Is this the ‘Walking Dead’ episode I’ve been waiting for this season – the one that gets back to the show’s true strength, which is its characters? My answer would be a resounding yes.
Brief Synopsis: Carl is still laid up with a bullet in his gut and a veterinarian operating on him. Shane and Otis are pursued by endless packs of zombies. Daryl and Andrea go out looking for Sophia in zombie-infested woods in the middle of the night. T-Dog finally gets his wound treated, Grant deals with his lack of faith, and Dale desperately wants Andrea to forgive him for the error of his ways.
Episode Thoughts: Was anyone else completely dumbfounded by the opening of this week’s episode? I had no idea if it was a flashback, flash-forward or present time. I knew that there was something significant about Shane giving himself a buzz cut in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, but I really had no idea what it was. But there was that look in his eyes right before the break to the show’s theme music – a hint of evil, malice or something not quite right.
Speaking of theme music, I don’t think I’ve ever stated my love for Bear McCreary’s original score. It sets the stage for the show so well. Coupled with the desolate visuals that show no zombies whatsoever, I can’t think of a better TV series opening other than ‘Dexter’.
I couldn’t help thinking, as Shane and Otis ran away from the approaching horde, that these people really need to learn the fine art of Molotov Cocktails. Guns only take the zombies out one by one. How efficient would it be to throw a makeshift firebomb on a group of those rascally brain eaters?
Rick and Lori spend the entire episode sitting next to Carl’s bed. I know that I’ve kind of beat up the part of the story where Carl was able to get so close to that deer. While I still contend that there’s no way a deer is letting a kid get that close to it, the way Carl describes the experience to his mother in his one moment of lucidity is sort of beautiful. It also serves another purpose by convincing Lori that there are still reasons in this world for her son to live for.
In the sort-of extraneous subplot of the episode, Daryl and Andrea go searching for Sophia in the pitch dark woods. Finding a zombie hanging from a tree is a nice touch, though. It sucks to be that guy. He tried to kill himself and couldn’t even get that right. When they see that the other zombies had eaten all the flesh off the guy’s legs, I had to wonder how many people are completely devoured by zombies. Obviously, victims like that don’t turn into zombies, right? Well, there was that half-girl in the first season clawing her way around the park – but my question is how much of you has to be left to make you come back to life as a zombie? Just the brain? Not too many of the zombies that chase around the characters look like they’ve been eviscerated by groups of man-eating zombies, so that means most of them just got bit, right? Sometimes it’s a bit hard for me to think that many people just got bit and then infected, rather than totally torn apart and eaten limb from limb.
Finally, what makes the episode so good is the ending where we come full circle and learn the meaning behind Shane’s sudden urge to shave his head. Frankly, this is the kind of episode I’ve been waiting for all season. In a world like this, full of this much horror and day-in/day-out survival, there’s got to be a point where some of our stalwart protagonists snap. You knew it was coming. And then we see it. Shane sacrificed Otis so that he could escape the school. It was a hard scene to watch, but necessary for the show to stay believable in a humanistic sense. Even the good guys can’t stay good for that long.
Something’s got to give, and it did with Shane. He’s now purposefully killed someone who wasn’t a zombie. That look in his eyes makes sense now. We’re traveling into ’28 Days Later’ territory. We have to ask ourselves which is worse, the zombies, or the rationally thinking, completely sane people who will murder their own kind to survive when push comes to shove?
Dail Whiteley
he has always been a psycho /selfish person. he left rick in bed at the hospital then went to town on ricks wife. being a dick to Carl. beating the crap out Sophia’s dad. i wasn’t surprised he did it.
Wayne Rowe
Agreed. Eviiiiil Shane has been a long time coming. But speaking of extraneous, almost this entire season has been extraneous. All that “happened” in this episode was Shane went evil, which we knew would happen a long time ago. The farm house sequence takes like 5 pages in the comic. Jimminy. I wish SOMETHING would happen.
Aaron Peck
AuthorWe may indeed end up referring to season 2 of ‘The Walking Dead’ as the traffic jam season.
Aaron Peck
AuthorWell, if I remember correctly he did all he could do to help coma Rick survive. Dude was in a coma, not like he could’ve took him out of the hospital. He stuck that bed in front of the door hoping that the zombies would pass by and not get him.
True he took Rick’s wife to bed, but she’s just as culpable in that. Although, neither of them had any real hope that Rick would actually survive the hospital.
And as for Sophia’s dad, that dude had it coming. Seriously, he was an outright douche of a person. Beating his kid and wife. How can beating that waste of a human being count against Shane? In my book that beating gave him serious Awesome Points.
Dail Whiteley
all valid points but there was a taste of psycho/selfishness in all three cases.
Chaz Dumbaugh
How is there a taste of psycho/selfishness in all of those? Leaving Rick there wasnt selfish, he did everything he could to get him out of there and with him being in a coma he tried to protect his best friend as much as possible, he never truly expected him to wake up, let alone survive, him being with Rick’s wife is just as much her fault, the flashback of her complaining to her friend about hating Rick because he wouldnt yell or scream at her, showed me that she had some real stupid issues with not loving her husband in the first place, so how thats really Shane’s fault I’m not totally sure. Him beating the crap out of some low life who beat his wife and kid is fine with me, But with the way the episode started I knew he did something bad, was hoping that he wouldnt but I’m not sure he did it out of selfishness or for the fact that this guy shot his best friends son, either way he’s starting to lose it and the show is still awesome 🙂
Dail Whiteley
it’s a great show and i’m not saying everything shane does is bad but there is evil inside him and it didnt start with the killing of otis.
Aaron Peck
AuthorIt’s true, although it could be argued that there is evil inside all of us. Although if someone was going to go to the Dark Side of the zombie apocalypse it most likely going to be Shane.
Aaron Peck
AuthorWhile I’ll agree that Shane, out of anyone in the group, would be the first person to go bad I think he’s still had a good motivation behind him for most of the things he’s done (except trying to outright rape Lori in the CDC). Even murdering Otis had a sort of “higher” purpose in that he was able to get back with the supplies for Rick’s surgery. If he hadn’t had done what he did not only Otis dies, but so does Shane, and most likely Carl.
I’m just waiting for the time Rick snaps and kills someone in the group in order to save his wife or kid.
Brian Haney
Ya my wife and I figured he did something bad, just didnt think it was that and sure hope that hey find the little girl, giving my wife all sorts of irrational thought and its driving me mad hahaha
Ryan Megan
You could tell Shane was destined for evil the second he dipped his fry in Ricks ketchup.
I have mixed feelings abut him being alive this long. I hope they do something awesome with him.