The Walking Dead, Season 2, Episode 2: Bloodletting
A bit of a slower episode, as we jump straight into the fact that Carl has been shot, and we are introduced to a new group of survivors, including an apparent-doctor Hershel Greene, his daughter the awesome horse-riding Maggie, Otis the fat hunter who accidentally shot Carl and a couple of others who I don't think were named on-screen. We're settling back in into an action-bereft episode, focusing more on the panic surrounding Rick as he's torn on just how to best save Carl... who's under the tender mercies of the good doctor Hershel. As a man of action Rick is torn whether to go out and get Lori and whatnot, as well as to hunt down the surgical equipment (ventilators, intubators and the like) that is Carl's only chance at decent survival. Rick ends up having to learn that he needs to be around for his son instead of gallivanting around in heroism (even if it's also to help his son).
Shane, who finally gets to show a nicer side to him, proves his worth as Rick's best buddy and Carl's surrogate father during early season one. Not only does Shane provide some really strong emotional support for Rick -- who just broke -- he also ends up going (with a guilt-ridden Otis) into zombie-infested lands to get the medical equipment. I think these bits with Rick and Shane are definitely the strongest part of the episode. Shane finally gets something more to do instead of just shooting stuff alongside the other fighters or engaged in Lori-wooing attempts.
Of course, Hershel ends up being a vet. Granted, a vet who knows an impressive amount regarding operating on a human body under emergency situations, and he certainly carries the aura of a doctor, but still, he's a vet. And yet he's literally the only option for Carl to survive... so Carl's options really hinge on Shane's mission succeeding (and the cliffhanger implies complications) in time and Hershel managing to do it perfectly... or Hershel does the operation without breathing support or anesthesia, which is helluva more painful and far more dangerous since the kid's going to be thrashing around. Or he could just die. Man, poor Carl.
Meanwhile the rest of the cast is divided into smaller groups. We get T-Dog talking about how worthless he is and all that to Dale, about how the two of them are the load of the group (which included two kids, mind you) but he's apparently just gotten a fever from the wound he got last episode. Time will tell if the wound brought the zombie contagion into T-Dog's body.
Lori gets spirited away by Maggie on horseback to be with her child, and her reaction in both present and past to Carl and Rick's near-death situations respectively are heartbreaking. Daryl gets to show a bit more humanity to him instead of just being the redneck jerk who hangs along with the rest of the guys, being the only one supportive of the search for Sophia to Carol (while everyone else is either silent or voting to go back and continue tomorrow), and ends up saving T-Dog because Merle keeps a stash of drugs around, among them the painkillers and antibiotics that T-Dog needs. You go, Daryl!
Overall still kinda slow, but definitely good as it focuses more on developing the characters and everything while not underscoring the 'apocalypse' part of the show's premise. The fact that there are no real proper medical facilities or, hell, even amoxicillin to deal with a simple cut, really shows just how shitty Team Atlanta's situation is right now. Pacing's still a bit off since the party's split into two halves with one dealing with the missing Sophia and one dealing with Carl being shot, but the characterization moments more than make up for it.
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