Things come to a head as Shane again sets a whole lot of things into motion.
What They Say:
Someone dangers may be loose near the farm; Rick, Shane, Daryl and Glenn keep the group safe.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Yeah, I’m still upset that they killed Dale. I can appreciate the series going in its own direction from the books, but the loss of certain storylines continues to disappoint in some ways. But still, what we get is more uncertainty here and again reaffirms that like the comics, nobody is truly safe when you get down to it. And that’s a big part of the appeal of the series in both forms in that you never know what will happen. The only thing you can hope for at this point is that they get off the farm. That storyline in the comics certainly took its time overall and it had a bit of a back and forth to it with where they went afterward, but more than likely when they leave the farm here, it’s all done and over with.
Dales death is serving as a catalyst for change, having made it clear to the group that they are indeed broken. How they deal with it though is not exactly how he might have wanted to do it though as we see the opening going very bloody from the start with a small group of them going out and just hunting down the walkers. It’s a bit of a misinterpretation, but at the same time you can see the point. Rather than constantly reacting, they’re now taking charge and being proactive. And they’re working through the pain of their loss by taking it out on those that can’t really feel anything at this point. They’ve lost so much in a relatively short period of time that it’s hitting them pretty hard now.
Things are coming together a bit more for everyone overall, though there are still stresses to be had. Moving everyone into the farm house certainly makes sense at this point and Hershel has made it clear that he’s very much invested in the group now. It’s pretty warming to see how he’s changing things even when it comes to where he sleeps, though T-Dog gets a good line in here too. Maggie and Glenn are starting to have some breaks as well, but he’s still pretty wary after what happened to them recently. And even though Maggie invites him to room with her, it’s not something that he can bring himself to do after what happened and the fact that her dad is in the same house.
When it comes to Randall, the story takes some unusual turns here mostly because of Shane. The general idea was to go back to the plan of letting him loose down the road a ways so that he’d be able to survive for a bit and potentially find somewhere to hook up. The fortification of the farm house makes sense and fits into that plan of holing up. But Shane continues his downward spiral here as he tries to take advantage of the situation by potentially finding out where Randall’s group is and hooking up with them. His method to do so doesn’t speak well of sanity though and we’ve caught several glances of that in this episode alone where he’s starting to fall apart. So a nonsensical plan, or one with some serious holes in it, isn’t a surprise coming from Shane.
While we had a really good if kind of blunt obvious encounter between Shane and Rick before with the whole crossroads thing, this time it goes even further. There had been hope that Shane would realize the path he was on was wrong and come around, but as we see here he’s really gone and been pushed in bad directions because of Lori but also because of his own internal problems that he magnifies easily. It’s a great sequence as it plays out here against the moonlight in the field, both of them circling each other and Rick trying to talk some sense into him. It’s something that’s been building and while it’s gotten close a few times, it’s beautifully played out here. And they do it doubly right. Having Rick and Shane really go at it, verbally and then to make it hugely personal with Rick really saying plain out how he feels, it goes the extra step and gives us the closure that we need with Carl as well. That was what I wanted to see for some time and it means even more now because of the kind of relationship issues the three men have had since the series started.
In Summary:
With this being the penultimate episode of the season, The Walking Dead really hits a lot of great notes here. The action isn’t huge but it serves as some good bookend material here, first to showcase how some of them are coping with things while the second is a bit more intense and personal with a large look at what’s to come in the finale. The character side of the episode is strong overall with a lot of things going on and a focus generally on the men, but we also get some small moments with Andrea as she deals not only with Rick but also a really sweet moment with Glenn. The show moved quickly this time around, covered a lot of ground and again made some changes to the dynamic. Seeing how it all unfolds next isn’t going to be all that much since it’s likely to be action packed, but there’s potential for some good character material, especially with how Rick and Carl may try to find some balance now. Definitely what you wished more of this season was like but a solid episode itself.
Grade: A-
