Season 5 Episode 2 review/Recap 

Beth Is Alive But Is Carol? – The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 4 – Slabtown

At the end of last week’s episode, Daryl returns to the church and although he does have someone with him, we had a sinking feeling it wasn’t Carol and it wasn’t looking as though it would be Beth either. Sure enough that is the case, Daryl Dixon, alone again.

So, the entire episode is devoted to Beth tonight and the story behind the hospital she has been taken to. This is a blessing in that now we have some more answers and met some new characters. This was also a curse because we didn’t get to see anyone else.

After three riveting, non-stop, thrillingly amazing episodes, episode four was quite a departure. Am I complaining? Yeah, a little bit.

We see Beth waking up in a hospital room. She has been taken there by the people driving the black car with the cross in the back window. Apparently, they have their own little community going inside Grady Memorial Hospital, in the heart of desolate and demolished Atlanta.

Those in charge at Grady are two cops (Dawn Lerner and Gorman) and a doctor (Steven Edwards). The cops not only keep order inside the hospital but also save/kidnap (#savenap) the injured from the outside. However, even in the apocalypse medical care is not free.

With paying in cash not an option, payment comes in the form of a type of indentured servitude. You must work off your payment before you can be released. However, when everything (including your food and clothing) costs something, it doesn’t seem as though there is ever a time when you will be debt free.

As it was with Woodbury and Terminus, things are not as harmonious inside Grady Memorial as they seem. Quickly Beth learns Dr. Edwards is using his skills to maintain his position in the hierarchy. When two doctors are brought in off the street, Steven deems one unable to be saved and he has an unwitting Beth administer a lethal dose of medicine to the other.

Later he explains to her how if another doctor were to come in, he would be kicked out so he had to do what he had to do. Beth more than anyone understands having to look out for yourself; however; she takes umbrage with him making her do his dirty work. Her disdain for these people is quickly growing.

Not remembering anything after blacking out while with Daryl at the mortuary, Gorman claims to be the one that saved her.  He claims to have killed walkers that were about to attack her, put her in the car, and got her out of there. For that, he believes he owes her much more than just some chores.

The creepy officer starts to try and have his way with the young Miss Greene.  Lucky for Beth she gets a little help from fellow patient Joan, who unbeknownst to Gorman has killed herself in the same room. Just as he is about to get a handful of Beth, Joan reanimates and gets a handful of him instead.

Beth attempts to make her get away along with fellow patient/inmate Noah via the elevator shaft, which doubles as the dumping ground for the dead. They manage to wade through the dead and get to the door. Once outside, they face the undead who impede their progress giving Dawn and Gorman 2.0 a chance to catch up.

Noah slips through the gate and gets away but Beth is brought to the ground and taken back into the hospital. Once back inside, she tries to reason with Dawn but it’s futile. This is all too much, Beth needs to get out of there and plots again.

Beth locates a pair of scissors and makes her way down the hall to sink them into the neck of Dr. Edwards.  As she is just about to reach him, she is stopped in her tracks as she watches a new patient being brought in. She looks down to see the woman’s face, it’s Carol.

The scene abruptly cuts to black as it did last week when Daryl called over his shoulder. ARGH!!  Did Carol  fake her injuries to get inside the hospital and get to Beth? Or is Carol really hurt? What about the person over Daryl’s shoulder, is it Noah? Hmmm… again we are left to wonder.

Getting back to the all Beth episode, it kind of bums me out. I really enjoyed everyone being together and after Glenn, Maggie and the others got on the bus last week, I feared the excitement was over (at least for now).

I hope it isn’t going to be this way for several more episodes where we only see one person or one group. We had enough of those with the Governor centered episodes in season three and again when everyone was separated in season four.

Fans have been more than patient waiting for our beloved group to reunite. Don’t take them away from us already! A little backstory is always good but we all could use a little drizzle of Rick or a little peppering of Daryl in every episode. Heck, give me a sprinkle of Carl and a smidge of Glenn, something!

It’s nice to have you back Beth, don’t get me wrong but now that we have your story, let’s get back to the action!

Beth Is Alive But Is Carol? – The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 4 – Slabtown was last modified: November 2nd, 2014 by

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