“It’s gotta be the brain.” – Daryl
Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his merry band of survivors arrive at the mountain camp, and he’s quite shocked to find that Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), Carl (Chandler Riggs), and Shane (Jon Bernthal) are all alive and well.
The reunion scenes reminded me of the various similar moments that happened on Lost over its six-season run. And while we’ve only known these characters for a brief time, the emotional resonance of the scene still somehow felt earned. And I think a great deal of it has to do with what Lori had to have been thinking as she saw Rick strolling up the trail. She’s been having a romantic relationship with Shane (albeit a secret one) due in large part to the fact that Shane told her that Rick was dead. It was a nice twist that makes the moment all the more awkward.
Lori tells Shane to stay away from her and Carl (with whom he had begun to bond before Rick reappeared) and he’s clearly upset about it. So much so, that when he catches another survivor, Ed, hit his wife, Carol, he proceeds to beat the living hell out of him. That’s not to say that Ed didn’t deserve to be taught a lesson, but Shane loses control and bashes Ed’s face to a bloody, pulpy mess. In a way, it mirrored an earlier scene when one of the Walkers made its way to the camp and Rick, Shane, and some others brutally beat it to its second death and that’s a pretty disturbing thought.
Also on the disturbing side of things is the case of Merle on the Atlanta roof. In the opening scene that made up for Michael Rookers somewhat hammy performance in “Guts,” Merle has a very understandable nervous breakdown as he tries desperately to snag the hacksaw that is just out of reach as a group of zombies strain to get through the access door. The worst part about his situation, though, might be that the monsters won’t be able to get in. T-Dog may have dropped the handcuff keys down a drain, but he at least had the foresight to lock the roof door behind him. But now Merle is stuck waiting not to be eaten, but to die of extreme dehydration.
Lucky for him, Rick has too much of a conscience to just leave Merle behind. When Merle’s brother Daryl (Norman Reedus) returns to the camp after a day of hunting with his crossbow, he is told about Merle’s situation and acts out violently. He is calmed down and Rick explains that he wants to go back and save him. Glenn is recruited because he knows his way in and out of the building and T-Dog volunteers due to overwhelming guilt. The four leave with the four remaining bullets (“Four men, four rounds — What are the odds, huh?”) and eventually sneak through the city and up to the roof and find Merle gone, his severed hand on the ground and a bloody handcuff dangling.
So what happened to the very unlovable redneck? The hacksaw had definitely been out of reach and even if he had been able to get a hold of it, why wouldn’t he have just sawed through the chain instead of his wrist? Which brings me to question two: what happened to all of the zombies who were struggling-but-failing to open the roof access door? I get the impressions that something really terrible happened up there and the Walkers might not have even been involved.
But even in a relatively zombie-light episode, their ever-existence always hangs over the story with major dread. And now they are slowly making their way up to the campground that the survivors have built. How much longer are they going to be able to hold up there before its overrun like Atlanta?
Lingering Thoughts about “Tell It to the Frogs”:
- Norman Reedus is surprisingly good here. Even though I loved The Boondock Saints when I was in high school, I never really liked him as an actor.
- Rick, Glenn, Daryl, and T-Dog aren’t just going back to Atlanta to get Merle. Also on the agenda is picking up the gun bag that Rick dropped just before he made it into the tank – not to mention the walking talkie that is also inside. Rick wants to warn Morgan and Duane before they show up expecting a safe zone.
- Dale doesn’t want to give up his bolt cutters because T-Dog left his other tools on the roof with Merle.
- If you’re wondering how far away the camp is from the city, you can see the skyline from the top of the mountain.
- Poor Glenn. Almost as soon as he arrives, his new car is stripped for parts and fuel.
- “I would rather eat Miss Piggy… that came out wrong.” – Lori
- “Maybe we’ll get to steal another one someday.” – Rick
- “I’m beginning to question the division of labor here.” – Jacqui
- “You are one ugly skank.” – Daryl
Some stats and info about The Walking Dead, “Tell It to the Frogs”
TV SHOW – The Walking Dead
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 1, Episode 3
AIRED ON – November 14th, 2010
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.