Everyone is "Alone" and Moping About it on "The Walking Dead:" A Television Review

Director: Ernest Dickerson.

Writer: Curis Gwinn and Robert Kirkman.

Cast: Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Lawrence Gilliard Jr. and Emily Kinney.

"The Walking Dead's" 13th episode, "Alone," was a bit of an unlucky episode. One minor story developed very slowly, while another storyline offered lots of mystery. These two separate stories, in the zombie apocalypse, created for a very hit and miss showing. Fans of the show might be seeing the familiar wave pattern in "Alone" and this episode was a major dip in that wave. From slow pacing to unsteady characterizations, Epis. 13 is almost completely forgettable.

If not for the Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Beth (Emily Kinney) plotline, this episode would have sunk. In this primary storyline, Daryl and Beth find solace in each other and in a mortuary? This den of the dead houses lots of food and a safe place to stay. But, someone is living nearby and they fancy Beth just as much as Daryl does. Daryl pursues her kidnapper, but he runs into a gang of rednecks, instead. On the other side of the fence, Bob (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.), Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) are splintering and converging and diverging, again; it is all very hum-drum. The most interesting part of this storline, involved Bob's backstory and his dealings with the undead, on his own. The latter parts of this sidestory were very uneven. When all the characters meet up at Terminus, then there might be hope for a more focused and intriguing story.

The Bob, Maggie and Sasha storyline was very minor. This smaller storlyine was really a Bob plotline, in which the character Bob developed, every so slightly. His times alone and his meetup with Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Daryl were given some attention. As well, his developing relationship with Sasha was also developed more. But, plot points were few and far between in this storyline. These three characters continued on their way to Terminus and that was all. Hopefully, these three characters encounter more conflict in future episodes.

The more important storyline involved Daryl and Beth. The previous episode, "Still," focused excusively on these two characters. And now, these two characters are the focal point of a second episode. The fans love for these actors or characters seems to be influencing the show's path. While these two characters are central to the series, their journey and awkward romance is still secondary to characters like Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira). In this episode, they are separated and future episodes will likely turn the attention back to Rick, Glen and Michonne. But here, there were lots of questions. Who did Daryl meet up with? Who kidnapped Beth? And, is Daryl heading to Terminus, as well? At least, the storyline with Beth and Daryl is conistently interesting.

The pacing in this episode slowed down considerably. Especially compared to "Still," the episode here felt like a bad stall. Characters continue to Terminus, but more conflict was needed (outside of Beth's kidnapping). A few characters were introduced. However, these new folk are likely members of Terminus. Plot developments were very minimal and the pacing of this episode suffered. Viewers might say that "Still" was also slowly paced. But, there was some satisfaction offered in this previous episode, when Beth and Daryl said good-bye to the other prison survivors and Beth's father; there was a letting go. In this episode, there was just more of the same and this was not very exciting.

"Alone" was a minor speedbump, in an otherwise extraordinary season. "The Walking Dead" continues to improve in characterizations and conflict. Though, certain episodes seem to drag their feet, like this one. Hopefully, the up and down of the series will hit a few more highs as the season ends, in just three episodes. It would be more thrilling to see a little more conflicting interactions in the episodes: "The Grove," "Us," and "A." The episode here was just a waypoint in the zombie apocalypse.

Overall: 6.5 out of 10 (not overly exciting, slow points, minor plot points developed, a focus on characterizations).

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