Season 2, Episode 2: Bloodletting, Take 2

Maybe I'm a jerk. Maybe I'm out-of-touch. Maybe I've started to lose sympathy for the characters of The Walking Dead. Why? Because all throughout Bloodletting, I didn't care whether or not Carl, a child, died. If I'm being honest with myself and you readers, I wanted him to. I wanted there to finally be consequences for Rick and Lori and Shane and all the rest. If that comes at the cost of Carl, I'm more than OK with that.

But let me backtrack. We start the episode with Rick carrying a passed-out Carl, Shane and the shooter, running behind him (Shane berating him as they go). They make it to Hershel's house, a southern gentlemen, it seems, with a nice house and a knack for medicine. His "twist," if you want to call it that, felt predictable. The folks I was watching with all figured it out ahead of time, after his first warning of uncertainty about the surgery. But that's, once again, getting ahead. Without thinking, Hershel jumps into action to stabilize Carl, ordering both Rick and Shane, which isn't something we see too much of. Shane understands his role in all of this, but Rick is clearly torn up and going through a good bit of shock. Thankfully, as David said, we're getting that bro-mance back, because Rick needed Shane here. Shane, despite all the mistakes he's made, knows how to step up (moreso than Rick, I'd wager). He can see things a good bit clearer, but then again, it's not his child on the table.

Once Lori did get over to the house, it went how you'd expect. More of the "...instense, sweat dripping down the brow, veins popping out of skin, grabbing each others' arms..." interactions we've been getting from the husband and wife team, as Lucy so aptly called it. I get wanting to DO something, but seriously? Rick can't realize that giving blood is just that, and the only thing that's kept his son alive? I don't know, readers, I just couldn't buy into his reaction here, or that he'd need Shane and then Lori to tell him to stay with his son.

Speaking of reactions, T-Dog decided to chat with Dale about why it was just the two of them left behind during the search for Sophia. His outburst at being the only black guy was, I think, the writers playing up the fact that in the horror genre, it's typically the black guy that goes first. I don't think it worked and felt it unnecessary. What did work, what was necessary, was the other part of his blood-infection induced rant: Why not just go? That's got to be creeping in a lot of minds (we know it is in Shane and Andrea, what about Daryl? What about Carol if they can't find Sophia?), so I like that it was brought up. I also like the way Dale dismissed it and realized what was really going on. T-Dog took a serious injury to the arm, and sans real medicine, yeah, that's going to get infected. What it all though, was Daryl nonchalantly getting his brother's bag of drugs (anyone else notice the blue meth? Was this a reference to Breaking Bad?), mentioning Merle had an on-again off-again relationship with the clap, and getting T-Dog what he needed. I know this was only episode 2, but Daryl is quickly becoming my favorite character.

Once again, though, we have the adults doing something stupid. This time, again, it's Andrea. She's being huffy and puffy, which is apparently her character description this season, and nearly gets killed by a rogue walker (it's really no wonder Shane isn't even considering bringing her along. I wouldn't want her watching my back). She's saved by Maggie, who gallops in on horseback and beats the zombie in the head with a bat. She calls out for Lori and quickly explains the situation. Daryl, again proving himself to be the most pragmatic, doesn't trust her. Can't blame him, since the last time we saw others, they were the kind-hearted, mean-exteriored vatos.

We end with Shane and the shooter at a high school, breaking into a medical trailer to get the supplies they'll need to keep Carl alive during his bullet-removing surgery. Of course, tons of zombies happen to be between them and the trailer, but they figure out a way to get the zombies distracted. What they didn't do was plan an exit. Which I can't understand. Yes, time is of the essence, but getting the supplies doesn't matter if you only wind up trapping yourself in an infested high school. Again, we have main characters not really thinking. Hopefully tonight's episode turns that around.

Zombie Kill of the Week: I agree with David, but I give the credit to Daryl, as Maggie's hit merely stunned the zombie. Daryl, clearly annoyed that the zombie bothered getting up, shoots it with his crossbow, with a simple, "Shut up."

Final Verdict: 6.5 out of 10 Headshots. I'm still waiting for the show to thrill me. I'm waiting for the characters to be smarter, and to treat this event (the zombie apocalypse) with the gravity it needs. Maybe they're complacent, maybe they think they'll be OK. Either way, they aren't acting with thought. It bothers me. When the racist, redneck is the one character acting appropriately, maybe re-evaluate.

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.