For now, though, The Walking Dead can get back to the bloody business of the battle for authority over this bleak world, as well as the souls of its central characters.
Well-done, but then TWD is always well-done. What's missing is the thrill of surprise, or the shock of surprise. "Mercy" at least offers a hint that one may be coming.
Though it will never be Dostoevsky, or even Better Call Saul, in the grand scale of depth and profundity, The Walking Dead might have something truly smart to say about our current moment after all.
The action is so fragmented, it often feels like -- to paraphrase Shakespeare -- there's a lot of sound and fury going on, and it doesn't signify much.
The urge to expand the story beyond the constant flight from mindless flesh-munchers is understandable. But much of the dread, as well as emotional urgency, has gone out of the show in the process.
