Cherokee Rose

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.

"Cherokee Rose" is a slight disappointment, being the weakest of Season 2 up to this point and the weakest of the overall show up to this early stage. That it is still a very good episode says a lot of 'The Walking Dead's' high quality in its prime. It is still 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 may lack a few of the things that made the previous episodes so great but there is plenty of what is particularly good about the show.

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.

Not a perfect episode. "Cherokee Rose" would have benefitted from a tighter pace for an episode that is dialogue-heavy and more intricate. It does lack the previous episodes' tension, guts, tautness with the emotion not always as strong.

Occasionally it's a bit too talky, although the quality of the dialogue is actually very good, which can bog things down a little in terms of momentum. Also am yet to be completely sold by Sarah Wayne Callies as Lori, she does give her best performances of the show up to this point but she still doesn't have the presence or nuances of much of the rest of the cast.

Like all the episodes of the show, "Cherokee Rose" 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 that make the walker even more creepy. The music is haunting and affecting, having presence but never being too intrusive.

The writing generally is intelligent and thought-provoking, with lots of tension and emotional resonance and continues to show signs of character complexity and multiple layer storytelling. The highlights here are the hilarious yet grotesque water well sequence, the tense conclusion and the Maggie and Glenn and Daryl and Carol interactions. Am liking that Daryl shows signs of being made into a gradually lighter character.

Appreciated the ever strong and still progressing story and character building, which the episode has a bigger emphasis on.

The world building is still stunningly immersive and effective. Direction is smart and atmospheric while the show throughout has been strongly acted. Andrew Lincoln is an excellent lead, with an even better performance from Norman Reedus giving Daryl intensity and pathos.

In conclusion, a little disappointing but still very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

With Carl saved, the group tries to organize the search effort for Sophia. Dale and T-Dawg find a walking in the well, and the group dispatches to try and solve the issue. Rick attempts to convince Hershel to let them stay permanently on the farm. The group decides to try and get the walker out of the well with a rope in the hopes that the well water is not already contaminated. Daryl goes back into the forest alone to search for Sophia, as the rest of the group is too injured or untrained to go. Glenn and Maggie set off into town for more medical supplies and the start of their relationship. Lori has a revaluation.

Cherokee Rose is the first truly uninteresting episode of the show. Nothing monumental happens. It's a building episode that fails to keep the viewer engaged and as a stand alone episode is pretty mediocre. The writing stays sharp as usual but no level of acting or directing can help such an uninteresting plot to be interesting. This episode starts as a sting of episodes that fail the capture the action packed nature of the seasons beginnings.

Carl recovers from his injury as the search for Sophia continues.

This is a welcome step down in drama from the previous episodes and has some comparatively quiet but decent character time.

The plot is mostly character driven as it focuses on Carl's interaction with his parents. These scenes are strong, especially the one between Carl and Rick. Shane's reflective moments about Otis provide intrigue about what is to come with his character. At the same time the search and worry for Sophia is ongoing. Daryl is heavily involved in this and his sensitive side is nicely developed by the writers. There was a great few interactions between Glenn and Maggie that give some badly needed pleasure and positivity to the overall narrative.

All being said, the episode is not without violent incident as there is a darkly comical scene involving a trapped zombie that is quite grizzly. This is the only real visual horror of the episode and is done fantastically well as a shock moment and to generate humour.

It also ends on a very intriguing note that will no doubt sew the seeds for much character drama in episodes to come.

Overall I think it provides decent respite from the emotional intensity of the series so far. It also continues the religious themes that run strongly in series 2, particularly questions about personal faith and the existence of a higher power.

All actors are great as always, particularly Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal and Scott Wilson.

It is a 7.5/10 for me but I round upwards.

Worst episode so far it just soooooo Boring gfgdhfhx vcbfjdhduddunvbxhdgsgdgdgdgdhdgdycgchchvcvvxg

Plot In A Paragraph: With Carl recovering, led by Daryl the gang continue to look for Sophia. Glen bonds with Maggie while Hershal tells Rick the group needs to move on once Sophia is found.

A weak episode, possibly the weakest one so far. It's saved by excellent acting all round (except Sarah Wayne Callies of course). Especially Norman Reedus, his acting is superb as Daryl Dixon who is searching for Sophia and is desperate not to lose another member of the group. He shares a great scene with Melissa McBride continues to impress as Carol. Andrew Lincoln is as always great as Rick and he shares some great scenes with Scott Wilson as Hershel. It was also good to see Steven Yeun get some good screen time again too.

With the introduction of Hershel and his family, some of the main cast (T-Dog and Dale are the biggest victims) are taking a back seat. I hope that's not an indication that some of them are becoming expendable. Cos as we know "The Walking Dead" has a tendency to go all "Game Of Thrones" on us and kill off main characters.