Monday, February 17, 2014

The Walking Dead, Season Four, Episode 10: Inmates


The introduction starts off with Beth in a forest talking about finding the prison and how Hershel thought they could make it into a home.  We see Daryl and Beth running through the woods trying to stay ahead of the zombies. Beth tries to shoot her gun but it is out of bullets and so Daryl saves her with his arrows.  She continues to talk about life in the prison and the delight of waking in her bed and how she is afraid to get her hopes up.  Beth says that she worries that it is easier to be afraid. Beth and Daryl dive into a ditch after having escaped the zombies.  We learn that she wished that the prison was her home for the rest of her life.

Daryl and Beth sit by the fire and Beth says that they should do something because they aren't the only survivors. Beth suggests that the residents of the prison could have made it out. Beth tells Daryl that he should track because he is a tracker but Daryl sits there silently. Beth stands in frustration and says that if Daryl won't track, she will.  Daryl stands, puts out the fire and follows Beth.  The next day, Daryl searches the ground for tracks and when he stops, Beth suggests that this means that someone is alive.  They continue to walk with Beth in the lead and Daryl finds more tracks.  Beth encourages Daryl to have faith but Daryl points out that faith hasn't done anything for them.  Beth starts to gather fruit saying that people will be hungry when they find them.  They come across two dead zombies and Daryl finds blood which is not walker blood.  Beth says they must have fought off the walkers but Daryl once again is not optimistic.  A walker jumps out and grabs Beth and Daryl beats its head in with a rock. They continue walking and now Daryl is in the lead. They come to a set of train tracks and find a group of walkers feasting.  Daryl makes short work of them with an arrow and Beth is shocked at the disgusting remains of the walkers feast.  Beth starts to cry, overwhelmed with what she has been through and seen but Daryl just keeps walking.

That night at a camp fire, Beth tells Daryl that they are not going to die and that she is believing for the sake of her father.

The kids make their way through the forest on their own. Mica says that she wants Carol and Lizzie points out that Carol isn't here.  Mica and Lizzie are with Tyreese, who is holding onto Judith.  That night, Lizzie kills a rabbit. Judith starts to cry, which causes Amy to panic. Tyrese promises that they will find a safe place soon. When Mica realises that there are walkers all around them, they get up and start moving again. The next day, the girls come across a grape tree and Lizzie and Amy stop eat, as Tyreese tries to calm down Judith, who is screaming.  Tyreese pauses to change Judith's diaper and Amy panics that the walkers will hear the crying baby.  Tyreese hears walkers in the woods and leaves the girls to watch the baby and heads towards the woods. Mica takes off running in fear and Tyreese and Lizzie chase her until they finally catch up.  Tyrese assures Mica that she did the right thing by running.  Tyreese hears screams and decides he has to help in case its people from the prison.  Tyreese hands them his guns, as Mica begs him not to go. Tyreese assures her that she can handle this and then takes off following the sound of the screams.

Tyreese makes it to the railroad tracks where he sees a group of people fighting off zombies, so he decides to help out.  Judith is still crying and Mica begs Lizzie to do something because she is scared someone is going to hear them.  Lizzie puts her hand over Judiths mouth, cutting off her oxygen, as Mica again points out the zombies.  Mica fires her gun at the approaching zombies and though Tyreese hears, he cannot leave because he is in the middle of killing off a small herd himself. Carol shows up with the girls and Tyreese runs and hugs Carol.   One of the men that Tyreese tried to save tells them to stay on the tracks because there is a place up the tracks that will be safe for the children. Since he has been bitten, Tyreese and Carol leave with the children.  Mica tells Tyreese that she didn't run or leave Lizzie.  Tyreese tells Carol that he didn't see her get out and Carol admits that she wasn't there but does not admit that she had been banished by Rick. Carol says that she saw the prison fall. They continue to follow the tracks and stop at sign that talks about a sanctuary and community for all. The community is named Terminus.


Maggie is sharpening a knife, as in the distance, Sasha puts bandages on Bob.  Sasha tells Bob that he can smile because he is alive and Bob tells Sasha that Tyreese could have made it. Sasha points out that they don't know if anybody got out. Sasha heads to see Maggie and says that they should camp there for the night and Maggie tells Sasha that she and Bob should be safe there because she is going to go look for Glenn. Maggie says that she knows that Glenn got out, when Sasha argues that they should stay together. Bob hops on his feet and follows Maggie.  Sasha tells Bob that they should be looking for food and shelter because the odds of finding Glenn is low.  Bob asks what is the point of surviving, just for the sake of surviving. They come across the bus abandoned in the middle of the road and Maggie runs for it with Bob following quickly. The bus is filled with walkers, who instantly reach out for Maggie, Sasha and Bob.  Maggie says that she has to know if Glenn is on the bus and Bob suggests that they let out the walkers one at a time. Sasha opens the back door and when a zombie falls out, Maggie takes it out with a knife. Sasha and Bob are unable to hold the door and the rest of the zombies come barrelling out the door.  Maggie freezes for a moment then starts killing walkers with Sasha and Bob. Bob says that the people who died were good people, as he Sasha and Maggie survey the dead. Maggie gets on the bus to see if she can identify Glenns remains.  Maggie kills one trapped walker then sits down and cries.

Glenn wakes up on a rock ledge and is just outside of the reach of zombies.  It turns out that Glenn never got on the bus and is still at the prison.  Glenn screams out Maggie;s name but of course gets no answer.  Glenn has one gun and is completely surrounded by walkers, so he decides to re-enter the prison.  It is dark inside, so he lights a lantern and moves slowly through the prison. Glenn makes his way to the groups former living quarters and finds it empty.  Glenn stops at the cells he shared with Maggie and pulls the riot gear out from under the mattress.  In a state of pure exhaustion, Glenn lies down on the bed. He grabs a photo of Maggie and holds it and cries.  Glenn grabs a bag and starts packing things, making sure to take Hershels watch. Dressed in full riot gear Glenn leaves the prison and is quickly surrounded.  He fights his way through the walkers.  Glenn is finally outside, close to the exist and he stops when he finds Tara in a cage. Tara is spaced out and she says that she was part of this and asks what Glenn is doing. Glenn tells Tara that he needs her help. Glenn throws a Molotov cocktail onto the prison grounds and tells Tara to stay ahead of him so that he can cover her. Finally, Tara and Glenn clear the prison property.

Glenn and Tara make it to the road and he asks if any of his people got out.  Tara says that her sister wasn't supposed to be there and that she did all of this for Philip because she believed in him. Glenn learns for the first time that Philip killed Hershel and Tara explains by saying that Philip said the residents of the prison were bad people and she didn't realise Philip was the problem until he cut off Hershel's head.  Tara starts to walk away but Glenn says that he needs her help to find Maggie. Glenn explains that Maggie is his wife and that she didn't see him get off the bus.  Glenn says that Hershel taught him that all he has to do is believe and so that is what he is going to do.  When a group of walkers come out of the woods, Glenn grabs a knife and starts to take them out and Tara joins him.  Glenn collapses to the ground, Tara rushes to his side.  Tara is grabbed from behind by a zombie and she manages to kill it, then realises that she is surrounded by a group of people.  Abraham asks her what she has in her possession.

So much happened in this episode. First off, was I the only one thrilled to see the return of Carol?  When she walked up to Tyreese, I couldn't remember if Rick had told him about her banishment and had a moment of worry.  Carol has evolved so much over the seasons and easily the most practical and strongest female character on The Walking Dead.  I was also surprised to see Tara survive.  The Walking Dead now has a lesbian character, it is however unfortunate that her lover died.  I know that this is a show where anyone can die, but television has an alarming amount of gay death. I am very interested to see what they do with her character and how she will be brought into the main group.

Okay, Lizzie really and truly is a little psychopath.  Children harming animals is a HUGE sign that there is something gravely wrong.  It is quiet clear that she wasn't killing them for the sake of food.  Then there was the fact that she would have killed little asskicker if Carol hadn't shown up.  Lizzie sees this as being pragmatic but it is so much more than that.

It's clear that Beth (she who takes to her bed) is on her own evolution.  She is the optimist to Daryl's pessimist.  This is a complete role reversal for these two as in the past it was Daryl who was determined to survive while Beth just laid in her bed with all of her sadness.  I get what Beth was doing but if I were Daryl, I would have found her chatter irritating and there was a part of me that wanted Daryl to tell her to be quiet.

If you read the comics, you know that last night was the introduction of a major character - Abraham. Abraham has a very specific goal in mind and I suspect that this will delay the group getting back together again.  I am highly curious about the town that Carol, Tyreese and the children are headed to.  It's clear that Beth and Daryl are following their tracks and at least these two groups should reunite shortly.