What happened?
The group convene at Hershel’s Farm, ostensibly to allow Carl time to recover and to mount a more rigorous and controlled search for Sophia. With Rick still weak from gjving blood, and Shanae limping, it’s left to Daryl to continue the hunt. He finds a house and potential signs of life, but ultimately no Sophia.
Whilst Glenn and Maggie take a supply run to town, and get it on, Rick requests that Hershel reconsider his stance that the group are not welcome to stay permanently. Lori had asked Glenn to bring her back a pregnancy test and, in the secrecy of night, she steals away to check herself. The test comes back positive.
Thoughts
Whilst this episode felt a little like filler, it’s hard to imagine many other shows having filler episodes that house this much quality. Whilst there may be those that feel The Walking Dead needs to kick things up a gear and get moving I totally disagree. I like the leisurely pace and, besides, where exactly is the plot in a hurry to get to? Barring whatever information the CDC man told Rick at the end of season 1 (I’ve read a theory that he informed Rick that Lori was pregnant, but I’m not overly-convinced) there is little reason for the group to be in any rush to get anywhere.
Indeed, the fundamental issue comes down to wanting to stay at the seemingly idyllic Hershal’s farm. I got the first sense of things being not quite right about the place in this episode. They were only small touches, like the look on Maggie’s face when the zombie was brutally killed, or Hershal’s remarks to Rick that their staying here would depend on certain conditions. . .
I really can’t identify exactly what is going on, but I get the sense it’s something grim. I can’t help but wonder if the large building Rick offered to stay at (which Hershal refused) contains something rather unpleasant. Like what? My best guess, and it’s a total stab in the dark, is that Hershal and the others keep zombies there, perhaps people they know and love, awaiting the arrival of a cure that will bring them back.
Potentially the fat zombie stuck at the bottom of the well was one such zombie that had gotten free or something and thus Maggie had to steel herself and keep it a secret that she knew who it was, thus explaining her curious reaction. Like I said, it’s a total guess. But whatever the truth of it, I am definitely expecting dark revelations to be unearthed.
The zombie in the well did offer up the coolest scene and perhaps the most disgusting moment The Walking Dead has put on-screen so far. Glenn’s descent and hurried scrambled ascent in and out of the well was adeptly handled though I would have been mightily shocked if it had ended in tragedy. Very cool was the moment Glenn handed Dale the rope to show that, despite his panic, he had still managed to lasso the zombie anyway. Very cool indeed.
And, of course, dragging the zombie up out of the water (honestly, would you have drank from that well even if the extraction had been successful considering the drooling, bloated beast had been sloshing around in it for God knows how long?) ended spectacularly; it burst into two pieces and the camera near-delighted in giving an unflinching view of the guts and entrails flooding out.
Truly revolting. I absolutely loved it.
There was also time for some levity and humour, too, which was very welcome. The sense of dread and jeopardy is only increased the more we like these characters and the more we feel they are ‘safe’. Glenn and Maggie (hello farmer’s daughter indeed!) getting it on was a fun scene that humanised the pair of them as well as carrying the dark undertow of just how scarce choice and other people truly are. It was played for laughs but possessed an all too understandable truth about loneliness and the need for intimacy, if only casual and shortlived.
Daryl continued to transform into a new man. His determination to find Sophia yielding perhaps the best sign of hope yet with the discovery of the house and the small makeshift bed in a cupboard. There’s no definitive way of knowing if it was Sophia that had been staying there (and how much did you just want Daryl to find her?) but it’s the best lead so far. His finding and presenting the Cherokee Rose to Sophia’s mother was a symbol of hope, but also stood as a metaphor of beauty and life flourishing in unlikely circumstances, a concept echoed in Lori learning she is pregnant.
First question is: Who’s the daddy? I suspect Lori’s dread is formed from that potential quandary, and also from the opinion she expressed in the previous episode when she considered if it was better for Carl to die rather than live in this world. Now she faces the prospect of bringing a child into this hell. It’s certainly a daunting proposition but, if the human race is to survive, it’s precisely this that needs to happen.
With Shane still a brooding presence, wrestling with his conscience (he practically gave the game away of what he did to Otis in his near-confession to Andrea) and potentially misconstruing Lori’s meaning when she requested he stay with the group, things are set to get continuously edgy between him, Lori and Rick. No question this is a plot dynamic that is going to be painfully wrought out. It’s testament to the quality of the show that both Shane and Lori can be considered both to blame and yet totally sympathetic. Only Rick continues to play the role of burdened but thoroughly decent leader – the moment he becomes conflicted with immorality might be when this ragtag band of survivors really unravel.
What was the best part?
Has to be the whole exercise in attempting to get the zombie out of the well. It had drama (Glenn’s near-death), heroics (Glenn’s reveal of achieving the goal), gore (bursting zombie!) and humour (TJ’s remarks about how at least they didn’t do something like just shoot it). Wonderful stuff, even if the speed of how Shane and the rest were pulling on that rope didn’t quite tally with the complete lack of upward movement of Glenn in the well.
What do I think will happen next?
The previews I glimpsed somewhat help me here, as next week’s episode seemed to suggest that Daryl will get into trouble on his own – injured, and perhaps even seeing his brother (hallucination or real, that’ll be the key question, I suspect). That he seemed to stagger out in front of Rick I anticipate will trigger a tense moment of deciding whether Daryl has become infected or is just seriously injured. With any luck he’ll have suffered but survived and, please, finally have recovered Sophia!
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