"The Walking Dead's" "Self Help" Reveals a Long Known Secret: A Television Review

*there are spoilers here.

Director: Ernest Dickerson.

Writers: Heather Bellson and Seth Hoffman.

Cast: Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Michael Cudlitz and Josh McDermitt.

The redneck scientist, Eugene (Josh McDermitt), finally reveals himself to be someone much less important. Instead of being a scientist, who can save the world, Eugene is simply a coward. Thankfully, Eugene discovers this part of himself, before the other survivors reached Washington, D.C. Now, where will these characters go? This very darkly shot episode did not reveal any more secrets, outside of Eugene's lie. So, it will be only conjecture to say where "The Walking Dead" will end up next. Overall, "Self Help" was a character focused episode, with dramatic and action elements coming forth, secondarily.

This episode was focused on the Washington crew. Rosita (Christian Serratos), Tara (Alanna Masterson), Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Glenn (Steven Yeun), Abraham and Eugene were all headed for America's former centre of power. Along the way, a bus flipped and a firetruck broke down. Eugene was the culprit. And, he revealed himself to be nothing more than a low level, cowardly con man. Most viewers would have seen this reveal several episodes back, because of his lack of a real plan. Also, Eugene's "Tennessee top hat" is unbecoming of man of science. Still, where will these survivors head next?

Eugene prepares for a staged bus flip.

The character Eugene was very inconsistent in this episode. In an early scene, Eugene is struggling to fight off the undead, with a small knife. A few scenes later and Eugene is the hero as he takes down a horde of the undead, with a fire hose. Even earlier, he tells Tara that he sabotaged the bus. But later, he also reveals that he is not a scientist and he does not have a cure for the raging undead pandemic. He is sometimes truthful, sometimes a saboteur, sometimes a liar, sometimes an action hero and sometimes a confidant. This character is all over the place. So, who or what is Eugene really? Nothing much.

Eugene's big reveal does not go over well with the other survivors, understandably. Eugene's truth of his inability to save the world does not sit well with Abraham. Abraham acts out violently against Eugene. But, Abraham must have been in some sort of self-denial to believe such an extraordinary story. While viewers might have seen this long con, the characters in the show seem oblivious. Though, Eugene's vagueries took any believability away from his tall tale. Eugene has lost any trust he might have been developing with the others.

This episode had some poorly shot night shooting. The middle portions of "Self Help" were almost shot in complete darkness. It was difficult to see emotions and characters. It is believable to shoot these scenes in near darkness as light would draw the zeds closer to the base. Still, there must be a way to introduce some light, so that interactions can be seen. These night shots, from director Ernest Dickerson, were a little too dark and this dark style of night shooting is repeating across episodes. Can someone turn on a nightlight or two?

With Washington, D.C. out of the picture, it would be interesting to conjecture as to where this season will go next. The preview for "Consumed" shows Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) attempting to rescue Beth or to find more information on the people in Atlanta. This twosome might have bitten off more than they can chew, with the hospital filled with police officers and hospital staff. As well, this viewer believes that the Washington survivors will return to the church. There is no real way through the thousand strong zombie horde, that lays ahead. So, they will be forced to return to Rick and his group, with heads held low. But, will Rick and the rest of the group still be there? It is likely that future episodes, leading up to the mid-season break, will take place in and around Atlanta, where new villains are being developed.

"Self Help" was another character focused outing. This time, Abraham's character was given a backstory, with the use of flashbacks. Apparently, he was not much of a family man. Eugene developed a whole slew of new angles, many of which conflicted with each other. Minor characters were also developed, including GI Jane, aka Rosita. Rosita actually had a few lines in this episode. Meanwhile, an objective has been lost and survivors remain littered all around Atlanta. "The Walking Dead" continues to mostly spin its wheels, with plotlines developing all over the place.

Overall: 7 out of 10 (some action, some reveals, a focus on characters and characterizations).

A preview for "Self Help" is hosted here:

A "Self Help" Preview on 28DLA


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