The collective effort that The Walking Dead took in order to up the ante for its fifth season is, it can be said, squandered, with such a ridiculous conclusion that leads to yet another tragic death. What the fuck, Scott M. Gimple? Lost your senses? I read in Facebook posts and web forums. Yet we do not inquire the more important question: for whom is this sudden deviation from the discipline the show has studiously exhibited? It does not excuse the many imperfections of “Coda” as a mid-season finale, but if fans, as myself, understand why it is what it is, there will have been a smiling affirmation of the fact that it was all worth it, and it was enough.
Beth Greene, who made it clear last season in “Alone” what kind her doom will be, has died during what may be considered a peaceful exchange between Rick and Dawn’s people. Throughout the episode, the series had been forgiving: first, Gabriel Stoke’s second shot at survival; another for a bloodless confrontation at Grady; and finally, how Beth’s character had ended. It is a nice gesture by the series to give Beth a meaningful demise, albeit completely uncalled-for and, some will say, stupid. We have heard her ramble on and on about her frustrations with her ‘worth’ and ‘purpose’ to the new world; by the end of the episode, she becomes the girl who refuses the continuing of Dawn, whose tyranny, albeit taciturn, remains nonetheless wicked. She becomes the girl who comes out strong and putting in her proper place a weak woman so delusional of strength and its politics.
“Coda” places the survivors in a much darker territory: there is no cure for the disease, no place to go to, neither to go back. If the mid-season finale is not riddled with so many questionable decisions (such as negating the environment it builds up with Grady Memorial Hospital, the politics and all), it makes for strong material, if not unprecedented. The survivors are placed in quite a helpless position. Hopeless. Towards the end, the question nags: where do you go from there? How do you carry on from that?
Die-hard fans of course have been speculating—way ahead of us—since Episode Four. There are rumours of the survivors finally fleeing to Alexandria, or somewhere else entirely. The point is that perhaps in “Coda” it is dwelt upon why The Walking Dead has become an affecting apocalyptic drama for some: the open-endedness, the not knowing of where to go next, the uncertainty if there is anywhere to go. It is both a strength and weakness to the series. How it really has no end-game. You watch these characters suffer through dark times and you let these characters grow on you. And if the first seven episodes of Season Five is an indication, considering the short space of two to three episodes in which Beth’s character is featured, I’d say the series remains in a pretty decent place. But then again, it has always been a strength of the series to stay with the characters and savour its rich, quiet moments with them.
I like to think that, like in Beth’s part, “Coda” is a momentary surge of passion. It’s sad (and though, kind of foolish) to make Beth die the way she did, but it moves the series forward, rushing in a pace that has been a welcome change.
The Walking Dead returns February next year..
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Mid-Season’s premiere Promo:
Stray Observations:
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- Carol is understandably side-lined here. No sense in stealing spotlight from Beth.
- The first scene, which parallels one with Bob earlier in the season, is quite riveting. It signals Rick’s growth as a decision-maker, and also, quite possibly, a killer.
- That said, I smell Rick-tatorship 2.0.
- Daryl’s reaction to Beth’s death: crushing.
- We have forgotten a bit about Maggie, but hey, she’s in mourning too.
- Decent half-season, makers! Here’s to a better second half!
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THE EPISODE IN ONE QUOTE:
“I get it now.”
~Beth Greene
(Emily Kinney)
