We open with the barn looming in the background as an ominous display reminding us of what kind of world these characters are truly living in, and if the music is any indication, we know that tonight there will be a showdown of some sort, whether it is man against walker, or man against man…things at the Greene farm will never be the same.
When we see the Grimes group it is a plaintive, introspective view. They’re doing the things one does when survival is the motivation, including cooking on an open fire, sharpening a knife, and being watchful and careful. It’s interesting to note the dynamics of the bunch. Shane eats alone with his police cap on. He’s our dark protector. Lori, Rick, and Carl, the family, eats together, but underlying you can see the stress of survival fraying at their edges. Andrea sharpens her knife alone, her saving grace is now vengeance and skill. Carol, who’s taken on a doting approach with Daryl, serves him breakfast. These two have migrated from unattached strangers to caretaker and caregiver. Dale the father figure, Glenn the resilient, and T-Dog the relegated muscle, circle the edges of the nucleus.
In a break from the perceived “normalcy,” Glenn looks to the house almost in question, but possibly more in statement. Maggie sees his look and shakes her head “no.” We assume what he’s conveying is some form of “I’m going to tell about the barn” declaration. He looks over at Dale who nods his assent. It is on Glenn to decide who is more important in this moment. The woman he’s just met, or the team of people who have assisted in his survival. He goes with the Grimes group. Yes, the group who has sent him out time and again to be part errand boy, part zombie bait — all in all these are still the people who would kill with him to save others and kill for him to save his life. He announces with trepidation “So, the barn is full of walkers.” Duh, duh, duhhhhh. Everyone stops what they’re doing and looks at Glenn like he just told them, “Hey, guys, a spaceship landed on the house, expect anal probes.” Slowly the realization and implication of those few words sets in.
The group goes to see for themselves, and then we finally get down to it. We get down to the real nitty-gritty of the situation and the realities therein. “How much do you value safety when you’re not in control of it?” and “What would they be willing to do to protect themselves at all costs.” Shane instantly tells the others that this situation is too dangerous to ignore. Rick, who’s taken on the mantle this season of junior philosopher, still continues to have one foot in the world that exists, and the other in the old world where manners and civility abound. He wants to cater to Hershel, owner of the land, and ipso facto landlord to the Grimes group. Shane thinks there are only two ways about it, either kill all the walkers in the barn or get going to Fort Benning. There’s really no gray area. Kill or be killed. Carol reminds him that Sophia (Goddamned Sophia) is still lost. Shane nearly chokes himself with derision. Again he speaks as the audience here and says what many of us are thinking — that the other possibility is that Sophia is just dead, dead, dead. Daryl speaks up about the doll he found, and Shane still says dead, dead, dead. Shane also has a bit of honesty to share with “savior Daryl” which kind of makes sense. He says even if Sophia were still alive, if she saw Daryl coming “All Methed out with your buck knife and those geek ears around your neck she’d run in the other direction.” And well this is true. Sophia has no knowledge of this transformed, kinder, gentler Daryl. This is a brilliant observation by Shane, and a sobering one for Daryl.
Rick insists on talking to Hershel about what to do about the jamboree in the barn, and Dale lets him know that old Hersh sees the walkers as neighbors, friends and family, and not undead fiends who would chew his farking face off if given a chance. (Oh, Hershel, what a sheltered apocalypse you’ve led. It’s all iced tea and canned peaches for you, old boy, isn’t it?) Shane checks on the security of the barn, basically just how well a few rusted old padlocks and boards keep in about a dozen zombies. As he pushes on the barn structure, which is awfully bendy and flexible, yikes, a few zombies push back and Shane jumps away and grabs for his sidearm which he no longer has due to Hershel’s no guns rule. Yeah, we’re thinking Shane is going to say “fuck that” real soon, if not immediately.
Zombies in the barn does make for a more tense living situation, right? Right. Everyone is on edge since zombies in a barn mere feet from where you sleep may be enough to break your concentration while doing mundane things like smashing a chicken’s egg on Glenn’s head as Maggie does, or while doing homework during a zombie apocalypse like Carl, and while having an intense discussion with the mother of a missing child wherein she finally admits that she doesn’t think her daughter is still alive as Carol admits amid Daryl’s epic freak out. Feh. He gets all POS husband on her at this softly spoken revelation and we’re starting to wonder about this relationship, especially when he apologizes later while showing her a bunch of flowers. This is a romance that could become a bit unsettling given the background of the two. Please, don’t let this be a burgeoning romance. Pfffttt!
Back at the camper, Dale sees Andrea getting her gun, and wonders if she’s also getting one for hot loins Shane. She says she and Rick are going to look for Sophia, urgh, which we assume is the only reason anyone can lay a finger on a gun in Hershel’s haven. Dale, like the overprotective father figure and expert manipulator he is, tries to warn Andrea against Shane. But Andrea, who obviously has some sort of bad boy crush, turns all cheerleader and says in addition to Shane being the star quarterback and getting that fabu Letterman Jacket — she likes how he uses a gun, how big his muscles are, and the fact that he’s not a victim. He’s like an All-State, Division One, Superzombiekiller to her, and oh, my, that’s so rad and sexy. Dale looks like he may barf, and then gets an idea about those guns.
At the big house, or Lord Greene’s palatial estate, Rick goes to talk to Hershel about those dance champions in the barn. Hershel doesn’t want to discuss it. WHAT?! You can’t just act like those dudes in the barn are a bunch of possum or a rampant family of raccoons, Hersh. Hershel lays down the law and says that he wants the Grimes group gone by the end of the week. Rick says he understands that it’s his land, his barn, and his farm, and that he can do with it as he sees fit, and also acknowledges that Hershel sees the supermodels in the barn as sick people, but points out that his people are definitely alive and not some bastardization of life that hovers somewhere in-between. He also notes that Hershel hasn’t had to fend for himself day-in and day-out amongst those flesh-eating, dead mongers, and has caught most of the action on the teevee after Maury and Access Hollywood, which is a poor substitute for one of those things trying to maul your limbs off in real time. Rick pleads to stay, and shares that Lori is pregnant. The discussion ends in a stalemate. Hershel wants to preserve his untainted heaven-like dwelling where the sins of others are judged without Rick serving as the little reality bee buzzing around his head making him think things he doesn’t want to have to consider or be accountable for. He wants to believe that his farm is sheltered away from the terrible, awful, things out in the real world, but Rick insists that it is at his doorstep, and if he turns a blind eye, he is condemning the Grimes group of living, human beings to a death sentence needlessly.
Telling Shane that Hershel doesn’t see things their way doesn’t go over well with rock ’em sock ’em All-State, Division One, Superzombiekiller. And why should it? Hershel is taking some crazy and unnecessary chances. He’s putting the lives of many at risk all for an ideology that doesn’t really exist. Shane thinks they should be on their way and pretty much calls Rick a coward for not doing the thing that needs to be done, which in Shane’s view is minimally clearing out the barn, but at maximum probably means clearing out the big house too. In a last attempt to get Shane to see things his way, Rick tells him that Lori is pregnant. Unbeknownst to Rick, this does little to sway his friend’s position. It enforces it. There is no better motivation for getting rid of a pack of zombies than protecting your unborn child, and yes, Shane believes that child is his, and shocker, we find out Lori isn’t as certain of the baby’s paternity as she would like to be. She alludes that the baby will be Rick’s no matter what though. Good luck with that.
To drive his point home, Shane goes to Lori and draws a line right down the middle with himself on one side and Rick on the other. “Rick isn’t built for this world,” he says. Lori is shocked, but maybe not by the admission, but perhaps the bravado it took to make it. She tries to recount the times Rick has saved them, and fails. The one time she could almost claim it, Shane says, “Nah, that was me too.” He’s speaking of Rick’s choice to leave his family and go looking for no good, sumbitch Merle leaving the group vulnerable to an attack.
Carl gets in on the debate, wearing his father’s sheriff hat but dressed with his pants tucked into his boots the way Shane has taught him, and tells Shane in no uncertain terms that they are staying to find Sophia and that’s final, even using a big, bad word to make his point. Shane agrees, but says they have to find a way to make it happen. Carl looks confused, but assents. Lori, not liking the talk between boy and man, calls Carl over, and as he turns to leave, Carl gives Shane a measuring look as he moves away. Um-hmm.
Out of nowhere, Hershel kinfolk i.e. random kid made in the shed, runs to Hershel and says “It’s happened again.” Hershel decides now’s the time to ask for Rick’s help. He leads Rick to a swamp where two walkers are stuck. Rick doesn’t know what to make of this until Hershel explains that this is the zombie trap they’ve made, and how they’ve caught all the Muppets now living in the barn — or correction how Otis used to catch all the Muppets living in the barn. That’s important. Hershel challenges Rick’s earlier comments about having to kill zombies, BUT HAVE YOU HAD TO SAVE THEM? he asks. At this point I wanted to push Hershel into the clutches of Zombie Louise, because clearly he doesn’t get it. He makes it clear that for his gang and Rick’s group to coexist this is what they’ll have to do — put out Scooby snacks and hope to snare an undead ghoul.
Meanwhile elsewhere in the swamp, Dale is attempting to hide the guns, and because he’s probably about as subtle as a sasquatch in a dress shop, Shane finds him easily. Dale, master manipulator, does things like this to sway outcomes. He’s hoping that by hiding the guns, the argument will be off the table, and everyone will just go back to two days ago with Sophia still lost, and everyone else oblivious to the masquerade ball in the barn. Not gonna happen. So Shane and Dale let it all hang out. Dale accuses Shane of shooting Otis. Shane doesn’t confirm or deny. Shane indicates non-verbally that he’ll take the guns from Dale if he has to which prompts Dale to put one in the chamber of the rifle he’s holding. Shane walks right up to it and dares Dale to pull the trigger. Dale backs down. (Oh, Dale, stick to your lawn chair and fishing hat.) He sputters something about Shane being a monster, and Shane confirms, “Fair enough.” Shane has nothing to lose, as we’ll soon see.
Everyone is coalesced on the front porch at Hershel’s and wondering what exactly is happening, and why no one is looking for damnable Sophia. Andrea says she and Rick should have left hours ago. Daryl is equally anxious. Shane approaches with the guns and says to the Grimes group that enough is enough. He hands Daryl a rifle and asks if he’s with him. He takes a count of who already has a weapon, and announces that “It is time to grow up.” Just when Lori attempts to dress Shane down for making decisions that affect the group without Rick’s say, Rick emerges from the woods with the two walkers snared in Hershel’s lasso. Ho, boy.
Instantly the group, led by Shane, looks at the sight as if it were an abomination, and well, to some degree it is. Shane takes on both Hershel and Rick shouting that the walkers are not people, that they aren’t sick, that they are in fact dangerous zombies that kill, because that, my friends, is what they do. He goes so far to say that they killed Amy and Otis, which was a bit of genius on Shane’s part. Yes, remind everyone of the living people they’ve lost, and not focus on the walking dead they’re witnessing.
Shane tires of the game, asks Hersh if a living, breathing, person could walk away from…BANG! He shoots Lou in the chest. HOLY SHIT! THINGS JUST GOT REAL! He then shoots Lou a few more times while asking Hershel “WHY IS IT STILL COMING?!” He fires a few more rounds and Rick shouts that “it’s enough,” and Shane says, “That’s right. It is enough” BANG! He fires a fatal shot into the Walker’s head. This starts the shattering of Hershel’s protected world. Shane declares enough to lying and says the most true thing about it all. “IT AIN’T LIKE IT WAS BEFORE.” He says that if you want to live and survive you have to fight for it, right here and now. Rick is screaming for Hershel to take the other Walker because Shane has descended on the barn and is opening it up.
Everyone shouts for Shane to stop, the most poignant is Rick saying “Don’t do it brother!” and you know he is holding on to the last vestiges of his lifelong friendship with his brother, his deputy, the other side of himself. As the zombies lumber out of the barn one by one, Shane takes position and starts shooting, Andrea joins him, then Daryl, then T-Dog, and after getting a tearful head nod from Maggie, Glenn takes to the line as well. They are essentially a firing squad, and it is not lost on us that what they’re doing in any other context would be cold blooded, point blank murder — but they just keep shooting as the walkers keep coming, and a massacre unfolds. Hershel is powerless to stop the carnage. He is completely undone. At some point we see Hershel’s wife…BANG! She’s a walker too. There goes the side of her face. Rick watches, not stopping the killing, yet not joining either. This was probably inevitable.
Just when you think it’s over, we see the utter destruction of both Walker and man…we hear the sounds of one final undead person who emerges from the barn slowly. The camera pans down to small feet, and then it is upon us. What the last seven episodes have left for us. Sophia comes through the door with her head down and momentarily we think that perhaps she’s alive, but then when she looks up, oh, yes, clearly she’s a Walker. We knew this, yet we didn’t know. Carol runs forward and Daryl catches her before she can get too close. We see that she’s been bitten on the neck. Everyone stands stock still as she gets closer, ambulating like a fawn on unsteady feet. It is still the unthinkable, yes, killing a child even an undead child. Where is all that bravado now, Shane? Where is all that talk about dead things walking now? And then Rick, who perhaps proves to be the only one who understands the balance between life and death, and the great needs of the many over the egos of the few, does what has to be done. The thing that is the most humane for all, and he shoots Sophia, unwavering, and without fear. It is an act of survival, of mercy, of necessity, and of absolute knowledge of what the world has become.
This was by far the best of the season, the best acted, and even bravely executed. Apparently shooting children on screen is a huge no-no, even in a fantasy world, and they handled it just right. It wasn’t a vain death. It was one that questioned humanity amid the non human, in an ending that was worthwhile. Was it worth waiting seven episodes to see? Yes, yes, I think it just may have been. The whole episode simmered. It was foreboding, it was dastardly, it was dispirited, but exactly what this show should be about. We can finally put Sophia to rest, as we are reminded that no one is safe.
