The Walking Dead: When the Dead Come Knocking

“This is what makes us girls/We all look for heaven and we put love first/Something that we’d die for/It’s our curse” – Lana Del Rey

Glenn and Maggie are being held captive and interrogated by Merle. I’m glad Glenn toughened before this event came to pass. I’m very concerned for Maggie. T-Dog’s name coming out of Merle’s mouth bothers me more than a lot of other stuff that’s happened on this show. Merle unleashes a walker on Glenn while Glenn is strapped to a chair. What a fucking coward! Glenn manages to free himself and take down the walker. Today, he is a man. The Governor winds up interrogating Maggie. I wish I could kill through the television, but, as much as I hate depictions of misogyny, I’m glad they finally showed how things might go down for women in such a world. All they want to know is where Rick’s group is. Damn, shut up, Maggie! Under the threat of rape, Maggie doesn’t break, but one gun to Glenn’s head and she spills it. She probably did save Glenn’s life and those left behind know about Woodbury and the Governor, thanks to Michonne.

Rick and Carl help Michonne into the prison, but Rick is still in full dictator mode. It sucks that Rick doesn’t know Michonne’s recent past of having her weapon taken away and being held by the Governor. It’s going to be that much harder for her to trust him. Seeing Rick’s emotional reunion with Carol seemed to help, though. Plus, I’m guessing Andrea filled her in on all of them during their travels. That didn’t mean Michonne will trust them on sight. I’ve read a lot of great things about the actress that plays Michonne, but so far she’s only had one expression. It can’t just be the writing. Seriously, so over Michonne’s scowl.

I really wanted Michonne to mention Merle’s name just to see everyone’s reaction. I’m so ready for the Woodbury/Rick’s Group meeting!

So, Rick and some of the gang are going to Woodbury to bring back Glenn and Maggie. Rick briefs Carl on what to do in case he doesn’t come back and says “take care of your sister.” He doesn’t even realize she doesn’t have a name. His own daughter. Not surprising since he only spent half a second acknowledging that his son watched his mother die then put a bullet through her head. Carl names the baby Judith. A bit anticlimactic.

So, Rick, Daryl, and helpful prisoner set out on their quest. Rick acknowledges to Daryl that Daryl has stepped up. The group gets stuck in a cabin, but they get out when Michonne creates walker chum out of the shack’s resident. How come the black guy has to carry everything?

These last two episodes have been boring until the last few moments. My blood is pumping for Rick to enter Woodbury and for Daryl and Merle to meet. My heart is pounding!

It’s strange how the walkers are mostly background now: something to live beside.

The Walking Dead: Better Angels

Shane, Andrea, T-Dawg, and Darryl in a truck . . . I would watch a spin-off of that group on their own, trying to make it in the zombie world.

I disagree with everything Rick said in his eulogy. Just because somebody died, doesn’t mean you have to live your life they wanted to live theirs. That’s just tyranny from beyond the grave.

Rick re-takes the leadership role and makes some great initial decisions.  He even includes everyone, though he’s still naïve when it comes to Shane. Asking Andrea to babysit Shane is like asking Rihanna to babysit Chris Brown.  I do love Andrea’s sass, though.  Feisty! People might start shaking off the molasses now that they have defined duties and some sort of schedule.

I don’t like Lori opening up to Shane. She doesn’t need to talk to Shane at all. If she feels like expressing her thoughts, she needs to talk to Rick. What the hell kind of wife is she?

[I love the Mad Men promo with The Walking Dead theme.]

I would brave The Walking Dead world for some face time with Darryl. Yum.

I now involuntarily tune out interactions between Rick and Shane. I have to strain to hear them, but, even when I do, it sounds like gibberish. Two guys spewing bs. I don’t  even care. I prefer Shane and Rick just beating the hell out of each other.

Wow. The talk that Rick gave Carl would’ve been so great without the Lifetime movie of the week piano soundtrack. Silence is golden, AMC.

So, Shane is pretty good at coming up with plans. Too bad he uses his power for evil rather than good. Randall’s right. Shane would “fit in good” with a bunch of rapists. Hmmmm, I guess Shane doesn’t know about everyone being infected with the virus and turning into walkers when they die.

Oh my Daryl is so smart! I really like Glen and Daryl together are quite the team, though I find it hard to believe that one walker could get the upper hand for even a moment against them. I’m going to chalk it up to Randal being fresh.

Beautiful cinematography in the Rick/Shane showdown scene. (Is it called that for television, too?) Holy smokes! I did not see that coming!!! I thought Darryl and Glen would find Rick and Shane, see what’s happening, and then one of them would put Shane down. It doesn’t make sense for Rick to care so much about killing Shane. Rick killed Sophia and Shane was just as sick as she was, just in a different way. In relation to Rick, Shane was an attempted murderer and Rick had a right to defend himself with equal force. And, finally, Carl makes himself useful. [Note: In the comics, Carl kills Shane outright when Rick and Shane are arguing.]

Looking forward to the next episode. Bummed that it’s the season finale! I won’t have any shows to watch until True Blood and Boardwalk Empire start. Ack! Mad Men is interesting, but I don’t get sucked into it the same way.

The Walking Dead: Judge, Jury, Executioner

Daryl seems to be a believer in the John Yoo definition of torture, as in it’s not torture if you’re trying to get certain information. Daryl does get information. Turns out that the marauder, Randall, was part of a group of about 30. They have a lot of weapons and don’t mind raping teenage girls in front of their father.

Rick decides they need to get rid of Randall. Dale, of course, disagrees and spews about humanity, blah, blah, blah . . . Hey, it’s a shoot first, ask questions later world.  Deal with it. Then Dale runs to Andrea and asks for help. He convinces her to guard Randall to prevent Shane from just killing him. She doesn’t think Dale is right, though. Then why? (Andrea was a civil rights lawyer?! I guess I missed that along the way.)

I can’t believe anyone buys Shane’s bs. His is so patently manipulative.  Then he warns Carl against the prisoner being manipulative. Sounded like he was talking about himself.

Oh, my gosh! I cannot take anymore of Dale’s proselytizing. So over it!!! Um, Dale? Civilization IS over. Carol’s still a sap. Carl is turning into a sociopath, which might actually be useful. He seemed to snap Carol out of herself for a moment. And how is Carl just allowed to wander off? What a dumb *$@%.

Beth is still like a depressed invalid in bed. I thought she chose to live? Hershel and Glenn have a nice heart to heart and Hershel gave Glenn his blessing about being with Maggie. Nice! I can’t help but be wary. Every nice gesture in this show has a suicidal undertone for me.  

Man, this group loves to talk, talk, talk. They could just put the prisoner on trial. Andrea could guide them. He could be charged with conspiracy to commit murder. The people he was with tried to kill Hershel, Glenn, and Rick. He was a part of that group. He could also be charged with murder. His friends died while they were committing a felony. Or something like that. It’s hard to think that there are laws in that world. Mores, sure. Personal ethics, yeah. But not a set of laws.  If they want to kill the prisoner, they should have a firing squad of whoever agrees with it. One shot each.

Okay, now I feel kind of bad about hating Dale so much. Not really. It's just the expected sentiment. They should’ve told him they didn’t kill the prisoner. Something nice for the end. And they should’ve gone for a shot to the side of the head. Not something so in his face. It was so sweet of Daryl to step in for Rick. After all, Rick shouldered the burden of killing Sophia when she came out of the barn. 

The Walking Dead - 18 Miles Out

“The pain doesn’t go away. You just make room for it.” - Andrea

[flash forward] Shane and Rick are being surrounded by walkers. Oh, and the guy from the marauder group is in restraints trying to get to a knife. Interesting. Shane runs into a bus and has to hold the door shut against a grip of walkers. I like Shane in a can. I hope the walkers bust open that bus like it’s a can of tuna fish and Shane is delicious albacore. [end flash forward]

Rick confronts Shane about how he killed Otis and about how he screwed (and possibly impregnated) his wife.  “You can’t be the good guy and expect to live.” – Shane. True, but you don’t have to be a bad guy. Just willing to make the hard decisions and Rick recently has.

Lori and Maggie have calmed down a bit from their previous melodramatic nonsense. Lori is the big advice giver this episode. Better her than Dale. 

Turns out, guy from the marauder group went to school with Maggie and knows where the farm is. Bummer. That’s rich, Shane calling that guy a piece of garbage. Shane has made it so easy for Rick to make a “hard decision” about him. Especially now that Andrea is making strides at being Rambo, Shane can easily be taken out of the picture. He has no relatives, loves, or any ties other than Rick to the group. He lifts right out.

I love Andrea so much for that wicked burn on Lori! However, both Andrea and Lori have valid positions on their situations. They’ve had different experiences with the end times, so they’re bound to look at things differently, but it doesn’t mean that either of them is wrong. Having something to live for is very personal. Parents, siblings, a semi-stable life can be reasons to live for one person and not another. However, I’m surprised Andrea is so pro-choice (suicide or life) as she was talked out of killing herself and has gone on to be a badass and not suicidal. It’s also Lori’s prerogative not to want anyone to commit suicide on her watch. Tough call.

Maggie’s reaction to Beth’s request for a double suicide was brilliant. The perfect balance of horror and sadness.

Well looky who seems to be on the sucky end of a hard decision . . . Muhuhahahaha! Too bad it was a fake out for the audience and Rick was just going to find a way to rescue Shane. Wrong decision, Rick! Wrong. Decision. Of course, with Rick’s luck, if he had left Shane, Shane would’ve figured out a way to escape, make it back to camp, and vilify Rick.

This was a great episode! Forward movement. Character development. Changing group dynamics. Dale, Daryl, Carol, and T-Dog were all missing. I think the streamlined cast helped the storyline a lot. Can’t wait ‘til the next episode!

(You know, I thought one grew desensitized as one grew older, but I am having a really hard time with the gore. I guess I’ve grown soft in my old age.)

The Walking Dead: Triggerfinger

I was not looking forward to this episode. Having consumed many apocalyptic stories (through books, television, and the movies), I know how ugly encountering “bad guys” can be. For the first time, I thought it would be okay if they stayed on the farm and just built their own little society.

At first, I was scared thinking of myself in Lori’s position: alone and trapped in the dark with walkers trying to get at me. But then I remembered how she ended up in that position and I started rooting for the walkers. I wouldn’t have minded her being ripped limb for limb. It’s nice to see some fight in Lori. No time to be wishy-washy or emotional.

Hell no does Shane get to sit at the head of the table! Any table! That disgusting waste of a human being! Ugh!

Oh, c’mon! Rick! What a dumbass!

And Shane takes off to be a hero. I hope the walkers eat the both of them. And Carl is left without a single person he knew before the . . . whatever.

Rick tells the marauders outside, “We all know this is not going to end well.” It’s already ended. And, yes, it did not end well, but it’s all over. Everything, so nothing matters. The world ended. Everyone (except for Daryl) is a little suicidal. There can be logic and reason in this new world, but there is no reasoning with anyone.

Hershel: “I can shoot. I just don’t like to.” Dude, it’s a zombie apocalypse. This is the one time you can shoot first and ask questions later.  And damn can he shoot! (I could kill Glenn for being so still!)

The marauders take off leaving their friend who’s been shot by Hershel. At first I thought they should’ve just put him out of his misery. Leaving him to be eaten by walkers is horrible, but he did prove a nice distraction. The guy that got impaled should’ve been shot, for sure, though. A one-legged man would be a liability.*

I never thought I would ever, ever think that someone deserved to be lied to, but Lori deserved to be lied to by Shane. By anyone. How is Lori okay with being alone with him??? Shane finds out that Rick knows about him and Lori. The scared look on his face is the only moment I’ve enjoyed of him on this show. Then he goes off the deep end. Lori’s made it perfectly clear that she does NOT want him.

There needs to be more scenes like the one with Andrea, Maggie, and Beth. Not intense, but still personal. It gave a nice sense of connection between the characters.

If I see Dale with a confused look on his face one more time, I might throw up. Befuddled old men have no place in that world!

Oh my gosh! I finally like Hershel! Of course, I would like anyone that told Shane to keep his mouth shut.

And now Glenn is crazy? No bueno. He froze up because he didn’t want to die . . . So? All Rick and Shane think about is Lori and Carl. Whoever still has someone is thinking of them and doing just fine.

Anyone that knows me knows that I am not a fan of sex on the screen. However, The Walking Dead is the one show that could use a little bit more skin. Lori helps Rick undress. Rick helps Lori undress and then . . . SHE BRINGS UP SHANE.  Lame.  Lady MacBeth to Lori: Don’t steal my schtick, bitch!

What an unpleasant episode. It’s kind of rough going from no action to the type of action and suspense that causes that gross feeling in the pit of one’s stomach. There’s still a lot of hurry up and wait. Waiting for them to leave the farm. Waiting for the seemingly inevitable division of the group into Rick/Shane camps. Waiting for some hanky panky to go down. Is the rest of the show going to be the anti-climax to the first season?

*Though in World War Z there was a character in a wheelchair that did well, but he was in a wheelchair prior to the zombie war. 

The Walking Dead: Nebraska

Started right where the show left off. Rick with a gun in his hands and Sophia and her brains on the ground.

Beth (one of Hershel’s people) sought out a friend or relative among the walker wreckage only to have it reanimate and try to kill her. She got to watch her friend/relative get stomped and impaled.  She ends up sick, either from shock or . . . is the infection now airborne?

Shane’s accent still changes sentence to sentence. So annoying. Shane accuses Rick of being delusional for having them look for Sophia for so long. I think Rick knew that Sophia was no longer human, either dead or a walker, but he knew how much Carol needed some closure, so he kept up the search, if just to find her body.

There’s accusations that some of the farm people may have known Sophia was in the barn. How would any of the farm people know that was Sophia in the barn? They had never seen her.

When a woman asks, “What happens now,” it’s not about the next logical step in whatever is happening in the world. It’s “What is going to happen with us and our relationship?” Poor Glenn. So inexperienced with women.

How is Rick so pale? They’re out in the sun all day. At least they used bronzer on Lost. Rick needs to stop being so hard on himself. It’s a very dangerous, post-apocalyptic world. Shit is going to happen. Everyone’s traumatized. No one is thinking clearly (except for Daryl).

Andrea seems to have gotten it together. She wins the character-that-makes-the-most-sense prize for the episode so far.  However, watching a pile of dead bodies burn in a fire you started has GOT to eff you up. There’s no going back from that, but maybe it will serve as a wake-up call for anyone else watching. New world. New way of thinking.

I would like Shane and Dale to kill each other in a duel. Guns at ten paces. Uh-oh. The group seems to be slowly taking sides: Rick v. Shane. 

Ew ew ew ew ew ew . . . arm fell off . . . ew ew ew ew ew.

Dale tells Lori about Shane’s murdering ways and Lori doesn’t believe him at first. Think hard, Lori. Remember that guy who tried to rape you? Yeah, that one. I’m pretty sure THAT guy is capable of violence against others, too.

Hershel, who is winning the most-irresponsible award, runs off to a bar in town. That is so ridiculous. Rick and Glenn should just grab Hershel, tie him up, and take him back to the farm. And why the hell is Lori going into town. Rick already knows that Beth is sick and needs Hershel and told Hershel. She leaves her son without a parent to handle something that is already being handled.  What a dumb beeyotch.

OMG! Is that Rene? Yikes!!! That guy did such a good job on True Blood that he still gives me the heeby jeebies. Thank you, Rick!

The Shane situation is ruining this show. This is why he was killed off so early in the books. He’s a boil that should’ve been lanced, but wasn’t and is now poisoning the whole body.  To be honest, I’ve never wanted so many main characters in a show to die. I like Glenn and Daryl. I’d almost given up on Rick until he took care of those creepy marauders and just barely started to respect Andrea. Everyone else can get bit.

This episode started off with the usual dumb-assery, but picked up at the end. I wish the show and individual episodes were more consistent, though. Let’s hope the spring season goes at a faster pace than the fall season.

THE WALKING DEAD: Pretty Much Already Dead

“Should I stay or should I go, now? If I go there will be trouble. If I stay it will be double.” – The Clash

It’s daytime, but the scene is dark. I sense impending doom. Blabbermouth Glenn finally spills beans that should’ve been spilled a while ago. The group heads to the barn where Shane and Daryl have a confrontation and things get loud. Um, hello? Walkers like noise. So, they start pushing on the door. I think being on the farm for this long has made the whole group lose touch with reality, even Daryl. Just drop a few Molotov cocktails into the barn already.

Glenn tries to talk to Maggie, but Maggie has regressed to the first grade and Glenn is left with egg all over his face. He manages to say his piece later on and Maggie really, really liked it.

Carl tells his mom he wants to stay on the farm. We all know where he gets his I-say-so-and-so-it-is expectation.

Even for an abused woman, Carol is a bit too dead inside. All she really had was her daughter and she’s choosing Daryl’s well-being over Sophia. I feel like I’m watching an episode of the Twilight Zone.  C’mon! The damned writers are making Daryl stupid, too.  Daryl and Maggie need some mood stabilizers.

Dale tries talking to Andrea about Shane, but Andrea doesn’t want to hear it. (Note: In the comics, Andrea and Dale are an item.) Dale lays an ugly guilt trip on Andrea about her rejecting him every time he tries to help her. She had a dad. He’s dead. You’re not her dad. Stop acting like it. Ugh. I am not a fan of their relationship.  Skeevy.  

Rick wants to have a discussion with Hershel about the barn. Hershel has never discussed anything. He dictates. I don’t care that it’s the zombie apocalypse. In my experience, the older a person, the harder it is to change their way of thinking. Trying to change someone using your own experience almost never works.* It’s rural Georgia. Can’t the group find another farm and some barbed wire and start their own colony?

Rick tells Shane Lori is pregnant. I’m terrified. And two scenes later, rightfully so. Shane is so sick. I finally feel bad for Lori. There’s no way to handle this situation correctly, but telling Shane that even if it is his, it’s not going to be his, was bad, bad, bad. Then Carl, just like his mommy, tells Shane what to do. Hell to the no.

Hershel makes Rick an offer he should absolutely refuse. Some walkers are stuck in the mud and Hershel wants to help them out and put them in the barn. Rick helps. Jesus wept (John 11:35).  

Dale steals the guns and tries to hide them from Shane. Shane finds him and confronts him. Dale misses a golden opportunity to kill Shane. I think the group would’ve forgiven him. Except maybe Carl, but who cares.

Shane loses it, but it does have some benefits. At least he armed everyone first. Then he opens up the barn door and it’s like a live-action video game. If I were unarmed, I would’ve started running, especially if I had a child. Daryl is just as sexy with a shotgun as he is with a crossbow.

Whoa!!! What a punch to the gut! Sophia was one of the walkers in Hershel’s barn this whole time. Totally gut-wrenching. I did not see that coming. Rick reclaimed his role as leader by putting her down.

I was too stunned to comprehend the preview for the next episode.

[Norman Reedus in the aftershow!!!  He’s so yummy!!!]

*But daddies do listen to their daughters. Maggie gave it her best shot. A Hail Maggie?

THE WALKING DEAD

Chupacabra: C’mon, little brother . . .

The episode starts off showing a little more of the backstory and a glimpse into the start of how Rick’s wife ended up with Shane for a bit. Apparently, the military just started bombing the city to kill the walkers.  It’s a miracle that Rick survived that as well.

So, there’s more of let’s find the little girl that I’ve already forgotten about. Everyone’s standing around listening to Rick’s plan.  Something odd, though. Has Shane always had that thick Southern accent? I don’t remember it from previous episodes. It sounds so fake, it’s just off-putting. Maybe the actor was directed to take that approach to show us that Shane himself doesn’t know who he is.  Anyways, Shane and Rick take off to their assigned grid. They have an inane and light conversation about women. It was a nice glimpse into their pre-zombie bromance. Then, a serious conversation, because God forbid there’s a moment in a WD episode that’s not overwrought and eye-roll inducing.  However, it provided a refreshing moment when Shane made a quick reference to their previous future plans (Fort Benning), temporarily relieving us of the aimlessness of this season. And where did Shane’s accent go? And why did it come back? “You best let us handle this”????? Shane. STFU.

Daryl, unlikely second in command and current owner of my heart, gets himself hurt in the first realistic someone-getting-hurt scene. (T-Dog rips open his forearm on a car door AND doesn’t die? Carl gets shot when a bullet goes through a doe/buck and hits him?  And HE doesn’t die? The cliché sprained ankle while being chased by zombies.) The way Daryl was hurt was realistic. The arrow that is in his kidneys, which doesn’t kill him was not. His subsequent journey and near death state, which he miraculously overcomes, are more in line with the ridiculousness of the should be fatal, but aren’t, injuries in this show.  I could be wrong. Damn it, Jim, I’m a lawyer, not a doctor.  But then he pulls out the arrow. I’m 99% sure you’re not supposed to do that.

Merle!!! The last person, even in hallucination form, you’d think would help a brother out. Nasty, but honest, even as a vision. I hoped Daryl wouldn’t take Merle’s words to be the Truth, but we all have someone that can get into our heads.  Even with his injury, I love that Daryl shows us how much he wants to live. He seems to be the only one who has a goal – to survive. Not out of a sense of sentimentality, with hope that things will someday return to normal, and not of out of a need to help the greater good, but out of basic human instinct and the belief that he can, while maintaining the appropriate amount of compassion and team-player mentality. I envy Daryl. He will never need therapy or Prozac. 

Back at the creepy farmhouse, Rick shows some vulnerability and Lori responds with compassion and support. That’s the first drop of warmth that woman’s given to anyone. Such a nice change of pace. It was the first time in this whole series that she didn’t annoy me.

This episode also brought a thankful reprieve from Dale’s sermonizing. If I were Andrea, I would’ve punched him in the face by now. I don’t care if you saved my life old man. This ain’t Rome and you ain’t Marcus Aurelius.

Interesting character development: Hershel’s cult-leader like controlling behavior revealing itself a bit more. 

Due to the above, I would strongly suggest that Glen, shuts his pie-hole. No one likes a guy who kisses and tells. Even in a post-apocalyptic world. Especially in a post-apocalyptic world, where a bad reputation can ruin your position in the tribe.  Especially, when it was your slightly sinister host’s daughter that you, um, “kissed.”

And then, my heart stopped and didn’t start back up for a whole commercial break. Andrea liberates herself from washing clothes and decides to be the lookout. The ARMED lookout, because one lesson from Shane and one day having her gun back qualifies her for one of the most important jobs. (Although, wasn’t she all right with a gun in the first season? She killed her reanimated sister with one. The only reason her gun was taken away was because Dale thought she was suicidal. Whatevs.)

What looks like a walker meanders out of the trees and Andrea points her rifle at it. Rick, Shane, and co. start running toward the walker and scream at Andrea, “NO!” As in, no, we’re four big guys with a heads up and weapons running to a single walker.  We can take care of it without a big boom attracting 100 more.  So, what does liberated Andrea do? She points and shoots, of course. It looks like the walker is hit in the head. Once the group gets closer, they realize it’s my boyfriend, Daryl.  Oh, COME ON!!!! Andrea, you finally assert yourself and gain some power and autonomy and then you do some stupid shit like that. Really??? However, it seems that people can survive anything in the great state of post-apocalyptic Georgia, including being shot in the head. Just a graze.  By a bullet. To the head. That’s all.  

So, Lori and Shane have another tête-à-tête. She reality checks Shane and basically tells him to get gone. I hope it goes better than the last time she rejected him. Nobody likes rape and Shane is now capable of a lot worse. There’s not much left but dismemberment on the sociopathic checklist.

And, man oh man, what a great way to end the episode. Glen goes to the barn for a rendezvous. Alas, his girl can’t be found, but a barn full of zombies welcome him with open arms. It was a bit of a shock, but a stranded group coming upon an idyllic, quiet farmhouse in the middle of nowhere has always ended badly in horror movies. Why should it be any different on television?

This is the first episode I’ve liked since the season premiere, despite thinking my TV boyfriend had died for a whole commercial break.  Can’t wait for the reveal!