Because The Walking Dead season 10 finale has been delayed thanks to the real-world virus, I have decided that to fill the void left in the schedule, to start a re-watch of the series. I live tweeted the episode as if it were playing live in the regular 9pm GMT slot on FOX TV UK. You can see all the tweets here or embedded below.

We’re back with a new season and a slight time jump. The gang admit to have been running around all winter trying to find a place to call their own. They obviously missed the prison when they were outside it before. They have marked out herds of walkers on a map and are being forced to retreat to where they started. It’s here they now find the prison.

It’s a brilliant prison break-in, the gang working as a unit, being careful, even when confronted by riot-gear wearing walkers. They make it inside the prison and clear a call block for a safe night’s sleep. The next day they go exploring for the cafeteria and infirmary, only the group gets split running from walkers and Hershel (Scott Wilson) is bit on the leg! In an absolutley horrific ending, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) hacks Hershel’s leg off. The episode ends with some inmates peering out from behind the counter, shocked at what they’ve just seen.

Elsewhere we learn Andrea (Laurie Holden) is alive and still hanging about with the sword lady, although Andrea is sick and they need to find her somewhere safe to help her. Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and Rick don’t appear to be on the best of terms and she’s about to have this baby any day now. She’s worried the baby is dead or will be dead or she will be dead, every permeation that someone will be eating someone soon!

It’s a strong opening and a strong ending to the episode, with a little lull in the middle. But still, this episode contains one of the most gruesome zombie’s of all time – the gas mask face ripper – and an honest to goodness, look away ending. Fantastic.

Overall Rating: 9

S02E13 Beside the Dying F – Curated tweets by Zombie_Scribe

Because The Walking Dead season 10 finale has been delayed thanks to the real-world virus, I have decided that to fill the void left in the schedule, to start a re-watch of the series. I live tweeted the episode as if it were playing live in the regular 9pm GMT slot on FOX TV UK. You can see all the tweets here or embedded below.

The episode opens with a helicopter flying over Atlanta. Walkers begin to follow it and we watch as they migrate for miles toward the farm. Then there is the gunshot from Carl (Chandler Riggs) putting down zombie Shane (Jon Bernthal) and they turn and become the catalyst for an electrifying opening.

The group is split, some take cars and try to flank them, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Carl are in a barn. Carol (Melissa McBride) is off who knows where doing who knows what. There is a huge zombie showdown with, of course, some deaths along the way. No major upsets really, which is a relief considering we’re just coming off the back of a dead Dale and Shane. However, in the confusion, a dead walker collapses on Andrea (Laurie Holden) and Carol thinks she’s dead so the rescue team drive off and leave Andrea to fend for herself. She manages OK, finding her way into the woods but runs out of ammo. Luckily, she is saved by a mysterious, katana-wielding stranger. Exciting!

The episode then transitions into a “what do we do now” situation and the truth is revealed about what Rick did to Shane. Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), despite asking for this, is furious with her husband for killing her bit on the side. Confusing. This all leads to the remaining survivors, now out of fuel and late at night, having to huddle around a fire and gossip. Rick then stops all that with a tirade about how he never asked for this, but now he’s taking it. If you want to stay, it’s no longer a democracy, it’s a RICKTATORSHIP!

Overall Rating: 9

S02E13 Beside the Dying F – Curated tweets by Zombie_Scribe

Because The Walking Dead season 10 finale has been delayed thanks to the real-world virus, I have decided that to fill the void left in the schedule, to start a re-watch of the series. I live tweeted the episode as if it were playing live in the regular 9pm GMT slot on FOX TV UK. You can see all the tweets here or embedded below.

Opening with a eulogy for Dale inter spliced with T-Dogg (Irone Singleton), Daryl (Norman Reedus), Andrea (Laurie Holden) and Shane (Jon Bernthal) out securing the perimiter and taking out a LOT of frustration on some of the undead who are gorging themselves on a cow. There is only really one other scene in the episode that shows the impact that Dale had on the group and that is when Glenn (Steven Yeun) is fixing the RV. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) says in his speech at the funeral that the best way to honour Dale is to do things the way he wanted. This includes letting Randall (Michael Zegen) go.

Why is Dale’s influence on the group ignored? He fought for humanity and he won, although he never knew it. He changed the entire group dynamic (although it is quickly ignored later in the episode) by standing up for what he believed in, but all he gets are a few words of how he was a good guy, really.

There isn’t much else happening in the episode. Hershel (Scott Wilson) allows the survivors to take shelter inside the house, but the main focus here is what is happening with Shane.

Carl (Chandler Riggs) confesses to Shane who in turn tells Rick. Shane then gets all up in Rick’s face for being a bad father and putting the group first before his son. This leads to further tensions between the two that finally reach boiling point.

Shane devises a whole plot on how to take Rick out of the game. He free’s Randall, citing that he wants to join his group. Randall admits that he’ll fit in well as they’re a bunch of nasty people. Seems Shane was right all along. It wasn’t safe to let this kid live. Out in the woods, Shane breaks Randalls neck and then smashes his own face into a tree to make it look like a fight before running back to camp with a story of escape.

Taking Glenn and Daryl with them, they split up to hunt for Randall. This was Shane’s first mistake. Don’t take Daryl out hunting. Daryl and Glenn find Randall who has now turned, but they also find he has a broken neck, no bites and some blood on a tree. They can put two and two together.

Meanwhile, Shane and Rick are alone in a field. Shane pulls his gun on his former best friend. The two have a bit of shouting back and forth about whose family is whose and Rick goes to lay his weapon down, trying to get Shane to lower his, but in a swift pinch, Rick stabs Shane and kills him! Shocking twist!

Then, somehow, Carl turns up. He points his gun at his Dad and shoots, but it wasn’t really aimed at his father but the re-animated corpse of Uncle Shane. The gunfire alerts a herd of walkers who are happily hanging around in the woods. How none of the search party spotted them is not revealed.

An excellent episode that brings to a conclusion the rivalry between Rick and Shane. Unfortunately, it brings to a conclusion the rivalry between Rick and Shane. Shane has been a superb character, a little rough at times but the perfect yang to Rick’s yin. This scene also brings a beautiful shot of the two cast in shadow by the moon. Really stunning.

This is another death that doesn’t match the comic books and it’s a little annoying. In the comics, Carl is the one to shoot Shane. This is what turns him into a man, taking a life, and plays to the talk that he and Rick shared about the world changing and Carl having to grow up. Much later in the comics, Rick then has to go find where they buried Shane to kill his re-animated self, but that’s a bit much.

Overall Rating: 8.5

S02E11 – Judge, Jury, Exe – Curated tweets by Zombie_Scribe

Because The Walking Dead season 10 finale has been delayed thanks to the real-world virus, I have decided that to fill the void left in the schedule, to start a re-watch of the series. I live tweeted the episode as if it were playing live in the regular 9pm GMT slot on FOX TV UK. You can see all the tweets here or embedded below.

Episode 11 revolves around the survivors making the difficult decision surrounding Randall’s (Michael Zegen) fate. The gang are mostly on board to kill him, especially since Daryl (Norman Reedus) has found out the group he was with were happy raping innocent girls while their father was forced to watch. (Now we know that Randall wasn’t part of the saviours). The only person on Randall’s side is Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) who spends the episode trying to convince everyone else in the group to let the boy live.

Dale makes some good points. By killing Randall, they are accepting that the society of laws and ethics is out the window and they are living now by the rule of survival of the fittest. And whilst if Randall was given a chance and allowed to become part of the group, who’s to say he won’t betray them? Randall’s group left him for dead, impaled on that spike. Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) group saved him. But nobody will feel safe with Randall wandering free.

After much, much discussion, Dale is able to convince Andrea (Laurie Holden) of sparing Randall but no one else. Rick is assigned the executioner but can’t go through with it when Carl (Chandler Riggs) sneaks in for a peek.

Speaking of Carl, he is being a bit of a douche this episode. Not listening to Shane (Jon Bernthal), talking ill of Sophia to Carol (Melissa McBride) and stealing Daryl’s gun to go throw stones at a walker stuck in the mud. Having got too close, the walker manages to escape and Carl loses the gun as he flees. Later, as Dale leaves for a walk to clear his head, he meets the walker and is unable to stop himself being torn apart.

It’s a thought-provoking episode and although there was a LOT of talking and debate, it was worth having. Randall’s group appears to have taken law into their own hands, even our group have. Would Rick be alive if he hadn’t taken action in that bar? The morality of humanity is a theme that doesn’t linger around for long enough. Sure, by season ten a new set of laws has appeared, but here and now, in season two, the world is only starting to seem unfixable.

Dale’s death was a disappointing one as he had such a better exit in the comic books. He didn’t get to see that there is still some humanity left in their group and died not knowing that his actions helped save Randall’s life…for now. This will go on to be a common theme throughout the series. Should a character find redemption or happiness, their fate is usually sealed. Only here, that fate happens whilst the character was still unaware.

Overall Rating: 7

S02E11 – Judge, Jury, Exe – Curated tweets by Zombie_Scribe