tyreese just was so great this episode in his character story. However, the inconsistencies always get me in this show, like the zombie stuck in the other bedroom getting out and attacking Tyreese. We all know zombies don't know how to open doors, and the only way that door would have opened is if the zombie kid broke it down, which would have made a ton of noise and made Tyreese aware of it. Things like this always lower my thoughts of the episode drastically, when they are so glaringly inconsistent and far fetched.

The hallucinations were amazingly done though. We finally got a perspective of what it is like to be affected by the bitten virus (or probably just due to loss of blood, but I can pretend!) The allusions and foreshadowing was really cool too, and how the funeral went from Beth to Tyreese was very well done. Even though Beth's funeral was not shown, it was a sort of send off for both characters.

On the negative side again, the episode had way too many camera effects that were pointless and didn't add anything to the episode. It felt like they were just doing this to use screen time because they couldn't come up with anything actually entertaining. The flashes to certain things were interesting and they were clearly doing something meaningful with it, but they really didn't need to do it 3+ times.

Beth was in it, so that was a plus.

I rated it a 6. The inconsistency of the zombie lowered it a lot for me, and though there was some pretty great artistic stuff in the episode, most of it didn't blend into the episode as has been done on 9s/10s, and it felt like most of the artistry was just to fill up some of the time, rather than to add to the episode.

 

P.S. I've just watched this episode again and I think it's one of the best ever...lots of subtle and thought provoking aspects...2 years on, all the characters are re evaluating themselves and where they are at.

 

It's just me in your mind, playing on your subconscious.

 

Did anyone else notice that the walker was behind a closed door? Makes me think someone let him out... Just a thought..

Ryan

ps gave the episode a 7, liked it a lot, but it felt a little slow in the beginning...

 

I think it was an adjoining bathroom that the walker came through.

 

Just a note about this (like CoyoteTWD mentioned above me in response to someone else), apparently, the two rooms were connected by a Jack and Jill bathroom, and that’s how the other walker brother made it into the room. The shot of the walker behind the door was intentionally misleading, making the viewer (and Tyreese) dismiss the possibility of him being a threat since we are all supposed to know at this point that they can't open doors.

 

i gave it a 7. Mainly because i wasn't a huge fan of how long the hallucinations took. I thought the more interesting story in the episode was Rick, Glenn and Michonne's talks. I found it very interesting that Michonne became the voice of reason. That was something i expected from Glenn. I also don't like that the amount of time passed isn't told in the episode. On talking dead they said it had been i think 17 days but they need to put it in the episodes. We shouldn't have to watch a talk show to find out how much time has passed.

I do think it was a good episode tho and a very unexpected death which is realistic for a ZA. I wasn't a big fan of tyrese anyway so I'm not sad to see him go. I am interested to see what goes on with sasha now.

 

I also gave it a 7 for some similar reasons as you (the hallucinations taking to long).

Although I'm very disappointed with Tyreese being killed off, I feel like his character had more to give. I wasn't surprised that he died as I don't think a character like him could survive till the ZA was over, however I was just surprised that he was killed off now, I thought they would have kept him for a bit longer.

Michonne actually shocked me a bit in this episode, I wasn't expecting her to be the voice of reason.

I don't think Sasha will make it to Season 6 (even though I do like her character).