Its been about two months since 'In Harms Way' landed and the response to it was fairly mixed. I praised its genius 'Great Escape' style prison break storyline, whereas some criticised it for being largely a series of fetch quests which didn't make an awful lot of sense as to why responsible adults would turn to main character Clementine for.
Amid The Ruins does suffer much the same fate with Clementine being put into situations that seem out of place and downright silly when there are plenty of other people to do the same job, however it yet again enforces the message that Clementine is a forever evolving character, from a little girl you found hiding in her tree house, to a bold and confident young survivor.
Taking place immediately after the events of 'In Harms Way', you begin by escaping the deceased Carver's compound as it is flooded by a herd of walkers.
With tensions running high in the group Clementine must try her hardest to settle conflicts and be the cause of as few as possible as the group argues about what they are going to do next. Alongside this Rebecca has began the process of giving birth to her child and new character Jane taking Clementine under her wing to teach her the ways of solo survival.
Kenny is again having to deal with the loss of a loved one (seems like exactly one season ago to the episode we were in the same position) and the rest of the characters are just trying to get by.
As a whole, much like Season 1 Episode 4 and The Wolf Among Us Episode 4, Amid The Ruins is very much about setting up the season finale and therefore could potentially be considered the weakest entry due to its slower paced style and the way it kills off characters for very little reason other than they were not convenient to the plot anymore, also much like the previous episode it seems to fall flat on decisions wherein pretty much every significant decision so far seems insignificant by the end of the episode. That being said Amid The Ruins does have more than a few moments where a curveball will be served and the unexpected happens and was one of my favourite episodes this season simply because of them shocking moments.
Amid the Ruins is very light on combat sequences meaning much of the episode is talking and exploring the environments. Its about getting to know some characters better as well as saying goodbye to others. It again throws in a couple of Season 1 throwbacks, in particular when you find yourself in a history museum and Lee's love of history is mentioned.
This episode is all about the conversations. It contains some of the best dialogue the series has ever had as well as some quite tough, though relatively unimportant decisions.
The episode clocks in at about an hour and 45 minutes, similar to that of Season 1's fourth episode, hopefully though episode 5 will last much longer than last Season's finale.
Again TWD continues to stun with its excellent lighting effects in a cel shaded game. More than ever did I feel that this episode was the comic books actually coming to life thanks to some great lighting and animation, it was also one of the smoothest running episodes to date.
As stated earlier, Amid The Ruins is very much about setting the scene for the finale and judging by a few subtle hints to people with a knowledge of both the comic & TV show its going to be a great finale filled with action, heartbreak and ultimately breaking even the manliest man down into a snivelling wreck. Two months is simply too long to wait!
The Walking Dead Season 2
Episode 3: Amid The Ruins – 8/10
+Excellent Dialogue
+Genuinely Surprising Moments
+The Cliffhanger
-Penultimate Episode Syndrome
-Important Decisions From Earlier Episodes Made Pointless
-Killing For Convenience, Not Story
