As Rick’s decision to send Carol packing at the end of last week’s episode, I was expecting this episode to focus around the justification of his actions to the group—but apparently the show had been running slightly low on its zombie quota, and we were instead treated to an extreme crisis among the flu patients inside the hellish cell block D. Not that I’m complaining, mind you.
“It’s Hard In Here, But We’re Holding It Together.”
This episode belongs almost entirely to Hershel, who has been risking his own health to tend to those who have become infected with the pesky superflu that’s making things difficult this season. It’s very much a throwback to season three, as Hershel kept a barn full of walkers because he thought they could be cured. His almost stubborn insistence on keeping people alive for as long as possible fuels the conflict that takes place when folks in cell block D start choking on their own blood and rising from the dead.
Before we get to the zombie action, let’s talk about the claustrophobic horror that is cell block D. The lucky ones are simply turning green and sallow, while others are being kept alive with hand-operated respirators. At the end of each day, they willingly lock themselves up just in case they die and come back as bloodthirsty killers. And let’s not forget the fact that nobody knows if the supply run will yield any real results. Amid all of this desperation and hopelessness, Hershel manages to keep his patients from giving up on their chances. At this point, it’s easy to see that the group is no longer being led by just one man. Ministering to the sick members of their group is a task that even Rick Grimes couldn’t pull off, and it’s interesting to see how the creation of a council has given each member an opportunity to rise to a difficult occasion.
Hershel’s difficult occasion starts slowly—he and Glenn have thus far been able to wheel out the corpses that have perished in order to perforate their skulls. But as more of the flu patients start dying, Hershel soon has a full blown crisis on his hands. Three or four zombies in an enclosed space are difficult for one man to handle, especially when that man only has one leg. Though Maggie blasts her way into the cell block to help clean things up, the death toll is pretty high—both Glenn and Lizzie come very close to death.
Based on Hershel’s actions during this episode, I think it’s a good time to revisit the criticism that has been leveled against the show for the Carol situation. When we watch Hershel risk his life on several occasions for these people who are potential threats to the group, we get a better understanding of Rick’s decision to kick Carol out. In a zombie holocaust, guns, food, and supplies don’t mean anything without hope. The idea that life is still worth living, even though it might be painful and depressing, is what ultimately breeds the will to survive. Carol had given up that hope, which led to her decision to kill the infected rather than Hershel’s decision to help nurse them back to health. Though one could argue that Carol’s character didn’t need to be the one to fulfill this role, the contrast between Carol’s and Hershel’s attitude towards the sick illustrates why it’s so important to cultivate hope, no matter how bleak the future looks.
“Life Is Always a Test.”
While the crisis in cell block D is in full swing, the bloated horde of undead that have been threatening the prison’s outer fence manage to break through. As Rick has sent Maggie inside to help Hershel, he enlists the help of Carl to both reinforce the fence and subsequently help mow down a huge group of zombies.
It’s great to see this moment. For so long, Rick has been trying to protect Carl from their gruesome reality. Now, at the moment when Rick really needs his son’s help, Carl comes through with a vengeance. When the horde finally breaks through, Rick sees no alternative but to take the offensive. Armed with automatic weapons, father and son successfully staunch the flow of undead.
Carl’s evolution has been building over the course of this season, but it’s this moment—when we see him taking care of business while remaining obedient to his father—that he’s officially become the John Connor of the zombie apocalypse.
“Where’s Carol?”
Thus far, only Maggie and Hershel know about Carol’s fate. Despite the return of the away team, Rick decides to delay the decision to inform them—though Hershel hints at the situation when he sees Daryl for the first time. It’s hard to predict how Daryl’s going to take this news. Part of me thinks he’ll understand, but part of me thinks he’ll lose it.
The final seconds of this episode reveal a certain—SPOILER ALERT—one-eyed gubernatorial villain skulking outside the perimeter, which makes me think that Carol just might return as one of the Governor’s allies—or maybe she’ll be the one that rids the world of his terrible presence. Either way, I have a feeling that things are going to be happening pretty fast for the remainder of the season.
Verdict
Regardless of the zombie carnage and subsequent deaths, I thought this was a very positive episode. Between Hershel’s unflinching devotion to keeping his patients alive and the Rick/Carl team-up, we get a sense that things just might be okay, which is awesome while it lasts. Despite the fact that the Governor is back to stir up some fresh hell for our survivors, the amount of cooperation and optimism that we saw tonight was a great reprieve from the terminally harsh world of zombified Georgia.