Randall’s fate, and a whole lot more, on The Walking Dead

*sigh*

There goes Lori again, putting on her drama hat and gushing “I’m sorrys” and confessions to the most willing participant who will hear her: Shane. But, as it turns out, this will be the last time it happens because …

Shane is gone.

Yep … Shane not only got mentally abused this episode (by those ever-present demons running ’round his mind), not only did he mutilate his face in a make-shift attempt to fool the gang about the “Randall incident,” but he got shanked and killed by Rick … and then killed once more by Carl upon his reanimation. (Was there any doubt Shane would come back as a walker?) *whew* Exhausting!

Yes, for the second time in two weeks, a major character on The Walking Dead has been dispensed with. Dale last week, Shane this week.

The episode was all about the moments though, wasn’t it? Complete with music by which to set their tones:

• There was the moment Shane confronted Rick about Randall (again) and what Rick planned on doing with him. Then the brief discussion concerning Carl, Shane effectively calling Rick out on being a substandard father where his son was concerned.
• There was the moment Andrea had thinking about Dale while Glenn worked on the RV … which in turn got Glenn all choked up about him as well.
• How about the moment between Rick and Carl, talking death, its inevitability and being prepared for it? His conclusion: “… best we can do now is avoid it … keep one step ahead.”
• There was the awkward moment of confusion Shane experienced (those demons, again) when he went on his little visit to see Randall in the shed, slapping himself upside the head, trying to knock the demons out in order to think clearly. (It didn’t help.)
• And then there were the series of moments between the two search parties who veered off in different directions on the hunt for the “escaped” Randall: Glenn and Daryl off in one direction, Rick and Shane in another. Daryl discovers Randall’s neck is broken, realizing Shane’s ruse was a lie. Finally, all the uncomfortable moments while Rick and Shane exchanged positions during “the hunt.” All those glances traded… all those physical repositionings — you knew something was going to come of them. Like say … one of the mens’ deaths. Between Shane’s mocking claims to Rick Lori was a broken woman, Carl a weak boy and Rick clueless on how to repair either of them, was there any wonder the confrontation ended as it did? The final straw, however, was the best one: Shane’s prideful boast he was a better man than Rick, intimating he could take care of Lori and Carl more effectively than Rick. (Blame Lori for that one — that little discussion between her and Shane earlier was the catalyst for Shane’s claim.)

I can’t imagine the conflict Rick experienced at that moment. It was a monumental effort to calmly keep Shane at bay by handing over his weapon, then knifing him in the chest. That conflict didn’t end with his killing Shane, however. It continued manifesting itself after his death, Rick’s emotions ripping from him in raw anguish.

And then Carl’s appearance and actions. The kid didn’t have the same problems he had back at the swamp with the mud-stuck walker from last week, did he? The talk with his father and the immediacy of need made him grow up right then and there once more. That poor kid.

Up next: The season finale.

But first … all those walkers coming over the hill toward the farm …

Note:

• Let’s explore Shane reanimating for a moment: How was that possible? He wasn’t bitten, he wasn’t scratched. Then again, neither were the thousands of other walkers who “came back” in the very beginning. And! Don’t forget: Randall came back, too. That means, folks, everyone is infected. Everyone.

(Possible) Nit Pick:

• Did you notice the (possible) big, huge continuity error during the confrontation with Glenn and walker Randall? Back-from-the-dead Randall was atop Glenn facing away from him when Glenn pulled him off Daryl during the attack. But when Glenn got out from underneath him, flipping him in a 180° and moving in for the attack to bury his knife in his head, Randall was face to face with Glenn. Sure, he could have flipped him completely around so that he was facing Glenn, but it was a violent, quick switching of places. Glenn didn’t really have the opportunity to gain the best advantage as was shown. I call continuity error. Yeah, I know … picky.

Clacked by Michael Noble
on Mar 12, 2012 @ 00:50 EST5EDT