WALKING DEAD Wanders More (Between Monologues)
Season 2, episode 2: “Bloodletting”
Timothy: Hello Lads and Lasses! In this weeks installment of Dustin and my reviews of the new season of AMC’s “The Walking Dead”, we continue to resist having a consistent format, Dustin recaps the show, and I consider the time spent on talking, talking, talking, as well as ask questions of geography. Spoilers Ahead!
Dustin: So, we start with a flash back to the first episode of season 1, but this time, from Lori’s point of view. She’s having literally the same conversation that Rick and Shane had with a random woman I can only assume, by the fact that she is not in the series, Lori used as zombie bait. They talk until Shane arrives to tell Lori that Rick has been shot. Stoic, Lori marches over to where Carl is just getting out of school to tell him about his father’s medical condition.
Timothy: Actually, it’s kind of nice to see Shane back when he wasn’t the Worst Best Friend In The World…
Dustin: Then we flash into the woods where Carl has just been shot. Fat Otis stumbles out of the woods, apologetic for shooting the kid and tells Rick that he needs to run like crazy to Hershel’s farm so Carl can get some medical attention. So Rick runs like a crazy person to Hershel’s farm. Hershel’s older than I expected him to be. And you know, I was really expecting to see Sophia, like standing on Hershel’s porch like a little moron. I don’t know why. And somebody better go back to get that deer. It’s good meat.
Timothy: Please note… the house is within running distance from the church. This is what, day two of the Search For Sophia? Shane is being all human again. Maybe planning on leaving is a cure for bastard.
Dustin: Meanwhile in the woods, Lori is spooked by her womanly instincts. Everyone tells her to stop being so bug-eyed and keep moving. Carol and Andrea bond over their lost loved ones and Daryl is the voice of reason, telling everyone that Sophia is fine.
Meanwhile, back on the highway, Dale and ((sigh)) T-Dog check his wound which is totally infected. Oh! And T-Dog has a real name! It’s Theodore!! I’m calling him that from now on. Have some dignity Theodore. They begin ransacking the cars for antibiotics.
Timothy: And here we have my vote for the creepiest scene in this show, ever. As Ted-Dog goes through a car’s glove box, he looks into the back seat and sees a blood-spattered baby seat. A blood. Spattered. Baby. Seat. It’s just bloody enough… to be the stuff of nightmares. Shudder.
Rick throws himself a pity party over Carl’s gunshot wound. Shane pulls him back from the brink. Sort of. They kind of… monolog all over each other. Rick keeps repeating that if a little girl goes missing, you look for her. God, Rick, shut up. I hate your face.
Timothy: Time in: 13:24. Time out: 14:24. Feels like it’s much longer, but not as long as…
Dustin: Carl makes it through surgery (of course) and Rick freaks out about Lori not knowing what’s up. Shane offers to go get Lori. I am noticing a suspicious lack of Hershel’s children… only Maggie is around right now. I hope the other 4 show up soon. I may have to stop watching this show if the other Greene children are not in this series.
Shane talks about going to get Lori for about 1 million hours instead of actually going to get her. He talks so long that before he actually leaves, Hershel comes in and tells Rick that Carl needs actual surgery to save his life. Hershel needs a respirator and other surgical supplies. Shane decides to not go after Lori after all, and instead decides to go with Fat Otis to the high school to gather the supplies. Maggie offers to head to the highway to get Lori.
Timothy: … this part. Yea gods. 16:35-18:30. I get that this is the kind of conversations people have, of course they are, although Rick’s “I have to go get Lori and leave my child with total strangers” bit is weird as hell, but something about this whole bit just drrrraaaaaaaaaaggggggsssssss on. But Otis is pretty awesome.
And please note: The school is within 5 miles of the house.
Dustin: Back in the woods, Lori and the rest of Team Zombie decide to give up the hunt and go back to the highway, vowing to pick up the search for Sophia in the morning. At this point, Carol begins to freak out. She says she just wants to find her damn kid already, dead or alive, she doesn’t particularly care anymore, she just wants to KNOW. I’m right there with you Carol. Daryl, proving to be the best at everything, tells her to stop being such a moron. They will find Sophia, and she will be fine.
Otis and Shane head to the high school for the supplies.
Dale and Theodore talk about how there are no drugs in the whole damn traffic jam. And Theodore waxes philosophical about their place in Team Zombie. Theodore thinks that when the going gets tough, the tough get to lynching the black folk. Dale tries to talk him down but Theodore is not having it. He wants to abandon the others in the RV and get the hell out of Dodge. Fortunately it’s the blood poison talking and Dale puts him on a strict regimen of ibuprofen (the only drug they had available.)
Andrea is in the middle of grousing when she is attacked by a walker. For someone who wanted to die, like 2 days ago, she sure does fight like the dickens when she is attacked by certain death. Things are looking grim, but Maggie busts in on a horse with a baseball bat to save the day. Maggie wins the bad-ass-of-the year award. She swoops Lori up on the horse and tells the rest of team Zombie how to get to the farm before she bugs out.
Timothy: Wow. So the group is walking along, all together, right? Then apparently Andrea is attacked by the Spiderweb of Bad Editing, because suddenly she’s alone and the others are so far ahead that when she screams they aren’t sure where she is, and have to come running from a really long way away… wow. Apparently if you want someone to ride to the rescue on a horse you need to toss reality out the window to get the shot. And no one noticed that the woman who wants to die wasn’t with the group? Really?
Dustin: When the others arrive at the RV, Dale tries to get the story out of everyone, but instead gets the sad eyes from Andrea. Should have let her blow herself up when you had the chance dude.
Rick and Hershel bond over the beauty of the Green homestead. Rick has to break the news that there will be no cure to the zombie uprising. Hershel is a biological optimist and thinks everything will work itself out in the end.
This show loves its monologs so much, it needs to take them to Iowa and gay marry them.
Timothy: 29:00- 30:40. It’s weird. They’re only about a minute long each, but yeah, it’s like they have to give everyone a speech this week. They should stop that.
Lori arrives and cries over Carl’s limp body.
More blood-letting as Carl has had 2 transfusions. Where the hell is Shane with those supplies? Rick has some OJ as Lori grills Hershel on the surgery plans for Carl. Hershel reveals that he is a vet, not a people doctor. Lori loses it. Rick falls over, and Hershel wins the line of the week:
Lori: You’re in completely over your head, aren’t you?
Hershel: Ma’am, aren’t we all?
Oh, and here are Shane and Otis. They arrive at the high school only to discover that it is completely overrun with zombies.
Timothy: Nope, got nothin’. Dustin’s on a roll and I’m just going to let him go. 😉
Back at the RV, after much hemming and hawing, Team Zombie decides to send Glenn and Theodore to the farm so Theodore can get some much needed medical attention. Daryl, Dale, Andrea, and Carol will wait one more night on the highway just in case Sophia decides to finally show up. Dale waxes about how he hope the Greens have the medicine to save Theodore. Daryl snorts and walks away. Everyone makes ‘What a racist’ faces until he returns with a bag of drugs. Apparently all you had to do was ask, because Daryl still has his brother Meryl’s stash, which is the craziest assortment of prescriptions this side of “Absolutely Fabulous”. Meryl got crabs a lot, among other things.
This whole scene makes me nervous. They are turning Daryl into such an awesome character, I’m worried about what will happen to him when Meryl inevitably returns.
Shane and Otis distract the zombies with flares so they can get to the medical supplies. It works like a charm. Stupid Zombies.
Rick has a breakdown about Shane not being back with the supplies yet. Lori tells him to sit his sorry ass down and wait like a good boy.
Otis and Shane fill their bags with booty; it’s not very exciting. Until they get out of the medical tent and the zombies attack. They make a run for it. The zombies right on their heels, Shane blasts his way into the high school and closes the security gate, trapping him and Otis in a small area with zombies very close.
CLIFHANGER!!
Timothy: Dun Dun DUNNNNNNNN!!!! Ok, I have to ask… why the hell is it talking so long to find Sophia? We’ve got a highway bordering one side of the search, a church and a house within walking distance and a school less than 5 miles away, and one little girl can get that lost? With people tromping around and yelling for her for two days? Um, really? Seriously, if she’s not dead, I’ll be really surprised, because at this point I’m not sure there’s any other rational explanation. Well, aside from bad writing that is.
I think you can see that we’re not enraptured with the new season so far, but we’re still hopeful. Next week, we’re hoping to have Miss Molly join us, and looking to have Curtis back soon too… See you then!
