Blogging Dead: The Walking Dead, Episode 402 ‘Infected”

Episode 402 picked up right where we left off with the premiere.  While the walkers on the outside are still a threat, we are now dealing with something that is potentially much scarier.  The mysterious and contagious illness has gone beyond infecting (and killing) Patrick and has already spread through the prison.  If pretty much everybody has been exposed, then it’s totally up in the air as to who will get sick and who might survive.

The biggest mystery we have now after completing this episode has got to be, ‘Who killed Karen and David?’  Karen had shown symptoms of her illness, and the next thing you know, she’s been burnt to a crisp.  It’s kind of a shame for her character to luck out enough to be the sole survivor of the Governor’s assault only to wind up murdered and burned because she started coughing.

So, who was the culprit?  Whoever did this was likely not wanting the sickness to spread any further, and killed the two victims in an attempt to prevent that.  However, this was obviously not agreed upon by the council members, so somebody went into business for his or herself.  Most people seem to be suspicious of Bob (the former medic), Dr. S (the new doctor from Woodbury) and even Lizzie and Mika (the two little girls).  Personally, I think they are all wrong, and I’m putting my money on Carol.

Think about it.  Carol has already proven that she will go against the council if she passionately feels she is doing the right thing, as was the case with her knife school.  She knew the other adults wouldn’t approve of that idea, so she kept it to herself.  Now that Carol has pretty much ‘adopted’ Lizzie and Mika, I could see her getting paranoid about the virus infecting the children, so she disposed of them.  It can be argued as to whether this is ‘good’ or ‘evil’, but we do know that the illness works very fast and time was a factor.  I will also point out that Carol was very concerned about it during the council meeting.  She pointed out how the virus makes its victims a threat to others, and suggested that they can’t just wait around to see what happens.  She was also the one that first confronted Karen when she heard her coughing from outside of the room.

The other ‘whodunnit?’ we got from the episode is the situation with the rats.  Who exactly is feeding vermin to the walkers on the outside?  Again, Lizzie and Mika are a popular subject of speculation, mostly due to Lizzie’s fascination with the zombies (notably her favorite, Nick).  However, I don’t think that theory holds any water.  The height of the person would need to be equal or greater than that of the zombies, unless she snuck a stool out there.  I also don’t get why she would only feed the walkers at the crowded section of the fence and leaving nothing for Nick, her special zombie.

We also saw that this person was not feeding the whole rats to the zombies, only the heads while leaving the remains in a bundle on the ground.  What would be the point in only offering a small taste to the walkers at the most built-up section of the fence?  I feel that this person is a traitor and that they are deliberately trying to rile the walkers up to weaken the integrity of the fence.  Of course, that does leave the question as to who would possibly want to ruin the safety of their own home?

I’ve got this theory that Bob could be a plant working for the Governor.  The guy just happens to get picked up a week before, and now somebody is trying to compromise the group’s safe haven?  Admittedly, my big problem with this idea is that it is hard to think of a good motive for Bob to do such a heinous thing.  He has seen that there are small children at this prison, and the group has already even saved his life (apart from rescuing him originally and bringing him in).  I haven’t been able to come up with a good answer for that, unless either Bob is just really evil or the Governor is holding his family hostage.  I just still think he’s the most likely culprit compared to everybody else, as I also wouldn’t even have any theories as to why any other character would want to endanger the group.

Possibly, for both cases of the rat feeding and body burning, it could be the work of a character we haven’t seen yet.  There are still a lot of Woodburians floating around that we haven’t quite gotten to know.

It is hard for me to pick which scene from this episode was more emotional.  It is a toss-up between Michonne’s breakdown while holding Judith and Rick sacrificing those cute piglets to the walkers.  It was heartbreaking to see Michonne’s emotional guard finally break down when tending to Judith obviously triggered some very painful memories for her.  On the other hand, those three little piggies were very cute, and it was bothersome to see them cut up and devoured.  You gotta do what you gotta do, though, right?

All in all, this was a fantastic episode.  We will see how the rest of the season plays out, but I am already liking Scott Gimple’s direction of the show far better than where Glen Mazzara was taking it.  In many ways, season 4 almost seems like a reboot of the show, which was necessary as I feel Mazzara kind of left things in an inconsistent mess, and Gimple had a little bit of cleaning up to do.  The guy seems to have found the perfect balance between zombie action and character development.  I’m looking forward to the next one.

Blogging Dead: The Walking Dead, episode 401 ’30 Days Without an Accident’

The season 4 opener of The Walking Dead broke its own record once again with over 16 million viewers tuning in.  After what many had deemed a disappointing finale for the third season, I was wondering if people were simply going to move on by the time the show had returned.  I couldn’t have been more wrong, as the numbers have clearly gone up, even after a painfully long wait over the summer.

Good thing for all of those who stuck with the show and watched the premiere, because it was pretty fantastic, in my humble opinion.  This was the first episode under the tenure of the new showrunner Scott M. Gimple, who has replaced Glen Mazzara.  A lot of people, myself included, feel Mazzara botched some of the storylines in the last season (such as Andrea’s death and an underwhelming finale).  I was curious to see the direction Gimle would take the show, and it seems things may be just fine under his thumb.

Scott M. Gimple didn’t seem to waste any time getting back into the swing of things.  Several new storylines and subplots were set up that already have my dying to find out what happens next.  It seems the new man in charge has a plan for every one of our main and supporting characters, although any newcomers to the cast will be on thin ice it we have learned anything from the premiere.

I’m so happy to see Rick get his humanity back.  I didn’t care for the dark path he was heading down in the last season.  Hey, I like good guy Rick.  The man has his compassion back and has even become a better father for his children, even having a heart when it comes to the animals.  His interactions with creepy Clara from the woods were very interesting.  It was obvious Rick wanted to help this woman, but still knew enough to keep his guard up.  I wonder if the bagged head was a reference to chapter five of the video game, which also featured a man carrying a bag containing his wife’s severed head.

Novel and comic fans might recognize Bob’s character, the former medic and recovering alcoholic.  The biggest differences are that Bob on the show is a younger black man, compared to the print version that features him as an old white guy living in Woodbury.  I personally  don’t mind the differences in appearance, as it’s not the first deviation from the source material, and he has such a small role in the comics anyway.  It seems like there is a plan for him on the show moving forward though, and I’ve got to admit, he peaks my interest.  He was able to put the bottle down in the Big Spot, but what happens the next time the opportunity comes along?  Is he going to give in to his temptations while on a run, and is that going to get himself or others killed?

I love Michonne and her horse.  She just looks badass on that thing, and I can’t wait to see her riding by and decapitating zombies on it.    I guess the good thing to come from the death of Andrea is Michonne’s determination for revenge.  I like the idea that she is hunting the Governor down.  It seems dangerous, but remember, the guy is a madman and he knows where the prison is.  With nothing left to lose, I am sure he wants to return and cause some more destruction, so here’s hoping Michonne can track him down first.  What really got me curious was her decision to head to Macon, which fans of the game will recognize as being Lee Everett’s hometown.  Will we see a cameo from Lee and Clementine on the show?  I certainly wouldn’t mind!

Could they be setting up a romance with Beth and Daryl?  I never would have thought it before, given the age gap between the two.  I guess that stuff just isn’t as important in the zombie apocalypse.  Andrea and Dale had their romance in the comics, after all.  Beth and Daryl could have just been providing each other with comfort after Zacks death, but that hug looked a little more touchy-feely and your average “There, there,” type of gesture.  We can’t forget about Carol’s infatuation with Daryl, though.  If he starts laying the pipe down on a younger, pretty blonde, would that push Carol off the deep end?

Patrick seemed like an interesting enough character, and it’d at least have been nice for Carl to have someone closer to his age to bond with.  However, I suppose you are never safe, even behind the prison walls.  Whatever made the kid so sick was apparently nasty enough to go from Patrick feeling a little nausea at storytime to bleeding from the face while lying dead on the ground in a few hours time.  Is this related to Violet the pig dying outside?  Are we seeing an outbreak of the swine flu within the prison walls?

This was a very strong season opener in my opinion.    There were enough walker kills to keep fans of the action happy, and the introduction of some new storylines certainly have my attention.  I hope to see the show continue to deliver as the story progresses.