The Walking Dead Recap: Season 4 Episode 16 "A"

[Dan O'Halloran]

The Walking Dead Recap: Season 4 Episode 16 "A"

The season 4 finale brings us a new Rick, a survivor reunion and a creepy new settlement to kick of season 5.

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[yeah_so_no]

The entire theme of this season seems to be "the zombie apocalypse has driven everyone insane." Some people are more sane than others, but all of them are a little bit crazy.

 

[Kyogissun]

I remember going into a class monday morning, having not seen the finale and hearing people discuss it with little detail. I recall... briefly feeling myself vomit ever so slightly when one of them blurted out the statement 'This season finale wasn't as good as season 3...' and held my tongue trying to not be a pretentious elitist dickbag, because I had nothing to gain out of it...

I'm so glad they were wrong. I watched the episode last night and damn it, did it deliver as strongly as the entire second half of season 4 did. I was super worried about the state of writing quality after that season 3 finale and the first half of season 4's attempt to salvage the show, but I see that while I was worried and it was justified that I have nothing to worry about any longer.

I had a discussion with an english professor who pointed out the rabbit trap foreshadowing and I have got to admit that was fucking genius.

Loved the episode, loved the second half of season 4, can't wait for season 5 in october.

 

[fluxy100]

I'm not sure why anyone even trusts Rick as a leader anymore. He has a mental breakdown after every big problem. Lori dies? Mental breakdown start seeing her ghost everywhere. Prison gets attacked? Mental breakdown, goes into a coma for a whole episode leaving his son to defend for himself. Has to kill a man by biting him? Mental breakdown, small one but still a breakdown. A leader should the the person who keeps a cool head after shit goes down, not snap at a moments notice.

As for the episode I didn't really like it, I felt like the Bandits got resolved in way too quick of a manner for how much they were built up. Terminus was just another place where everything seems good, but OH NO things are bad!! Like the last two good places the group have gone to, it gets a bit old. And that last line just felt stupid

 

[Atomic Spy Crab]

Has to kill a man by biting him? Mental breakdown, small one but still a breakdown.

I wouldn't really see that as a mental breakdown as much as I would him showing who's boss and what he would do to save his son and those he cared for. If I were there I would be pretty damn inspired

 

[Kajin]

I'm really starting to get super annoyed when people say "Farmer Rick was boring". It's like they're looking at him and thinking it makes him less of a man for trying to be a non-action guy. I've always believed that it was an integral part to Rick's character development.

He was starting to go off the deep end with the whole Ricktatorship thing. His mind was slowly but surely fracturing under the constant demands of leadership. So he tries to get himself back together. He takes some time off and devotes himself to the farming and the ranching. Tries to find some peace. Tries to make something better, not just of himself but of the world around him.

One of the heaviest emotional hits that got to me was early in the season when Rick had to kill the pigs. Here I am looking at a guy who has desperately been trying to find peace of mind but the world he's so carefully built around himself comes crashing back down around him when the universe decides to go "lol no peace 4 u bro". Reality asserts itself upon the careful world he's tried to build by throwing both the wave of zeds and that flu of possible swine origin at him, becoming the first of a series of events that forces Rick to drop the vision of a peaceful world he's been trying to build for himself and those around him.

The only thing more tragic than that is all the annoying, small-minded people going "Rick is a wuss now, bring back the guns and the killing lololololololol"

Bah.

 

[the infected (teamkiers)]

Has to kill a man by biting him? Mental breakdown, small one but still a breakdown.

I wouldn't really see that as a mental breakdown as much as I would him showing who's boss and what he would do to save his son and those he cared for. If I were there I would be pretty damn inspired

Indeed. You're meant to fear your leader anyway, and after that display, I'd be pretty bloody fearful of Rick.

 

[balladbird]

its going to be about the hunters. and i bet rick gets his most recognizable feature in season 5 by them.

you know, he is going to be less handsome. less of a handy man. more handicapped. you know.

Oh god, the internet is gonna set off again. And right as they just got tired of it with Jaime Lannister. >.<

 

[Atomic Spy Crab]

Has to kill a man by biting him? Mental breakdown, small one but still a breakdown.

I wouldn't really see that as a mental breakdown as much as I would him showing who's boss and what he would do to save his son and those he cared for. If I were there I would be pretty damn inspired

Indeed. You're meant to fear your leader anyway, and after that display, I'd be pretty bloody fearful of Rick.

I'm just saying that after seeing that I would know how much Rick cared for us and what he would do to keep those he loves safe.

 

[Riff Moonraker]

its going to be about the hunters. and i bet rick gets his most recognizable feature in season 5 by them.

you know, he is going to be less handsome. less of a handy man. more handicapped. you know.

Honestly, I am hoping not. The Guv did that to him in the comics, granted, but I believe even Kirkman himself has said he wishes he could take that one back. I have strong doubts that this will come to pass on the show, for Rick, at least.

 

[Riff Moonraker]

I'm not sure why anyone even trusts Rick as a leader anymore. He has a mental breakdown after every big problem. Lori dies? Mental breakdown start seeing her ghost everywhere. Prison gets attacked? Mental breakdown, goes into a coma for a whole episode leaving his son to defend for himself. Has to kill a man by biting him? Mental breakdown, small one but still a breakdown. A leader should the the person who keeps a cool head after shit goes down, not snap at a moments notice.

As for the episode I didn't really like it, I felt like the Bandits got resolved in way too quick of a manner for how much they were built up. Terminus was just another place where everything seems good, but OH NO things are bad!! Like the last two good places the group have gone to, it gets a bit old. And that last line just felt stupid

I am going to have to disagree, on several counts. First, anyone that cant see why a man would break down after finding out his wife died, and no less having to be put down by his own son, then.... there is really no way I can explain it to you. I dont recall him having a breakdown after the prison got attacked, in either situation. On the second final attempt, he was just beaten nearly to death and had to recover, nothing at all to do with a mental breakdown. I also do not fault him for his actions against Joes group, and would have tried the same thing if I was in that situation. But I completely disagree that he was having a mental breakdown at all, while he was sitting outside the vehicle after that went down. I see it as something quite the opposite, in fact, as I think he was finally coming to terms with the monster inside him and accepting that it was a necessary part of him that he would need to sometimes rely on to help his people survive... a point they alluded to several times, thus where his confidence came from at the end of the show. His final comment? I loved it, and while I would have loved for it to be stronger, they even admitted on The Talking Dead that they simply were not allowed to spice up that last comment any more than that. I thought it was a fantastic episode!

 

[AldUK]

The show has had its ups and downs for sure. Series one was short but brilliant, season 2 started well, had a huge snorefest middle, then ended well. Season 3 was all over the place with some episodes that stood out far above others. Season 4 started poorly, but once they finally left the prison behind, I feel as though they have recaptured the spark. I've read the comics to date, I enjoy them more than the TV show, though it's difficult to compare the two since they are entirely different forms of entertainment. I'm looking forward to the next season, I just hope they don't kill a bunch of people at Terminus then settle in for the rest of the season, keep the tempo going and it'll be great.

In the meantime, we have a new Game of Thrones season to devour! Hooray!