Sick

"Sick" picks up right where "Seed" left off as Rick amputates Hershel's lower leg while five surviving prisoners watch, unsure of what's happening. Glenn grabs a wheeled serving table and as the men rush Hershel back to Cell Block 3, the survivors follow them. Led by an obviously unstable Latino with a gun left to him by the guard who locked them in the cafeteria, the surviving prisoners demand to know what's going on. As Carol and the others try to stop Hershel's bleeding, Rick explains to the five what's happened outside. Eventually, they come to an agreement: the men will share half their food in exchange for Rick and company clearing a cell block for them.

They head out into the prison and Rick explains what needs to be done to kill the Walkers. Of course, as soon as they come upon some, the five go nuts, ignoring Rick's advice. Rick, TBone and Daryl just watch as the men attack the Walkers in all the wrong ways. One of the prisoners, 'Big Tiny,' backs away from the fight, only to be cornered by two Walkers. He takes out one, but another, tearing its hand loose from the handcuffs he wears, manages to bite Tiny on the back before the Latino guy shoots it. While arguing about what to do with Tiny, the Latino attacks him, brutally beating his brains in. Rick and Daryl agree to take the Latino out if he causes any problems.

Meanwhile, Carl shows up with a bag full of medical supplies, telling Lori and Carol that he made his way to the infirmary on his own, taking out two Walkers along the way. When Lori castigates him for going off alone, Carl lips off to her; "Get off my back!" Beth yells at him for talking so disrespectfully to his mother and Carl takes off in a huff. Carol has managed to slow Hershel's bleeding and Glenn handcuffs Hershel to the bed, in case he dies and comes back. 

In the prison laundry, Rick throws the keys to the Latino, who balks at opening a set of doors behind which Walkers are growling hungrily. When Rick insists, telling him to open only one door, the Latino opens both and throws a Walker on Rick. Luckily, Daryl takes that Walker out and after they have killed the Walkers, the Latino says "Sorry. He was coming at me." Rick says "Stuff happens" and promptly takes the Latino out with a machete to his head. One of the three remaining prisoners takes off with Rick in pursuit while prisoner Axel begs for his life and his friend Oscar says "I've never begged for my life. Do what you gotta do." The running prisoner ends up in a courtyard full of Walkers and Rick closes the door on him, leaving him to his fate.

Carol and Glenn head out to find a Walker on whom she can practice Cesarian surgery, as she fears Hershel will no longer be able to assist in Lori's birth. Maggie asks for time alone with her father, telling him it's okay to let go. When he stops breathing, Lori administers CPR and Hershel revives, scaring them into thinking he's come back as a Walker. 

Rick, TBone and Daryl lead Axel and Oscar to a cleared cell block, telling them that if they so much as smell them near their people, they will will be killed. Rick and company return to Cell Block 3, where Hershel awakes, apparently having survived the amputation. Later, Lori and Rick meet outside where Lori tries to apologize for being a bad wife, while Rick touches her for the first time months, saying "We're all grateful for what you did," in reference to saving Hershel. In the yard, as Carol practices surgery on the Walker she and Glenn killed, someone (or something) watches from afar.

So, what have we learned? Rick is clearly concerned about losing his humanity, though Lori insists that she knows he's still a good man. Quick action on Rick's part may well have saved Hershel from the fever that usually follows a Walker bite. Rick obviously has no problem killing to protect those about whom he cares. Carl is still a willful little brat who thinks his new-found bravado will protect him, while Maggie and Glenn are obviously growing closer. Carol, while stronger than ever, still has some trepidations about her ability to help Lori deliver her baby. But just who (or what) was watching her perform 'surgery' on the Walker?

From the trailer, it seems that next week's episode will focus on Andrea, Michonne and the Governor, who is apparently not a very nice person.

More, anon.
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Seed

Season 3 of AMC's "The Walking Dead" opens several months after the Seasson 2 finale in which the barn burned down and Hershel's farm was overrun with Walkers. Our intrepid band of survivors enter a home, taking out the Walkers inside and looking for whatever food they can find. Daryl kills and plucks an owl roosting in an upstairs bedroom while Carl finds a few canned items in the kitchen. But before they can enjoy their finds, Walkers move in and the group moves on. 

Stopping to reconnoiter, Daryl and Rick head out to hunt ("That owl didn't exactly hit the spot"), finally discovering the prison hinted at in the last episode and Rick formulates a plan. Rick, Glen, Daryl, TBone and Maggie slip inside the outer yard as the others distract the Walkers. Eventually the Walkers in the yard are all destroyed and the group spends the night in the relative safety of the yard, where Hershel suggests they could plant tomatoes, corn and soy beans. Beth and Maggie sing "Parting Glass" around the fire, while Rick formulates a plan to take over the prison as a safe refuge. It soon becomes clear that Rick and the very pregnant Lori have not overcome the problem of her baby's uncertain fatherhood and Carl has not yet forgiven his father for having to 'kill' Shane.

Elsewhere, Michonne (who has yet to be named) sneaks into a pharmacy, killing three Walkers (two with one stroke of her sword) and snatching up a packet of aspirin.

The next day, the group moves into the inner perimeter of the prison, taking out dozens of Walkers in hand-to-hand combat. Several of the Walkers are prison guards in riot gear and have to be taken out under their helmets. When Rick pulls a gas mask off of one them, it's face literally comes off with the mask, leaving a snarling, chomping skull behind. Eventually, they make their way into a cell block that is full of dead bodies, but free or Walkers. The group settles in to the cell block, though Daryl is uncomfortable sleeping in a 'cage' and Carl appears to have a crush on Beth.

Returning to the bar where she has her armless and jawless Walkers confined, Michonne delivers the aspirin to an obviously sick Andrea, who admonishes Michonne for staying to take care of her. We must assume that Andrea has some kind of flu, though it isn't made clear. Michonne asserts "We'll leave in a few days," while Andrea says "If we stay, I'll die."

In the morning, Lori is scared because the baby has stopped moving and worries that it is already dead and may rip its way out. Hershel tries to allay her fears and Rick; Hershel; TBone; Glenn; Daryl and Maggie head deeper into the prison in search of food and an infirmary. Glenn marks their way with spray-paint arrows on the walls. When they encounter a mob of Walkers and attempt to escape, Hershel is bitten on the calf and the group is forced into what appears to be the prison cafeteria. Rick finds no other way to save Hershel than to amputate his leg with an ax. 

Michonne and Andrea (and Michonne's 'pet' Walkers) head out from the bar's receiving dock, cautiously making their way through what looks like an abandoned lumber yard.

Back at the prison, where Rick has just cut off Hershel's leg, TBone notices a group of figures behind a chain-link wall, which they assume are Walkers, but who turn out to be several living survivors who are just as surprised to see them.

Filled with loads of zombies, 'Seeds' showed just how callous the group has become about taking out the Walkers. Even the formerly meek Carol and Beth have no problem stabbing Walkers in their heads. I can only imagine that the (as yet) undocumented winter have turned all of them into expert Walker killers and can't wait to find out how Michonne and Andrea have survived. And who are the people still alive in the prison? How have they survived and how will they effect and interact with the central characters? What's wrong with Andrea and how have she and Michonne bonded? And when and how will we meet 'The Governor?'

Here's a look at next week's episode, 'Sick:"

More, anon.
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"Better Angels"

Walker Shane (Jon Bernthal)

SPOILERS BELOW:

So, the season's penultimate episode opened with Rick delivering Dale's eulogy. Carl cried, feeling guilty (as he should - that little brat needs to learn to listen to his elders). Hershel decided to finally move the group into the house and Rick went back to his original plan of driving Randall far away and releasing him. Naturally, this didn't sit too well with Shane, who had been advocating Randall's execution from the time Rick, Hershel and Glenn brought him back to the farm.

While attempting to move Dale's RV closer to the house, Andrea and Glenn take a moment to grieve and assess, while Maggie doesn't understand why Glenn doesn't want to move into her room ("With your Dad right here in the house?"). Carl confesses to Shane that it's his fault that Dale is dead, because he didn't shoot the Walker when he had the chance. He gives Daryl's gun to Shane and asks him to return it. Meanwhile, Daryl reinforces a possible escape route on top of the shed as Randall works furiously to get free from his chains. Shane builds a lookout on the windmill and Lori forces him to talk to her, admitting she doesn't know who is the father of her baby.

Shane then goes to Rick and tells him he needs to talk to his boy, while still bemoaning the plan to release Randall, though he offers to accompany Daryl on the trip in Rick's stead. Rick tells him "I need you here." Rick then goes off in search of Carl, who is keeping watch in the barn loft. Rick gives Daryl's gun back to Carl, telling him he wished Carl "could have the childhood I had." Shane then visits Randall in the barnand comes very close to killing him. As Rick and Daryl prepare to leave, T-Dog goes to get Randall, only to discover that he is gone.

Shane has Randall deep in the woods and convinces him that he wants to join Randall's group. "I'm done with this group." he tells him. But once Randall revealed the last known location of his group, Shane snaps his neck, bashes his face against a tree and then returns to farm with a story of being caught by surprise and smashed in the face by a rock-wielding Randall. The alarm is raised and Rick, Shane, Daryl and Glenn set off in search of the 'escaped' Randall.

Daryl and Glenn come across evidence of a fight and Shane's blood on a tree-trunk. Just as they are getting suspicious, they are set upon by Walker Randall. Glenn takes Randall out with a knife to the skull and Daryl realizes that he died from a broken neck, rather than another Walker's bite and they begin to put two and two together. 

Shane and Rick find themselves in a secluded glen, where Rick finally figures out what's going on. Shane pulls his gun as Rick puts his away and Rick tries to convince Shane to not shoot him. Rick, always the rationalist, tells Shane he'll be killing an unarmed man as he slowly hands Shane his gun. At the last moment, Rick pulls his knife and stabs Shane, crying "Damn you for making me do this, Shane! This is you! Not me! Not me!" Shane's gun goes off, but no one is hit. Rick screams and howls and carries on as Shane dies. Carl appears and as Rick approaches him, Carl draws Daryl's gun. Thinking Carl means to shoot him, Rick approaches, readying another speech. But Carl shoots, taking out Walker Shane just before he reaches his father.

Of course, all this noise has attracted the attention of dozens of Walkers in the woods and we are left with Rick and Carl heading toward the farm as the Walkers approach.

Whew! I knew Shane was going to die. And it happened in much the same way as in the graphic novels, only a bit later than in that storyline. I was almost surprised that Shane killed Randall. I almost believed he was going to actually take up with Randall's group, though I knew he couldn't just leave Lori, especially after she told him that she didn't know whose baby she was carrying. Of course, it seems obvious that the group will now have to leave the farm, either with or without Hershel (though I suspect it will be without, given next week's preview). It seems fitting that Season 2 should end like Season 1, with the group back on the road in search of a safe haven. I'm just hoping that next week's finale will finally reveal what Jenner whispered in Rick's ear, what seems so long ago at the CDC.

More, anon.
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"Triggerfinger"

Steven Yeun as Glen

No one can say that "The Walking Dead" isn't exciting anymore, especially after last night's episode. As always, SPOILERS AHEAD.

As Lori lay unconscious in the wrecked car with a Walker gnawing its way through the broken windshield, Rick, Glen and Hershel are preparing to leave the bar where they have just killed Jimmy and Tony. But a car pulls up outside and three men get out in search of the now-dead duo, trapping them in the bar.

Lori awakes, just as the Walker breaks through the windshield. She searches for the gun she brought along, but finds a screwdriver which she jams into the Walker's eye. Once out of the car, she attacked from behind by another Walker. This time she finds the gun and takes the Walker out with a single shot.

Back at the farm, the group realizes Lori is missing when she doesn't join them for dinner. Carol finds out from Daryl that Lori left in search of Rick and soon Shane is off in search of Lori. At the bar, Rick tries to get the three strangers outside to agree to a ceasefire, but it son becomes apparent that isn't going to happen. Rick hatches a plan in which Glen makes a run out the back for the car, as Hershel covers him. Glen is almost immediately fired upon and Hershel wounds the shooter, whose howls of pain soon attract dozens of Walkers. As the Walkers tear him apart, his companions decide to leave. Randall, who had taken up a sniper position on a nearby roof, jumps and impales his calf on a decorative fence post. His buddy takes off, leaving him to die. 

Carol tries to engage Daryl, but his grief over the death of Sophia manifests itself as anger and he wants nothing to do with her or the others. Shane finds Lori on the road and lies to her, telling her that Rick and the others have come back to the farm. When they arrive and she discovers the truth, Shane blurts out "I had to make sure you and the baby were safe," shocking everyone, especially Carl, who is hurt that his mother didn't tell him she was pregnant. Shane tells Lori that he loves her and Carl and what they had while she thought her husband was dead, was real. She rebuffs him again, though it was quite apparent that Shane believes the three of them should be together. 

Rick and company find the impaled Randall and attempt to free him, though Hershel advises the best thing to do is "put him down." Rick can't do it and convinces Hershel to amputate Randall's lower leg, but the noise has attracted even more Walkers. As Hershel and Glen head to the car, Rick violently yanks Randall's leg off the fence post.

The next morning, as Shane, Daryl and Andrea prepare to find the missing trio, Dale again tries to warn Andrea about how unstable he thinks Shane is. Andrea defends Shane, saying he's done more to keep the group alive than Rick. As they are about to head out, the trio returns with a blind-folded Randall in the backseat. They plan to nurse him back to health and then drive him out to the road and let him go, despite Shane's very vocal disapproval. After reminding Shane that the farm is still his, Hershel tends to the catatonic Beth while Glen admits to Maggie that his feelings for her got in the way of protecting Rick and Hershel. Alone again, Lori tells Rick she's afraid that Shane loves her and will do anything to make sure he gets her and the baby he thinks is his. 

As tensions continue to rise at the farm, I imagine things can only go from bad to worse. And now that we know there is another (apparently violent) group of survivors in the area, will it be long before they arrive at the farm to cause even more trouble? I don't imagine Shane will survive the season (especially since actor Jon Bernthal is reportedly being courted by show-creator Frank Darabont for a new series he's developing for a rival network). I do know that the second half of this season is a far cry from the relatively actionless first half and we're only two episodes in. A friend recently complained that the show is "... just a soap opera with zombies." Maybe. But what an intense soap-opera it is. Here's a sneak peak at next week's episode:

More, anon.
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Be My.... Braaaaiiiiiinnnnssss! ("Nebraska")

The last time I spent Valentine's Day with someone about whom I cared, he dumped me. That's right. We went to a romantic movie and then I bought him an expensive dinner at a 4-star restaurant, after which he told me he couldn't see me anymore. "It's not you," he said, using the oldest dump line in the book, "It's me." Pathetic, ain't it?

Which is why, even if I am in a relationship during February, I refuse to participate in the Hallmark Holiday. There are 364 other days on which to declare one's love. Why should I spend money on over-priced flowers, bad chocolates and a cheesy card on February 14th?

So tonight, after reveling in my work-party quiche win, I came home and finally watched the newest episode of AMC's "The Walking Dead."

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Wow. After the season's first-half build to the amazing reveal of Sophia in the barn, I wasn't sure what would happen. The episode picked up right where the last one left off, with Rick still holding the gun that took out Walker Sophia as the others stood or sat in shock. When Beth tries to hold her supposedly dead mother in her arms, the not-quite-dead Walker tries to attack her and it is the now-hardened Laurie who takes the Walker out with a pickaxe through its head. 

The new episode both revealed many characters' weaknesses (Hershel starts drinking again after more than 20 years; while Maggie declares her for Glenn, whom she barely knows) and strengths (Carol admits that Sophia died a long time ago while Laurie nonchalantly picks up a Walker's arm that falls off the truck on its way to the pyre). When Beth collapses (either in grief or from shock), Rick decides to seek Hershel out in the nearby town's bar. Hershel, finally admitting that the Walkers are dead, has given up hope, but Rick tries to convince him that hope lies in those still living. Meanwhile, Dale continues to voice his concerns about the increasingly dangerous Shane, telling Laurie that he thinks Shane murdered Otis at the high school in order to retrieve the ventilator which saved Carl's life (which, in fact, is true).

At the bar, Rick, Glenn and Hershel are confronted by Jimmy and Tony, who have traveled south from Philadelphia and want to intimidate their way into joining the group at Hershel's farm. Laurie, intent on finding Hershel so he can help Beth, has a roadside encounter with a Walker, resulting in an accident which leaves her trapped in an over-turned car. Rick and Hershel tell Jimmy and Tony that there is no room at the farm for them, resulting in a shootout which leaves both Jimmy and Tony dead.

Again - wow. I can't wait to see where the rest of this season will take our survivors. Fort Benning now appears out of the question. And we still have no idea what Jenner whispered in Rick's ear before blowing up the CDC. Can the volatile Shane be trusted not to kill again? And what happened to Merle after he severed his hand in order to escape from the department store roof? And will we ever see Morgan and his son again? So many questions...

Television's best Horror series continues to get better and better.

More, anon.
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Pretty Much Dead Already

Since I will be in tech rehearsals for A Christmas Carol all week, I watched this week's episode of "The Walking Dead" in real time for a change. And because of some of my friends' reactions to it (one said the show had jumped the shark), I thought I'd review it, rather than just recap it. Still, there are SPOILERS AHEAD. If you haven't seen this week's episode, come back after you have.

So, after what many have complained as being a boring season 2, last week's episode had lots of action; lots of Walkers and lots of zombie kills, not to mention the revelation that Herchel's (and why can't other bloggers/reviewers/writers get that spelling right?) barn was housing a dozen or more Walkers. This week, Glenn and Dale reveal that fact to to others, which sends the volatile Shane into a rage and sends Rick once more to appeal to Herchel to let his people stay at the farm. Dale tries to hide the guns in the swamp, but Shane tracks him down and brings them back. Glenn and Maggie make up and Carol upsets Daryl by revealing she has feelings for him (Carol and Daryl? Really?). Lori tells Shane that even if her baby is his, it will never be his. Meanwhile, Jimmy tells Herchel that "... it's happened again." and Herchel entreats Rick to help him with something. That 'something' turns out to be two Walkers trapped in the swamp, which Herchel intends to retrieve using the kind of pole Animal Control officers use on vicious dogs. Back with the guns and seeing Herchel and Rick leading two Walkers back on the poles, Shane loses it and releases the Walkers in the barn. After repeatedly shooting the Walker on Herchel's pole, Shane breaks open the barn and he; Andrea; Glenn and Tbone take out the Walkers as they stumble out. Of course, the last Walker to make its way out is the long-missing Sophia. They all stare, stunned, until Rick steps up and does what has to be done.

I have heard complaints from lots of folks that the series is changing some of the things that happen in Kirkman's graphic novel. So? What film or TV adaptation has ever stuck to the letter of its source material? Silence of the Lambs is theonly one that comes to my mind, but I know plenty of people who love Kubrick's version of The Shining. Personally, I hated it, because he changed too much. Does that make it any less a valid story? No. It just makes it different. Another friend complained that waiting 7 weeks to find out what happened to Sophia was lazy writing. Really? I thought that she might have been in the barn, but hoped she wasn't. When it turned out that she was, I wasn't disappointed... just sad.

The ending of "Pretty Much Dead Already" sets up a new power-play at the farm, and while we know Rick and company can't (and probably won't) stay much longer, it leaves us with so many more questions. Is Andrea (as Dale suggests) becoming as hard-hearted as Shane? Has Maggie become enamored with Glenn enough to leave her father? Will Beth, Jimmy and Patricia side with Herchel? Will Daryl and Carol become an item (I hope not)? And just whose baby is Lori carrying? Has the show "jumped the shark?" Many thought the same thing about "Lost" with the whole Paulo and Nicki plot, but they seemed to work that out. I think the season so far has just been suffering from  'growing pains,' as it were. Certainly the exit of Frank Daramont as showrunner has been an issue, but I don't think it's an insurmountable one. As long as Kirkwood remains on board as Executive Producer, I have hope that it will find its footing again and become the exciting and intriguing show it was in Season 1. As Glenn said, "We forgot they were dangerous." I, for one, am looking forward to where the show will go come it's February return.

"Pretty Much Dead Already" may have been a bit predictable but it set up the rest of season most effectively, proving that Shane (not the most stable of people) has been right about the need to protect themselves all along and that Rick may not be the most effective leader, despite his attempts at being the group's moral core.  I think there may be a major schism coming among the group and wonder what side I might take in such a situation. *** (Three out of Four Stars).

More, anon.
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Secrets

SPOILERS AHEAD...

To all those complaining that nothing has really happened this season, I hope "Secrets" shut you up.

After discovering the barn full of Walkers at the end of "Chupacabra," Glenn is too full of other people's secrets and his head is about to explode. As Lori and the now-recovered Carl are feeding chickens, Carl notes the chicks they are feeding have no mother. "Maybe she got eaten," he says. Lori looks at him and he nonchalantly says "Everything is just food for something else." Cut to Patricia breaking a chicken's legs and throwing it into a sack which she wheels out to the barn, dumping several crippled chickens down to the hungry Walkers trapped inside.

Maggie brings Glenn some peaches and jerky and he tells her he can't keep a secret. "I"m a terrible liar. I can't play poker..." She tells him he has to keep quiet. He shares the peaches with Dale and T-Bone. When T-Bone innocently asks "What's up?" Glenn nervously replies "Nothing. Nothing's up. Why?" When pressed by Dale, he spills the beans about both the barn Walkers and Lori's pregnancy. 

Andrea apologizes to Daryl for shooting him. Daryl forgives her. "You were trying to protect the group. But if you shoot me again, you better hope you kill me." Lori visits with Herchel, who tells her that he expects they'll be moving on now that Carl has recovered. She then confronts Rick, who tells he's working on a way to get them to stay.

Meanwhile, Shane is going to give shooting lessons to Andrea, Patricia, Beth and Jimmy. Carl asks Shane to teach him to shoot but Shane is reticent, especially when he discovers Carl has stolen a gun from Dale's RV. After a mildly heated discussion during which Rick convinces Lori that Carl should be able to defend himself and the group, they all head out to shoot bottles on a fence. Andrea proves to be a very apt student and she stays behind with Shane for an advanced lesson. Dale confronts Herchel about the Walkers in the barn, saying he discovered them while on a walk in the fields. Herchel asks for Dale's discretion, which is reluctantly granted.

Meanwhile, Glenn and Maggie ride back to the pharmacy to get more items requested by Lori. Maggie is attacked by a Walker, which Glen partially decapitates with a shelf and then finishes off with a wicked-looking blade. When they return to the farm, Maggie freaks out on Lori, throwing the Morning After pills Lori requested in her face and telling her that the next time she needs something, Lori should get it herself. Glenn follows Maggie after she storms off, and after kissing him, Maggie tells him "You're a leader, but none of them treat you like one. Dead guy in the well? Send Glenn." Poor Glenn has no idea just how Maggie feels about him, and her mixed signals are no help. While lunch is being cooked, Lori becomes ill at the smell of the meat and Dale tells her a story his wife's similar aversion during her pregnancy. He also tells her not to blame Glenn for spilling the beans: "The boy has no guile in him."

In the woods, Shane is trying to teach Andrea to shoot a moving target with little success. He pushes her too far and she storms off (there seemed to be quite a bit of storming off, this episode). He follows her in the car and gives her a roundabout apology before inviting her to accompany him to look for the still-missing Sophia in a nearby suburban neighborhood. Glenn returns to Lori and gives her a bag of prenatal vitamins, advising her that she shouldn't make the decision to abort the baby on her own. 

Deciding they need to search each house, Shane and Andrea enter one to discover a group of people who tried to barricade themselves inside, only to die there. They suddenly find themselves under attack by dozens of Walkers and Andrea discovers she can shoot a moving target target afterall. As they are driving back to the farm, Andrea is overcome with emotion and horniness, grabbing Shane's crotch lustily. He stops the car and she climbs on him, accidentally honking the horn as they bump uglies.

Lori swallows a bunch of Morning After pills, but realizes she can't go through with it and runs off into a field to force herself to throw them up. Andrea and Shane return and an obviously jealous Dale confronts Shane, telling him he should follow through with his plan to leave the group and indirectly accusing him of causing Otis' death "I wasn't there. But I was there when you aimed your gun at Rick!" Shane warns Dale, "I wouldn't shoot Rick. I love him like a brother. But what do think I would do to a man I didn't even like?" 

Rick returns to the tent where he finds the empty Morning After packets and seeks out Lori to confront her. Lori tells him she threw-up the pills, but can't bear the idea of bringing a baby into a world of fear and pain. Rick sees the baby as hope for the future, but presses her to tell him what else she might be holding back. She confesses to having slept with Shane, which he accepts because he knew both of them thought he was dead.

An emotionally and action-packed episode, "Secrets" leaves us hanging until February when I'm sure some questions will be answered, while more are asked. leaves us asking questions that may or may not be answered before themid-season break. What will Rick do when he discovers the Walkers in the barn? Will Sophia ever be found? If so, will she be alive? When the group leaves, the farm will Maggie join them? Are Shane and Andrea now an item, or was their car sex a one-time thing? And what will happen when the barn walkers escape (because you they will)? I'm so glad I was mistaken and that there's one more episode before the break.

More, anon.
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Chupacabra

An abbreviated recap tonight. Uncle P is tired after a long day of listening to crybabies who were too stupid or too lazy to care about deadlines. As with every TWD recap, HERE THERE BE SPOILERS:

After a prologue set in a massive traffic jam where we see the military bombing Atlanta, the search for Sophia continues. Using a new grid based on Daryl's findings at the abandoned house, the group splits up into three parties: Rick and Shane; Andrea T-Bone and Jimmy and Daryl on his own. We learn that while Daryl was once lost in the woods, he claimed to have seen a chupacabra (literally Spanish for "goat sucker"), though no one believed him. Young Jimmy lies to Rick, saying he has Herchel's permission to go. Daryl "borrows' a horse while Glenn and Maggie play head games. Carol decides it would be a nice gesture to offer to cook dinner for everyone, though she really just wants to cook in a 'real kitchen" (Hello? The 1950's called - they want their subservient housewives back).

Shane and Rick get into a discussion about the search for Sophia (Shane wants to stop and move on; Rick wants to keep looking) while Daryl finds Sophia's doll in the creek before a rattlesnake spooks his horse, which rears and sends him plummeting down a ravine into the creek, impaling him on his own arrow in the process. He then hallucinates a conversation with his brother Merle (we know it's not really Merle because he has both of hands) before waking up to find a Walker gnawing on his shoe. Using his walking stick to bash the Walker's head in, Daryl then pulls the arrow out of side and loads it into his crossbow in time to take out another Walker that is quickly advancing upon him. He then eats a raw squirrel.

Glenn and Dale have a "father/son" discussion about menses and "crazy women," in which Dale admonishes him for having sex with their host's daughter. Meanwhile, Lori hasn't told anyone she's pregnant and asks Glenn to keep he secret. Rick and Shane return early from their search, and Rick tells Lori he's had a long talk with Shane. From the look on Lori's face, it's obvious she's afraid Shane told Rick about their affair while they thought Rick was dead. Instead, Rick tells her about Shane wanting to abandon the search for Sophia. 

The faux-Merle taunts Daryl into climbing out of the ravine, teasing him about having eaten "magic mushrooms" before seeing the chupacabra and calling him a girl for not being able to climb out of the ravine. Daryl makes it out and then makes his way back to the farm where Andrea, tired of washing clothes, takes up a rifle and mistakes him for a Walker. Luckily, her shot only grazes the side of his head. Patching Daryl up, Herchel complains that they are using up their antibiotics, this after admonishing  Rick for not being in control of his people. 

Later, during a tension-filled and mostly silent dinner (before which Herchel talked to Maggie about her interest in "the Asian boy"), Maggie passes a note to Glenn that reads: "Tonight... Where?" Glenn scribbles his reply under Herchel's watchful eye. Carol brings dinner to Daryl and thanks him for doing more that day than her father ever did his entire life. 

While putting the dinner dishes away, Maggie surreptitiously reads Glenn's response: "Have you ever done it in a hay loft?" We see Glenn climbing into the locked barn's loft where he finds the barn filled with dozens of Walkers. Maggie races to the barn. As Glenn is about to flee in terror, Maggie shows up, telling hm "You weren't supposed to know about this." And there the episode ends, with the Walkers pressing against the locked barn's doors, desperate to escape and feed.

We know Herchel believes there will be a cure, and that he prefers that he alone handles any Walkers that appear on the property. But the Walkers in the barn are an unexpected twist. Will Glenn tell the others about them? Will they decide to pick up and move on? When will Lori tell Rick about the baby? Whose baby is it? And will we ever see Sophia again? 

Next week's episode is the mid-season finale and I can't wait to see what happens. Unlike many, I am not at all unsettled by this season's slower paced plot. I know there is plenty of horror yet to come:

More, anon.
Prospero

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