Photo Credit: AMC
The regular reviewer of The Walking Dead, Lee Kelwat, is under the weather and asked me to cover the show this week while she recovers. Initially, due to rumors that this particular episode was heavy on the gore, I was a little worried about reviewing it. I’m a big chicken when it comes to horror TV shows and films, often hiding my face in a pillow when things get too graphic, which you really cannot do when you’re reviewing the show and need to be watching every scene. However, it turns out that except for some disgusting close-ups of Hershel’s (Scott Wilson) bloody stump, the rumors that had been going around appear to be nothing more than hype.
The episode begins where last week’s episode ended, with Hershel fighting for his life and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) having to deal with the four very unwelcome survivors that had crossed their paths. Apparently, Rick had been right on target with his guess that the prison had fell early on, because by the survivors’ accounts, it happened nearly ten months ago, with their hunkering down in the cafeteria since then. The prisoners had been locked away and safe from the walkers and had plenty to eat in the cafeteria, but it also isolated them completely from the rest of the world. None of them had a clue about how widespread the epidemic had become, and it was almost comical to see one of them ask for something like a cell phone so that he could call his kids.
As we watch Rick handle the unwanted visitors, we get to see just how much this character has changed since we saw him at the end of season two, and not all of it is for the good. The last time the group had encountered any strangers was with Randall at the end of season two. Many people in the group wanted to kill Randall to prevent him from disclosing the location of the farm, with Rick being on the fence, and with Dale being squarely against it. Even after the group decided to spare Randall, Shane executed him anyways, perhaps to protect the group or maybe just because he was a loose cannon. With Tomas (Nick Gomez) being a clear threat and even trying to kill Rick at one point, it wasn’t surprising to see Rick kill Tomas and neutralize the threat before it got out of hand. Rick couldn’t let another “Shane” happen, and I think most viewers agree that he did the right thing.
But, what he did next with the prisoner, Andrew (Markice Moore), I’m not so sure about. All the guy did was run off after having seen Rick kill Tomas, and given the fact that Andrew just found out 30 minutes prior that they were pretty much looking at the end of the world, I think Rick could have given him a break. Andrew had only panicked, and I seem to remember not too long ago this “idiot in the tank” who endangered an entire group of survivors simply because he didn’t know any better – cough, cough. Did that group of survivors kill this “idiot” or throw him in front of a herd of walkers? I couldn’t help but think that leaving Andrew outside with the zombies would have been something that Shane, not Rick, would have done, and also made me realize how much like Shane Rick had become.
Besides Rick, another character that has clearly developed and changed is Carol (Melissa McBride). Remember that quiet, abused housewife from the past two seasons, who could do very little but cook and clean? Well, that Carol is no more. When the group brings Hershel back to the cell block, Carol acts and thinks fast, and is finally able to stop the bleeding. Even with the stress of having to worry about and care for Hershel, she also steps up and begins to make preparations for delivering Lori’s (Sarah Wayne Callies) baby, seeing that Hershel won’t be able to do it anymore. Carol’s idea of practicing her abdominal incisions on a zombie was a fantastic idea, and a token of brilliance on the writers’ part.
One other character I should mention is Carl (Chandler Riggs). For the people who know me on Twitter, you’ll know that Carl is my least favorite character. He was nothing more than a brat last season, wouldn’t listen to anyone, and his negligence ended up getting Dale killed and also, technically the firing of his gun caused the farm to be overrun. I had hopes in the premiere episode that maybe he had grown up a little. We see him making himself useful by killing some walkers, and he was staying close to the group. But, in this episode, he is more or less back to his old tricks. He runs off without telling anyone, and while he does come back with very valuable medical supplies, he still shouldn’t have ventured off alone. His good intentions last season only got people killed, and so, it ‘s about time he start listening to the adults in the group.
All in all, this was another top-notch episode, and there were only a couple of small things that I didn’t like. After Tomas, Andrew and Big Tiny are killed, it made absolutely no sense to me why Axel (Lew Temple) and Oscar (Vincent Ward) would choose to remain in the cellblock. It was Tomas’ idea to move out into the cellblock, and Tomas was now dead. They had been safe in the cafeteria for the past ten months, and Rick had offered to fix the locks on the cafeteria doors. Not to mention, they would be close to the food, to prevent Rick and company from stealing it all. So, to me, it’s a no-brainer to get the hell out of that cellblock and back to their safe haven. As Axel said as he was looking at all of the corpses in the cells, “God, this is so sick!” No shit, dude! So, get the heck out of dodge!
Unfortunately, neither Michonne (Danai Gurira) nor the Governor (David Morrissey) is nowhere to be found in this episode. But, if you saw the previews for next week’s episode, you’ll know both of them will be present. Rick may think that he’s found a little piece of paradise in the prison that he’s taken, but with the introduction of the Governor, things are about to be shaken up.
