The Walking Dead: 5 Things Self Help Did Right (And 5 It Didn't)
4. Small Talk
The writing is one of the weakest aspects of The Walking Dead so far, which made it all the more refreshing that Self Help was full of nice, nuanced and well-observed little character moments. The dialogue especially tends to be pretty naff, with a couple of lines from last weeks Slabtown especially sticking out as things that no human being would ever actually say out loud in a casual conversation, even allowing for the stressors and surreality of being in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Self Help, meanwhile, was full of nice, non-expositional chatter. It wasn't Tarantino levels of naturalistic (or stylised) (or self-aware), but considering how much of Self Help just involved the characters sitting around in various locations and shooting the poop about everything and nothing, they acquitted themselves quite well. Abraham and Rositas flirting was cute, Eugenes awkwardness was amusing without being stereotypical, Maggie and Glenn continue to be the most believable couple on the show, and the parts that really ought to have been incredibly clunky - Taras little motivational speeches to Eugene - were done well too. Nice job, show.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
