Life is hard for Rick and company, as they are rarely getting a chance to live happily and secure in the post-apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead.
Genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller
Created By: Frank Darabont
Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Emily Kinney, Chad L. Coleman, Sonequa Martin-Green, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Michael Cudlitz, Christian Serratos, Josh McDermitt, Melissa McBride, David Morrissey & Scott Wilson.
Network: AMC
Average Runtime: 45 min.
No. of Episodes: 16
Release Period: 14 Oct. 2013 - 30 Mar 2014
The fourth season of The Walking Dead started off where the third season ended, with Rick and the survivors living peacefully and happy in the prison complex. A few changes happened since we left the group at the end of its last instalment, one of them being Rick and Carl themselves while the other concerns the increased number of survivors. Season four surely wasn't the best season, especially concerning its first half, but it still held itself in the top ranks and quickly picked up pace and tension along the second half.
---WATCH OUT THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS---
Rick is leading a reclusive life in prison; he gave up his position as leader, buried his gun and only has contact with Hershel, Daryl, Michonne and his son. The survivors are now lead by a chosen few that sit in a council while Rick passes his days out on the fields farming. Carl also made a big change, as he finally understood that the path he was following would have led him to a very dark place. He is still angry but tries to live his days in prison as a kid and not as a survivor. When a deadly flu spreads through the prison and the group is in danger of being mauled to death from the inside, Rick needs to gear up again to find medicine in nearby villages. Carol, on the other hand, figured out that it is better to be prepared than sorry and is secretly teaching the children on how to use weapons.
While mean, the Governor rallies up a new group of followers and driven by hatred he once again attacks the prison. The result is disastrous and leaves the survivors scattered throughout the Georgian outskirts, with not everybody having the skills to survive. With our heroes torn apart, wandering in small groups of two and three, they have just one goal set in their sight - Terminus; a self-proclaimed safe haven. But can the people at the end of the rails be trusted, or are they walking into a trap?
After the faster paced events of last season that concerned the friction between the prison survivors and the residents of Woodbury, I welcomed the slower tempo this instalment started off with. I also thought that making the flu the first threat our heroes encounter, to have been a nice change of events. It proved that it isn’t only the dead or living that can be dangerous, but that without the proper medicine, small microscopic viruses can be just as lethal. The momentum came to a complete halt though, when the producers decided to revert back to the Governor and tell of his survival since his disappearance in season three’s final episode. It felt as if AMC was trying to force the viewer to sympathise with that psychotic, twisted, man.
The turnaround came when the Governor finally became the villain he was supposed to be and stormed the prison with a tank (a tribute to the storyline of the graphic novels). His demise might have been a little anticlimactic, but the punches he exchanged with Rick were nerve wrecking. Real tension was wound up, though, along the next eight episodes when the group was split and scattered, after losing their homes during the battle against the Governor. Each episode focused on one or two of the main survivors, fleshing them out more and showing the changes these went through the last four years. My favourite of those episodes was The Grove, depicting how Caren has to cope with Lizzie’s (Brighton Sharbino) deteriorating and psychotic behaviour.
Andrew Lincoln and Chandler Riggs keep surprising me with their terrific performances. Rick and Carl are going through some huge changes in this season. Both have Hershel to thank, who taught them how to control their rage, which nearly drove Rick insane and Carl down a psychopath's path. But with the death of the wise, old, veterinarian and the loss of the prison, Rick reverts back to his animalistic and brutal side - after all only the fittest survives! Beth’s (Kinney) character and Daryl’s past were explored for the first time in this series, giving us a better understanding of their personas. Reedus has such amazing charisma, even when acting all crazy, and his chemistry with Kinney was simply fantastic.
Newcomers Tyreese (Coleman), Sasha (Martin-Green) & Bob (Gilliard Jr.) are fully introduced in this instalment of the show and the three are rich additions to this series character pool. Tyreese, mostly a well-mannered man, reaches a breaking point after his girlfriend was killed by an unknown survivor, revealed later on to have been none other than Carol, who he stumbles upon after the attack on the prison. Chad L. Coleman gave a good performance and sold his emotional scenes. Thanks to Glenn and Tara’s (Alanna Masterson) storyline we also made the acquaintance of Abraham (Cudlitz) and his group, who are on their way to Washington D.C.
Verdict: While season four was slightly weaker than season three, it was still a damn good instalment that not only explored a different type of threat, mixing up the content a little bit, but also explored its characters even more. It started getting stale as soon as the Governor was re-introduced yet picked up momentum again following the battle in episode eight, as it re-evaluated each character and set up a mystery about a possible safe-haven at the end of the train rails. The final episode revealed of course that Terminus was not that what it pretended to be, upsetting the heroes even more. The Walking Dead keeps being a well-written and depicted comic book adaptation. I therefore give season four an 8.5 out of 10!
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