By Matt Ern
Columnist
The Walking Dead – Clear
Grade: A-
This seasons narrative of the prison vs. Woodbury has been going so strongly lately that it seems surprising that the best episode since the pilot would feature a break from all that. Clear is a remarkably simple episode: Rick, Michonne, and Carl travel back to Rick and Carls hometown to raid the old Sheriffs station for weapons. Once there they encounter Morgan, whos been surviving alone all this time. He is seemingly crazy now, writing coded messages on the walls and building elaborate walker traps. The old Morgan is able to return, though, when he recognizes Rick.
Weve spent a lot of time with Ricks group, people who are bent on survival and protecting one another. Rick is determined to kill the Governor because he poses a threat to the way of life they have established in the prison. He needs the prison to be safe from Woodbury so that his son and his friends can live there. Morgan represents a different kind of survival. Hes alone and hopeless, but he doesnt have the strength of will to take his own life. Instead, he builds walker traps and hoards guns. Morgan wont be dying from a walker any time soon, and he doesnt have the threat of a Governor-type character. So he lives on alone, growing crazier each day.
Carl and Michonne get some great development in Clear too. Carl wants to find the last surviving photo of his family. He says its for Judith, but hes also a child too, a child who shot his dying mother so she wouldnt come back as a zombie just a few episodes ago. Michonne endeavors to help him because she realizes that shes perceived as an outlier and wants to win the boy over. Michonne becomes more of a real person here, instead of someone quietly brooding about killing the Governor.
Clear shines by getting us out of the prison and Woodbury and focusing on one boiled-down concept. There are only four characters in the episode and theyre all served well, unlike the norm in which a bunch of abrasive jerks sit around a prison yelling at each other. Morgan quickly becomes one of the most endearing and best-developed characters in the show, and I hope that in another few seasons hell pop up again.
Community- Alternative History of the German Invasion
Grade: B
One of the only amusing aspects of the German group introduced last season was the fact that one of them was played by Nick Kroll. So when they returned sans-Kroll, I was less than thrilled. Presumably a dying show like Community couldnt have afforded to have Kroll and Malcolm McDowell guest star in the same episode, and unfortunately McDowell is what we got. Hes kind of wasted here.
Other than having to deal with the annoying fake German accents throughout the episode, I liked it by-and-large (at least compared to the rest of this season). I was impressed that I wasnt immediately turned off by the return of Chang, who I had been starting to get sick of in the past. He might be the only aspect of the show being handled better post-Harmon.
The show seems preoccupied by its own reputation as Community, but to be fair the show has done callbacks before. The ones here worked for me, showing how selfish the group has appeared in their refusal to let go of the study room while getting into increasingly bizarre situations. The last act of the show really came together to me, and I laughed a lot at Pierce being upset that Jeff was named the obvious Hitler of the group (What, we dont even get a vote? he whines).
Its not a standout episode given the shows history, but its an example of how this new version can make things work when theyre not too focused on the reputation of Community itself. While the first few episodes smacked of trying too hard, Alternative History of the German Invasion is more relaxed and understated, and it helps.