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"The Walking Dead began 2014 in fine form with the superlative &amp;#039;After&amp;#039; and latest outing &amp;#039;Claimed&amp;#039; not only picks up with Rick, Carl and Michonne&amp;#039;s plight but is also on a par with that opener in terms of quality writing and performances.  The dynamic between Carl and Michonne first began to blossom in the early part of season four and their makeshift mother-son rapport has now become one of this show&amp;#039;s most compelling relationships. This episode is another showcase for the top-class work of Chandler Riggs and particularly Danai Gurira, who continues to bring subtle new shades to her performance as Michonne. Reunited with Carl, the katana-wielding warrior has rediscovered a little of her old humour and warmth. It&amp;#039;s clear that, as a surrogate son, he has a humanising effect on her and she opens up more to him here than she has to anyone else - even Andrea. &amp;quot;He needs you,&amp;quot; Rick tells Michonne of his son, but &amp;#039;Claimed&amp;#039; makes it abundantly clear not only how much she needs Carl too but how badly The Walking Dead needs both of them - their exchanges bring a delicate sense of hope to a show that can often feel unremittingly bleak.  The bleak quotient is more than filled this week by - no surprise - Rick&amp;#039;s exploits, as Atlanta&amp;#039;s unluckiest ex-cop finds his place of refuge invaded and, still far from fit to defend it, is forced into a perilous game of cat-and-mouse. These scenes could feel like filler and while it&amp;#039;s true they don&amp;#039;t contribute much beyond superficial thrills, they&amp;#039;re tautly edited and more than succeed in holding the viewer&amp;#039;s attention. The sequence in which Rick throttles his assailant, who&amp;#039;s desperately grasping for a nearby pair of scissors, is particularly gripping. &amp;#039;Claimed&amp;#039; then has the standard amount of thrills, spills and character drama one has come to expect from The Walking Dead but it also boasts that rarest of beasts - a potentially game-changing twist. Last week saw the arresting debut of cocksure but commanding St. Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz) but it&amp;#039;s his scientist pal Eugene (Josh McDermitt) who may in fact be of greater interest, since he claims to know all about the cause of the zombie outbreak.  Not only is this the first reference we&amp;#039;ve had to the outbreak&amp;#039;s origins since the first season finale, but The Walking Dead has never really explored the world outside of our survivors&amp;#039; immediate purview and talks of &amp;quot;muckety-mucks&amp;quot; in Washington presents the enticing possibility that there could still exist some form of government in this dystopian America. Regardless, the sense of purpose offered by Sgt. Ford is precisely what Glenn (Steven Yeun) needs - he&amp;#039;s a character who&amp;#039;s been badly lacking in direction for a while now and a quest to &amp;quot;fix the whole damn world&amp;quot; could provide him with just that. As it stands, he&amp;#039;s shunning Abraham and Eugene to continue searching for Maggie but let&amp;#039;s hope that won&amp;#039;t last long - to quote Abraham, &amp;quot;Saving the world&amp;#039;s just more important.&amp;quot; Glenn&amp;#039;s antics may continue to rankle somewhat, but in all other regards &amp;#039;Claimed&amp;#039; represents the very best of The Walking Dead - incorporating three disparate but equally strong story strands, it&amp;#039;s a heady cocktail of visceral thrills, stomach-churning zombie horror and painfully human drama.  WATCHING DEAD...  - Critics have lauded True Detective star Matthew McConaughey for his physical transformation, but where&amp;#039;s the love for Andrew Lincoln? Compare the square-jawed lawman from The Walking Dead pilot to the gaunt and bedraggled figure we see now... virtually unrecognisable as the same man. - Ford introduces a new term for the show&amp;#039;s zombies to rank alongside &amp;quot;walkers&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;bites&amp;quot; - they&amp;#039;re the &amp;quot;dead-alive&amp;quot;. - Eugene may hold the key to save humanity but would you really trust the fate of the world to a man with a mullet? - The Walking Dead ordinarily has its survivors dress appropriately for a zombie apocalypse, so Rosita&amp;#039;s Lara Croft garb stands out from the crowd - and not in a good way. - So Rick, Carl and Michonne are off in search of sanctuary - call me a cynic but after Hershel&amp;#039;s farm, Woodbury and the prison, I&amp;#039;m just a wee bit sceptical about any proposed &amp;#039;safe haven&amp;#039; that this show claims to offer. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/the-walking-dead/news/a553485/the-walking-dead-season-4-claimed-recap-fixing-the-whole-damn-world/>