THE WALKING DEAD: 2.07 Pretty Much Dead Already

We review the overarching story developments, and extract the good and the bad from The Walking Dead 2.07 — “Pretty Much Dead Already”.

OVERARCHING STORY DEVELOPMENTS — WHAT WE LEARNED

The rest of the group learn that the barn is full of zombies, initiating highly-charged conflict amongst different members, none more so than Rick and Shane.

Rick tells Shane that Lori is pregnant. Shane believes the child to be his, even though he has no definitive way of knowing.

The search for Sophia reaches a staggering conclusion, after she creeps out from the Barn O’ Horrors to leave us all misty-eyed, as Rick kills yet another little zombiefied girl.

THE GOOD

There’s much to be said about how important conflict is in driving a story, especially one supposedly operating on the edge like The Walking Dead. While it’s always been there to some degree, it suddenly emerged to good effect as plot threads and character motivations/anxieties collided.

I had grown somewhat jaded of the Sophia plotline, but credit where it’s due, it seems more worth it now. That’s not to say that the previous 4-5 episodes couldn’t have been delivered in a more engaging way (they could have) but is was satisfying to see this particular drawn out experience redeem itself somewhat.

The final scene with Shane O’ Nuts going crazy was one of the season’s very best moments. At that moment the story suddenly felt important again, even though, in truth, the survivors were only doing what they’d done for most of the series – kill zombies. What made this feel so momentous is the complexity of the human motivations that underscored ‘Barnageddon’. This was Shane reacting to finding out that he might have a little Shane Bun in the Lori Oven; this was Glenn protecting his new-found love; this was the group going against their beloved leader and aligning with someone, in that moment, they felt offered the greater chance of survival.

And of course, the reactions. By this point the zombies had been somewhat ‘humanized’ through Hershel’s belief that they were ‘sick’ and the fact that they were his friends and family. As the group massacred his family right in front of his eyes, you could see the fabric of the man tearing from him in every which way.

Sophia’s childlike emergence from the barn, the group’s reactions, and Rick shooting her in the head was wonderfully captured, performed and scored. Fantastic, yet tragic stuff.

The ending sets the story up nicely for the continuation. There’s a real energy going into the next episode, which is where serialized TV should live; momentum and purpose.

THE BAD

Not all of the character actions and reactions felt natural. The Daryl/Carol scenes, for example, played too visibly towards that final scene. The Shane/Daryl flare-up also felt a bit contrived.

Does Carl have super recovery powers, or is that boy up and about a bit too quickly?

Carl’s desire to protect the group may stem from his recent run-in with Otis’ bullet (and his desire to be like daddy), but I find it a bit forced. His desire to find Sophia also seemed rather contrived, as I can’t recall them having that much of a bond. Still, Carl isn’t as annoying as Annoying Henry on Once Upon A Time.

T-Dog is terribly underserved, as he has been for pretty much the entire season. (If not for the cut arm ‘drama’, he might as well be a red shirt).

While I generally like the way this episode was filmed, some of the shots felt a bit too grandiose within the context; a wee bit forced. For example, the close-up on Rick when finding out about the Barn O’ Horrors.

SURVIVOR NOTES

As I feared a few episodes back, there’s definitely something brewing between Carol and Daryl. It’s not a good sign, though, when Daryl verbally abuses her. She’s moving from one abusive man to another? Daryl’s still evolving but that wasn’t a good look. That aside, it must have got his goat that she could just give up on her own daughter while he was still invested.

But doesn’t this also something about Daryl’s motivations? Sure, he’s put himself on the line for Sophia, but he’s also done it for himself. Just as Rick partly needed to find Sophia alive because of the decisions he had made. Everyone needs a purpose and for that purpose to hold firm, particularly in the apocalypse.

It’s interesting that Rick didn’t tell Shane that he knows about the affair with Lori. He’s keeping that under his hat for now. It’s also interesting that Rick has been keeping his suspicion of Lori and Shane’s affair from the audience.

Back in “Chupacabra” I speculated that Sophia (and/or Otis) might be in the Barn O’ Horrors, but it was still moving to see that be the case. I felt a wee bit sorry for Carol. Not that she strikes me as the best mother in the world (after all, she contributed very little to the search).

I worry for Dale, but props to him for standing his ground and trying to out fox Shane. It’s interesting how much Shane’s ‘mask’ has slipped with Dale. This should make for some useful conflict going forward. Moreover, I find it almost fascinating that people are wearing masks in the post apocalypse. A means of survival?

The Hershel/Maggie scene was their best of the season. It wasn’t perfect, but overall I liked what it did for both characters. Hershel didn’t try to deny that the apocalypse had changed him, which I thought was refreshing. All the same, their talk did affect him enough to change his mind about the group staying. Not that this would ultimately matter, but at the same time it did because it heightened Shane’s actions.

Glad Maggie reminded Hershel that Glenn’s name isn’t “that Asian boy”. About time too.

This episode highlights the idea that the zombies are ‘sick people’. An interesting perspective. What I also got a real sense of in this episode is the sickness of the survivors.

One of the most interesting questions to come from all of this for me is who was right? Was Shane right about stopping the search a long time ago, or was Rick right to continue. Further to that, did Shane take the correct course of action over the Barn O’ Horrors, or was Rick’s diplomacy the better move?

It’s about perspective, no doubt. But personally, while Shane’s argument has credibility in a certain context, Rick still has my backing. He’s still the best leader the group has. Shane may be beating his chest right now, claiming to be the best protector, but what kind of protector leaves his fellows when the going gets tough? He left Rick for dead. He wanted to leave Sophia for dead. He left Otis for Oatmeal. It’s only a matter of time until the likes of Carl or Lori either become so important to him that no one else matters, or so unimportant that they don’t matter enough.

That’s the problem with Shane O’ Nuts, there’s not much middle ground, and very little humanity. He’ll get you by for a while, perhaps a long while, but before long the group would be stripped, the weak left to die, and only those in his inner circle left ‘alive’, with empty hearts and emptier humanity.

All that being said, I do think he’s important as a counter-balance to Rick; he gives Officer Friendly something to think about, helps him to peer outside of his own world-view. But with Shane now going over the top of the top, I do worry how much longer Rick can sustain the group’s and his own humanity and togetherness. Perhaps that’s the old way of looking at things, maybe humanity matters squat when all is said and done? It’s a consideration the show needs to explore, and one I’m intrigued to see play out when Dead continues.

There was an interesting little moment during Barnageddon where Maggie nodded to Glenn, giving him permission to start shooting the zombies. I take it this as Maggie letting go and essentially allowing him to protect her, as per their earlier conversation. Still, is it slightly weird that he’s complicit in the massacre of her family members?

It was quite telling that Rick was the one to step up and kill Sophia; perhaps it was an admission of guilt, certainly he will feel responsible. It was also an interesting hand-over, as the trigger-happy survivors froze in their tracks as a recognizable face appeared, leaving it to the diplomat to clean up and potentially seal his own murky trajectory. The adaptation of Rick Grimes continues.

Did Hershel know about Sophia? He must have had a hunch.

My episode ratings for most of this season have been 8/10. This episode justifies that, for me, as PMDA was a notch above everything else in an otherwise good, but not great, season up to now.

RIP Sophia. You were Carol’s daughter. You had a teddy. You moved from the dang hole when Rick told you not to. We spent seven episodes looking for you. We didn’t really know ye, but RIP nonetheless: