Had heard nothing but great things about 'The Walking Dead' from friends and IMDb reviewers. It took a while to get round to watching, both from being busy and also not being sure whether it would be my cup of tea. Finally getting round to it a few years ago and slowly working my way through it, having had a very long to watch and review list, 'The Walking Dead' turned out to be very much my cup of tea and as good as the hype made it out to be, have found it extremely addictive.
Season 4''s eleventh episode "Claimed" has the guts, tautness and adrenaline of the particularly tense 'The Walking Dead' episodes, while having a quieter, reflective touch in the character building. Not one of the show's very best but it is still a great episode that handles both approaches very well. It is yet again a strong reminder of how Seasons 1-5 of 'The Walking Dead' to me were absolutely brilliant and seeing the show in its full glory days (Season 6 was uneven, Season 7 was a huge disappointment and am still debating whether to watch Season 8). It is an emotional and thought-provoking episode with some tension.
It still shocks me at how an intelligent, well-made (so much so that it is easy to mistake it for a film) show about zombies could be made when so many films have tried and failed abysmally to do so.
My only complaint of "Claimed" was that it occasionally did drag a little occasionally.
Like all the episodes of the show, "Claimed" is incredibly well made in the production values, with gritty and audacious production design, photography of almost cinematic quality, effects that look good, have soul and are not overused or abused and pretty frightening make-up. The music is haunting and affecting, having presence but never being too intrusive.
The writing is intelligent and thought-provoking, not as talky as some of the previous episodes, with lots of tension and emotional resonance and shows signs of character complexity and multiple layer storytelling done with intricacy. The more eventful parts are thrilling and terrifying as well as uncompromising.
Appreciated the ever strong and still progressing story, where there is never the mistake of being confused or over-stuffed, and character building, which the episode has a bigger emphasis on, and that the pace is rarely dull or rushed, with a taut intensity in the more tense parts. The character writing and the character interactions are what is particularly great here, just love the development for Michonne.
Everything is nicely paced without rushing through the more important parts, taut but not dull. The world building is already stunningly immersive and effective. Direction is smart and atmospheric while the show throughout has been strongly acted, with particularly Danai Gurira giving an intense and deeply felt performance.
All in all, excellent. 9/10 Bethany Cox