Synopsis: “Rick and Shane come into conflict over the fate of an outsider. Andrea helps Hershel’s youngest daughter face a crucial decision.
If you have not seen this episode yet and do not wish to be spoiled, do not continue reading!
This episode had one of the most exciting openings of the series, so, naturally it had to be a tease for what is to come in the near future. We knew that Rick and Shane were into some serious zombie trouble and that they were not alone. The outsider that Rick rescued was tied up and scrambling for a knife to cut himself free. How did they get there…
This episode was basically split into two completely different stories paralleling one another. There is the half about Rick, Shane and the outsider. Then, there is the rather sluggish scenes at Hershel’s farm. This seemed like a filler storyline at first and became a much more serious matter that this show has handled before with Andrea. Hershel’s youngest daughter wanted to commit suicide to avoid living in the rundown world that they have been forced to inhabit.
While this second part of the episode is a serious issue, it has been covered and takes away too much focus from Rick’s more enticing story. Compared to the action Rick and Shane ended up facing, the suicide watch slowed the pace like a roller coaster that is pulled up a hill to race down to the bottom only to be pulled up another hill immediately rather than allowing the velocity to take control. It is a shame that the writers decided to pair these two stories together for that reason.
Again, it’s not that I do not appreciate the severity of the suicide storyline in a world such as this one. It just did not fit nicely into this specific episode. It was handled differently than Andrea’s own watch at least. Andrea even attempted to give her own input to Lori and Maggie to leave the girl alone to make her own decision about whether she wants to live or not. Though this seems harsh, it is actually what needed to be done, for the youngest Hershel could not kill herself after attempting to slit her wrists with Andrea leaving her alone. Andrea’s actions forced Maggie to tell her to stay out of their house.
It was an interesting take on the issue. Having Andrea choose to live and involving her was what gave this storyline a refreshing feel. Andrea, like Shane, continues to push people to their limits and she did the same in “18 Miles Out.” This time she could have cost a life with her boldness.
Turning my attention back to the more exciting storyline of the episode, “18 Miles Out” started off with a seriously delayed conversation regarding Rick’s family and Shane’s involvement with them. Rick definitely needed to talk to Shane about everything he has come to learn about his actions, including his affair and feelings for Lori and the sacrifice of Otis. Rick stated how hard it was not to break his jaw after finding out about him and Lori. Surprisingly, Shane was quiet for the most part before talking about how swiftly things changed once the walkers began to plague the world and how he would change things if he could have known about Rick being alive.
One of my favorite parts of the episode was Rick explaining (and showing) that they need to savor their guns more and use knives when they can. Shane is such a loose cannon and it’s no wonder that walkers always tend to find him since he loves to blast off. Using their guns less would definitely be an advantage that the entire group needs to practice and follow.
There is so much intensity with these characters. When they were leaving the outsider to fend for himself, he announced that he was only with the other group because he did not want to be alone. He also yelled that he went to school with Maggie, which set off both Rick and Shane. Shane, like usual wanted to kill him and ends up fighting with Rick. The fight was and has been heavily anticipated for the entirety of the series. It was brutal and led to a zombie ambush after Shane busted open a nearby building’s window with a wrench aimed at Rick.
The entire sequence of all three of them had numerous awesome moments. The outsider proved crafty while untying himself and breaking a zombie’s arm in the process. Shane was chased into a school bus while holding the door shut with nowhere to go. He put Rick’s knife trick to work, which was very cool to watch. It almost felt like he valued Rick for a moment. Rick definitely showed again how awesome he is in escaping three zombies literally on top of him. He actually shot one zombie in the head through another zombie’s head. This made my top five favorite TWD kills list.
Rick and the outsider managed to get free from the zombies long enough to leave. As they were fleeing, Shane watched and I was thinking “How does that feel, Shane?!” I knew that Rick wouldn’t leave him to die, but I bet he might have considered it. Plus, Shane looked scared to death which was priceless. Their rescue mission was quite smart and executed brilliantly. They drove through some of the zombies to the back of the school bus where Shane dove into the vehicle.
They tied the outsider back up after getting a safe distance away from where they were. The episode ended with Rick talking to Shane once more about needing a night to decide what to do about the stranger. Rick also told Shane that if he wants to be with them, he has to trust him and stop acting the way he does. It will be interesting to see where these two old friends will go from here.
Overall, the episode was action-packed and emotionally effective. It was still one of the better episodes of the season despite the story split. It could have been one of the best if the writers would have fleshed out Rick’s story some more and placed the suicide story within a slower paced episode. I’m really looking forward to what Rick decides to do regarding their “guest” next week.
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Episode 11: “Judge, Jury, Executioner”
Episode starts with Daryl beating the sh-t out of Randall in a shed. Randall reveals that their group has about 30 people, including women and children, and that he doesn’t know where they’re staying since they’re always on the move. He also says that they’re heavily armed and tells a story about how they once found a guy with two young daughters while out scavenging and proceeded to rape the girls, letting their father live so he could watch. Daryl beats him even harder. Cue theme music.
Daryl leaves the shed and reveals to the others what he found out. Based on that knowledge, Rick decides that they must kill Randall. Only Dale argues against it and asks Rick for one day to talk to everybody and convince them to let Randall live. He gets no support from Daryl, Hershel, Shane or even Glenn. Then there’s this big discussion about whether to go through with it. Dale vehemently objects, telling everyone that this is murder and means forever giving up hope for a civilized society. In the end, only Andrea sides with Dale. Majority rules, so Randall is to be executed.
There’s also a moment between Hershel and Glenn at one point where the old man gives Glenn his father’s watch along with his blessing to Glenn’s relationship with his daughter.
Meanwhile, Carl sneaks into the shed to look at Randall who begs Carl to help him escape. Shane finds Carl there and drags him out, telling him to stop trying to get himself killed. Carl then immediately goes and calls Carol an idiot for believing that Sophia is in heaven. Rick asks him to apologize and start thinking before opening his mouth. Carl then steals Daryl’s gun, finds a walker stuck in a swamp and tries to shoot it. Before he can do that, the walker breaks free and attempts to grab Carl, who freaks out and runs away.
At nightfall, Rick takes Randall to the barn and prepares to shoot him, but Carl comes in to watch. Rick can’t kill Randall in front of his son, so he decides to hold Randall in custody for now. Near the woods, Dale finds a mutilated cow and is attacked by the same walker from before, who freed itself from the swamp to follow Carl. Dale doesn’t get bit, but the walker tears open his guts before it’s killed by Daryl. Dale’s wounds are too grave and Daryl performs a mercy killing by shooting him in the head. End episode.
Next episode: Shane snaps. He gets stabbed by Rick then comes back to life, only to be shot by Carl.
Suffice it to say that they leave the farm behind for good halfway through the season finale. There will be some more casualties, rest assured.