The Walking Dead – Crossed lines

You know the old saying (and Meatloaf song) “two out of three ain’t bad”? Well … we got answers to two of three things I asked about from last episode of The Walking Dead.

• Carl, it seems, is going to live.
• T-Dog, it seems, is going to be okay.
• Sophia? Still no clue where she is or what’s become of her.

And that’s not all we got out of this terrific airing of the show, either.

Let’s discuss the mental strain Lori’s going through first before we get to the 800 pound gorilla that walked into the room. Lori has been doing some deep thinking over the last few days, ever since the group left the CDC. Her internal strife has been such that it came to a head this week — she actually put it out to Rick it might be better if Carl didn’t survive his injury because the world they now know is no place to be raised. I mean, you can’t blame her for having these momentary thoughts with all the havoc playing out moment to moment. It’s rough going. Danger at every turn. Life and death situations present themselves too, too often and split second decisions need to be made in order to survive. Truly this is no place for a child, let alone anyone. But … that ‘ole mothering instinct raised its head and won out over all the reasoning and rationalizing Lori’s been torturing herself with. And — in the end and with Rick by her side — she decides Carl is better with them right now than without them, regardless of present conditions. She even goes so far as to convey to Shane she wants him to stay, her way of thanking him for putting himself in danger in order to get the life-saving equipment Carl needed to pull through.

And that Shane. WowZah. Now, we have an entirely new dynamic in the mix as a result of his actions. You think Lori has a corner on the market in the angst department? I personally think Shane takes Lori’s Weltschmerz and pours hot water through it for his morning tea. The path he was walking last post? About him being Rick’s rock in time of need? That boat sailed. He not only deviated from that path but jumped on Wrong Way Wednesday Road while doing a jig. The dude’s gone from twitchy and conflicted to downright reprehensible in the wink of an eye having blatantly shot Otis and leaving him as an hors d’oeuvres for the undead swarm. I said he’d revert to his old ways, but I didn’t think it would be with such gusto. So … where does this leave Shane going forward? As if he wasn’t a ball of uneasy nervousness filled with misgivings already, we’re going to see his character ramped up a couple more notches. It ain’t gonna be pretty. But it’s going to make for some terrific conflict all around. Things to come. (And by the way: Nice creepy, psycho-looking stare, Jon Bernthal.)

I griped about what I thought was the slow pace of the show last week while paying tribute to Lori, Shane and Herchel and what was revealed about their characters. This week? This week was a real treat for me in character study. I dog dug it.

Side Notes:

• Since when do the walkers eat their own? It could be construed from the “hanging walker” Daryl and Andrea stumbled upon that walkers knoshed on “Mr. Bo Dangles” legs post-reanimation … but I reject that theory. Dude was still alive and lukewarm when he was visited by fellow walkers while “hanging around” …
• Oh … and Bo Dangles’ suicide note? Nice touch: “Got bit, fever hit, world gone to shit, might as well quit”
• In the interview with Norman Reedus I did a few weeks back, he mentioned we’d be seeing some “Daryl back story” this season. We got a little taste of that this episode. Nice!
• Hey! Where’d that bread come from Rick was munching on? Well … it is a farm and The Greenes do have electricity. It’s not far fetched to imagine they can do a little baking every now and again. I mean … nothing hits the spot like a little home-made apple pie after a daily walker patrol ’round the farm.
• Talk about your cameo appearance: We caught but a glimpse of Herchel’s son last week … and that was it.

Clacked by Michael Noble
on Oct 31, 2011 @ 11:10 EST5EDT