The Walking Dead Season 3 E2: Sick (Part 1)

If you have not read my review for the last episode, you may do so here: The Walking Dead Season 3 E1: Seed (Part 2)

This episode begins exactly where the last one ended.  Hershel’s leg has just been chopped off and the prisoners have been spotted.  Rick and the gang really don’t even have time to deal with the prisoners because they are still trying to save Hershel’s life.  After a very brief standoff, they open the door and kill the walker on the other side, rolling Hershel out on a table.  It will be interesting to see how these prisoners come into play.  They are obviously criminals or they wouldn’t be there in the first place, but can they help the group or are they just another enemy?

As our survivors make their way through the dark prison hallways, they take out some walkers and then hear something coming up from behind them.  The prisoners have left their room and are following them.  Still trying to save Hershel, they get him back to C block while Daryl stays outside of the block to confront the prisoners.  Hershel is bleeding badly and they are doing everything they can to stop the bleeding.

Outside the cell block, things are not going well between Daryl and the prisoners.  T-Dog also shows up for backup.  The prisoners have no idea what is going on.  They don’t know the world as they knew it has ended.  Everything is explained to them but the leader of the prisoners wants the prison for himself.  After taking them outside to show them what they said about the walkers is true they come to an agreement.

Things are tense but in exchange for half of the food the prisoners have, Rick and his gang will help the prisoners clear out a cell block for themselves. With how standoffish this prisoner leader is, it doesn’t sound like this will go well at all.  The guy reaches for his gun every time voices are raised.  Rick isn’t playing around anymore though, he tells him straight out, if he sees him out in the courtyard, anywhere near his people, he will kill him.

The small amount of food the prisoners have ends up being a very large amount of food.  The prisoners try to change the deal and just give them a little bit of food but Rick isn’t having any of it.  Rick tells them again, the deal is for half the food.  Back at C block the women continue to work on Hershel.  Maggie doesn’t think he will make it but Glenn comforts her.  Rick and T-Dog brings some food back to C block and tells Glenn to take his handcuffs and cuff Hershel (he is stable, but if he dies he will become a walker).

Rick talks to Lori about the situation.  He says this deal with the prisoners may not work, and if it doesn’t he will have to kill them.  Lori agrees but Rick says this is what she did last time (referring to what happened with Shane).  Lori admits she is a bad wife and mother but tells Rick to do what he has to in order to keep the group safe.  Rick gives close combat weapons to the prisoners and explains that guns make too much loud noise, which attracts the walkers .  He also explains that you have to take out their brains if you want to kill them.

Maggie wants to talk to Hershel alone.  She tells him he doesn’t have to fight anymore, that they will be okay.  Hershel isn’t awake but she doesn’t know if she will ever be able to talk to him again, so this might be her only chance to thank him for all he has done.

The Walking Dead Season 3 E1: Seed (Part 1)

If you have not read my review of the season 2 finale, you may do so here: The Walking Dead Season 2 E13: Beside The Dying Fire

Here we go, season 3!  This season starts with a bang.  We find our survivors, looking older and more hardened.  They break into a house and take out several walkers.  Lori comes through the door looking very pregnant, so some major time has passed since season 2 ended.  They are raiding the house for supplies when Carl comes across some dog food.  Rick sees it and throws it.  He is upset at how they are living and what they have become.

T-Dog is keeping watch and spots several zombies outside heading towards the house.  The group heads out to their vehicles and make a clean getaway.  They are apparently trying to avoid situations like at the farm.  We find out they have been living like this for all of winter and have been mapping the movements of the herds to avoid them.  There is a chance some of the herds will run into each other making it difficult to travel to certain areas.

I like how this season is going so far.  Skipping some time is a cool idea, as is making them more battle hardened and using strategy to get things done.  Carl is even useful now, taking out several walkers all by himself without thinking twice about it.  This group has pulled together under Rick’s leadership and are better for it.  Their goal is to find a permanent place to stay and build a real life, not always running and being afraid.

As luck would have it, when Daryl and Rick go hunting, they discover a prison (seen at the end of season 2).  It has multiple layers of fencing, gates, walls, watchtowers, it’s perfect.  The only problem is it’s filled with walkers at every level.  They figure the prison must have fallen early, as the walkers all seem to be prisoners and police.  They have been trapped in there the whole time.

Rick decides to cut through the first fence (wiring it back shut).  He has to travel to the second area and lock the gate, giving them at least one safe section to stay in.  He runs his way through the walkers in the courtyard and closes the gate while the rest of the survivors shoot the walkers and help keep Rick safe.  They manage to clear the zombies out.  For the first time since the farm they now have a safe place to stay, they can even plant crops in this area so they have food.

The Walking Dead Season 2 E13: Beside The Dying Fire

If you have not read my review for episode 12, you may do so here: The Walking Dead Season 2 E12: Better Angels (Part 2)

We open on a group of zombies who start following a helicopter flying overhead.  The group grows larger and larger as time passes.  We come to find out that this group of zombies is the same group we saw at the end of the last episode, the ones on their way to attack the farm.  Daryl is talking to the group and tells them that Shane was with Randall, not tracking him as he had claimed.

Carl asks Rick what happened (with Shane), when Rick is about to answer they see the zombies heading their way!  Not having time to make it back to the house for shelter, they decide to lure the walkers into the barn…and set it on fire to take some of them out.  Everyone in the house arms up and gets into the vehicles.  With their firepower and speed they drive around taking out as many walkers as possible.  It’s good to see them taking the action to the walkers for once and not just being defensive.

We finally get to see Jimmy, the guy who is always just in the background and never really says or does anything.  We soon find out why.  He brings the RV by to pick up Rick and Carl, only to have the door pushed in and get eaten by walkers.  It’s a good thing they never brought this guy along on the missions, he can’t even stay alive for two minutes when he has to do something!  Hershel on the other hand manages to kill about a million zombies all by himself, this is a man you do want with you!

Most of the important characters escape the farm but in the process are separated from each other.  Each group makes the decision to try and meet up with everyone else.  They all decide the highway is the place to go to find everyone else.  Rick and Hershel are there first and make the decision that the highway just isn’t safe anymore.  Just as they are about to leave, everyone else shows up.  After figuring out who is missing or dead, they leave to find a safe place to stay.

Andrea is running in the woods, still trying to escape from the walkers.  She manages to kill a few of them before being about ready to give up.  Just then, a mysterious figure with a sword saves her.  Looks like we have a new character for season 3 (that comic book fans will recognize).  Back on the road, Rick’s vehicle runs out of gas, they are going to have to find a permanent safe place.  They are tired of running and always being afraid.

After they have stopped a found a place for the night, Daryl mentions Randall to the group.  He says that Shane killed him and he has no idea how he could have turned into a walker.  Rick tells them that they are all infected!  Jenner had told him at the season 1 finale.  The group is angry and feeling hopeless, because Rick didn’t tell them, and what it means.  Jenner was crazy, there was no way Rick could have known if what he was saying was true or not, so Rick probably did the right thing.

Rick and Lori have a private talk, he tells her that he killed Shane.  She backs off away from him and is angry.  Lori makes no sense at all.  One minute she is trying to talk Rick into killing Shane, then when he does in self-defense, she is angry.  I wish she would hurry up and become walker food.  Rick gets tired of everyone’s crap and takes charge.  He declares it is his group and if they stay, they will do things his way.  He says he killed his best friend for these people.  Looks like Rick won’t be taking anymore crap in season 3!

The Walking Dead Season 2 E12: Better Angels (Part 1)

If you have not read my review of episode 11 from this season, you may do so here: The Walking Dead Season 2 E11: Judge, Jury, Executioner

This episode has a great opening.  We see Dale’s funeral spliced with scenes of the group pulling together and hunting down walkers.  The survivors are finally securing the farm and being aggressive.  Shane and Rick get into it over releasing Randall but it doesn’t last long, Rick tells Shane how it’s going to be.  Hershel and Rick ask Andrea to keep an eye on Shane for them, to make sure things don’t get out of control.

Carl goes to Shane to talk.  He tells Shane about the gun he stole from Daryl, the walker he saw and how it’s the walker that killed Dale.  Hershel allows everyone to move into the house for safety reasons and because winter is coming.  Lori makes an odd decision to talk to Shane, thanking him for all he has done for her.  She even tells him the baby could be his and that she did have feelings for him also.  Considering she had just tried to talk Rick into killing him, I’m not sure what she is doing.

Shane goes to Rick to discuss the walker that Carl saw.  Shane gets mad at Rick because he won’t deal with it.  He feels Rick is more concerned with setting Randall free than being a Father to Carl.  Shane may be unstable, but he has been right about Rick to a large degree.  Rick makes a lot of weird decisions, like saving Randall in town, that put not only everyone freeing Randall at risk, but everyone at the farm as well.  And Carl does need his Dad and discipline.

Glenn and Andrea have a heart to heart about Dale and his final moments.  Both of them were close to him in different ways.  Both let him down at times as well.  Rick decides to take Shane’s advice, he talks to his son, man to man.  Rick gives Carl a gun.  In this world, you have to be ready to defend yourself at all times.  It’s hard enough as a man, but as a child or woman, you have even less of a chance of making it.

Shane starts acting crazy in the barn in front of Randall.  T-Dog comes to get Randall and set him free but he is gone.  We cut to Shane out in the woods with Randall.  Shane asks Randall where his camp is.  He says he wants to join their group because this one is done.  They walk off camera and Shane breaks Randall’s neck.  To make it look like he was jumped, he slams his own nose into a tree.  Again, Shane’s action are out of control but letting Randall go was a terrible decision.  They never should have saved him in the first place considering the group of guys he traveled with.

The Walking Dead Season 2 E11: Judge, Jury, Executioner

If you have not read my review of episode 10 from this season, you may do so here: The Walking Dead Season 2 E10: 18 Miles Out

We open on Daryl beating the crap out of Randall.  Daryl is torturing Randall for information about his group.  It works but the news isn’t good.  Randall’s group is made up of about 30 people, armed to the teeth, who love to murder and rape.  This certainly doesn’t make Randall look very good since he does live with these guys.

Rick decides the best thing to do is execute Randall.  He is a threat to the farm since he can lead everyone back to them.  Dale wants to talk about things with everyone.  He talks Andrea into guarding Randall so Shane can’t kill him before everyone has made a final decision.  Shane comes by and has a talk with Andrea.  He says the group won’t go through with it and tells her his plans for taking over the group.

Things are getting interesting now.  We have this unknown group of people Randall was with and we have Shane as a threat from the inside.  The walkers may not even be the biggest threat anymore at this point!  Carl sneaks into the barn where he is spotted by Randall.  While Randall is trying to manipulate him, Shane comes in and tells Carl to stay away from here.  Randall is dangerous.

Dale travels around the farm and does his best to rally support for Randall to have a trial, without much luck.  Carl, becoming increasingly annoying all of the time, is rude to Carol.  After getting a chewing out from Rick he wanders over to Daryl’s part of the farm and steals his gun.  Seriously, what is up with this kid?!  He walks out into the woods, by himself, and stumbles upon a walker stuck in the mud. Instead of running away like an intelligent person, he is an idiot like always and starts throwing rocks at the zombie.  Of course the walkers starts to get free and comes after Carl but he escapes, losing Daryl’s gun in the process.

Dale and Shane have another confrontation, which actually ends somewhat peacefully.  Shane agrees to do what the group says.  Hershel and Glenn also have a heart to heart about Maggie and Hershel gives Glenn a watch that is important to him.  Later on, everyone gathers in the house and has a big debate about if they should kill Randall or not.  Dale argues that the group is losing their humanity.  Andrea, surprisingly, agrees with Dale.  Almost everyone wants to stay out of it and let Rick handle it.

Daryl, Rick and Shane take Randall to the barn to execute him.  Rick is ready to shoot him while Randall begs for his life.  Carls walks in and says to shoot him.  Rick, feeling guilty, decides to simply hold Randall prisoner for now and decide what to do with him later.  Rick tells Lori he couldn’t go through with it because Carl wanted to watch, he has become hardened.

Big Spoilers…..

Dale is walking in a field by himself and hears a cow making noise.  He sees that the cow has been ripped open and when he turns around a walker is there.  The walker takes him down and rips open his stomach with his boney fingers.  Everyone else, hearing the noise, comes to help him but it’s too late to save him.  After killing the walker, Daryl puts a gun to Dale’s head and pulls the trigger to put him out of his misery.  The walker who killed Dale was the very one Carl had been throwing rocks at.  Carl was the one who lead him in the direction of the farm.  I can’t stand this kid, it would have been nice if they had killed him off instead of Dale!