After last week’s premiere episode ended with a cliff-hanger
in which the teenage Patrick turned into a Walker despite not having been
bitten, the threats continue to pile up throughout this week’s episode. I
assumed that the threat of enhanced infection would be enough for the survivors
to deal with, but that was not the only dilemma the group faced. The episode
began with an unseen figure feeding live rats to the Walkers outside the prison
fence, which put the strength of the fences under a lot of strain. The group
has become infected, not just with the Walker-virus, but also from within, as
somebody is sabotaging their safe refuge from the inside.
Before the opening credits rolled there was a genuinely
tense scene in which Karen very nearly stumbled across the recently
zombified-Patrick in the shower room, who then followed her back to cell block
D, but being an established character she was able to escape death on this
occasion (or so I thought ... more on that later).
It didn’t take too long for the episode to get to the
action, as a short scene in which Rick focussed on his duties as a farmer and
not a Sheriff (hence the absence of his hat thus-far) was soon interrupted by a
cries for help from the prison. The walkers were very quickly dealt with, but
the damage had already been done, and already there are fewer nameless
characters to shield behind when the next attack hits! Perhaps I am being a bit
harsh, as I actually found that the actor who played Ryan – the father of the
two girls, who got bitten during the attack – did a good job with what little screen-time
he had, and his death certainly had an impact. Credit for that scene also has
to go to Melissa McBride as Carol.
My theory that the infection is mutating may not actually be
true, as a new Doctor character stated that such symptoms existed prior to the
outbreak, but this doesn’t exactly make things any better, as everyone in the
group could potentially be exposed to this illness. Anyone who showed signs of
illness was quarantined off: this included Karen, just to let the audience know
that this sickness is a serious deal.
The problems for the group didn’t end there though, as a
scene between Rick and Daryl was interrupted by even more screams for help. This
time, the Walkers outside the prison fence have begun to build up in specific
areas, and the fence is really starting to give. Despite the fact that a whole
group were on hand to fend them off, it made little difference. There was a particularly
gruesome shot as one of the Walker’s faces got smooshed against the chain link
fence. This meant that Rick had to sacrifice his fledgling pig farm in order to
divert the Walkers away from the fence. If the pigs were partly responsible for
causing illness then they were probably going to have to go sooner or later
anyway, but it was still sad to see the baby piglets being fed to the Walkers.
This wasn’t a hugely effective plan either, as it only diverted the Walkers
temporarily, and it wasn’t too long before there was a shot of the fence
shaking once again.
Michonne received some further development this week, after
a rare slip-up during a moment of action, she found herself nursing an injured
ankle. During a couple of scenes with Beth and baby Judith, the indication
seemed to be that Michonne may have once lost a baby of her own, as she broke
into tears whilst holding Judith. Moments of emotion from Michonne have been
very rare throughout her time on the show, and so when she gives something away
it really stands out. This development was perhaps the most interesting for her
character so far.
Following the death of her
father, further development was given to newcomer Lizzie (and to a lesser
extent her sister Mika). Last week she seemed set to bring a “Walkers are
people too” argument to the table (which thankfully went nowhere), and this
week she cried over the death of her favourite zombie. I’m not won over by her
character yet (my early instincts point to her being the saboteur within the
group) but since she has received this much attention so far, then she will
likely have an important role to play.
Then, as if all that had happened
wasn’t enough, the episode ended with Tyreese (brilliantly played by Chad L. Coleman)
hoping to pay Karen a visit, but instead discovering the charred remains of his
love-interest – and some other guy – out in the prison courtyard. Their
assailant was not revealed, could it be the same saboteur from earlier, or is
there more than one person in the group breaking things from within. I was
legitimately surprised that Karen was killed off this soon, as the relationship
between her and Ty was only just getting started. I guess it goes to show that
the writers are getting bolder.
This episode was very impressive with
how much it was able to fit in. This season has not wasted any time stacking
the odds against the survivors, and moving the plot along at a fast pace (I
didn’t expect Rick to give up the farm-life so early on). I’m already eager to
see what happens next week.
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