The Walking Dead Review: “I Ain’t a Judas”

This week brings us a less action-oriented, more character-focused installment.

Title: “I Ain’t A Judas”

Cast and Crew

Directed by Gregory Nicotero
Written by Angela Kang

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes
Danai Gurira as Michonne
Laurie Holden as Andrea
David Morrissey as the Governor
Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee
Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene
Norman Reedus as Darryl Dixon
Michael Rooker as Merle Dixon
Scott Wilson as Herschel Greene
Melissa Suzanne McBride as Carol Peletier
Emily Kinney as Beth Greene
Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes
Vincent Ward as Oscar
Lew Temple as Axel
Dallas Roberts as Milton
Chad Coleman as Chase Tyreese
Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha

Additional cast and crew information may be found here.

Premise

The two camps prepare for war, and Andrea makes a fateful decision as past actions return to haunt our heroes.

High Point

This episode gives us some interesting perspective on character. The group’s willingness to let Rick lead when he is no longer fit has dire consequences that serve the governor’s purposes far too well. The meeting between Andrea and her former friends shows us how much both have changed, and how difficult choices can be in an apocalyptic scenario.

And how critical. Andrea could stop a war with one act. We’re going to see the consequences of her decision very soon.

Low Point

I’ll accept Andrea’s conflicted and monumentally stupid decisions because of her circumstances. Herschell, however, seems a little too accepting of Merle.

On another note, do pet walkers work as zombie repellent, or not?

The Scores

Originality: 4/6 We’re seeing group dynamics and character decisions that, while generally understandable in context, take the show in some different directions.

Effects: 6/6

Story: 5/6 I buy Andrea and Tyreese’s choices. Andrea has blinded herself, willfully, for some time now, and the group she meets back at the prison aren’t the people she once knew. Tyreese clearly has some discomfort with the Governor’s plan but, given what happened back at the prison, I understand why he would put in his lot with Woodbury. Although a very different character than Merle he, like Merle, remains a strong wild card.

Acting: 5/6

Emotional Response: 5/6

Production: 6/6

Overall: 5/6 I’ll give them the music montage, even though it feels really out of place on this show. Everyone else does it, and it sort of worked. I suspect some other viewers hold very different opinions, however.

In total, “I’m Not A Judas” receives 36/42

3 replies on “The Walking Dead Review: “I Ain’t a Judas””

  1. Ya’ know… The one thing that stood out the most about this episode to me is the lack of anything unexpected. – Maybe I’m just jaded (more than usual) but this was just an hour of what was logically the next thing to show. Sure, things happened… but only exactly what we were expecting to happen.

    Or is it just me?


    Don’t get me wrong… Typically this show is very good; but this ep fell kinda flat in comparison to the previous weeks.

    • This was more of a character episode, so it didn’t really need any significant developments.

      I didn’t know for certain what would happen when Andrea met the others again, and I didn’t know how the Tyreese crowd would re-enter the series. Tyreese wouldn’t necessarily meet the governor next, and, as he learns more about Woodbury, it strikes me he should have some issues with him.

      • For Andrea we didn’t know for sure but the default path is she finds goes to the prison, exchanges info in a very guarded and uninformative way, then goes back to Woodbury, and becomes slightly more distrustful of the Governor. Which is exactly what she did.

        Really what happened this episode? Merle went from partially reaccepted but mistrusted at the end of last episode to partially reaccepted but mistrusted. Rick is still the unstable leader who won’t step down. Andrea still knows the Governor is screwed up but continues to support him. Michonne is still uncommunicative. Milton is still the Governor’s tool (and Andrea is still oblivious). etc. The only thing that changed is Tyreese’s group showing up in Woodbudy and giving the Governor a way to infiltrate the prison which only re-emphasized the weirdness from a previous episode where the group let a hallucinating Rick make an executive decision not to accept Tryeese’s group.

        If it’s going to be a character episode then either give the characters a bunch of definition or decisions to make. The only character who got any real definition was Merle, and the game of people not exchanging important information when they have a clear motive to do so is frustrating.

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