Contributor: Gregg Wright
The psychological effects on Shane from Otis’s death play a role this episode, but are generally downplayed more than I was expecting. This event might very well destroy Shane from the inside out, but he manages to keep things under wraps pretty well for the extent of this episode. He even seems to have re-considered leaving the group. I read an interpretation somewhere that I really liked. It basically stated that Shane, who was once the leader of this group of survivors, has had to step aside and find a new role as the one who makes the tough choices, so Rick doesn’t have to make them.
I don’t know how things go in the comics, but seems almost certain that the survivors won’t remain at Hershel’s farm for the rest of the show. This farm is just too idyllic a place to last very long in this type of show. That fence wouldn’t keep out an army of determined zombies, and it’s clear that Hershel is uncomfortable with the idea of letting the survivors remain there. One can imagine how things would go if Shane’s secret were ever found out. And there’s enough conflict between the survivors to make one wonder if this will somehow play a part in the survivors’ eventual departure from Hershel’s farm.
The electricity is still something to ponder, but at least the show has answered the question of where the water comes from. I suspected they might have a well, and apparently they have five of them. These wells seem pretty old-fashioned compared to the one at my house, as you can actually fall into them if you’re not careful. This is what happened to some hapless zombie, apparently, leaving the survivors with a potentially contaminated well. There is absolutely no way I would even consider drinking out of that well, but the survivors seem to think that pulling the zombie out might be enough to make it safe. As you might imagine, this doesn’t go well (a pun wasn’t originally intended, but ah, what the heck…).
As usual, Daryl’s scenes are pretty much my favorite parts of the episode. I like that Daryl just goes off on his one-man search mission. He seems to have grown pretty comfortable with his role as the group’s badass scout. If I ever end up in an apocalyptic scenario, Daryl is the kind of guy I want watching my back. It certainly helps that he’s an expert survivalist, but Daryl is quickly becoming a genuinely nice guy. He doesn’t have any close relationships with any of the other survivors, but he seems firmly committed to his “tribe”. It’s hard to tell where they’re going with Daryl this season, but I’m finding him a lot more interesting than any of the other survivors.
That pregnancy test at the end of the episode certainly seems to confirm the speculation about what Jenner whispered to Rick at the end of the previous season. I suppose it could be either Rick’s or Shane’s baby. Honestly, I’m pretty apathetic toward this storyline, and I could easily become negative toward it if it becomes too prominent. I just don’t see any way it can be anything but painfully boring. Rick’s discovery of the affair is something that’s sure to come into play eventually, and this might be somewhat interesting, if it isn’t overly predictable in how it plays out.
Glenn gets some much-deserved focus this week, resulting in a few amusing scenes. Poor Glenn has to be the live bait for that bloated zombie at the bottom of the well. And then Glenn has to deal with his “secret mission”, assigned to him by Lor, while on a supply run with Maggie, which is an awkward enough situation in and of itself. Glenn’s geekish, socially awkward reactions to everything are funny and easy to relate to. I was expecting some kind of relationship to develop between Glenn and Maggie at some point, but the sex scene was a bit unexpected. Naturally, this is a pretty significant moment for Glenn. But it’s just sex for Maggie (or so she says, which I think is a load of crap). Poor Glenn.
Naturally, things slow down a bit on “The Walking Dead”. The characters are all going through the motions of getting settled into their new surroundings. Rick even calls it their “home base”, which is basically what I was expecting it to become. It’s a reasonably good episode, lacking in anything that’s anywhere near as dramatic or compelling as the previous episode’s shocking conclusion, but it does offer slightly superior writing and acting overall.
Rating: 7/10
