WALKING DEAD DAIRIES SEASON FIVE: THE DISTANCE

THE DISTANCE Grade: B–

At this point, when a Walker shows up on THE WALKING DEAD it’s like when that mini computer lets out a strange noise, and you realize it’s a phone!

So many other elements make up this show, especially those initially friendly live human strangers that turn out truly awful. The Governor was Mr. Rogers compared to those cannibals, and, it seems, there’s simply no one out there as nice as Rick and company. So most of this episode is tense trepidation on whether to trust the average looking young man who said his mother fed him bad tasting things to make him more manly, which in itself is a bit off.

The show used to storm through so much terrain in the course of 55 minutes... but the pacing has been getting progressively stretched out: Three weeks back, a regular died slowly; then his friends roamed around, slowly; now they are not-so-quickly warming up to a new guy with his promise of a camp that could finally be home sweet home, and their hesitation is more than understandable… If only tonight’s THE DISTANCE covered more of it. 

He should've played his Ace much earlier

This new stranger, Aaron, seems too aware that he should understand the group's dire hesitation – like he’s a fan of THE WALKING DEAD. “I’m no Governor, guys, I promise!”

Well some kick ass ground did get covered in the middle – a nice leap forward, and perhaps the best scene in this entire fifth season/second half… And the Walkers, appearing out of nowhere, are a dangerous element and not just groaning wallpaper.

Okay, well, now it’s time to backtrack. These diaries, as explained last time, are written during each commercial break. So, for the Politically Correct, an apology is in order – that line about mom trying to make the new guy more manly wasn’t without reason... He has a significant other, injured and waiting...

Beyond Peripheral

Thus we have our first male gay couple on board, so they simply cannot be villains. Funny how won-over the group got after witnessing that groundbreaking kiss. PC laws must work in both worlds: with or without zombies. But still, some mystery remains. Maybe this camp isn’t as nice as our new cast members are completely trustworthy.

It's easy enough for an episode to center on one person when the group is broken up; yet when they’re all together, the other cast members, beside the one or two centered on, all hang around quietly, like extras on a high school TV show classroom… Even Alpha Male extraordinaire Jeremiah is gentle as a lamb, and Daryl hardly budged at all: that is, other than the Walker attack. But Glenn was Rambo this time around. 

And Carol’s final line to Rick: “Even when you’re wrong, you’re right.” Now that's some ass kissing. But Rick has been a pretty good leader. That beard needs to go, though. Perhaps the camp has a barber shop. Or salon.