Tell It to the Frogs

Had heard nothing but great things about 'The Walking Dead' from friends and IMDb reviewers. It took a while to get round to watching, both from being busy and also not being sure whether it would be my cup of tea. Finally getting round to it a few years ago and slowly working my way through it, having had a very long to watch and review list, 'The Walking Dead' turned out to be very much my cup of tea and as good as the hype made it out to be, have found it extremely addictive.

"Tell It to the Frogs", a return to the slower pace of "Days Gone Bye" but with even more character building and a full establishment of tone, in no way disappoints, quite the opposite. And a strong reminder of how Seasons 1-5 of 'The Walking Dead' to me were absolutely brilliant and seeing the show in its full glory days (Season 6 was uneven, Season 7 was a huge disappointment and am still debating whether to watch Season 8). It is as emotional, complex and as tense as the brilliant first/pilot episode "Days Gone Bye", at the same time it has "Guts" adrenaline and guts.

It still shocks me at how an intelligent, well-made (so much so that it is easy to mistake it for a film) show about zombies could be made when so many films have tried and failed abysmally to do so.

Like all the episodes of the show, "Tell It to the Frogs" is incredibly well made in the production values, with gritty and audacious production design, photography of almost cinematic quality, effects that look good, have soul and are not overused or abused and pretty frightening make-up which helps make the already freaky zombies even freakier. The music is haunting and affecting, having presence but never being too intrusive.

The writing is intelligent and thought-provoking, with lots of tension and emotional resonance and already showing signs of character complexity and multiple layer storytelling. The more eventful scenes are thrilling and terrifying as well as uncompromising.

Particularly found Daryl's anguish very touching. Do think though, and it is my only real minor niggle with "Tell It to the Frogs", that Sarah Wayne Callies didn't show enough personality or sense of ease here.

It's all thrilling and tautly paced without rushing through the more important parts. The world building is already stunningly immersive and effective. Direction is smart and atmospheric while the show throughout has been strongly acted especially by Andrew Lincoln.

Overall, really excellent and a big turning point for 'The Walking Dead' in terms of characterisation and tone. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Rick reunites with his family and other survivors.

This is a strong character focussed episode that establishes some interesting dynamics.

The story moves fairly slowly but the focus is on a number of good interactions between characters such as the Grimes family, Shane, Daryl and others. It establishes solid drama with the relationships established since Rick has been presumed dead and the nagging guilt associated with leaving Merle handcuffed to a rooftop.

I particularly enjoyed the social themes shown in a number of scenes depicting humanity reverting to its primal state. The visuals of female characters doing the washing and foraging work as the males either hunter-gather, protect or general laze about is good. The exchange of dialogue between the ladies discussing the various technologies they miss is great. With all the social constructions in ruins it will be interesting to see what kind of society grows throughout the show.

It ends with a taster of what is to come in the next episode which works well to make you want to carry on watching.

The visuals are strong, with some good images of people living in the survivors camp. I like the shots where some characters are centre strange but you also see others busy in the background either watching or doing other things.

The horror effects are brutal as ever, but there is more focus on the living in this episode with less action and zombie bashing.

Andrew Lincoln leads the show well again with good support from the other cast members, such as Norman Reedus, Michael Rooker, Jon Bernthal and Sarah Wayne Callies.

After two action packed episodes, we get a more character driven episode. There is a lovely scene when Rick arrives at the camp. Lincoln has already shown he can be tough, here he is vulnerable.

We get a better look at the people in the camp, we get new characters such as The timid Carol, her abusive husband Ed and their daughter Sophia. We also get introduced to Merle's brother Daryl Dixon (who seems to be as hot headed as his brother) and we see Morales has a family too. Characters like Dale and Carol clearly are good people, and we see Ed is the rotten apple of the group, whilst Daryl is understandably furious about what has happened to his brother.

Lincoln is still the top performer, Jon Bernthall is given more to do as Shane here and Jeffrey DeMunn shines as Dale, while Daryl's anguish at the end of the episode was great, well done Norman Redus.

One of my problems with the cast is Sarah Wayne Callies. I didn't like her in performance in "Prison Break" and again, I find her unlikeable again here too.

Rick is here reunited with his wife & son, and gets to know some of the people in the mountain hideout. However, Shane had told Lori that Rick had died, leading to some friction between them, and her issuing an ultimatum: stay away from the Grimes family or else. Ricks' comparative safety and satisfaction are short-lived, as he and others in the camp are feeling guilty about leaving Merle behind. So, they soon launch an expedition into Atlanta to find and retrieve him. We meet Daryl for the first time, and since he is Merles' brother, he's more than a little perturbed at his siblings' treatment.

What made this series so compelling in the early days was a rich assortment of engaging characters and performances. Some of the regular cast members from this era, like Dale, get a little more to do. 'Tell It to the Frogs' is noteworthy for introducing the character of Carol, who is a background player here, albeit one with some dramatic weight (she's involved with a do-nothing, cigarette-smoking chauvinist who is obviously an abuser as well). You can't help but feel some satisfaction when Shane (still smarting from being told to hit the highway by Lori) administers a beating to the guy.

Some horror fans may find episodes like this rather lightweight, since there is precious little zombie carnage. This one is more about character development and situations rather than action. However, when the acting is this good, it's hard to complain too much. Michael Rooker delivers a real tour de force performance in the opening minutes as Merle; he really does look like a guy going mad from desperation, isolation, and fear.

The title stems from a conversation between Lori and Shane, after the latter has tried to reach Carl how to catch some amphibians.

Eight out of 10.

The third installment is another great episode with solid character development and emotional revelations that fans wanted to see. Daryl Dixon and the great Carol Peletier made their first appearances, and Rick reunited with his family with a silent conflict at hand.