S4: E1 - Revisited!

I actually already wrote about the season opener, a full year ago when it actually premiered.  But I can't start a marathon by skipping a show, so I'm going to eyeball it again.

The opening scene makes me nervous.  Not because of the walkers or any horror element, but rather... 

The sledgehammer-like portrayal of "New Rick's State of Mind."  Rick has turned farmer, and we find him rooting about in the prison's garden, his back turned to the ghoulish zombies just beyond the fence.  They've become his background noise, clearly, and he can't be bothered .  He finds a gun in the dirt, and what does our sulkly little former-cop-turned-dictator do with it?

Chucks it in the bin and walks away.  So, there ya go.   We start with a very dull bang.

TWD has never been great at capturing, shall we say, the subtleties of character.  I'm a little concerned for Rick, because the show is great at horror and entertainment, but absolutely hideous/laughable when it tries to expand its reach by "conveying human emotion, behavior and/or drama."  TWD, this is not your forte.  You destroyed the Andrea character, and I get leery anytime the camera pulls aside to "give a character a personal storyline arc."  It just never ends well!  So, the producers want us to know that Rick no longer has balls.  I sense an ill-formed arc looming in the distance. 

Because this is the season opener, the main characters are paraded out quickly, letting us see how they've fared over the long Georgia winter:

• Carol has turned into a cafeteria boss, overseeing the deer stew from a New Mexican adobe-style outdoor kitchen.  She and Daryl chat, and are immediately approached by a nerd.  PLOT LINE RED FLAG!

Who is this nerd?  Where has this new character come from, and how has he kept his prescription glasses so pristine since the end of the world?  Even worse, he is trying to flatter Daryl.  This is so awkward, and moreover the comedy of it is poorly played out.  I fear Nerd may become an important character, since he is given screen time with two major characters. 

• POOKIE!  Did Carol just call Daryl pookie?  Their connection continues to feel arid and sexless, despite the coy delivery. 
• The blond girl who does nothing but sing to babies now has a boyfriend. 
• While watching this episode, I actually fucking learn something about growing tomatoes from Hershel.  
• That guy Bob is eager to help out and take on some front line action.
• Tyreese has a girlfriend.
• Michonne and Carl are cheery.  Which is also unsettling.  

I realize that for the writers of TV TWD, it was difficult to sustain Michonne as a hardened, non-emoting bad-ass.  I feel like they decided to pander to the audience, or what they think the audience wants - a tough lady with a heart of gold. This merits another essay on its own, regarding sexism intrinsic to the show's portrayal of female characters.

But not now!  The point is, things are going super-great within the walls of the prison.  Since the end of last season, we can now see that the residents have set up a sustainable system for survival: crops, councils, etc.   Additionally, our attention is drawn to the fact that there also exists a fairly large community of prison-children.  Carl has peers!  But can he reclaim his lost childhood?  It would appear not.  New girl Lizzie has been giving them names, and is thoroughly scolded for it by world-wise Carl (and his new BFF, Nerd).

Rick meets an Irish woman in the woods.  Cue "insight into Rick via action" sub-plot.

Craziness fucks things up, too.  The Irish lady is utterly mad (and was just, what, tent camping through the apocalypse?  What now?).   She dies, and freaks out Rick, who sympathizes with her rationale - hey, it's a shitty world, and you've gotta do shitty things.  Does that make one a shitty person?Oh hey - viewer, were you hoping for some action?  Great, because a big group has been sent out to make a "completely innocuous" run to the grocery store.  Glen, Daryl, Sasha, blond girl's boyfriend, and that guy Bob.  What could possibly go wrong?

As usual, alcoholism fucks everything for everyone.  In another painfully over-labored moment of character development, Bob finds the liquor aisle.  With such longing does he hold that bottle of cheap wine!  And with such resolve does he put it back on what is apparently an IKEA shelf, causing... well, briefly, a helicopter to break through the roof, a zombie swarm, and the death of blond girl's boyfriend.

Other bothersome things:

• Beth (finally remembered her name) hugging Daryl.  Way too big of an age gap, there, folks.  
• Carol tells the Nerd to buck up, which is hilarious because a) he tells her he feels sick and b)looks like hell.  If everyone in the world just died from a fever, wouldn't you put two and two together, Carol?