'The Walking Dead' Episode 6: 'TS-19'
SYNOPSIS: "Rick and the group are allowed into the CDC, by a strange doctor. But all is not what it seems in their newfound haven." (fxuk.com)
So here we are at the sixth episode, the season finale, of 'The Walking Dead' - for an American series this quite short, but to us British viewers it is more or less standard. The series’ success despite its short run is possibly testament to Frank Darabont’s writing, as with most British shows it has primarily been written by a single screenwriter and the shortness of the season allows for the show to stay succinct and not diverge into too many side plots. It will be interesting to see how Darabont manages in the next season, with more episodes and higher expectations from both the audience and the studio.
'TS-19' opens with a gory flash back to Shane (Jon Bernthal) visiting Rick (Andrew Lincoln) in the hospital while the army are executing the infected in the hallways; it makes Shane’s actions earlier and the series more understandable, though the way he treats Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) later in the episode still feels reprehensible. It’s a shame that a character who has been relatively central to the plot so far is only now in a position to be judged fairly, but it puts the character in a good position further development and the plot element of the love triangle between him, Lori and Shane.
The episode as a whole didn’t tell us anything new, we lost one minor character and one who was only introduced at the end of the last episode. 'TS-19' did an accomplished job of rounding off the season while keeping it entirely open for any possible storyline that the writers feel like and I’m glad that my Chekov’s grenade finally came back. Overall, it was a good episode in a good series that has had some spectacular moments and I look forward to the second season next Autumn.
'TS-19' will be repeated throughout next week on FX in the UK. Viewers elsewhere should go here to find out where they can watch the series.
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