page_title: Self Help (The Walking Dead)
section_title: Reception
hierarchical_section_title: Self Help (The Walking Dead) / Reception
caption_attribution_description: English: Sonequa Martin-Green and Michael Cudlitz at San Diego Comic Con 2016.
context_page_description: "Self Help" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on November 9, 2014. The episode was written by Heather Bellson and Seth Hoffman, and directed by Ernest Dickerson. The episode centers on Abraham Ford, Eugene Porter, Rosita Espinosa, Tara Chambler, Glenn Rhee, and Maggie Greene, who have left the church and their fellow survivors to pursue a mission to Washington, D.C., by bus. Upon their journey, they encounter numerous problems, and Abraham's past and his keen desire to continue on the mission are explored throughout the narrative.
  The episode received critical acclaim from commentators, many of whom singled out the emotional performance of Michael Cudlitz and the revelation at the end of the episode. This episode adapts material from Volume 12: Life Among Them from the comic book series of the same name.
context_section_description: Upon airing, the episode was watched by 13.53 million American viewers with an 18-49 rating of 7.0, a decrease in viewership from the previous week which had 14.518 million viewers and an 18-49 rating of 7.6.
  In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 1.146 million viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week. It also received 0.096 million timeshift viewers. In Australia, it received 0.087 million viewers, making it the highest-rated cable broadcast that day.
  The episode was critically acclaimed, with many reviews highly praising the emotional performance by Michael Cudlitz in the episode.
  Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A grade.
  Isabelle Khoo of The Huffington Post said regarding the flashbacks "While I was intrigued to find out more about this strong character, I felt a little disappointed by the flashbacks sprinkled throughout the episode. First of all, each of them were less than two minutes long, and second, the transitions were weirdly abrupt and sometimes confusing. Nonetheless, the flashbacks gave us a tease of Abraham’s past."
  Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode an 8.3 out of 10, saying the episode "gave Abraham and Eugene their first real character-building/revealing story since they came into the series last February. Eugene was using Abraham to survive and, despite the big betrayal, Abraham was using Eugene's lie to help facilitate his own subconscious denial. An inner pain that manifested itself physically through his own never-healing bloody hand."
caption: Michael Cudlitz's performance as Abraham in the episode was highly praised by television critics.
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