SPOILERS AHOY, AS ALWAYS: So, now, a dozen episodes into the season, everyone on the farm seems to realize that hey, there are zombies out there, and maybe we should try to protect ourselves from them! It’s another instance of a show that doesn’t always seem to want to act logically; the farm has been a place of solace, almost entirely free of zombies, for the entire season, and now, all of a sudden, just when the show needs a bit of drama or excitement, it’s made clear that it’s not all that safe of a place, after all, and now there are hordes of zombies ready to bear down on the group. What changed?
Well, the death of Dale obviously acted as an impetus for beefing up security, but it’s still funny how no one thought it was worth maybe fortifying a bit earlier in the season, and funnier still how zombies simply don’t show up on the land unless it’s convenient for them to do so. Obviously, this being a written drama, zombies can appear whenever a writer wishes to budget them into a script, and the existence of the farm as a sanctum sanctorum has allowed the writing staff to explore internal issues as a driving factor this season, but still, the notion of zombies being a danger only now gives the universe that those writers are building a distance from the feeling of death lurking around every corner which it had in season one.
Those internal issues of course rotated around the persons of Shane and Rick, and came to a head in a moonlit showdown between the pair at the end of this episode. Shane’s portrayal has been somewhat inconsistent this season, varying between murderous and merely unsteady, but his plot to finish off Rick had a sick kind of logic to it: break the prisoner, Darrell, free from his cell, lead him out into the woods, claim that he’s armed, break off with Rick to hunt him down, and shoot him, leading everyone to believe that Darrell was the one who did it. It’s a smart plan, even if the director of the show pushed Jon Bernthal a bit too far into snarling, serial-killer mode.
The denouement also had some nice twists on the way Shane exited the comics; there, he was shot by Carl as he and Rick had an argument, which the writers here turned around into Carl shooting zombie-Shane after Rick stabs him to death. As to how Carl managed to sneak into the woods, though...for all her talk at Andrea about helping out around the house and performing more womanly duties, you’d think that Lori would be able to keep an eye on her fucking kid when there’s theoretically an escaped convinct with a gun, not to mention a buttload of zombies, in the very near vicinity of the farm.
And so, exit Shane from the show. His character has been an interesting one this season: his opinions on the defense of the group and the cut-throat, us-first need for survival are valid, which could’ve led to some interesting debates on the part of the group, but his portrayal as a barely-sane rapist/murderer have always seemed to make those debates a bit less impactful than they otherwise would’ve been. It’s fine for the writers to want to make this season about the group’s internal dynamics before focusing on external threats in Season 3, but making Shane such an obvious villain has always seemed to enervate those conflicts rather than intensifying them.
With him and Dale out of the way, it’s clear that we’ll have a tighter, leaner group fighting against the enemies of Season Three, the identities of which were spoiled by some casting news not too long ago. Now we only have one more episode to go, and as it’s the season finale, it’s pretty clear that we’re going to have a decent body-count. Who do you think is on the outs?
Also, fuck Shane. He's a cynic's wet dream.
Convenient and lazy plot contrivances are the calling card of this show. Carl levels the gun at his father before we even seen Shane get up. Cheap "tension". Shane stumbling, and gurgling toward Rick, not more than a few feet away, and Rick is oblivious. Cheap "tension". Carl even being there in the first place. Ugh. I don't think I've seen an episode that didn't have multiple ridiculous conceits like this.
And then there's the characterisation. Oh lawdy! People keep saying Lori is stupid, she isn't. The people who write Lori are. Whenever it's convenient to the plot for Lori to become either incredibly stupid, or ridiculously manipulative, she becomes so. It doesn't matter if it makes the characters look like they have bi-polar disorder. Shane makes rational decisions, not deluded about the reality of their situation = Let's also make him have zero control over his emotions!
"I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can survive a few days if need be."
so if this show is just used for nitpick fests? why even bother watching it? i enjoy the show alot. one of the better shows on tv. but every week i see the same article nitpicking at it, then tons of comments doing more nitpicking.
if you dont like the damn show don't watch it, wtf? lol
@lipp18 said:
Daryl's gun also imbues its user with super tracking abilities.
I really liked the episode. I'm curious though. At the end of the episode, didn't it appear that they were back close to the farm? (Especially when you see previews of the next episode) It makes more sense that Carl was able to find Shane and Rick then, but why would Shane wait until they were way back there to kill Rick? It didn't imply that they had given up and headed back to the farm or anything. It makes no sense. If they were far away from the farm (which I'm not buying from what I saw), then how the fuck did Carl find them? He doesn't even have a flashlight ffs.
So T-Dog is fucked right? He has barely been in it these last few episodes they have to be writing him out.
I keep watching because I like a show about people surviving through a Zombie Outbreak, and I enjoyed the graphic novels (only got through the first big compilation volume). But man... this show can be rough to watch. I was actually happy when I got spoiled on Shane's death, since I really couldn't stand the idea of him being consistently crazy/rapey for another season. This show is still better than most on TV, but more as popcorn entertainment than interesting character study.
Also, it made me sad to see promos for The Killing during this... that is a show that AMC needs to just stop right now, before people see how bad it can truly get.
@Rourkey said:
Sadly, I believe the time has come.
Liked this episode. Shane finally got what was coming to him and Carl finally did something that didn't fuck something up. Even if it did add another blemish to Lori's already-terrible reputation (like Rorie said, if women have to be "women" now, fucking WATCH the only kid in the group and don't go and fuck with the crazy guy's head right after he becomes reluctantly helpful).
Glad that Carl came through, though. I always liked that kid. *ahem*
Great episode all around. I really liked Shane though, he had the best mentality/survival instincts you would want to have in a zombie apocalypse.
With all this talk of plot convenience for the shot heard by zombies. Let me thow out that they did mention walkers were getting closer to the farm (reason why Dale died). So I ask, is it possible that when Barnmageddon happened a herd of walkers was not nearby and when Shane got popped there was a herd of walkers nearby. I think that's plausible. Yes, no?
I really don't think you were paying that much attention this season. You seem to get a lot of things mixed up, Randall not Darrell lol. I thought the episode was fantastic from beginning to end. Great acting by Jon and Andrew
By having Carl shoot a zombie Shane and not a human Shane, they have effectively changed his character at a fundamental level, which, in my opinion, is horrible. I understand it's an adaptation, and I haven't had any problems with any of the changes they've made before this, but in order for it to be "The Walking Dead," Carl needs to have killed Shane.
It was a good episode, but damn it does this show lack the tension and drama it could have with a better writing staff. The first half of this season is completely forgettable, characters aren't characterized very well or do things very out of character. I mean why the hell did Lori say those things to Shane this episode? She has does nothing but act completely the opposite of what she said to him, and then out of the blue she feels sorry for him?
I really think this last half of the season has been better, but they still have a long way to go if they want this to be the great show AMC presents it as.
Best part was the Office Space opening.
@MiniPato said:
Guess you missed the scene where he was looking out a window with binoculars and saw them on the hill?
I really love this show, even with the quirks and inconsistencies. Seriously though, what is Lori doing while her son is off wandering around in the zombie infested woods? You would think she would be especially mindful considering she now knows he was off in the woods and lured back the walker that killed Dale. Even moreso with a supposodely armed and dangerous Randall roaming around.
I dunno...sometimes it seems like this show doesn't know what to do with female characters. Other than Andrea they pretty much are all weaklings that either manipulate situations or just go along for the ride.
@rame: Ok then how bout the fact hours before Carl got shot the Hoard of zombies on the highway/road just passed. Those zombies were maybe a 2-4 miles away when Carl was shot. Why didn't the hoard hear that shot? Cause the group was sitting on that highway for a good 2 days after it happened but they never saw a zombie on that road again. I think the reasons people are pointing out this inconsistency is because it seems pretty damn lazy. Almost as if the writers are grasping at straws. The same thing can be said for the whole Lori situation. It's inconsistent.
@DefaultProphet:
I must have! Still doesn't excuse the fact that Lori can't watch over her fucking kid after letting him wander about in bad places like 4 times in a row.
The guys name was Randall. Not Darrell.
@DefaultProphet:
Exactly! Some people just don't get that lol