Walking Dead - recap-a-go-go

“Sick”

We pick up with the group in cafeteria.  Rick and Maggie wheel most of Hershel out on a big cart and leave behind half his leg and some very confused inmates.  Apparently the prisoners thought our group was a rescue team.  Ha!  The inmates take a quick look at the leg lying on the ground and decide to follow our guys back to cell block C.  Carol steps up and does what she can with Hershel’s leg while Darryl waits for the prisoners to show up and ask questions.  Rick joins in and leaves Glenn at Hershel’s side, you know, in case he wakes up…wrong. 

 

We find out the prisoners have been in that cafeteria for 10 months!  Our guys let them in on the state of the world outside the prison walls.  The inmates take it as well as can be expected, especially the whole part about everybody being infected.  They wander outside for the first sunlight they’ve had in almost a year.  How do they not have some sort of deficiency?  What does a lack of vitamin D do to you?  Actually I’m guessing they weren’t getting a lot of vitamin C either so they could have scurvy.  I think I’m getting off track.  The apparent leader of the prisoners, I’m gonna call him “Cojones,” would like to push Rick et al out of their prison.  They were there first after all.  Rick would like to point out that they were able to overtake a hell of a lot of walkers so they might have a leg up if it comes to blows.  They come to an agreement that Rick’s group can have ½ the food they’ve been storing if they help the inmates clear out another cell block.

Meanwhile, the folks in C block are tending to a still-unconscious Hershel.  Lori makes mention of finding the infirmary in the prison and I get flashes of her as Dr. Sarah in that other show she was on.  That makes me think of Wentworth Miller and then I smile a little.  Anywhoodle, Maggie embraces Glenn and admits what was going through my head last week…it was stupid of them to have Hershel with them as they were searching the prison.  Maggie tries to keep blonde’s hopes to a minimum regarding Hershel’s recovery and I realize I should probably bother to learn blonde’s name. 

Rick and Lori confab about their options concerning the inmates.  She thinks that if Rick has to kill those guys in order to protect their group then he can do it with a clear conscience.  There she goes again trying to get Rick to be all murder-y.  Lori is an interesting lady.  Presumably she’s feeling protective of the life growing inside of her. Isn’t part of that pregnancy thing a desire to nest?  So it makes sense that she’d want to not only have a nice place to birth but have all the folks she cares about around her and as healthy as possible.  These prisoners are strangers and possible dangerous (stranger danger, y’all!) so there’s no reason to keep them around. 

Rick, Darryl, and T-Dawg head out with the inmates to seek out that other cell block.  The guys happen upon some walkers and the prisoners go ape-shit on them while our three hang back and watch.  It’s actually kind of funny and must be a little therapeutic for a bunch of guys with tendencies toward aggression to let off a little steam.  Our guys remind them to aim for the head and to quit wasting time any lower on the bodies of these walkers. 

While this is going on, Maggie wants some alone time with a newly handcuffed (it’s just a precaution!), Hershel.  She very tenderly releases him if it’s his time to go.  He can stop fighting and be at peace.  It’s an incredibly sweet moment that is only ruined by my fear that he’s going to wake up and bite her.  Then I remember this is a classy zombie show and not some two-bit horror flick angling for big scares.  Outside the cell, Carl has found and cleared out the infirmary!  He even killed a couple of walkers whilst doing so.  Carl is useful!  However Lori isn’t too thrilled with him going off on his own and tells him so.  He has a hissy and storms off.  Carl is a pre-teen!

Back to cell clearing duties…the guys are getting more chances to dispatch of some walkers and the biggest guy, aka "Big Tiny," from the inmate bunch isn’t thrilled with this so he backs out quietly.  Too bad he backs out and gets cornered by walkers.  Rick comes to his rescue as does Cojones but not before Big Tiny gets bitten.  They all quibble about what to do with him since he’s been bitten but before they decide, Cojones just up and kills the dude.  He absolutely just beats the crap out of the guy.  Geeze!  Cojones has some issues, which does not escape Rick’s notice.

Carol takes Glenn off of Hershel-watch to tell him her plan.  It’s going to fall on her now to deliver Lori’s baby but she would like to practice her c-section skills.  Considering they’re currently surrounded by cadavers, albeit walking cadavers, she would like his help rounding one up to practice on.  Ick.  While it makes logical sense to Glenn he’s still a bit hesitant.  He goes along with it though and Carol’s got a fresh-ish girl walkers on which to practice cutting.  I’m going to wrap up this little story line right here.  Carol gets to work on the walker and someone is watching her from the woods.  Great.

The cell block search party (not a party I ever want to be a part of) find the laundry (that’ll be handy, unless there’s no water.  There’s probably no water, right?) and the door to the desired cellblock.  A bunch of walkers come shambling out and Cojones comes WAY. TOO. CLOSE. to taking Rick’s head off.  Then he actually shoves a walker onto Rick.  Oh, Cojones.  I’m guessing you aren’t long for this world with nonsense like that. You really don’t know Rick like we know Rick.  And then I’m proved right.  Rick just slams a machete right down the middle of Cojones’s skull.  Wow.  The littlest prisoner takes off running and Rick gives chase.  Little dude ends up in the yard, which is full of walkers looking for a little of that vitamin D, and Rick just locks his ass out there with them.  I will admit that Rick looks a wee bit upset with himself after doing that but I bet other people saw a different look on his face. 

Back in C block, Hershel stops breathing and Lori freaking gives him mouth-to-effing-mouth!  Hershel wakes during and I jump right out of my skin.  Damn, I even knew it was coming but they still got me!  Of course Glenn, Maggie, and Blonde are nowhere around to help but little badass Carl is there with a gun pulled just in case.  Also, Hershel’s eyes didn’t seem zombified so here’s hoping they chopped his leg off in time.

The cell block search party is down to our three guys and two of theirs.  The older of the two pleads for his life and asks to be spared.  The other dude isn’t one to beg and decides to let Rick do what he’s gonna do.  Rick lets them live but still in this cell block and away from their group.  The guys aren’t thrilled with this but Darryl assures them it’s better than what lies outside the prison gates.  T-Dawg gives them a little body-burning advice and the two are left to their own devices.

Hershel is breathing steadily and everyone is gathered around him.  His eyes open and he’s seemingly ok.  Instead of going for one of his two daughters, he reaches for Rick.  Hmmm…

Rick and Lori have a pretty interesting conversation about her mothering skills, etc.  She thought he was going to have a talk (the talk) about them.  Turns out Rick can’t seem to bring himself to address their relationship.  Instead he tells her, without looking at her, that he and everyone else, is proud of her.  Then he leaves.

Lesson learned?  That tag line about fighting the dead and fearing the living?  Looks like that applies to both our band of survivors and also as a warning to others to fear our group of badasses.

Next week…THE GOVERNOR!!!