The Walking Dead Rewatch – Season 3, Episode 2 (Sick)

| Neil Brazier

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.

Jumping right in where Seed left off, Sick immediately returns to the intensity and ferocity of the cafeteria where Rick (Andrew Lincoln) chops off Hershel’s (Scott Wilson) leg. They have a new audience, some inmates, who jack up the tension even more, especially Tomas (Nick Gomez) who has no idea who he’s messing with.

The episode deals with these new faces pretty swiftly. Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) wants to know if they’re safe with the inmates around, Rick alludes he could just kill them – like Lori asked him to do with Shane – and the two continue to wear their personal issues on their sleeve. Rick and crew agree to help the inmates clear out a cell block they can live in, having explained how the world has ended and about dispatching the dead. All the while there is a bubbling pot under Tomas that is about to explode.

And so it does, when the rabble arrive at the laundry room, Tomas sees an opportunity and tries to get Rick bitten as well as slashes at him. Rick has had enough of his trouble so puts an end to it quickly. It’s all pretty dramatic stuff and signals a new era that the survivors are in. It’s not just the dead they have to be aware of anymore.

Elsewhere, Carol (Melissa McBride) wants a zombie to practice giving a C-Section to as Lori is due to give birth any day now. As she cuts open the body, from outside the fence, someone is watching her. Mystery. The only other thing going on is Hershel’s recovery. Maggie (Lauren Cohan) isn’t sure he’s going to survive, but is mighty relieved when he does.

Another good episode, keeping up the drama even if the new characters were really just chum for the dead. The comic plays out an angle with the inmates that is much darker than the series, but that is ignored here. Probably for the best.

Overall Rating: 8.5