The Walking Dead: World Beyond review, “The Tyger and the Lamb”

The Walking Dead: World Beyond kicks things up a notch as Silas’ past comes back to haunt him as the group faces the Blaze of Gory.

“The Tyger and the Lamb” kicks off on a morbid note with a flashback of young Silas (Hal Cumpston) sitting with bloodied hands in an ambulance. It’s unclear what is going on (or when), but we hear a voiceover from his grandparents telling him how much they love him on the occasion of his sixth birthday. It’s a sweet moment undercut by Silas’ arrest; it’s anybody’s guess for what.

I liked this opening. There’s an element of mystery that was captivating. Who is Silas? What did he do? What does that mean for the present and the fact he’s roaming around with the rest of the group? Is he a…murderer? This opening felt more real and riveting, unlike a lot of the rest of the show.

The flashbacks throughout the episode give us clues about Silas’ dreadful past. It’s clear he’s trying to work through it, but he’s not always had the help, except from Felix (Nico Tortorella), who help him get a spot in the Colony after these mysterious events.

Hope’s plan

At the end of the last episode, Hope (Alexa Mansour) took it upon herself to venture out solo, leaving the rest of the group behind with the Blaze of Gory. I still don’t understand how the fumes of that smoke didn’t impact them, but whatever.

Silas’ flashback is interrupted by Hope’s voice on the walkie-talkie. They’re going to go with Elton’s (Nicolas Cantu) plan, so she’s making her way to the siren. Iris (Aliyah Royale) isn’t pleased with her sister’s decision to leave them behind, but do we really care what Iris has to say? I’m still trying to warm up to her but I just can’t.

Anyway, the plan is for Hope to ring the siren while the rest of them rush to the factory. They’ll have to run through the Blaze of Gory to do it, but the siren should scatter the empties (still not sold on that word). Of course, Iris is dragging her feet on this, but I will admit her sisterly interaction with Hope here was sweet.

All undead eyes are on the Blaze of Gory

The moment arrives for the group to make a run for the office. If they make it there in one piece, they should be safe…for the time being. But since Silas is dealing with a demon of his past, he’s struggling to keep up. Moreover, the idea of killing the empties is reminding him of whatever he did in the past.

This is why he freezes when an empty pops up in front of him. Luckily, it falls and impales itself on something, but it’s a close call. I’m hoping that World Beyond explores Silas’ story in more depth. I don’t want it to be overshadowed because it seems like there’s a lot to unpack here.

Felix and Huck

After following the “breadcrumbs,” Felix and Huck (Annen Mahendru) finally catch up with the group. They’d like to know where Hope has gone off to, but going after her could be more dangerous than staying put, so they plant themselves.

Of all the World Beyond characters so far, my favorite might be Felix. There’s something relatable about him. Perhaps it’s that his slightly older and therefore a bit more mature and tolerable, or it could just be that he’s kind-hearted.

As for Silas, another flashback reveals that he has some romantic feelings for Iris. As much as I’m not a fan of Iris, I like the idea of a potential relationship because it might help pull Silas out of his funk. The flashback of him and Iris at school, while she’s looking for her English homework, was sweet. You could tell he’s smitten over her when he quietly listens to her talk about missing her dad (who had been gone for a week at this point)

A faulty crank = a faulty siren

Unfortunately for Hope, when she finally makes it to the roof to crank the siren, the handle falls off. Hope’s motives are unclear at this point, as Felix points out. She left breadcrumbs so they could be found while simultaneously running off on her own to ring the siren. What exactly is going on here? Is she hiding from something? It seems to be the theme of the episode, doesn’t it?

Another Silas flashback picks up in the aftermath of whatever he did. He blasts heavy metal music to block out the whispers around him, but as soon as the music stops he can hear them again, judgmental and scared.

Anyway, back to Hope. She informs the rest of the group that the siren isn’t working, but she can fix it…somehow. The stress brings out Hope’s guild about fighting with their dad before he left. She hasn’t been able to shake it off, and now she’s doing whatever she can to get to him.

Hope saves the day

Hope is eventually able to get the siren working, and thus begins the rush through the Blaze of Gory. With the empties making their way towards the siren, the group scrambles to reach Hope while she comes down from the roof…and sprains her ankle.

While this episode of World Beyond doesn’t really change my opinion of the series, I will say that it makes the group seem a bit more capable of taking on this world. The kids have much to learn, but I love the fierceness within Huck and Felix. They really need to show us more scenes of them teaching the kids, because they need it.

By some miracle, everyone makes it out alive. I love the scene where Silas fights all his demons to help save his friends. With these guys by his side, life can be different.

And then there’s Hope, who has been carrying around the secret of killing that woman “the night the sky fell.” The woman who killed her mother was in turn killed by her, and that guilt has been eating her alive. Sharing it with Iris may or may not help. I’m more interested in learning if Hope knows that it was Elton’s mother she killed. If not, that will be one epic, devastating reveal.

But for now, things are “okay” as the group decides they will not return home, but rather keep trekking forward to find Iris and Hope’s dad. Who, according to me, is definitely with Rick. I don’t have any reason for thinking this but I know that it’s been said over and over again that World Beyond will give us some indication about Rick’s whereabouts. Wouldn’t it be fitting if their dad was with Rick? Just saying guys, it just might be how the season ends!

Elizabeth shows no mercy

Meanwhile, a very flustered Barca (Al Calderon) shows up at Elizabeth’s (Julia Ormond) very lavish (too lavish, if you asking me) apartment to reveal he’s really upset over what they did. Just in case you forgot, they murdered a bunch of people, but Elizabeth likes to call it “neutralizing a threat.”

There’s an ominous vibe about the whole scene as Elizabeth turns on all the appliances (is she bugged?) to talk Barca down. And then, of course, before we know it, soldiers show up to take Barca away, and we know he’s as good as dead.

The Verdict

This episode of World Beyond was slightly better than the last two. There is still room for a lot of improvement, but overall, I think they took a step in the right direction. I was invested in Silas’ backstory and I appreciate that we’re starting to dig deeper into characters.

Ending the episode with Elizabeth was a cool way to get viewers interested in her motives. Is she good? Bad? Is there someone controlling her?

Until next week, folks!

Grade: C

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