With the exception of a single scene at the start of the
episode between Carol and Lizzie, this entire episode took place outside of the
prison. Carol has effectively become a surrogate mother figure to Lizzie and
her younger sister; punctuated by a Freudian slip in which Lizzie referred to
Carol as “Mom”. This notion was further developed later into the episode, when
Carol told a couple of other survivors that her daughter was back at the
prison. At least the writers acknowledged Carol’s actual daughter Sophia within
the same episode, as opposed to simply expecting the audience to accept this
new surrogate bond.
Many of the main cast were absent this week, which allowed
the focus to be placed on just two separate plot-lines: the first of which
followed the continuing expedition of Daryl and Michonne’s group as they search
for medical supplies, and the other followed Rick and Carol on a supply run. Within
both of these storylines the strength of the group was tested, and the tension
was ever present.
Tyreese is still reeling from the loss of Karen, and is now
losing hope that his sister Sasha will survive the illness. Consequently he is
becoming more angry and erratic, for a character who has previously been a very
rational thinker; upon noticing this Michonne rightfully pointed out that “being
angry makes you stupid”. Hopefully the character will be able to shake off his (supposedly)
suicidal tendencies – waiting in the car until he was completely surrounded, as
well as not letting go of an attacking Walker and letting it fall on top of
him. Michonne was the level-headed one in this situation, but Ty pointed out to
her that she’s harbouring vengeful thoughts of her own. Frequent mentions of
the Governor despite his absence help to maintain the character’s aura, as well
as create intrigue as to when he will reappear.
Tensions also arose between Daryl and Bob, after Bob
confessed to his alcoholism, and explained that he caused the incident at the
shopping mall as a consequence of his addiction. Later, when Bob refused to let
go of a backpack containing a bottle of liquor it was clear that he has not got
over his addiction. Daryl bluntly stated that he should never have allowed Bob
into the group, and threatened to “beat [his] ass into the ground” if he drinks
even a sip before the sick people get their medicine. These tensions will
likely have an effect on the show going forward.
Speaking of actions that will have an effect on the show,
Rick made a very rash decision to banish Carol from the group, due to her ‘judge,
jury and executioner’ actions towards Karen and David. Carol received a lot of attention
in this episode, which meant that something big was going to happen to her
character, and while that has previously meant that a character will get killed
off, this time things were handled differently (and in a way which will
inevitably lead to consequences). Carol has come a long way as a character, and
in this episode the audience were reminded that she was once an abused wife and
mother. Throughout her journey she has lost both her husband and her daughter,
and has since become an essential member of the group. Being banished by Rick
leaves possibilities open for the character to return at a later date, but due
to the fact that she was sent away unwillingly from a group with whom she has
many close connections (in particular with Daryl, as well as Lizzie) Rick will
likely have a lot to deal with long before Carol reappears on the scene.
There is also the possibility that Carol did not act alone (I mean it takes some pretty impressive strength to drag the dead weight of two bleeding corpses) or that she may be covering up for someone else.
This week also saw the introduction of a couple of new
characters, named Sam and Ana, and despite their ineptitude for independent
survival in this world, they came across as likeable figures. Not that this
really mattered all that much, because Ana didn’t make it through the episode, although
there may be more to her death than meets the eye, as her leg appeared to have
been cleanly cut off, rather than torn away by Walkers (or Skin-eaters). The
swiftness with which certain characters are introduced and then killed off is
borderline comical at times. How many days are we into the apocalypse by this
stage? And how the hell have so many people survived this long, in spite of
their incompetence?
The character of Sam may make another appearance at a later
date, as his disappearance was rather ambiguous (and there is a very strong
possibility that he sacrificed Ana to the Walkers to save himself, à la Shane
when he killed Otis).
This episode saw Rick make a very significant and controversial
decision, and there are a lot of difficulties spreading amongst the group which
will more than likely lead to disastrous consequences. Almost everything that
happened in this episode left various possibilities open for what will happen
next.
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