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| Rick Grimes sees something he doesn't like. |
Series: The Walking Dead
Episode: Season 2 Episode 8 "Nebraska"
Air Date: February 12, 2012
How much you enjoyed this past week's episode (and most of Season 2 for that matter) of the Walking Dead has a lot to do with what you're looking for in the show. If its non stop zombies that you want--be prepared to be disappointed. "Nebraska" is all about the slow burning character driven stuff.
The episode begins right where we left off--staring down the barrel of Rick's smoking gun. Our favorite group of zombie survivors is in shambles; Carol rips herself out of Daryl's arms to grieve alone, Herschel's stepdaughter Beth (who is she again?) discovers that Momma Zombie is still alive and hungry and Shane is pissed that Herschel didn't tell them Sophia was in the barn.
Herschel doesn't take well to Shane's anger and tells him to get off his land. Rick and Shane have another fight about who's making the right decisions. A depressed Herschel slips back into his alcoholic ways and disappears. Carol refuses to go to Zombie Sophia's burial. Maggie tells Glenn she loves him. Beth falls into a weird post traumatic shock coma thing (can that really even happen?). Rick and Glenn go into town to find Herschel. Carol angrily rips up some Cherokee Roses. Dale tells Lori of his suspicions about Shane killing Otis. (who knew Dale was the new Miss Cleo?) Shane confronts Dale about how little he contributes to the group (which is kind of a valid point...). Lori calls Daryl selfish for refusing her request for him to go "get" Rick and Glenn. Daryl, still bitter about Sophia, tells Lori he is done taking bullets and arrows for people. Lori decides to go after Rick and Glenn on her own. She gets hits a walker and crashes her car. Rick and Glenn find Herschel at the town saloon. Herschel admits that there is no hope for any of them anymore. Two strangers walk into the bar. Rick (grows some balls and) shoots them once their dangerous intentions to find Herschel's farm become clear.
Oh, and Shane washes Carol's hands.
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| Daryl Dixon consoles Carol. |
Now, I have a lot of respect for the writers of The Walking Dead. It's not easy to sustain such a large ensemble of characters and have them all be compelling. The writers are good at showing rather than just telling. Daryl consoling Carol by sitting with her in the trailer? Brilliant and touching. (Kudos to Norman Reedus for showing such a wide range of emotions without ever saying a word.) There was the funeral; an eerie, speechless shot of everyone dispersing. Herschel packing up his dead wife's belongings? Heartbreaking. And there was also the one sided showdown between Dale and Shane where Dale's bushy, glaring eyebrows did all the talking for him.
Then the writers ruin all of that and something stupid like make Lori leave Carl and go after Rick all by herself (apparently without telling anybody). How exactly was she going to help the situation? It's not as if Rick was picking up Herschel to spend the day at the mall . Lori acting so irrationally is just a way to create another dramatic 'save a damsel in distress' scenario. Also, Lori asking Daryl how he could be "so selfish" felt forced. I don't think anyone in the group would call Daryl selfish at this point. The man has done nothing but be selfless in his search for Sophia. (Speaking of selfish, what exactly has Lori contributed to the group anyways?) It's these moments of weak writing that threaten to outweigh all the good in the show.
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| Dave wants to give Rick a high five. |
Hopefully the next few episodes don't get too preoccupied with the whole Lori-Shane-Rick triangle and let the other characters shine. (Give T-Dog something to do for once!)
Best Scene: The bar scene at the end, hands down. The Walking Dead at its best; intense, slightly terrifying and unpredictable all at the same time. Is it bad that I was deeply upset to see (underrated) actor Michael Raymond-James' creepy character Dave get killed off so quickly? He peaked my interest more in those few minutes he had onscreen than some of the series' regulars have all season....
Best character development: Andrea finally becoming a respectable female character and doing what needed to be done by burying the barn walkers.
Best Dialogue: Daryl's "Listen up, Olive Oyl!" to Lori. Daryl giving out nicknames means he has officially begun his transformation into Sawyer from Lost (and that is not a bad thing).
Best Zombie Kill: Although it wins by default, Andrea's zombie kill with a scythe still would have been cool even if there had been other zombies kills this week. That being said, was I the only one concerned with how close that blade came to ending Glenn's baby making abilities? We all know (especially Daryl) how shoddy Andrea's aim can be...
Say what? moment: Why would Herschel's zombie-fied wife lie still for so long with so many humans around if she was still "alive"? I know it was done for dramatic effect but it didn't make any sense.
Next week's promo:
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