Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Walking Dead Season 2, Episode 8: Nebraska

After almost a three month hiatus The Walking Dead is back! Huzzah!

Nebraska picks up exactly where the last episode ended, way back before Xmas. You remember, the one with Zombie Sophia and the zombie barn massacre? As episodes go, this one wasn't bad. As mid-season premieres go, it wasn't terribly exciting.

That's what I hate about AMC's instance on splitting up their seasons to get more mileage out of them. These episodes are obviously meant to be seen one after another, yet we have to watch a handful, then wait three frreakin' months to see the rest. It disrupts any kind of narrative flow and rhythm the creators are trying to achieve. Ah well. I guess that's what the DVDs are for.

• I was hoping that the title of this episode meant that Team Rick was going to finally bid adieu to Herschel's farm and head west into a new storyline. Alas, that wasn't to be.

• Back in November I wondered why Herschel never said anything to Rick or the others about Sophia being in the zombie barn. I theorized that Otis had possibly put her in there without Herschel's knowledge. Looks like I was right. Herschel himself states that he didn't know Sophia was in the barn and that Otis must have put here there before he was killed. Otis was killed shortly after Rick arrived at the farm, so that means Sophia must have been bitten about five minutes after she ran off into the woods.

• I get that Herschel was delusional and just fooling himself when he said he thought the zombies were "sick people" who could be cured. But some of those zombies in the barn were missing lips and eyes and faces-- and that was before they were shot. Did he really think they were going to recover from that?

• Maggie tells Glenn she loves him and he worries that she's just saying it because he's the only available male. It's the end of the world, Glenn. Stop being a dweeb and enjoy it while you can.

• Speaking of Glenn, someone needs to show him the proper way to hold a shotgun while riding in a truck. Holding it between your legs with the barrel pointed at your chin is probably not the best of ideas.

• When the redshirt woman (does she even have a name?) in Herschel's house collapses, everyone says she's in shock. Herschel's nowhere to be found, so they lay her on a bed and then everyone stands around wringing their hands, seemingly powerless to help the poor woman. I'm not a doctor, but even I know basic treatment for shock. Elevate their feet, loosen any tight clothing, and for Thor's sake cover then up and keep them warm! I thought that was common knowledge. 

• Sorry, Shane. I kniow you were nice to Carol and washed her dirty paws, but you're still a dangerous, unstable psycho. By the way, John Bernthal, the actor who plays Shane, has reportedly signed a contract to star in another series. Does that mean we could see the end of Shane soon? Could be. TV Shane's been living on borrowed time for quite a while now, outliving the comic book version by a long way.

• Lori wins this episode's Moron of the Week Award. Every week I try and I try and I try some more to like TV Lori, but I just can't do it. Every move she makes and every word that spews out of her head seems designed to infuriate me. This week was no exception. Lori, who if you remember is pregnant, decides to drive to town on her own to bring back Rick and Glenn. Five minutes later she manages to flip the car and get pinned inside. Ta-Daaaa!

• This episode featured one of my pet peeves about zombie movies (and TV shows): why is it that none of the characters can ever use the word "zombie." On this show it's always "walkers," "geeks," "those things" and now "lame brains." I don't get why no one ever just calls them zombies. Is the word copyrighted? Are the writers afraid it'll sound silly? Surely zombie movies must exist in the Walking Dead universe. So why doesn't someone see an undead person shambling around and say, "Wow, that looks remarkably like a zombie."

• The best part of the episode was of course the scene in the bar with Dave and Tony from Philly. The entire scene was very well done and was very tense and uncomfortable. Very well acted and directed. Although it was shocking, I think Rick did the right thing. Those two were nothing but trouble and no good would have come from bringing them into the fold.

I wonder if Dave and Tony were on their own, or scouts from a larger and even more dangerous group nearby?

5 comments:

  1. The bar scene was the most engaging to me. I didn't trust those two newbies from the get go. The preview for next week (which was hidden in a commercial break from a new reality show. JERK MOVE!) showed some newcomers looking for their now dead friends. Not friendly. Should be good. If Lori lives, I suspect she will lose the baby. Her dumbass should of stayed put! Jeesh! They need to bring out a zombie herd scene soon. Those are my favorite.

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  2. Hmm. I watched the episode online so I didn't see the previews. So I guess I was right about Dave and Tony not being alone.

    This is very similar to the way the comic book goes. In it, other humans are usually more dangerous than the zombies.

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  3. I watched the episode on DISH Online as well so I didn't see the preview for the next episode. But this was a great way to start on the second half of the season, reliving the horrible moment when we realized the last 7 episodes before this were for nothing, other then some good character background. I agree with you naming Lori Moron of the week; Walkers don’t run, or they wouldn’t be called walkers, so it’s not like the thing jumped out the woods like a deer does. I mean how long she kept her eyes off the road for. To me the bar scene shows that Rick is more worried about the group then anything else, including survival of the species, but I can also see with the remaining humans being generally worse to deal with then the walkers. I gave thye resident Walking Deadhead that I work with at DISH will have some good things to say about the show as well.

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  4. I saw a comment left on another blog about this show and had to share it here. "Hurry tell all the zombies where Lori's car is!" lol

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