"The Walking Dead's" Mid-season "Coda" Sacrifices Beth: A Television Review

Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira and Melissa McBride.

The term coda is a synonym for conclusion. And, "The Walking Dead's" Seas. 5 mid-season conclusion brought one laughable surprise to the screen. The character Beth (Emily Kinney) is no more. The producers of the show needed something to shock viewers, so Beth was sacrificed. Meanwhile, Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) is doing his one man Laurel and Hardy routine, which brings a whole town of zombies to the church; the other survivors can barely cope. And, the break leaves a few questions. Where will Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the other survivors end up?

In this episode, Rick continues to show his cold-bloodedness. Officer Lampson makes good his escape. Instead of using sidestreets, Lampson runs right down the middle of the road, which provides Rick with plenty of opportunities to run him down. Lampson dies by Rick's hand and revolver. Not much later, Rick is offering his two hostages in exchange for Carol (Melissa McBride) and the very erratic Beth. Beth, turned cop-killer, has a score to settle with squad leader Dawn (Christine Woods). And, a strange confrontation occurs in the halls of Grady Memorial Hospital. On the other side of town, Father Gabriel is doing his best to get himself and the others killed. He discovers Bob's partially eaten leg, before setting a zombie horde loose on the church. Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Carl (Chandler Riggs) are much too forgiving of Gabriel's latest misadventures.

Beth's suicidal ways return in "Coda."

Father Gabriel continues to be the most self-sabotaging character on the show. When he is not stumbling into zombies, he is enticing them to follow him around town. This character only offers slapstick humour. His zombie apocalypse survivor skills are consistently in last place and it is only a matter of time before he gets himself or some of the others killed. If Father Gabriel is heading north, then the other characters will want to be heading south.

Carol's death was completely laughable. This viewer could almost see the show's producers scheming around a table: "okay we need something big to happen in the mid-season finale." Another producer: "yeah, let's have Beth killed, while she attacks Dawn." The other producer: "okay, that sounds good. She will have a pair of scissors hidden in her cast." Seriously though, this character death is completely unbelievable. In an earlier scene, Beth is learning the ropes of Grady Memorial, under Dawn's tutelage. Beth seems satisfied with Dawn's advice: "above all, you need respect." In another scene, Beth is killing for Dawn. Beth pushes another rapey officer down an elevator shaft, to save Dawn's life. So, is it a surprise that Beth is killing Dawn one scene later?

Beth acts irrationally and erratically by killing Dawn. Dawn treats Beth with respect and even helps her to save Carol. Yet, Beth turns on her in the final few beats of the episode. As well, the tension of the hostage exchange is palpable. Everyone is armed and ready to shoot. It is just lucky that Beth did not get all of the survivors killed by her hasty act of violence. Beth does not even consider the consequences of killing Dawn as mentioned. It is a poorly thought out action. The show's producers and writers set up this conflict very weakly and this scene plays out in a completely unbelievable way.

The season looks to move outside of Atlanta. A trailer for Epis. 9 shows the remaining survivors on a highway leading out of Atlanta. One character mentions they are "a hundred miles away [from Atlanta]." So, it appears that Rick and the others will be looking to hunker down for the rest of the season. But, the walkers will come knocking by the season finale. It would not surprise this viewer if another character is sacrificed by the end of the season. But, who will it be?

This viewer would pick Father Gabriel for the sacrificial altar, but viewers can make their own predictions. What is clear is that the remaining survivors will hole up just outside of Atlanta as they deal with the loss of Beth. From suicidal character in Seas. 2 to murderess in Seas. 5, Beth has been all over the place. It would have been better if her death had actually meant something. She saved no one and almost got the entire group killed, which makes this character almost as dangerous as Father Gabriel. In the end, the mid-season finale offered some tension and some very awkward moments.

Overall: 6.5 out of 10 (Beth's death is forced, characters are reunited again for another challenge, Rick continues to take the bloodier path).



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