Review of Guts

This episode of the Walking Dead is one of the best episodes of the whole series. It is so action pack and so gory! It feels more like a Rated R movie, than a TV Show episode rated MA, due to its large production values. Based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman & directed by Michelle MacLaren, this episode, follows after the events of the pilot and first episode of the first season, 'Days Gone Bye'. In this episode, we see the character of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) being trapped with a group of survivors inside a department store that is surrounded by Walkers AKA zombies. The whole concept of them, being stuck in a store reminds me, so much of the movie, 1978's Dawn of the Dead by George A. Romero, the founder of the modern day zombie genre. It's so surreal. Anyways, it's here that we get to meet, many of the supporting cast that we would end up, following for years to come. The best one from the small group is Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun), who would end up, playing a bigger role as the years, go by. The only thing, I didn't like, about his introduce; is the way, he dressed. He looks like an adult version of Short Rounds from 1984's Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom, movie. Thank God, he stop dressing this way, somewhere in the end of the second season. It was a bit jarring. Another character, we got, is Theodore "T-Dog" Douglas (IronE Sington). T-Dog was an original character in the television series and has no counterpart in the graphic novels. It's weird, that they create him first, over other great comic book characters like Tyreese whom later shown up in Season 3 played by Chad Coleman. Nothing against IronE Sington, but the character of T-Dog lacked character development and dialogue. He was so underdeveloped. I would gladly replace him, with Tyreese, any-day. A few others character that needed a little more story was Morales (Juan Gabriel Pareja) & Jacqui (Jeryl Prescott). I nearly forgot that they were in this episode. I can't believe, they never build upon, those characters more. The writers kinda just write Morales, ride off, by the end of the first season and killed off Jacqui, without much care. One character that left and come back is Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker). He's one of the best of the original TV made characters. The scene where Merle Dixon begins shooting his gun on the rooftop in Atlanta caused a little bit of real-life chaos. Some people did not know they were additional in filming, and thought that Michael Rooker was just a crazy sniper and notified the police. A SWAT team actually showed up and the misunderstanding was then explained. Kirkman was so pleased with Rooker's performance, he retorted that it was "'The Michael Rooker Show', whenever he was on screen. After all, he's pretty much, the highlight character of this episode. I'm glad, he return, in later seasons. Another long time character debuting, in this episode was Andrea (Laurie Holden). The TV show, Andrea was a big disappointment. Andrea's role in the series was a significant departure from the comic book series, making her character, very unlikeable. Laurie Holden was often criticized and garnered generally negative critiques of her over whiny and annoying performance. It's clear by her first appearance, here, that Laurie Holden wasn't that good of an actress. She comes across, in this episode as bossy, and nearly useless. With all these characters, introduce. You would think the episode, would slow down, and tell us a little about them, but no. Instead, the episode goes adrenalin-filled, straight up horror movie than slow-paced drama. While, the episode lacks emotion and depth, it made up, with over the top fun. The scene in which the survivors kill and dissect a walker to hide in its viscera is gut-wrenching, black comedy gold. Glenn pointing out that the once person was an organ donor was a fun zinger to hear. How irony. The action was a bit odd. It's a bit odd seeing walkers, run, climb over fences and use stones to break windows, because in later episodes, they seem like they can't do any of them and less agile. The final scene of Glenn driving off in the fast car with the background song, "I'm a Man" by Black Strobe was amazing. It is worth noticing, that the Dodge Challenger that Glenn steals in this episode makes multiple appearances in AMC other show (2008-2013) Breaking Bad, as the car, the main characters buys for his son. There has been a lot of fan theories, over this, linking both shows, together. Some people, feel that the Walking Dead is in the same world, and Blue Meth was the cause of the people turning into zombies. Who knows? Anyways, it's a pretty interesting theory. Overall: This episode is worth the re-watch value. Check it out, one more time. If you haven't, check it out.