What happened?
Shane and Otis try to escape from the school; running low on ammo, and both of them unable to move quickly, it doesn’t look like an easy escape. Shane eventually arrives at the farmhouse, telling how Otis and he got separated and he lost him. However, with the medical equipment he brought, the Doctor is able to perform the operation on Carl and save him.
Daryl and Andrea venture out into the woods to continue hunting for Sophia, with only Daryl holding hope that she could be still found alive. All they discover, however, is a zombie hanging from a tree and return to the camper van without her.
Lori pleads with Shane to stay with the group, little realising the truth that Shane was responsible for Otis’ death, having shot him in order to make his own escape. He shaves his head as he remembers the horrific act he had committed.
Thoughts
What a difference a final scene makes. Before the last reveal I have to say I was getting rather annoyed with this episode, particularly when Shane turned up without Otis and stated that he had been killed. I think I literally threw my hands up at the screen and remarked, “What?” I was already set to be annoyed if they killed off Otis, but to have done it off-screen just felt doubly-insulting.
And then, of course, the last scene revealed what had really gone on between Shane and Otis and it was devastatingly effective. Hats off to all involved; they totally got me with the surprise. Seeing Shane shoot Otis (and I loved how he angrily fought to hold him back) and then return to the farmhouse, shaving his head, was a shocking way to end the episode. In a good way.
With Lori imploring Shane to remain with the group, unaware of just how unstable he has become, it sets up a really precarious dynamic between the trio of Rick, Shane and Lori. I recall in the first season the moment where Shane had Rick in the sights of his gun and Dale caught him in the act. He held back then, but maybe Shane is moving closer to a point where he realises the consequences of his actions no longer come with the threat of law and order and he is turning to more brutal measures to get what he wants.
That’s not to say I believe Shane has suddenly turned into a murderous psychopath. The Walking Dead is smarter than that; Shane did perform a terrible act for the greater good of saving Carl. Clearly this is going to weigh heavy on his conscience and create strain and tension there that might push him into a bad state of mind. But, as stated, I also suspect that an awakening to what he can do to get what he wants may push his character into dark territory.
Also effective in this episode was the discussion between Rick and Lori about whether it was even right to battle to keep Carl alive, considering the world he was set to grow up into and the desperate life he would be forced to lead. It was a gruelling conversation and, perhaps it’s because I have a one-year old son and the feelings of protection and love as a father are ones I well understand, I thought the whole scene was powerfully charged. Lori, especially, really sold the steely yet fraught emotional state exceptionally well.
It was a little trite that Rick’s counter-argument basically boiled down to the fact that Carl remarked about how beautiful the deer had looked in the brief period of consciousness he had. Surely there are better arguments to be had? Like how there is hope for humanity to survive, and how if the current survivors last long enough they will see off ‘the walkers’ and face a world to re-populate for themselves. And even if they face only a desperate future, those little pockets of joy and happiness and the right to live surely count even more in such circumstances. Those are the kinds of arguments Rick could have laid out, and it would have been in keeping with his character, but let’s just say he wasn’t thinking entirely clearly on account of all the blood he gave away!
The scenes with Daryl and Andrea were also nicely observed. Daryl had a little more time to shine and ever more his character and personality show flourishes and depth that really mark him out as a personal favourite. That he seemed alone in the belief that there was a chance for Sophia was refreshingly unexpected, and the shared jokes between him and Andrea were nicely played. Who knew that these two might make an unexpected couple? Even if they do fundamentally disagree on the rights and wrongs of shooting walkers that have strung themselves up!
A lot of good stuff this episode, though the experience of watching it was also frustrating. The scenes of Shane and Otis desperately trying to escape the school were well done, but annoyingly short and interspersed with duller scenes at the farmhouse, away from the real action. I appreciate in hindsight that this was so the episode could load and spring its surprise conclusion, but during the watching of the episode it just became an irritation.
Other subplots, like Glenn trying to pray for the first time, felt superfluous here – almost as though they were included just to keep these characters in the mix, inventing ways to justify their inclusion and screentime rather than them naturally commanding attention as a result of events occurring to inform their actions and responses.
The last scene saved the day, then, on an episode that I was all set to condemn as a clunker of bad decisions (killing Otis!) and wasted tension on diluted, interrupted action sequences at the school. What I got was the rug pulled out from beneath my feet with Shane firmly in place as a serious liability within the group who is totally unpredictable.
What was the best part?
The last scene flashback, showing exactly how Shane managed to escape the walkers. Intercutting the shaving of his head and the reveal of scratches and marks on his body, the actual truth of how he shot Otis to make his own escape was nothing less than shocking. Shooting him in the leg so his screaming, prone body could be devoured by the walkers was nothing short of horrific. In retrospect I ought to have seen it coming, but I’m not going to pretend the episode didn’t fool me and thus make the revelation an absolute surprise (which, frankly, is how I prefer my television drama to accost me – it’s way more fun to be shocked than to predict stuff before it happens).
What do I think will happen next?
It’s hard to imagine what Shane will do next. For the short term I anticipate he will stay with the group and remain an uneasy, brooding presence that we the audience know houses terrible potential. The group will have to remain at the farmhouse to allow both Rick and Carl to recover, so I expect the other group will join them there, and still hopefully continue their search for Sophia from this new base. Fingers crossed they’ll find her alive and well. There’s still hope.
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