Episode 8: "Nebraska"

Holy Smokes gang, it's gettin' feral. Rick has gone over to some other place and I'm not sure I like it. So glad the episode started off right exactly where the last one left off. It was much too monumental of a moment not to and we really needed to see how everyone reacted - I mean beside being horror-stricken and having to rock in a dark corner for a bit which one character actually DOES.
   The group is pretty much divided into 2 camps:
Camp 1: It had to be done.
Camp 2: Dude that was NOT cool....
   And who falls into which camp is pretty predictable. The saddest reactions to the whole thing are Carol, Carl and Daryl (say THAT 5 times fast....). Carol now has no strings of attachment left from her old life at all and we wonder how she'll even continue living. Daryl put all his chips on black and red came up and I'm not sure he'll be able to work through his disillusionment. And Carl is just waaaay too hard-core for a kid. Still though, if the choices are hard-core or lying on the bed catatonic, I'd rather have the hard-core people on my team.
   For me the most interesting thing about the episode was watching Rick and Shane's paths cross over and flip over the course of one 45 minute segment. Shane starts out crazy, impulsive, violent, screamin' Shane and by the end of it he's washing Carol's hands for her and gently comforting her with his words and actions. Rick starts out as the more conservative "think before you act" leader of the group and by the end of the episode he's shooting living people. We've crossed over to a different place my friends.
   I don't have too much to criticize as far as decisions go this week. Although I DID let out a groan when Andrea jumped in the back of the truck with the dead Walkers. Really dude? You're gonna ride in the back with them? What if there's leaky fluids back there that all start running off the end of the truck as soon as it starts moving? What if one of them is only PLAYING dead like good ol' Mom and bites you when your back is turned. I'm not one for red-tape and procedures but these people need to write some kind of Zombie handling protocol and they all need to stick to it.
  Then there's Lori. You know how at an 8th grade dance there's always that one girl that thrives on drama and goes insanely out of her way to rile everyone up and stir the pot? Yep. Everyone pause dramatically - back of the hand to forehead. "Oh no! she's catatonic! We NEED Hershel! Whatever will we do? Whoever will we send? Oh my oh goodness..." insert hand wringing here "Will no one HELP me and fetch them? I suppose I'll just have to go alone."
    Because a vet will be able to do SO MUCH for a psychiatric patient right? Put her to bed with some butter on it and call it good says I. If she's dead by morning then she wasn't able to hang in the post apocalyptic world. Better find that out now than later when you life is on the line and you tell her to have your back in some scary situation and then she caves. Maybe Carl can give loan her his Man-Pants for a little bit until she gets the hang of it.
    So now Lori has helped the situation by crashing a car and probably ending up quite hurt. As if Rick doesn't already have enough to deal with today. Yikes. Speaking of Rick, did we talk about the fact that he shot those 2 guys? Not unprovoked mind you... the guy behind the bar was definitely goin' for his gun but still. What a reaction from Glen and Hershel. Those 2 didn't know what to think but Hershel's a total doofus if that whole experience didn't give him a good ol' dose of "Hmm maybe I want these guys on my side after all..." Here's hoping he turns over a new leaf and lets the gang stick around for a bit. I mean after all, Maggie's in Looooove.....