The Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 3 "Isolation" Review

WARNING: I GIVE SPOILERS FOR THE EPISODE!

            Sorry for the tardiness of this review, but… there is no but. This will not happen again… hopefully.

            I will start with Rick. Now that he is back to the Rick he was before this season, at the beginning he gets in an unexpected fight with Tyreese. It was a very intense fight and you see that Rick is really not Farmer Rick anymore. Then, he talks to Tyreese about what is right and right is wrong. At least it seemed to be like that. Tyreese says that what Rick is doing is wrong. Though, Rick thinks that it is the other way around. That conversation is not incredibly important, but it does explain later acts of Tyreese. Later, he gets in that dilemma with Carol being outside that really illustrates that they cannot pretend that walkers do not exist anymore. Things are getting worse and they have to step up to be who they were. I really liked that theme of this episode. I will mention his run-in with Carol at the end of the episode in Carol’s section.

            I will get to Hershel and Carl now. First, I will talk about the situation Carl is in. Carl is somewhat above the other kids, but Rick makes him go in the room for safety purposes. I will say that Carl is somewhat right that he could be classified as a soldier, but I still agree with Rick. Anyway, later he has a run-in with Hershel while Hershel is trying to leave. I am glad that Carl says that he has to go with Hershel, because that shows the responsibility of Carl. Then, later, in the woods, Carl and Hershel find some walkers. They have some great lines between each other. Carl believes he needs to shot the walker, but Hershel says he does not need to. That line is both good and bad. They are getting away from the fact that walkers are dangerous. Though, it also illustrates that the people have become calmer, and, possibly safer. It also hints at the fact that walkers may be getting less dangerous. Then Hershel says that they are “just so peaceful”. That shows regression in his character, though. He may be seeing walkers as not being horrible anymore. When Carl says that they will not always be that shows that he disagrees with Hershel. That is a good thing for his character, because it is not good to believe what Hershel believes. Also, Hershel later gets in an argument with Maggie and Rick about why he should go into the cell block with the people with the virus. The lines he said about how they are no safe whatsoever really meant something. What he said is actually true and it makes me like his character more. Those were some great lines. I am very interested in the direction they are going in with these characters.

            Now I will get to Tyreese. For this whole entire episode, I thought that he was going to do something terrible. He was in a dark place during this episode. This side story was suspenseful and done well to that factor. Though, the conversation he had with Sasha illustrated how he really felt. He was desperate and hopeful. He was really also really worried about what might happen. That caused me to feel and understand for his character. He is “the character” of this episode. This is a “Tyreese episode”, and they executed this episode as the “Tyreese episode” very well. Later, when he, Daryl, Michonne, and that other guy are stuck in the car, when he hesitates to go out there, I thought “Uh-oh”. He was in deep thought and I wanted him to get out of that thought, and go out there. They also did that well. Then, he goes out of the car, and lets all of his anger out on the walkers. That is a great way to get him out of his dark place. I really liked the writing there. Though, I thought that he was dead, and, somehow, he got out of there. That is a fault with the episode, but I think it is my only true flaw with it. Anyway, I will say that that action sequence was very intense and very cool. And, of course, they heard a voice on the radio and there were a huge number of walkers on the road. That completely took me by surprise and I am excited to see what it is. I am also excited that they found another possible threat. There probably is another community, and now these people know to be cautious. I really like the direction they have took with adding this and I really like the direction they are going in with Tyreese.

            Now it is time to talk about Carol. Throughout this episode, she goes through many things. The little girl is looking to her as a mother, and she knows how bad that is, and she got stuck outside the prison with many walkers. She learned a lesson being outside with all of those walkers. I already mentioned that, though. In this section from now on, I am just talking about her last conversation with Rick. She is the one that killed Karen and that other guy. That actually really took me by surprise. Other people are saying they really saw that coming, so I guess I am stupid for not seeing it coming. Anyway, it was a shock and I really like that it turned out to be her. This event really added to that character’s story, and I like the direction that they are going in with the story of Carol.

            I will talk about the episode in general, now. I really enjoyed this episode as an enjoyment factor, and it had many really cool plot twists and add-ons, so that really adds to the episode. It had really good developments with characters, and it had not one truly dull moment. My only other flaw, other than the one that I have already mentioned is that it just was not excellent. It had several factors that had room for improvement. Still, this episode is great.

            On the grading rating system, I give this episode an A-.
            On the out-of-10 system, I give it an 8.7/10.