The Walking Dead 3.8 Review, “Made to Suffer”
rating: 4.5
SPOILERS AHEAD Producer: No, no absolutely not! Kirkman: Why not?! Producer: Come on, don't get foolish now. Kirkman: What is it going to hurt, really? Will the universe implode? Producer: Rob, we can't have more than one African American man on the supporting cast! Absolutely not. Kirkman: But it's good writing! Producer: You're introducing Tyreese in this episode! That's enough! Kirkman: You know in the world there exists more than one African American man in one space! It has happened! Producer: You introduced Oscar and killed T-Dog! It's Oscar's time! Either Oscar dies, or Tyreese dies. You can't have both! Kirkman: (sighs) Bye, bye, Oscar... I mean in reality, Oscar is not even that essential a character, but who saw his death coming from a mile away? I was waiting for it. I mean "Made to Suffer" literally opens the episode with Tyreese and his family fleeing from the walkers. By the episode's apparently rules, there really can not be more than one principle African American male character. Maybe the writers are just going through the motions to get to Tyreese, or perhaps they just don't want to handle so many characters at once. The introduction of Tyreese also brings about three other new characters. In either case, this is a world filled with over six billion people, the tales this show can tell are almost infinite. I mean, The Walking Dead can live on as a brand long after the exploits of Rick Grimes and Atlanta have ended. Kirkman could literally move on to a new series of characters and not miss a beat. In that respect, "Made to Suffer" is mostly about fan service, and fan service providing the hardcore comic book fans what we've been asking for, for a long time.
The episode opens on a shot of a walker in the forest walking toward the direction of a series of womanly screams, and it's then taken down by Tyreese and his trademark hammer. The popular comic book series character Tyreese is played by Chad Coleman of "The Wire," and he's the perfect build. Much like Jon Bernthal as Shane, the casting is pitch perfect. I literally cheered "Tyreese!" when he burst on to the scene. While the prison arc continues and Rick and co. are sneaking to Woodbury, Tyreese and his family are simply trying to stay alive and find themselves at the mercy of a walker siege. I'm glad the episode didn't just shoe horn Tyreese in to Woodbury and make him in to a hostage who becomes an ally. No, writer Kirkman just transforms him in to another survivor who crosses fates with the Grimes' as he did in the comics. After barely escaping the siege, Tyreese and his group look for safety and find the back of the prison. We learned in the early episodes of season three that the prison has a wall down allowing entrance from the outside, and they have found the prison giving them entrance and free reign. The episode belongs to Carl. And that's a big declaration considering how many characters in the episode have their huge moments, but Carl once again displays his ability to get the job done and be a valiant soldier. He knows the rules, he knows the tasks, and he is rarely reckless. With only Carol, Beth, Hershel, and Axel in the prison, Carl makes it his duty to find the intruders after hearing them fighting the dead in the corridors. Carl displays incredibly swift resolve taking down walkers and leading the new group to safety in through the prison.
