Criticism of The Walking Dead‘s pacing has certainly been in no short supply since the show’s second season premiered. I’ve even been one of those critics — in my review of last week’s “Secrets,” I pointed out how frustrated I was that The Walking Dead was still using the search for Sophia to motivate plotlines. And, though it was obviously filmed long before the internet cynicism started to buzz, “Pretty Much Dead Already” felt like the perfect answer to that criticism. In fact, the episode (which served as the midseason finale) felt like the perfect episode of The Walking Dead. It was, without a doubt, the best episode since the show started airing back in October 2010.
The reason for that is the perfect blend of character development and zombies. While most of the episode centered upon the characters and their growing tensions, the lurking threat of the zombies in the barn perfectly accented that. When tensions came to a head and Shane asserted himself, he let the zombies loose from the barn, killing them but still ending the fragile peace that Rick had been struggling to create between the Atlanta survivors and Hershel. The fact that Sophia was one of the walkers in the barn was just icing on the cake.
It was a twist so obvious I was ashamed that I hadn’t been able to guess it before they revealed it. But, as it turned out, the trail that Daryl had been so anxious to follow only led back to the barn, where Hershel had placed Carol’s zombified little girl. Seeing Sophia stumble out of that barn, though, was a wonderful moment. Not only because it wrapped up the too-long storyline featuring the hunt for her, but because it gave that search an unhappy ending, which will undoubtedly change the dynamic of the survivors as we know it.
That dynamic change might just leave Shane in charge. “Rick ain’t built for this world,” Shane told Lori early on in the episode, and he certainly seems to have a point. Shane’s alpha-male dominance ultimately seems the most effective strategy in this post-apocalyptic world. And while Dale, in the episode’s most tense (and brilliant) scene, asserted his pride in not letting the world change him, Shane was right: he’s pretty much dead already. With Rick’s adamant search for Sophia given an unhappy ending, Shane’s vehemence that they move on puts him in the right and Rick in the wrong. Things aren’t looking good for Rick’s continued leadership — not without a fight with Shane, at least.
You can expect to see more of my thoughts on this possible coup over the long hiatus before The Walking Dead resumes in February. In the meantime, I’m perfectly content with how great this episode was. After “Pretty Much Dead Already,” The Walking Dead is anything but. A
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Yeah, everyone that complained about the Sophia storyline can finally shut the **** up. I knew it would be good from the first episode. Sometimes people need to stop trying to make the story the way they want to and just watch these characters live their lives and do what they do.
Sam, I agree with you about everything in this review except Shane being necessarily "right" in being the proper choice as leader only because his reckless behavior can end up getting someone killed in the long run. As far as Rick not being fit for zombie apocalypse, I don't think anyone would be whether they were leaders or not. As I stressed in our convos leading up to this episode, it's not just about surviving in the zombie apocalypse, but struggling to remain human as well. What's the point in trying to live if you are going to be just as savage and soulless as the Walkers that surround you? This is why I don't care for Shane as a person, but as a complex character he's gold. However, just because Shane serves as a model for great character development, it doesn't necessarily mean that he's the model citizen in the zombie apocalypse…
I disagree that Shane should be a leader. Rick did what had to be done, which Shane couldn't, asserting himself as the leader again. I think he'll be still be in charge in February when new episodes air.
I think Shane will live the whole season
no shane needs to die in the season 2 finale beacuse you can see the trenson rising between him and rick, i would rather have rick as a leader cause he has a brain, he is smart and isent reckless, if shane would not been a douchebag and shot all the zombies they would have been able to stay at the farm, but typical shane everythinghe says is "right'. shane will get someone killed if he lives, and he is losing his sanaty because of him shooting otis, shooting up the barn, threatining dale, and is a straight up dictator shane has to die cause i cannot see him and rick coexisting, and if he lives then i have lost intrest in the show beacuse the rick shane affair would be unrealistic and fake, and i HATE plot lines that are unbealivable!!!
Since Shane dies in the Comics almost right at the beginning, we can all safely assume that he will live on during the whole season. I think he's a great character
"where Hershel had placed Carol's zombified little girl."
That is not what I assumed happened. Hershel would have told Rick. Watching it I thought the most likely explanation was that Sophia had crept into the barn for shelter one night and been attacked as the most likely reason for here being in the barn.
Actually Kirkman explained on Talking Dead that it was Otis who put Sophia in the barn after finding her wandering in the woods. If Sophia had of ended up in the barn for shelter, I doubt there would have been much left of her.
i think Shane is a better leader. Rick came across as a wimp this season. also dale was pathetic hiding those guns. At some point, i was waiting for Shane to blow him away.
My guess is that Sophia was bitten when she either tried to ran back to the highway because she got nervous and didn't wait for Rick, or other walkers found her hiding spot in the river. And when she reanimated, she was found by one of Hershel's people (Otis, according to our friends who read the comics) and taken to the barn with the other "sick people" aka WALKERS.
What's not clear is why Patricia, or anybody, not tell Rick's group that there's a little girl zombie inside. Could've saved everybody a lot of trouble including almost killing my favorite character off (Daryl) or turning him into a zombie (thank God he's wearing leather shoes). And if I were Rick, I wouldn't shoot Sophia in the head and blow her brians out in front of her mother. That will just make Carol hate him more. I mean WTF man.. she's a little girl zombie. They could just as easily restrain her, end her suffering in a more humane manner, and give her a proper zombie funeral. That would have been more dramatic. Or perhaps over-dramatic.
I actually think Sophia at the end proved a different point, because in the end it was Rick who had to kill her when all the others could not. I think it really shut Shane up and the others were able to realize that though he may be right, he's not the one they really want to become. This puts Shane on shaky ground with everyone because I definitely lost respect for him when at one point I was siding with his logic. On the others faces you could see how they finally understood Hershel, even if killing the walkers was a good idea no one wants to hold the gun when it's someone you love.