Review - The Walking Dead: Wildfire

I am not sure how much more praise I can give The Walking Dead as it’s just such a phenomenal show. Each episode continues the compelling story of these survivors fighting against the walkers and striving to find a better way to live. With only one episode left for this amazing first season if you haven’t been watching I have to say a few things. One, what is wrong with you? This show is freaking awesome. Two, you got a week to catch up before the season finale so go do that. In this past episode named “Wildfire” the human emotion is brought out tenfold in the survivors and leads them to make some tough choices. Read on for the review (some spoilers ahead).

At the end of the last episode the camp was attacked by a small number of “walkers” that decimated about half of the survivor group. In the beginning of this one we see the aftermath as the remaining survivors clean up the camp, burning all of the “walkers” bodies while piling the people they lost together for burial. It’s during the cleanup that Jim is discovered to have been bitten during the fight pretty much sealing his fate. Daryl attempts to put Jim down before he can turn and gives another one of those human moments with Rick promising to shoot him if he tries to kill Jim. These are those scenes that show that even in the toughest of times and situations the best and the worse can come out.

Rick suggests heading to the CDC for safety, figuring if anybody was working on a cure it would be there to maybe help save Jim, while Shane suggests heading to Fort Benning thinking there would be soldiers and protection there. This sort of infighting is putting stress on the group with no clear leader taking charge, but for Shane the situation is more complicated because of his relationship with Rick's wife. When Shane, Rick and Dale are out patrolling the surrounding woods a moment occurs when Rick and Shane are talking about his family. Shane reminds Rick how he protected them and even points his gun at Rick, itching to pull the trigger. It was a damn tense moment as you can see the thought process of Shane as to whether he could actually do it.

They decide on heading towards the CDC since its closer and they are more likely to make it there with what vehicles they have. One family of survivors decides to head towards Birmingham instead taking the chance their family located there will still be alive. The groups part ways heading to the different destinations, but Rick makes sure to leave a note for Morgan to follow them to the CDC if he makes it to their old camp. Morgan is the man from the first episode who helped Rick in the beginning and understands what is going on and Rick wanted to make sure if Morgan and his boy came to Atlanta they didn’t walk into the same trap he did. Another sad moment hits for this band of survivors as Jim’s condition only gets worse on the road to the CDC with him deciding to be left behind as he can’t go any further. These survivors just can't catch a break or any joyful moments it would seem with tragedy after tragedy affecting them.

During the episode we see a man located inside the CDC attempting to work on a cure to this horrible plague. He uses a video log to detail his work and vent his frustration at the lack of progress he has been having in addition to the affect isolation is having on him. Needless to say when Rick and the others arrive at his front door he is somewhat shocked and kind of wanting them to go away as he watches them on a monitor. Rick isn’t going away as he sees the camera watching them begging for the steel doors to be open so they can be let in. Rick was especially raw with his emotions here as he pleads with the camera to let them in while walkers are slowly rising all around them. The last scene of the episode raises more questions, with the most poignant being whether or not this place is going to be safe enough for them.

It has been a great first season so far and when I first heard they were turning the comic into a TV show I knew it was going to be great. The comic is just that good of a story, with compelling characters that give it life and sow human emotion you would expect if the world ended by zombies taking over. The TV show did its homework in the casting department as all the actors are just amazing; Andrew Lincoln is transforming into Rick Grimes. I really can't wait for next week’s episode and know it will be a long wait for that new season. Seriously if you haven’t been watching this show you need to be as it's just that good. AMC has really set the bar high for what a show should be and the quality it should have.