Season 2, Episode 2: Bloodletting

Now that is more like it. I ended my last review asking if the show would ever reach the heights of the premiere episode, and while "Bloodletting" wasn't quite there, it was easily my favorite episode since the pilot. "Bloodletting" opens with a flashback, which I believe is the first time since the pilot that we have seen any of our characters pre-zombie apocalypse. This was a great way to open this weeks episode. Not only did it give Lori's side of the marital struggles between her and Rick, but it mirrors Carl being shot with the moment Rick was shot in the pilot. It was a nice simple flashback, and I hope they do more of these, because the one thing I've always wanted from the comics is to see who these characters were before the apocalypse.We hear them talk about it, but we never see it. The television format may just be the best way to explore this.

The scene with Carl on the operating table, screaming for his life, was the most difficult things to watch in a while. But, I'm not sure what specifically was more tough to watch, Carl screaming for his life, or watching Rick breakdown because there was nothing that he could do. Watching Rick lose his grip, trying to find something to actually physically do to make the situation better was heartbreaking. It wasn't enough that he gave blood to his son. He needed to make things right somehow, and he just couldn't find a way to do it, even though he was saving Carl's life.

Meanwhile the other half of the group is beginning to lose hope looking for Sophia. It's been a day, and our group has run into it's fair share of walkers. The odds are not in poor Sophia's favor. T-Dog is starting to lose it sue to some blood infections (which sort-of answers one of my stray observations of last week). Andrea is still pissed at Dale. Let's just say spirits are not high. And when Maggie comes to tell them that Carl has been shot and that they need to meet up the farm, the group splinters even further. Our group just can't seem to catch a break.

These new characters seem like welcome additions so far. Hershel explains to Rick that they are waiting for a cure, that perhaps this plague is not as bad as everyone thinks it is. "This one is different," Rick responds, and we are inclined to agree with Rick, but there is something about what Hershel says that makes sense. Perhaps this is just nature correcting itself again. Perhaps things will go back to normal. Rick doesn't seem to inclined to agree, and neither are we, but it is nice to hear an optimistic point-of-view for once, no matter how naive. And I love anyone who nails a zombie in the head with a bat while riding a horse. Maggie, welcome to the crew.

We end with Shane and the guy who shot Carl going to a high school that had been turned into a FEMA center for some medical supplies so Hershel can try to save Carl's life. Things, of course, don't go as planned. 

Stray observations:

-We finally learn T-Dog's name! It's ::Drumroll:: Theodore Douglas. Maybe, we will stick to T-Dog after all.

-Hershel delivered some of the best lines in the episode, my favorite being his answer to Lori when she asked him if he was in over his head. "Aren't we all?"

-The scene with the bloody carseat and T-Dog was brilliantly subtle.

-The laugh out loud moment was again, given to Daryl, when he explains that his brother Merle occasionally got the clap.

Zombie Kill of the Week: Gotta be when Maggie took out the walker trying to nibble on Andrea with a quick bat to the head whilst rising a horse. Well done ma'am.

Final Verdict: 9 out of 10 Headshots. As I said in the beginning of the review, I felt this week's episode was the best since the pilot. Some great character development, a few swift zombie kills, and forward motion in the plot. Great stuff.