Monday, November 21, 2011

The Walking Dead Season Two, Episode Six: Secrets

The episode opens with Carl up and about, and Lori feeding the chickens.  A young woman breaks the legs of a chicken, and heads to the barn to feed the  dead. They immediately pounce on the chickens, when she drops them from a ledge at the top of the barn.

As Glenn looks through binoculars, Maggie approaches him with a bucket of sundries and he accuses her of trying to bribe him.  He asks her why Hershel has a barn full of walkers and Maggie demands that he keep that information to himself.

Alone in his tent, Andrea gives a book to Darryl and asks him to forgive her.  He tells her that she was trying to protect the group and that he is fine with it.  I think this was just one more scene in the reformation of Darryl. Gee look how good he is, he forgave Andrea for shooting him.

Glenn approaches Lorri and asks if she told Rick that she was pregnant. He offers his food and she says that she does not want it.  He then tells her that she has a medical condition, and offers to go back into town to get her anything she needs, but Lori tells him that he needs to be quiet about this. I thought that this was more of Glenn's paternalism.  It really is not his place to tell her what she needs to do about this. 

Carl is finally looking like the Carl of the comic books. He asks Shane to teach him how to shoot and Shane tells him that it's up to his parents.  As Carl is walking away, Shane realizes that he has a gun tucked into the waist of his pants already. Lori is livid and she learns that Carl lied to Dale to get access to the gun.  She does not want Carl to have a gun, but Rick clearly thinks that she is being over protective. Lori angrily says that he is not mature enough to handle a gun but  Carl interjects and that that he wants to look for Sophia, and that he wants to protect their camp. He knows that he cannot accomplish either goal unless he is armed and knows how to use the gun properly.  Lori tells him that he has to take it seriously and that he must act responsibly and then acquiesces to Carl's request. I can understand Lori's concern but times have changed and Carl having a gun might be the one thing that saves his life one day.

As the others go off for target practice, Glenn makes an excuse about getting spark plugs for Dale, but when Dale appears suddenly his cover is blown.  When Dale asks him what is going on, he tries to give a cryptic explanation, but finally spits out "there's walkers in the barn and Lori's pregnant", after Dale tells him to stop being dramatic and spit it out.

At the range, it is clear that Andrea is starting to show the sharp shooter skills that we have all been waiting to see. Rick and Shane decide that she is ready for the advanced class.  Andrea points out that Shane who should be dead, is still with them and walks away before he can explain why.

Dale approaches Hershel in the barn area, and claims that he took a walk by the barn, and heard the walkers moaning.  Hershel tells him that it is unfortunate, but he is doing this because he heard the broadcast before they stopped and the irrational fear.  He feels that the walker that they killed at well was murder.  Hershel tells Dale that a "paranoid schizophrenic is dangerous too. We don't kill sick people".  Really?  I cannot believe that they felt that this analogy is okay.  The truth of the matter is that disabled people are murdered and abused constantly and I for one resent the comparison between fictional zombies and real disabled people.  I also think it's worth pointing out that people who are neurologically atypical, are more of a danger to themselves, than anyone else. Dale does his best to make him understand that walkers are not people, but Hershel says, "my wife and step son are in that barn and they're people".  Dale says that they should talk to Rick and make the barn more secure. Hershel tells him that if he wants to help that he should keep it to himself because Rick is a man of conscience but that does not mean that everyone in the group is.

Later in the fields, Lori approaches Hershel and he asks after Carl. Herschel tells her to be grateful that she doesn't have a daughter.  "If only things were as easy as wanting to shoot." Yeah, cause grown women just might have the notion that they are entitled to do what they choose with their own bodies, and that kind of resistance and agency is a pain in the ass. Lori says that they will earn their keep, but Hershel tells her that he expects with Carl feeling better that they will be moving on soon.

Shane has Andrea shooting at a piece of wood swinging from a tree but unlike at the target range, she keeps missing. Shane tells her that she shoots like a "damn girl" and says that he is trying to encourage muscle memory. Okay, I am sure we can all agree that Shane is a megadouche but the female as a pejorative is just so classically sexist. Even when talking to a woman, female is still seen as a negative and that is why Andrea should aspire to be tough and manly like him. Shane tells her that she is shooting at the walker that got Amy, and Andrea walks away in anger.


Rick is loading weapons and Lori approaches him with the news that Hershel expects them to leave and asks if anyone else knows.  He tells her that she doesn't need to worry, because he has been talking to Hershel, and that it is not carved in stone. She says that maybe she can talk to him to and plead their case, but Rick wants her to give Hershel some space. Rick tries to assure saying, "if we have to go, I will do whatever it takes to make sure you and Carl are safe". I really saw this scene as yet more sexism. It read like a case of don't worry your pretty little head about things and let the man take care of everything.

As Andrea walks down the road, Shane catches up to her in a car.  When she refuses to stop, he hops out of the car and tells her that he was trying to get her rattled but admits that he crossed the line when he brought Amy into it.  Yeah, no apology for being a sexist douche hat though, 'cause that shit she just has to accept as a woman. He then tells her that he got a lead on Sophia, and that she can come with him and be his back up. Where exactly did this magical lead come from, and can they just find either Sophia or her corpse, 'cause I am sick to death of this plot line.

Back at the farm, Dale is cooking and the smell clearly makes Lori ill and so he follows her as she walks away.  "My wife was pregnant once she miscarried and we didn't try again after that", he says.  "The thing that I remember most is how nauseated she became at the smell of cooking meat".  Lori asks if Glenn told him about her pregnancy, and admits that she has not told Rick.  Lori says that she slept with Shane, and that she did what she did, because she thought that Rick was dead; however, she is certain that the child belongs to Rick.  I think that this is more a case of wishful thinking than fact. She believes that the baby will not have any good memories at all, only fear and pain. Dale attempts to reassure her, saying that they can still find joy and find strength in each other.  Lori asks Dale to look her in the eye, and say that her baby will live to be his age, and die happy, but Dale has no response.  I think that the men of this show need to just back the hell off, and let Lori deal with her pregnancy.  It's not their place to attempt to influence her, or tell her what she should do, but of course women cannot be trusted to make decisions for themselves.

Lori approaches Glenn and asks him to make a run into town for her.  He hugs her and says that he's her man.  Maggie and Glenn ride into town on horseback, and she tells him that she is pissed that he betrayed her trust.  Glenn asks her if she agrees that the walkers are sick.  She calls the walkers by their former names in an attempt to humanize them.  When they reach the pharmacy, Maggie asks what he needs to pick up, and he says, "I can't say", but then hands her a note and asks her to help him look.  As Maggie is searching, a walker grabs her hand, and Glenn brains it with a piece of wood.  It stands up again with its head halfway attached, and this time Glenn bludgeons the walker. I gotta say that I loved the gore.

Maggie storms up and throws their find at Lori. She yells, "here's your abortion pills" and tells her that that the next time she wants something, to get it themselves. When Glenn catches up to her, Maggie kisses him, and tells him that he is a leader, and that his "friends don't want to know it".  She points out that they had no problem sending Glenn down the well, and that he is walker bait. She says that she cannot take him becoming one of them.  I was actually very relieved to see this scene. It is about time someone pointed out how vital Glenn is, and the fact that he is always willing to risk himself for the benefit of the group.

Shane and Andrea pull up to a suburban neighbourhood, and they decide to go house to house in search of Sophia, but all they find are dead bodies piled together. Andrea is upset, and says that she does not know how to tell Carol, that this was yet another dead end, just as a walker climbs under the garage door.  Andrea's gun jams, and when she finally clears it, she begins shooting accurately and with confidence. Before entering the car, she stops to take one more shot at the walkers.This is the badass Andrea that we have come to love in the comics.

Glenn approaches Lori and she asks if they were attacked. She apologizes for sending him and says that she is thankful that he made it back.  Glenn asks if the morning after pills will work, and Lori admits that she does not know, and so he gives her prenatal drugs just in case.  He tells her that her choice is something that maybe she shouldn't make alone. Right, cause she isn't the one that is going to have to carry and give birth to that child alone.  It's not like Rick is going to share that burden. 

On the way back to the farm, Andrea reaches over and grabs Shane's crotch. Is it me, or did it look like he stuffed his pants for this scene?  He simply looks at her and says, "come on then," and pulls over in the middle of the road.  Great! Shane and Andrea. I do not like this coupling, and much prefer the Andrea and Dale relationship in the comic books.

At the farm, Lori opens the packages of  pills and takes them all. She then sticks her finger down her throat, after running a bit from camp and throws them up.

When Andrea and Shane pull up, Dale asks what happened, and Shane responds saying that the place was over run. Andrea is smiling ridiculously, cause of course one cannot simply be discreet about fucking in a car. It is clear that Dale does not trust Shane.  Dale tells Shane that he has a nice  car and plenty of fuel now, and that he should just leave. Shane answers that he knows that Glenn is jealous, and that Lori and Rick want him there. Dale points out that he has been vague about Otis' death.  Dale tells him that he knows what kind of man he is, because he has saw when Shane had Rick in his sites Shane says, "if you think I would gun down my own best friend, would do you think I would do to some man that I don't even like, when he starts throwing accusations"?  This was an extremely tense scene, but it upset me that Dale's reason for finally confronting Shane, is because he believed that something occurred between him and Andrea. I think I am just going to nickname Dale the pussy police, since he seems highly invested in controlling what all the women do sexually.

In the tent, Rick finds the packages of morning after pills, and walks into the field to find Lori.  He asks "Is there something you need to tell me"? Lori finally reveals to Rick that she's pregnant.  She tells him that she threw up the pills, and that he can yell if he wants, or scream if he has to. He asks how long she has known, and she tells him that it doesn't matter.  Rick is upset that Glenn knew, and that she didn't tell him. She wants to know how they can bring a baby into this - that she threw them up the pills and that she screwed up.  He tells her that they can make it work.  Lori says that she worries that every cry will put it and Carl in danger.  Rick asks if she thought he would make her have a baby she didn't want. Lori responds "if I did it, then it would be on my conscience".  He then tells her that they cannot live like this anymore, and wants to know if there is anything else he should know about.  She looks at him and says. |Shane and I". He responds "I know, of course I know. You thought I was dead, world went to shit and you thought I was dead right".