UGH. Just. Anyone who has been putting off a rewatch because its "the boring season" or its just the season where they stay at the farm - you gotta rethink your decision. I'm only on episode two and I'm taken aback at how much character development and content there is here. I'm a big fan of the show currently but the earlier seasons had some great material. Off the top of my head:
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Walkers genuinely being threatening?? One appears and you're genuinely concerned for people. Also people are very scared and afraid of approaching them - big difference from the casual dispatch of four or five before breakfast in later seasons.
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CHARACTER DRAMA. Ugh I forgot about this conflict between Andrea and Dale where he's "trying to save her" and she's rightly furious at him for robbing her of her choice, but then Andrea wants to go off with Shane and maybe that'll happen?? And Carol's here and her actress is so great, she's so moving as this woman desperately trying to plead with God to return Sophia with her, and it's mental because its fucking Carol and you're basically watching the Terminator beg for mercy, like wtf. And Daryl's like. He's such a baby. Him and Glenn both. He's got short hair too omg. And Glenn's just meeting Maggie and that's his future wife but they're just strangers now...
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Dale. Dale gets a separate point because he's both relatable and infuriating as the Moral High Ground of the group. He lies about fixing the car because he wants people to keep looking for Sophia, he stops Andrea from committing suicide in the earlier season, he takes guns off Andrea and the others because he's concerned they're going to be misused. (And this whole 'we'll just let people go around unarmed during the zombie apocalypse' plot line is insane to watch as a season nine viewer.) And I remember some later plot points. He's got a point sometimes but he's also such a meddler. You kinda just want to tell him to fuck off.
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LORI AND SHANE AND RICK. Lori takes the crown as the character who I think is very well written but again is absolutely infuriating a lot of the time. But watching this season is a reminder that she's not this Naggy Bat lady which fandom often simplifies her to. She does maddening shit re: Shane but you can understand her motivations, plus she's sweet with Rick and she's got his back like when she tells the group to stop blaming Rick if they're going to rely on him so much. I appreciate that I'm going to be annoyed with her later on but its nice to be reminded that she is fully realised complicated person, not this narrow trope of a wife. And hats off to the guy who plays Shane, he does so much with just a look.
Also everyone is so clean. Clean faces, clean everything. Kind of amazing. Anyway I highly recommend rewatching this season, if you're concerned that it might be too dull I can safely say that there is a wealth of character material here that makes it worthwhile. (Even if it is super weird to see Rick walking about without Michonne backing him up. Hold up cowboy, your samurai wife is coming.)
Submitted August 19, 2019 at 08:04PM by bracake https://ift.tt/2P2sxYw
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