The Stand :Review 1.04 House Of The Dead|Blind Article

The 4th episode of The Stand deals this week with the direct result of Mother Abigail and her Club of Fives "meeting" with the Man in Black last week. Now is the time for action, to prepare for the confrontation ahead, and it is about getting it right.

The episode centers on the Club of 5 that Abigail has delegated to deal with ongoing and upcoming issues in Boulder. We must act quickly and well. Two decisions eventually take shape, and you think that in a post-apocalyptic world where the law of the strongest is starting to be the only one in effect, it is time for them to happen. Finally, one could say, the survivors of the Good become aware of the dangers which lie in wait for them outside and finally they take the "good" decisions.

As usual, the series uses flashbacks to explain how it all comes together in one place. We thus learn how the destinies of certain characters are linked, the traumas they have experienced along the way, and the betrayals they have felt. But the episode is not all about this. A nefarious scheme is underway within the community of Boulder itself, and it is once again the result of shenanigans in the shadow of Randall Flagg aka the Man in Black.

Ben Cavell and Josh Boone are absolutely not changing their minds. The series is a pretext to make us become attached to the characters, or to hate them. For that, what better way than to show them to us in their true light, both for those we want to love and for those we want to hate?

The episode is, in my opinion, one of the best on the show yet. So, of course, no disaster, no breathtaking action scene, but moments of pure innocence or cold and vengeful calculations that let us appreciate the very wide range of talents that the series brings together. Let's not talk about stars like Marsden, Heard or other Kinnear. Rather, let's talk about the one no one expects as a secret agent sent to the frontlines of the battle, Brad William Henke as Tom Cullen.

The unconditional readers of Stephen King know the character perfectly well, the others you will discover a Cullen extraordinarily interpreted by this actor whom one knows so little. His playing is simply excellent and he finally gives a soul to this series.

You will understand, House of the Dead is an excellent episode which opens, I hope, on even better. Strongly the next week.

EPISODE

- Episode: 1.04

- Title: House of the Dead

- First broadcast date: 01/07/2021 (CBS All Access) - 01/24/2021 (StarzPlay France)

- Creators: Josh Boone, Ben Cavell

- Directors: Danielle Krudy & Bridget Savage Cole

- Writer: Jill Killington, Joe Hill, Ben Cavell and Eric Dickinson

- With: James Marsden, Odessa Young, Alexander Skarsgård, Whoopi Goldberg, Owen Teague, Amber Heard, Jovan Adepo, Henry Zaga, Nat Wolff, Gordon Cormier, Brad William Henke, Irene Bedard, Greg Kinnear

ABSTRACT

The Stand is Stephen King’s apocalyptic vision of a world decimated by plague and engaged in a basic struggle between good and evil. The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of Mother Abagail, 108, and a handful of survivor.