“I hear you’re fast on your feet and you know how to get in and out.” – Maggie
It’s been ten episodes and beyond Rick, Shane and Lori, I don’t feel like I really know any of these characters.
Aside from the obvious pacing problems, the lack of three-dimensional human beings is what really forces me to keep The Walking Dead at arm’s length to some extent. It doesn’t have an overarching narrative other than keep moving, keep surviving, so one would assume that the writers would want to focus on character development. But alas, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
While Glen is off getting romantic with Maggie, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) is dealing with the repercussions from sex in the past. She asks Glen to pick up a special item from the feminine hygiene aisle at the pharmacy for her and he discreetly obliges. Hints pile upon hints, so it’s not much of a reveal at the end when she breaks out the pregnancy test and squats over it. Any guesses on which direction the show plans on taking this unplanned pregnancy story?
At first, I assumed that the big issue would be the question of whether the baby belongs to Rick (Andrew Lincoln) or Shane (Jon Bernthal). But it has been so long since the issue of Shane and Lori’s affair has been explicitly mentioned, so I’m beginning to wonder if the show has forgotten about this crucial Season One plot. Instead, I’m thinking that the main issue will revolve around whether or not Lori thinks it’s prudent to raise another child in this zombie infested reality. Although, I guess it’s possible that both scenarios could play out.
Speaking of zombie infested realities, where the hell were the freakin’ zombies this week? An entire hour and only one stinkin’ walker? I want my money back! The one zombie that we do get to see turns out to be the perfect personification of The Walking Dead’s propensity for running in place. The gang tries and tries to free a zombie trapped in the well to stop it from contaminating the drinking water. But just as the zombie is about to be pulled out of the well, its body breaks in half and all of its guts wind up in the well anyway. A lot of effort is exerted, but in the end no progress is made.
On the bright side, Carl (Chandler Riggs) is making progress. He is healing from surgery nicely and should be able to make a full recovery. Herschel (Scott Wilson) is glad to let Rick and his group make camp on his farm as long as it takes for Carl to get back on his feet, but as soon as he’s better, he wants them gone. I think Herschel is scared that the newcomers will bring the awfulness of the outside world with them and contaminate his idyllic farmhouse world.
Some stats and info about The Walking Dead, “Cherokee Rose”
TV SHOW – The Walking Dead
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 2, Episode 4
AIRED ON – October 23rd, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – AMC
GENRE – Horror, Drama, Zombies, Thriller
CREATED BY – Frank Darabont
CAST – Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan, Christian Serratos, Josh McDermitt, Danai Guria, Seth Gilliam, Andrew Lincoln, Ross Marquand, Chandler Riggs
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.