Warning: Review may contain spoilers!
The Walking Dead: World Beyond 104 – The Wrong End of a Telescope
It’s a long way to New York from Omaha, especially on foot. As Hope, Iris, Silas and Elton head east they are accompanied by Huck and Felix who are patiently waiting for the quartet to abandon their plans and return home. So far that plan doesn’t have any chance of succeeding so Felix and Huck’s best bet is to use the old tactic of divide and conquer.
There are storm clouds on the horizon and everyone decides to seek shelter in an old abandoned high school. This is where The Wrong End of a Telescope uses the way back machine to fill in some of the details surrounding what life was like at the school pre apocalypse. The group eventually splits up to rummage for supplies including water to keep them hydrated.
The Wrong End of a Telescope opens in a pedestrian manner but after Felix discovers a trail of blood in the hallway the horrors of high school become a little more real. This week’s dose of backstory comes via old yearbooks and flashbacks featuring Hope and her dad. We get to learn quite a bit about Hope and Iris and the special relationship the former has with her father.
Scattered throughout the school and with hints that something wicked lurks in the abandoned halls, the group contemplates, in their own way the things they’ve lost and how the fall of civilization has changed them. While Elton and Felix and Hope and Huck inch their way towards danger, Iris and Silas get to imagine what some aspects of high school life was like.
Their time on the dance floor doesn’t last long though and they are soon on the run from something growling at them through the walls. Iris and Silas’ journey through the school brings them into a close encounter with several empties. Unable to get help from any of their friends Silas defends Iris and as memories wash over him he channels his inner Bruce Banner to bludgeon an empty into submission.
The creature in the halls fails to live up to expectations but does serve another purpose. It forces Hope to reassess why her father went to New York and to realize how much he truly cares for her. Perception is the key in The Wrong End of the Telescope. Taking a second look at a situation offers a fresh perspective for several of the players and in some cases solidifies already established beliefs. With their journey through high school complete, the trek towards New York continues but not necessarily with the same universal resolve.
