SPOILER ALERT.
The second half of season four for The Walking Dead is set to return soon. Followers of the show have seen the characters struggle through countless scenarios, season by season. A lot of those fans have remained loyal viewers despite lulls in the story or action. However, this season, season four, has been one of the most exciting.
Past Season Comparison
Season one was groundbreaking—the characters, setting, and global situation were all new to viewers, which kept the tension high and the characters in constant action to figure things out. Oppositely, the second and third seasons saw the characters in much more stagnant settings (nearly all of season two takes place on Hershel’s farm and most of season three takes place at the prison). One reason that seasons one and four are different from two and three is simply because the characters travel to different places. Watching a story play out in one place can get a bit boring, even if that story is an interesting one.
The stories of seasons two and three weren’t all that interesting, though—at least not throughout the entirety of the season. They started a bit slow and ended with a bang, but that sort of storytelling can seriously frustrate viewers who’d like to see the season stay tense throughout. That’s why season four has been a breath of fresh air for those viewers. This season has seen Rick and company in a variety of settings, nearly all of them hostile or mysterious in some way. This has helped make the season much more exciting than its predecessors.
Why Season 4 Rocked
Season four starts with the gang attempting to escape Terminus, where they are being held captive (presumably, to be eaten). Right away, it appears that Rick and company are set to make a valiant escape, like we’ve seen so many times before, but the attempt fails miserably. Instantly, our expectations are dashed and we as fans have no clue how they’ll get out of the situation. This marks a huge difference from other seasons, which have been slightly easier to predict. Here, they aren’t making questionable decisions that you know will fail, they are actually making smart choices and still failing. Instead of frustrating you and causing you to curse at the characters for making stupid decisions, seeing them make smarter choices helps you align with the characters more easily and sympathize with them when they don’t work out.
They do eventually escape and, after Terminus, the gang moves on. However, the remaining creeps from Terminus follow them. Skilled survivors and complete sociopaths - these guys take post-apocalyptic depravity to a new level, which also helped make this season more interesting. Other seasons dealt with morally broke individuals, but none this crazy. They serve as a great foil to Rick, who becomes a bit more calloused after his encounters with them. This is another step in the right direction: a huge amount of fans hate Rick when he’s overly soft or naïve, so a character change that makes him more of a badass will be accepted with open arms.
In keeping with mid-season finale antics, the first half of season four ends with a bang. Darryl cries about it, so you know it’s some heavy stuff. This ending isn’t like those in the past, though. Other mid-season finales have left viewers saying “Oh, I can’t wait to see how that turns out!” Season four’s first half, however, leaves viewers wondering just what the hell will come next: what’s the gang’s next move? Rather than starting a story it couldn’t finish in half a season, the first half of season four has a pretty complete arc. For fans, this is a welcome change. If a viewer thinks they’re being made to wait to see something that could have easily played out in the previous episodes, they’ll feel short-changed.
With new characters, different locations, and the gang’s increasing need to find a purpose, this season has been a favorite to many fans and a revival in a series that, if only for a moment, seemed to be losing steam. Let’s just hope that The Walking Dead can deliver a second half of the season that is on-par with the first.
