Review: The Walking Dead Episode 409 – ‘After’

2014/02/09 19:51:48 +00:00 | Jonathan James

After their latest encounter with The Governor, Rick and his group of survivors are forced to evacuate the prison grounds, but they don’t leave together. Picking up right where Episode 408 left off, we find Rick in bad shape and struggling to survive with Carl on their own in “After.”

*Spoiler Warning: As usual for early episode reviews, I do keep it short. While I avoid major spoilers, basic plot items are discussed which have been previously revealed in the trailers and clips. Avoid this review if you want to know absolutely nothing going into this episode.

What I’ve really enjoyed about Season 4 is that the creative team isn’t playing it safe. It would have been very easy to stretch out the prison story over the next eight episodes, but they took a chance here and it has really paid off so far. If you’ve seen the new poster, photos, or any of the teasers, you know that Carl is a big focus in this episode.

With Carl being one of only a handful of the original group of survivors, he's gone from more of a secondary character to someone that has an active role in helping keep the group safe in Season 4. It’s been great to see Chandler grow up over the four seasons to the point where he can carry his own scenes and this entire episode really hangs on his performance. I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot more Carl fans after tonight.

For those who have wanted to learn more about Michonne, you’re going to get your chance this episode. She was a woman of few words when we first met her in the comic book series and in Season 3, but that doesn't work for the long run on TV. I won’t go into any details to avoid spoilers, but I really like how they’ve been evolving her character this season and that trend continues in this episode. The focus this week is on a handful of characters, so you may or may not get a look at your favorite survivor this time. However, if you've seen the trailer for the second half of Season 4, it looks like every character will get plenty of screen time.

After was directed by Greg Nicotero, who has become one of the series’ go-to directors and it’s for obvious reasons. The walkers are once again top-notch and there are more than a couple of zombie scenes that will keep people talking. Not only is Nicotero able to put together some great horror scenes, but he also delivers impactful character moments. It's been great to watch him take on more episodes as a director each season and I hope the trend continues.

Robert Kirkman is responsible for writing this particular episode and you can tell that he really enjoyed adapting this area of the story. Where many writers are opposed to major changes when their material is adapted, Kirkman sees this as an opportunity to remix and expand what we’ve read in the comic book series, and there are a number of surprises fans are going to really enjoy.

The Walking Dead Season 4 returns with an episode that feels very different from much of what we saw in Season 3 and the first half of Season 4, and that’s a good thing. In order for this story to continue, the survivors have to leave the prison and this is the most excited I’ve been for new episodes in a while. This opens the door to many possibilities, including new characters, and I’m really interested to see where Scott M. Gimple, Robert Kirkman, and everyone else takes these survivors in the second half of the season.

Episode Score: 4/5

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