'The Walking Dead: World Beyond', Episode 3: 'The Tyger and the Lamb'

When we last left the group, Hope was about to face up to some demons by putting herself in danger to help her friends. It's a Friday which means we get to go back and find out what happened next. And...

Well, we're still stuck in the middle of a tyre fire and true to form, not a lot actually happens until the last few minutes. This time though, things are a little different; 'The Tyger and the Lamb' ended up being an episode of 'World Beyond' that I wanted to go back and watch again instead of an episode that you feel like you have to get through in the hope that the next episode will work for you. Things are starting to take shape now, I'm not sure that we needed to wait three episodes for it to happen but it feels like we're finally on the move so I'm not going to complain too loudly.. ;o)

Two of my big complaints, last week, were that seemed to be very little point to Silas and that the story really takes a hit when the Civic Republic have to move off-screen. In a case of perfect timing, 'The Tyger and the Lamb' gives us more detail on both Silas and the Civic Republic and the world we're moving through gets a little more interesting. All of a sudden, there's more to Silas than just being 'the guy who carries the suitcases'. We don't find out an awful lot but the hints that we do get point to a tortured character (always more interesting to follow) whom I suspect will gain some kind of redemption, that he never needed to look for, by saving his friends and getting eaten. Because I think we're far enough in now to come to terms with the fact that at least one of the four kids isn't going to make it. My money is on Silas, he's the one that we know least about and there's a real opportunity there for the showrunners to spring something on us a little way down the line. We'll see...

We also get a little look at what it's like to live in the Civic Republic as well as tensions that are bubbling under the surface. Again, not a lot is given away and you have to wonder if they're setting something up for the rest of this season or if they're laying the foundations for the 'Rick Grimes' movies. It's always good to get a different view of what life in the zombie apocalypse can be like though; I wonder what those plans on the table were all about...

So, a lot of stuff is starting to build up in the background then. At the same time, we're treated to a good sharp dose of zombie action as the group seek to escape the 'tyre fire'. It's fun but I was thinking that something felt a little off about the whole thing. Then I realised that it's sanitised for (slightly) younger viewers, we're not getting the gore that 'The Walking Dead' and 'Fear the Walking Dead' give us. I can understand the approach but I need a little more gore to be honest, it's a zombie apocalypse for goodness sake... I liked the 'two zombies in one' though, very cool.

I'm hoping then that 'The Tyger and the Lamb' is a sign of a show starting to hit it's stride. There's cetainly more going on and it gives us a lot more to ponder while we wait for next week. Fingers crossed that next week is more of the same then...