Monday, February 24, 2014

The Walking Dead, Season Four Episode Eleven: Claimed


Tara is in the back of a military truck and she uses a marker to track their progress.  When the truck is forced to stop because the road is blocked, the truck is quickly surrounded by walkers, so Tara picks up an automatic weapon.  Abraham pops his head out of the window and orders Tara not to fire the weapon. Abraham gets out of the truck and makes quick work of killing the walkers with a smile on his face as Tara watches.  Tara comments that she has never seen someone smile while killing the walkers and Abraham says that he is the luckiest gay in the world.  Abraham asks Tara to help him move the cars out of the way because they still have miles to travel.

Carl is sitting having breakfast and is joined by Michonne.  He laughs at her oversize shirt and she sits to join him at the table.  Michonne says that she wishes they had soy milk for the cereal.  Carl starts talking about how much he hates soy milk and then rants about the things he would rather do than drink soy milk but stops when he unintentionally brings up Judith.  Carl stands and excuses himself.

Michonne joins Rick in the kitchen and he thanks her for making Carl laugh.  Rick says that Carl needs Michonne because he cannot be Carl's father and his best friend.  Wow, they are laying on the mammy right quick this week aren't they.  Rick admits that this is a lot and Michonne says that she is done taking breaks. Michonne asks about a plan and Rick replies that they should stay there while they figure out what to do. Michonne announces that she and Carl are going to go for supplies and when Rick volunteers to come too, she reminds him that he was unconscious yesterday.  Michonne reminds Rick that they need him strong and he finally agrees to rest for the day.

They all head out to the porch and Michonne says that they won't be too long.  Rick instructs Carl to follow Michonne's lead and asks Carl if everything is okay.  Carl says that he is just hungry and leaves with Michonne on a food run, as Rick watches.  Rick heads back into the house and puts the sofa against the door, before heading upstairs to look at his wounds. Rick lies down with a book after taping his ribs.

Carl and Michonne are carrying bags of stuff they have found. Carl reports finding crazy cheese and this excites Michonne.  Carl rightfully turns it down saying that he is fine.  Michonne questions him and Carl claims to be tired.  Michonne takes a big squirt of the nasty cheese and it's clear from Danai Gurira's face that this was a sacrifice she made for character.  Gurira can barely contain her disgust and I for one don't blame her and in fact hope that she only had to shoot that scene once. Michonne apologizes for not being to make Carl laugh with the cheese.  They knock on a door and Michonne reveals that she had a son who happened to find her extremely funny.  When they don't get a response, they enter the house and Michonne says that they need food, batteries and water.  Carl starts to ask about Michonne's backstory and she promises to answer one question at a time, one room at a time and only after they have cleared it.


Rick is asleep on the bed and there are voices downstairs arguing. Rick wakes as a man cries out after begging for mercy and then screaming in pain. Rick looks at the time and quickly gets out of bed when he hears someone coming upstairs.  Rick then slides under the bed, as someone checks the rooms with a gun. Downstairs, two men are still arguing with one screaming in pain.  After checking the closet, the man lies down on the bed.  Rick's hands are shaking as he continues to hide under the bed.

Carl asks Michonne about her son's name. Carl points out that they have done two separate rooms and Michonne reveals her child was named Andre Anthony. Carl asks about other children and Michonne says that one child was enough for her because Andre was a handful like Carl.  Carl asks how long it's been and Michonne admits that it happened after everything went bad. Michonne admits that she has never told anyone this and Carl promises to keep Michonne's secret.  When Michonne denies that this is a secret, Carl again affirms that he won't tell anyone.

Micchonne and Carl separate to search different rooms and she ends up in a room clearly designed for a little boy. The adjoining room is clearly for a little girl and Michonne finds five dead bodies laid out.  Two kids on one bed and two adults on another and what was possibly a grandparent sitting on a chair.  They have all had their brains blown out so as not to come back.  Michonne backs out of the room quickly, as Carl walks in. Carl senses something is wrong and asks if there was a baby in there. Michonne lies and says that it was a dog. Carl brings up that Rick let him name Judith and he wonders if Judith and Andre are together somewhere.  Michonne says that they have to get back because Rick will worry if they don't get back before noon.

The man has fallen asleep on the bed and just as Rick is about to inch his way slowly out from under the bed, another man walks up the stairs. The two men argue about who gets to sleep on the bed because of the size. A fight breaks out between the two and one falls to the ground and sees Rick under the bed but is unable to say anything to warn the other because he is being strangled.  Rick watches this but does not say a word.. A new man hops back on the bed.

Glenn regains his consciousness and finds himself on the truck.  Tara tells Glenn that she doesn't know where they are but because Glenn was passed out, she thought the back of a truck would be safer than the side of the road.  Glenn asks if they passed a bus on the side of the road and Tara reveals that no one made it. Tara says that they have been on the road for three hours.  Glenn knocks on the window to get Abraham to stop the truck and at first, Abraham gives Glenn he finger.  It isn't until Glenn uses the butt end of a gun to smash the window that Abraham stops.  Glenn and Tara hop off the truck and Glenn starts walking back towards the prison.  Abraham quickly catches up with Glenn and says that they are on a time sensitive mission and are way behind schedule.  Glenn says that he has to go and Abraham argues that they need strong people to work together and that Glenn will not survive by himself. Glenn says that he will take his chances, so Abraham says that the fate of the entire human race might depend on Glenn staying with them. Abraham introduces, Rosita and Eugene, adding that Eugene is a scientist and that they are on a mission to get Eugene to Washington D.C.  Abraham adds that Eugene knows exactly what caused this mess.  Glenn pauses for a moment and asked what happened.  Eugene says that it is classified and then Abraham explains that Eugene was talking to powerful people on the satellite phone but in the last couple of weeks, no one has been answering. Abraham goes on to add that they saw how Glenn killed the walkers while injured and they could use his help.  Glenn says sorry and keeps on walking with Tara following.  Tara explains that she had to get the off the road but she knows how to get back because she wrote down every turn.  Abraham follows and tells Glenn that there is zero chance he will ever find his wife alive or dead and asks Glenn to get back in the truck.  Glenn sucker punches Abraham and says that he is going to find Maggie.  Abraham and Glenn start to fight, as Rosita and Tara beg Abraham to stop. Eugene walks away and then sees walkers coming out of the cornfield. Eugene grabs an automatic weapon and starts shooting.  The sound breaks up the fight and Abraham runs towards Eugene yelling that he should stop firing. Eugene is joined by Abraham and Rosita and they kill all of the walkers.  Abraham then notices that Eugene blasted the truck and it is now leaking gas.

The new man is now sleeping on the bed and Rick slowly begins to inch his way out from under the bed. There are still voices downstairs and one man is incessantly bouncing a ball. Rick makes his way to another room and hides, when yet another man makes his way upstairs. Rick tries to open a window but they are sealed shut, so he picks up a trophy for a weapon, as the two men head downstairs.  It seems that they have found Michonne's shirt and believe that they should get ready for anything. Rick heads to the bathroom where he finds one man on the toilet.  Rick strangles him, and steals his gun. Rick manages to get the bathroom window open but before crawling out onto the roof, he opens the bathroom door knowing that the man he killed will soon turn.  Rick crawls down and lands on the porch but quickly moves to a hiding space on the ground, where he is able to watch for Carl and Michonne.

Abraham is now underneath the truck talking about what happened while he was in the military. Rosita finds a picture of Maggie on the ground and hands it to Glenn.  Glenn apologizes about the truck and says that he wishes them well on their trip to Washington.  Tara quickly follows and then Rosita. Eugene tells Abraham that the way Glenn et all are traveling is clear and they don't know what's north.  Eugene suggests that Abraham trust him because he is smarter than Abraham and adds that they should stick with Glenn until they find another vehicle. Eugene and Abraham grab supplies from the truck and follow Glenn at a distance.

Rick watches out for Carl and Michonne and a man is now sitting on a porch with a gun.  Michonne and Carl are making their way back to the house and before Rick can react, the man he killed has come back as a zombie is now on the attack. The man on the porch rushes inside the house, leaving Rick free to run towards Carl and Michonne.

Glenn is still leading the way and Abraham tells Tara that she is loyal but what they're doing - saving the world - is more important. Abraham suggests that Glenn and Maggie won't live happily ever after if Eugene doesn't get to Washington.  Tara says that she doesn't know why Abraham is going to Washington and suggests that there is more going on there.

Rick Michonne and Carl are now following the railroad tracks and they pause when they come across a sign offering sanctuary.  This is the same sign that Carol, Tyreese and the kids saw.  This means that at least two parts of the group are going to get together.


This episode we got a good sign of how smart Rick is.  I have to admit that I was impressed by him leaving a zombie bomb for the invaders of this house.  The scenes with Rick are also a reminder of how much his attitude has changed.  There was a time when he wouldn't have been suspicious of new people.  The fact that the new people are so easily so violent shows us that it takes a certainly mentality to be able to survive in the zombie apocalypse.  The people who are still alive are largely those that today we would consider the dregs of society.

I am not impressed with Michonne being set up in the mammy position over Carl.  It reeks of racism - the very idea that a White child can replace the loss of a Black child.  Thanks but no.  I do appreciate that we are getting more of Michonne's backstory but the fact that it is done in a way that casts her as a mammy is unacceptable.

I like that given given the choice, Glenn chose Maggie.  It affirms that what between them is real and not just a coupling based on limited options.

Finally, I found it interesting that Tara refused to believe Abraham's reasoning behind heading to Washington. She had clearly learned to doubt people after what happened with The Governor.  So far, Abraham is exactly like the character portrayed in the comics, Eugene however is not.  There is something creepy about him and I cannot help but wonder if he is an adult Lizzie.