Episode four of the first season of The Walking Dead: World Beyond feels like the show has finally hit its stride and established itself. The first episode introduced us to the status quo, the second episode we saw the group come together, and the third episode stared death and circumstance in the face. We have waded through some exposition, told a few backstories, explored some personalities, rebelled against the system, almost didn’t make it, and now we are here, on “The Wrong End of a Telescope.”
1. The gang’s all here
We saw Felix and Huck finally catch up to the core four in episode 3, but this is the first time it has really felt like the full 6 member cast has been assembled for a full episode. We get to know a little more about personalities and backstories as we follow the characters through an old school and they reminisce about what they may be missing out on as dystopian survivors.
What stood out the most in this episode was how much of Iris’ self sacrifice was put on display, Silas’ dark past, and Hope’s perspective on her father. This all played out perfectly with the full group around, but considering the whole episode takes place in an old school, there had to be some way to mix things up.
2. Time to go our separate ways
The best way to find clues and explore character, is to follow “Scooby-Doo’s” lead and split up. The whole episode takes place in a single location. A single massive building really. So why not break out into teams and search different sections even though we just put the whole team together? Because; drama.
Felix and Elton go off together because Elton is considered a potential wedge to split the group and get them back home. The problem is, Elton is as idealistic as Iris about what they should be doing with their time. Sure Elton isn’t personally invested in this mission to save the girl’s dad, but he is invested in them as friends at this point and he seems to refuse pushing the group to turn back. Felix does make an emotional plea to Elton, trying to appeal to his sense of loss and grief, and it gives us the impression that Felix is still fighting remorse for what happened with his parents all those years ago.
Huck is tasked with convincing Hope to second guess her second guesses one last time and turn the group back. What is really interesting here is that Hope’s time with her father just before he left is shown, and what we learn is that Hope always felt less than, until just before her father left. Yeah she is a troublemaker that can’t get right with the rules but it is mostly just a genius acting out for attention. This is juxtaposed to her current situation, where she is stuck with Huck and answering a lot of questions. But Hope is smarter than that and she makes it known that she won’t be turning the group around without Huck even having to ask.
Iris and Silas are sent off together, and they quickly become trapped inside of an old gym with an empty blocking the only other exit. Situations change, and they are eventually confronted between a rock and a hard place by a couple of empties. In an intense situation, Silas loses control and saves Iris.
3. Silas’ violent year
Silas’ past and history have come up in previous episodes but the amount of information we have received so far has only been suggestive, and very limited. This episode went a little farther and even has the character explicitly mention what they have been alluding toward.
As the stress and tension ramp up, we get cuts to a scene we have seen of Silas beating someone’s face in with his bare fists. It is later, after a few empties get too close for comfort, that Silas goes into a rage similar to the one in the video and absolutely demolishes an empty in the same way as the flashback. He later asks Iris what people have told her, because he knows what they say when they think he can’t hear; did he kill his father?
Continued below4. Huck is awful
I’ve been holding judgement about this character for three episodes now, because she seems like exactly the type of character that turns out to be a breakout character. I don’t foresee that happening at this point, but that may just be my personal opinion. However I do think the writer’s crafted a character that would have been liked if casting had just been a hair better.
I’m not familiar with Annet Mahendru’s previous work, but she is not carrying the weight of this particular character well. Huck is supposed to be a tough-as-nails, no nonsense character. And while she doesn’t have much personality other than quiet and stoic, she also doesn’t have the charisma and charm to make that type of person likeable. She is given a mysterious past, assumedly because she has seen and experienced terrible things that she doesn’t want others to have to go through, except she hasn’t shared any of that in four episodes now.
But the thing that bothers me the most about Huck, is that the actress playing her, looks like she is trying to play something beyond her range. It really shows in the prosthetics and her walk. I believe the actress has a less aggressive and masculine gait and posture to herself because you can tell she is struggling to manage the tough guy exterior and body language. I am not an actor, nor do I play one on TV, but I think this was poor casting for a character that has a lot more potential than what we have seen. No wonder Hope didn’t buy all her paper thin probing.
5. What is the Civic Republic up to
I think it is kind of annoying that the Civic Republic has become more and more of a footnote to this series as things progress. They were featured heavily in the first episode, absent from two and three, and then here in the fourth episode we got an important glimpse into what they may be doing way up in New York. However, you would have to stick around after the credits and next week’s preview in order to see that scene.
In the “post everything” scene, we see a doctor in a facility notating her experience and observations of an empty that is strapped to a chair. She ends her observation of this specimen and requests the next one be loaded into the system. The relevance here being that the empty she is observing looks eerily similar to one of the scientists from Portland that went to work with Hope and Iris’ dad, and we know he has already sent a message saying it isn’t safe.
Obviously we are going to get more information about the Civic Republic and whatever they are hiding, as well as the mystery behind the girl’s dad, and I’m sure even Huck will eventually fill us in on her background. Given enough time we may even find out what caused the apocalypse.
So far I am really enjoying The Walking Dead: World Beyond and I can’t wait to find out what happens next week. I was really expecting some backstory on Huck since she is the only one we don’t really know anything about, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they have it worked into next week’s episode. I do think this next episode will be tackling more of Elton’s complicated past as he was given a potential role moving forward, and there is plenty of conflict laying in wait with Hope, and by proxy Iris. It is just a question of when they choose to let that bubble to the surface.
