The Walking Dead, Season 2, Episode 8: Nebraska
Definitely a slower episode than before, but despite this episode reverting back to being in "Talking Dead" form, it's a far stronger episode than the pre-barn ones. We get a fair amount of character moment as everyone just breaks down. Hershel has gone full broken as he just heads off to town and goes drinking and just utterly gives up hope in a nice broken speech. Carol likewise gives up hope, but goes around ripping apart the Cherokee roses. Carl is just sad but notes the necessity of Rick's actions. Daryl just sulks and refuses to help. Beth goes into a coma because fuck you that's why. Andrea and T-Dog don't like what they did, but recognize the necessity of it.
We get the requisite 'nope, the idealists are wrong' scene with Beth being attacked by her zombie mother, we get a funeral, we get Shane getting totally angry at a grieving Hershel for apparently keeping zombie!Sophia a secret and then at Rick for not seeing sense. Again, Shane does make good arguments but to answer his question -- he acts like such a gigantic ass to everyone that it's hard to get behind him. Charisma is as important as wisdom sometimes, in D&D terms. Dale, for one, is totally against Shane and I think a confrontation between the two with the gun on Shane's hands instead of Dale's won't be far off.
We also get a long discussion of hopelessness, an extension of Lori's "why we shouldn't bring a new lief into this crapshit world" argument a while back. It's a valid enough response, since, well, what are they going to do? There really isn't an objective, with there being no cure, no real sanctuary, zombies everywhere, people dying left and right, and even necessities like food, fuel and medicine will run out in time.
I am still confused of the timeline of events of episode one... how did Sophia have all the time to drop her doll, hide in that house that Daryl found, leave all her tracks, get bitten, have the time to get a fever and transform into a zombie, wrangled by Otis into the barn... all in the scope of time of the first episode? And honestly how did Maggie, Beth and whoever else was feeding crippled chickens not notice that their little zombie farm has a new addition -- a little girl, too, which would be quite distinct among a bunch of adults?
With that plot thread closed and buried (literally), though, what's next? I don't care that much about Beth's fever because, well, I don't even know she had a name until this episode. Lori went and got herself in a car accident which came out of nowhere and is utterly dumb -- Rick and Glenn were already going into town to bring Hershel back, is another voice really going to matter? Must be all the pregnancy hormones.
The main scene in this episode is the encounter with the two doucheholes that showed up in the bar. We get even more hope-dashing as Fort Benning is overrun with 'lamebrains', and after some discussion about the rumours on safe places, they decide they want to go with Team Rick back to the farm and generally be unpleasant. It's hard to really fault them for wanting to go all the way to survive, but pointing a gun? Good thing Rick has cowboy skills, and murders the two of them. In cold blood? In self-defense? It's definitely scarier and far more brutal than killing the barn zombies. Would Hershel drive Rick off the farm too in addition to insisting Shane leave?
Overall it's more talky scenes, but at least we have something different beyond "should we continue the search for Sophia".
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