The Walking Dead Season 4 Spoilers: The Walking Dead Review Roundup: Before I get into what other critics are saying about last night’s episode, “Isolation,” I have a few things up my nose I want to blow out first. I am worried sick about Glenn, gotta say, but that whole “do your job” thing scares me to undeath.

Also, that look on Rick’s face when he was checking his knuckles after the punch-up, Andrew Lincoln gave it a whole range of feeling. You saw the pain in his hand, sure, and a little bit of regret, okay. But there was something in his face that smacked of satisfaction. I’m sure the ol’ sheriff misses a good knock down drag out barroom brawl. At the very least it’s not as scary as getting into it with zombies and sometimes even if you lose a bar fight, someone buys someone a drink. That’s not happening in the zombie apocalypse.

Oh – and what’s all this with M’Shone and Darryl? I think they’d like to get into a dustup too and I don’t think they care much whether it’s fists of something lower. They are generating some heat. The Walking Dead needs a little heat.

'The Walking Dead' stars Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, and Melissa Ponzio.

So what do the critics say about The Walking Dead season 4’s “Isolation”?

IGN says it’s always better to be safe. The reviewer, who isn’t named but says he has the flu, says, “The landscape of the Walking Dead has shifted. Things occurred; lots of big, massively scaled zombie horde happenings took place in this Robert Kirkman-penned episode. Let’s focus on the biggest question that “Isolation” raised, though: Did Carol make the right call? Then take a brief foray into a secondary point of interest: Is there a possibility of refuge in this world of rot and death? … This new turn of events evokes mixed feelings. The first two episodes of the season presented Carol as a real possibility to take on the leadership mantle. … Unless the group’s going to drink the poisoned cool-aid, though, they’ll need to imagine a light at the end of the tunnel. We viewers require the same.”

According to their website, Den of Geek’s usual “Walking Dead” reviewer, Robert Bernstein, is also battling the flu. Ron Hogan, who's playing wet nurse, writes “One of the enduring questions posed by The Walking Dead is a pretty simple one, and one we've all considered at one point or another. Just what, if anything, would you do to survive? Would you kill an innocent person if it increased your chances of living another day? Would you root through garbage to find food? For vast swaths of the world, these questions aren't hypothetical, but in most places, these questions are merely flights of fantasy. That's why they're the perfect sort of question to be asked by a show about zombies. … Kudos go out to Melissa McBride for the performance she puts in today. It hits all the right notes. … The script gets a little ponderous for its own good (uncomfortable hints at the second season's moralising abound), but when it hits, it hits pretty strongly. … Director Dan Sackheim has a pretty good history with other quality shows (The X-Files, House), and while he's not the most dynamic director in the show's lineup, he does a pretty solid job this week.”

Julie Hammervision of Chicago Now's Hammervision, no, we’re not talking Christopher Lee, says “This week's episode of The Walking Dead ("Isolation") was all about choices -- choosing between life and death, between freedom and duty, between what's safe and what's necessary. … As much as Rick likes to be "the guy," he sure does like to shun duty when it stares him right in the face. Sure, the person who killed Karen and David from Decatur probably did it for noble reasons. … Hershel (who was all over this episode, by the way, in case you couldn't tell) finally remembered that he was a vet and that vets prescribe drugs just like human doctors do. He sent Daryl (and Michonne) out to find a veterinary school, which may not have been ransacked for medicine yet.”

Alin Sepinwall of HitFix writes “Last week, I lamented that the time jump between seasons had made it more difficult to properly develop the new prison characters, and to advance the arcs for the characters we already know. "Isolation" did a much better job at both — even if some of that was the result of consigning virtually every newcomer besides Bob (plus a few familiar faces in Glenn, Hershel and Sasha) to the isolation ward where they will either get antibiotics or cough themselves to death. … There were lots of strong character beats, big and small, for people we know fairly well like Carol, people we vaguely know like Tyreese, and people we've just met like Bob. … "Isolation" was also a terrific-looking episode, thanks to the work of veteran director Dan Sackheim, and even if not all the story beats make sense (why are the zombies not attacking the fence en masse anymore?), this was definitely the most engaged I've felt of the three hours so far this fall.“

Kevin McFarland at BoingBoing writes, “The Walking Dead comic series creator Robert Kirkman wrote this week’s episode, “Isolation,” and that bit of information colored the one overwhelming action moment. As Darryl, Michonne, Tyreese, and Bob Stookey (Lawrence Gilliard Jr., getting the screen time with Cutty he didn’t have on The Wire) journey to a veterinary college 50 miles away in search of antibiotics, they encounter a massive array of walkers blocking the road as far as they can see. … Kirkman’s comic perpetually offers glimmers of hope, of survival to fight another day, but not permanent resolution. … There are very few things I know to be true about The Walking Dead, but keeping Glenn alive is a universal truth at this point. I’m aware of a few future events in the comics, and I just have to say that teasing the possibility of a negative fate for Glenn right now would be just about the worst decision the show could make.”
Tim Surrette of TVCom writes “Who knew death and disease could be so much fun? When it's happening to you or your loved ones or even people you only kind of know, yeah, it sucks. But when sickness happens to people on the television during a zombie apocalypse? It's fantastic! I'm not sure "Isolation" was itself any better than the first two episodes of The Walking Dead's fourth season, because these first three hours have really felt like one continued story that shouldn't be divided into parts. … What I love about Season 4 so far is that it's not just about life and death. And no, it's not UNdeath that's the additional cool thing. Good zombie stories deal with the undefinable stage between life and death, the painful and drawn-out part where life is fading and death is imminent, and Season 4 has really focused on that. … The greatest thing this outbreak has done is blow up the group while keeping them all together and forcing each individual into action. … Can we all pray to our respective gods that The Walking Dead keeps this up? Because "Isolation" was another solid episode of a series that badly needs a strong season. I was prepared to be content with zombie slaughter, but if The Walking Dead wants to add some legitimately good drama to the mix, then that's even better.”
I’ll cull more reviews tomorrow, but please, I put the links in for a reason. Go read them, that’s why they’re here.

By Tony Sokol, follow me on Twitter