*SPOILER WARNING*
Wow. This show has needed this episode for a while now, and
it was just about worth the wait. In my personal opinion the second season of
this series has so far not lived up to the thrilling first season. Perhaps it’s
just that the first season was a lot shorter than the second, but ever since
our group of survivors found the farm it feels like we’ve just been stalling.
There’s a lot of talking, a lot of standing around, and precious little zombie
slaughtering. The hunt for Sophia was so drawn out that we all knew what had to
be coming long before it did, making the first half of the season more than a
little bit dull. I had hoped that the mid-season finale would prove to be the catalyst
that got things moving again, but four episodes in and the series was in much
the same position that it has been since this season began. Last week’s ‘Judge,
Jury, Executioner’ was a low-point right up until it’s brutal ending. I won’t
say I’m glad that Dale died, I felt he was a great character who had an
important voice within in the show, but I am certainly glad that something
finally happened to give this show the kick-start it’s been needing so
desperately.
This week’s episode opens with one of the series’ more
brutal bouts of zombie slaying, as Shane, Andrea, T-Dog and Daryl secure the
farm’s perimeter after the attack that left Dale dead. I love it when this show
goes for full-on gore, too often this season the show has stopped feeling like
it’s set in a zombie apocalypse, so these occasional reminders are greatly
appreciated. This scene was particularly brutal, skulls were smashed and a pitchfork
found new purpose, all while Rick’s voiceover gave a eulogy at Dale’s makeshift
funeral. It was effective stuff, and really set the audience up for an episode
that turned out to be as fast-paced and gripping as the first season so often
managed. The survivors are then finally allowed to move into Hershel’s house.
In an episode as interesting as this one a very slight relocation doesn’t
really seem to mean very much to be honest. They’ve all been using the house
anyway, so just moving their stuff in is a little underwhelming, though it
becomes clear later on that this is the set-up for what I’d imagine to be next
week’s set-piece. Carl also goes to Shane and confesses that he saw and
provoked the Walker that eventually ended up killing Dale, as well as handing over
the gun he stole from Daryl. Shane goes to Rick to relay this information, and
Rick goes back to Carl, returning the stolen gun in the process. Sure, there
was a more direct way of having that conversation, but it makes sense later on,
even if it is a little heavy-handed.
In a particularly touching scene
Glenn and Andrea attempt to start the van that Dale had tended so well. It’s a
great moment between the two characters that were closest to Dale, and it helps
to make Andrea feel a part of the group once again. It has been decided
(again!) that the group’s prisoner will be taken away from the farm and left to
fend for himself, but this plan goes awry when Shane finally snaps. It’s at
this point that the episode starts to take a sinister turn, and gets truly
gripping. When Shane goes to see the prisoner, we know that something’s not
right instantly. Indeed, my very first reaction to Shane’s violent demeanour
and awkward movement in this scene was that he looked a lot like a Walker, but
more on that a little later on. As the group discover that the prisoner is
missing, we see Shane leading him through the woods that surround the farm,
attempting to play the good guy and claiming he wants to join the prisoner’s
group. Of course, we know enough about Shane to know that he’s not a good guy,
and the charade does not last long, as the prisoner is presumably killed behind
a conveniently placed tree. This helpful tree then punches Shane in the face,
just in time for Shane to return to the group and claim that the prisoner did
it. It’s all very intense, as at first Shane’s motivations are not all that
clear. He simply appears to be a madman spiralling further and further out of
control.
However, when the group start the
search for the ‘missing’ prisoner, things become clearer, as Shane suggest that
they pair up, and he leads Rick away into the woods. The somewhat fractured
relationship between these two characters has been a driving force of the
season, and knowing that it’s resolution is not far off is exciting stuff, but
then comes the series’ first real mystery in a long time, making for an even
more memorable episode. Glenn and Daryl, find their prisoner, still very much
dead from a broken neck, but also very much a zombie despite having no bites or
scratches. This was touched upon in a previous episode, but now it’s very much
in the spotlight. Whatever’s causing it, it seems to now be the case that all
you need to do is die in order to become the living dead, as Shane finds out moments
later. Yes, Shane was out to kill Rick all along, but he didn’t do a very good
job and, in a really powerful, game-changing moment for the character, Rick
gets there first. Carl witnesses this and in a twist that was, with hindsight,
broadcast a little too clearly he kills zombie Shane while Rick is busy trying
to get his son to forgive him. As if all of this wasn’t enough the episodes
final seconds show a horde of Walkers descending upon the farm, and it seems
that, finally, the farm will no longer be safe. This is music to my ears, as
things have been too safe for too long now. It looks like we’ll get a siege on
the farmhouse next week, at least I’m assuming that’s why everyone moved in
during this episode, and given that we’ve now had two main characters die in as
many episodes I’d say all bets are off as to who’ll be making it out alive.
So, what caused Shane to rise from
the dead? How will the group respond when they inevitably find out what Rick
did? And how are Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Carl going to escape all those Walkers?
All I know is that this show finally got exciting again, and I can’t wait to
see where things go from here.
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