With this Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead, the show returned to form. After last week’s Beth-centric “Slabtown” in which Emily Kinney was the only cast member to actually have lines, “Self Help” took us back to the multi-character structure that comprised the majority of the first four seasons. Of course, with a bloated general ensemble that could really use a zombie horde or two to trim the cast, it was inevitable that “Self Help” would only feature certain characters and highlight certain relationships.
Unfortunately, while the episode as a whole was neither bad nor negligible, the ensemble of “Self Help” happened to be comprised of a group of characters that failed to spark together.
For her part, Tara hasn’t been around long enough to become much of a presence, and it’s hard to work up much of a lather about anything that she does for better or worse. Her greatest potential for conflict going into Season 5 was the fact that she had been on Team Governor during the attack on the prison. Admittedly, it was a refreshing twist that the reveal was not delayed until a pivotal moment in a finale, but Tara just doesn’t offer much to work with without strong opposition.
The original trio of Mission: Washington D.C. has always felt as though it was displaced from a more garish and exaggerated universe than that of The Walking Dead. They come across as comic book characters who strutted right off of the page onto our screens, and the contrast with the more nuanced characters already established still jars. They haven’t had the exposure or expansion to endear themselves to audiences, and many of the moments that are clearly intended for humor are uncomfortable. Abraham’s forthright assertion to Glenn that he needs to find Rosita for “some ass” before getting some sleep just feels cheap, and the fact that neither seem to particularly mind Eugene spying on them in the act is too sleazy for even slapstick. We don't know them, and it's difficult to try to relate to them.
Luckily, Glenn supplied some genuine humor to compensate for the antics of Team Washington. Having been around since the very beginning, his was a presence without which “Self Help” might have failed entirely. Maggie too is an old-timer, and it’s become almost difficult to think of the show without her since her introduction in early Season 2. Sadly, Glenn and Maggie have spent the last two seasons becoming so wrapped up in each other and their relationship that they’ve more or less ceased to exist as characters on their own. Maggie in particular suffers from their current codependence. Where Glenn is allowed to emerge as Abraham’s right hand for the time being, Maggie more or less floats around aimlessly whenever zombie-killing is not required, sharing Bible stories and not asking about her missing sister.
Tara is not a bad character. Original Team Washington has promise. Glenn and Maggie have proven capable of standing on their own. Somehow, however, the combination of these six characters pales in comparison to those absent from the episode. Rick and Michonne are probably kicking ass and raising kids into zombie apocalypse killing machines back at the church. Daryl and Carol are probably raising all sorts of hell in their quest to rescue Beth. “Self Help” revolved around characters best kept background or interacting with major players; as such, the previews for next week's episode were the highlight of this week’s.
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