The Walking Dead Review - 2.07 'Pretty Much Dead Already'

Posted by Matt Arena on 11.27.2011

After the big revelations toward the end of last week’s episode of The Walking Dead, the tensions between (and within) the two groups start to heighten. Plus an ending that will keep fans drooling for the show’s return in February…



I’ll kick this off with my first thought when this episode ended, HOLY BALLS. So far it’s fair to say that The Walking Dead has felt a bit…restrained so far this season. There hasn’t really been that balls-to-the-wall feeling that the first season encapsulated so well. Don’t get me wrong, the show has been good, but it’s been different. That changed this week. Hyping the episode as “the mid-season finale” gave me some pretty high expectations and oh boy did they deliver. First off we start with the fallout of the two big secrets getting out, Lori’s pregnancy and the walkers in the barn. Glenn pretty much blurts of the barn secret from the get to, which is a change of pace from the structure of the show so far. It was right out of the gate explosive. The argument that ensued as Rick tries to keep the group on the farm with Shane’s actions only widening the rift between Hershel and the others. The differences between Shane and Rick have been more obvious and it was only a matter of time until they clashed. Shane’s in full-on survival mode, not giving a rat’s ass about morality as long as what happens ensures his (and Lori & Carl’s) survival. So it’s pretty easy to understand that he flipped out when the walkers in the barn were revealed. There’s this strong feeling through the entire episode that Shane’s mental fragility is growing weaker; I was fully expecting a complete meltdown in this episode.

And to a degree that’s what we got. Yes I’m talking the absolutely insane ending. It was possibly the greatest ten minutes in any TV series ever. I’ve been waiting for this show to go all out and that’s EXACTLY what went down. I nearly jumped out of my chair and starting cheering when Shane started pumping rounds into the zombie that Hershel had tethered. Seeing Rick go along with Hershel’s ridiculous mindset to corral the undead like grazing cows really didn’t sit well with me. It further put the group in danger. So it was incredibly gratifying to see Shane finally do what needed to be done. There was too much tiptoeing around the friction between the two groups and inevitably, someone had to step up. Rick’s method of appeasement toward Hershel, while morally “right”, was putting people in danger. Shane might be a bit unpopular with some since he throws morality to the wind, but I love everything about him. He handled Dale, got the guns, and then handled Hershel. His line when handing Glenn a gun wrapped up his mindset perfectly, “You gonna protect yours?” Of course there’s the little problem that what Shane sees as “his” (Lori & Carl) isn’t really his, but he’s protecting people he feels he needs to. When talking with Lori earlier he did make a great point; Rick’s selflessness was bringing harm to Lori and Carl. The incident after the fish fry, for example. If it weren’t for Shane, they would have both been dead. Rick’s morality, while the “right” thing to do, was putting his wife and child in harm’s way. Shane isn’t weighed down by morality.

Shane’s actions had a pretty evident effect on Rick. One would expect for him to try to calm Shane down (as he did at first) but once Sophia came out as a zombie, there was a very obvious change in Rick. He walked right up to Sophia and did what needed to be done. I’m hoping that they continue with this when the show returns in a couple months, as I felt Rick’s character was getting weaker. Oh and yes Sophia coming back as a zombie made the dragging out of her storyline worth it. I really didn’t expect her to come shambling out of that barn. If anything I thought they’d find her in the woods somewhere, not right in front of their noses. All the time and resources they wasted looking for her were for nothing; not to mention the amount of danger it put them in. I got the feeling all this dawned on Rick once he saw her limp out from behind the barn doors, hence the determined look and crazy eyes as he put one in her forehead. I’ve been waiting for Rick to man up all season long and it was so worth the wait. Now we’ve got to wonder the effect this will have on Hershel. Will he go crazy and try to kill Rick & company? Will he realize that they were right the entire time? I can’t wait to see how this ripples throughout the rest of the season when the show returns. Can it just be February already?

Now for everything not ‘last 10 minutes of the episode’ related. I loved how they explained Daryl’s seemingly out-of-character obsession with finding Sophia. They really don’t have a whole lot to live for, so his drive to find her wasn’t from a pure place, but more of a reason to keep going. A big question this show poses is, what’s the point of living in a world that’s gone to shit? For some characters (like Andrea), that question isn’t easy to answer. Daryl found a cause to latch himself onto just so he can find a reason to wake up in the morning. It was underplayed, but a major moment for his character. We don’t really get to see inside of his head a whole lot and this was arguably one of his defining moments. And then there’s Dale. His nosy old man thing kept going farther and farther, putting him at odds with almost everyone in the camp; especially Shane. The vibe we got at first is that Dale is just looking out for everyone’s safety but it’s clear he takes things too personally and makes rash decisions that will ultimately hurt the group. He isn’t a fan of Shane’s moral grayness, so he lost it a bit when he saw Andrea gravitating toward that. That’s the only explanation I could see for him taking the guns. I can’t imagine what the hell he was thinking there. It was incredibly tense to see his standoff with Shane. He keeps confronting Shane and then always having to back down. Really not liking Dale as of late and I hope they have more in store for him in the second half of the season. All in all, this was the PERFECT way to end the first run of episodes. There’s going to be so much fallout from this episode. Things can’t stay the way they are. Brilliant move to throw the show into the most heightened state it’s ever been in, then keep up dangling for another 2 months. I both love and hate you at the same time, AMC.

Zombie Kill of the Week:
There are a bunch to choose from here, and only one clear winner. As much as I loved Shane popping the walker Hershel had lassoed, I can’t deny how powerful Sophia’s emergence and death was. One of the biggest shockers in the entire series for me, not to mention seeing the look on Rick’s face as he walked up and shot her in the head. It’s always rough to watch one of the survivors turn into a zombie, but even worse when it’s one of the children. Congrats Rick, you finally made the hard decision. Keep it up.


NOTE: Yeah, that's a perfect 10 you see down there. I give those out only when I walk away from something without a single negative note. That was the case tonight. Greatest episode of this series. Hands down.

The 411: As much as this was hyped as the “mid-season finale,” it easily lived up to it. And then some. I’d even argue it ended with a bigger bang than the season finale last year. One of my issues with this season was that there was a lot of set up, just lots of building tension without the show going anywhere. They took that tension and jammed it into this episode, in specific the last 10 minutes. Seeing Shane grab the reigns and just take control of everything may be one of my favorite moments in the entire series. In short, The Walking Dead finally stepped it up. Now we wait 10+ weeks to see what’s next. See you guys in February.

Final Score:  10.0   [ Virtually Perfect ]