The Walking Dead 'Inmates' Review: How everyone else survived the prison attack
The Walking Dead continued to show the aftermath of the prison attack with "Inmates," the second episode since the Governor destroyed the survivors' home. It was another slow-paced, plodding episode, but one that will ultimately serve the show well in the long run.
The rest of Season 4 could have easily spent much of its back half dedicating individual episodes to the different groups of survivors and then brought them all together near the end. Instead, we got almost everything out of the way in this episode and now we know what happened to the main players immediately after the attack. Even Carol made her return to the action, though she's still hiding the truth about what she did from Tyreese.
And speaking of Tyreese, he had baby Judith with him! So it looks like the show strayed from the comics in that regard (If you don't know what happens in the book, then check it out. It's twisted.) It's a good thing Carol showed up when she did, because her little protégé, Lizzie, was about to snuff the life out of Little Ass Kicker in order to stop her from crying for good. Now, the girls, Tyreese and Carol seem to have found sanctuary, but let's not forget that the last safe haven was run by a psycho named the Governor.
Maggie and Glenn are now trying to find their way to each other, which could take any length of time at this point. One of the more interesting developments from these two in this episode, though, was the arrival of the new trio of Abraham, Eugene and Rosita. These three have a pretty significant role in the comics, which I won't spoil for anyone who hasn't read it, so hopefully their arrival heralds a quickening of the pace for the second half of the season.
This episode also benefitted from switching up the usual groupings. Daryl and Beth. Tyreese and Carol. Glenn and Tara. Maggie, Sasha and Bob. The show played the shell game with the characters, which is something it could tap into a bit more often.
Some fans might complain about the slow pace, but we're still in the "dust-settling" phase after the attack. Things should start to pick up again next week, but it's anyone's guess as to how, when and where the different sets of characters will cross paths again.
Notes and Quotes
- Glenn had full body armor, but was charging into a group of zombies really the smartest idea?
- Dear Walking Dead, please stop reminding us that you killed Hershel. We remember, and we're still getting over it.
- Tara's back, but where's Lilly?
- Glenn called Maggie his "wife," and about 18 million people said "Awwwwww" in unison.
What did you think of tonight's episode? Let us know in the comments below.