'Sick' - The Walking Dead, Season Three

The Walking Dead

Season Three

Episode Two

'Sick' - 5.5

I'm still a teenager, so I can see the creepy Rule 34 shit here. 

'Sick' is a damn good name for this episode about consequence and retribution, as our heroes are left trying desperately to save Hershel after his walker attack last episode, while coping with the prisoners who want to claim the prison as their own.

In this case, the 'sick' party would actually be Rick, as well as the de facto leader of the prisoner group; Tomas. Oh and Hershel too, I guess. The reason the first two aren't entirely well refers to their almost amoral killings of innocent people. For Tomas this isn't such a big deal, as we aren't overly familiar with any of this group just yet we are easily able to accept the violent criminal as evil.

Rick, on the other hand, is a tougher pill to swallow. In the first two seasons we came to know him as noble and trusting, only resorting to violence when it was absolutely required of him. We do see this Rick early on when he offers to let the prisoners stay in the a different cell block, even promising to help them, but this version of the character has clearly been largely lost, as later on he plants a machete in Tomas' skull. There was a reason, obviously, as Tomas had repeatedly disobeyed Rick's suggestions, brutally ended one of his own troupe after he was scratched by a walker and then literally thrown a living zombie at Rick in some stupid act of insubordination.

This was of course during the taking of the new cell block, and it was all too much for Rick. He and Tomas have a big long, alpha male staring contest once Daryl's come to the rescue, before Rick lets his anger get the better of him and divides the top of the inmate's skull in two. Gross. 

There's an even worse act of questionable morals shortly after, as one of the other prisoners absolutely freaks out and runs away, with Rick showing his former policeman status as he goes in pursuit. Eventually, the unfortunate man runs into a yard full of walkers, and Rick almost nonchalantly slides the barred door shut to prevent him from getting away. Yikes, man. There was a glimmer of remorse and hesitation in his eyes as he stepped away, the prisoner's desperate screams being heard through the door. 

What is with this new Rick? I'm not really complaining, an ambiguous protagonist is so rare that they are like sugar to the seasoned television viewer, but it was just such an abrupt change from the character we know. Luckily I can see exactly what has driven him to this level of immorality, and you get a glimpse into it in the final scene between him and Lori. Rather than simply tell her that he doesn't want to be with her anymore, he ignores her talk of their relationship, even failing to make any kind of eye contact, before thanking her for saving Hershel and walking away. You can tell that Shane's words last season had an effect on him, almost made him push his family away so that their safety can't affect his judgement, and clearly his separation from them has driven this regression into doing what's necessary rather than doing what's right.

For Hershel, his day is much more... unconscious. I was happy to find that he never displays signs of the zombie virus, and never picks up a fever at any point. He doesn't exactly look his best though, as he doesn't even get any dialogue or really open his eyes. Instead, he lies on a jail cell bed while Carol - whom he had taught some basic medical stuff to so that she could help deal with Lori - does her best to keep him alive.

And one point, it looked like we'd lost the old man, as his daughter Maggie saw his chest stop moving. It was even more poignant as she'd not long prior told Glenn that she actually think it'd be easier if he died, but she is still distraught when she thinks he’d passed. Lori rushes in to perform hasty CPR - never a good idea on a possible zombie-case - only to have him lurch up and grab her in an admittedly jump-out-of-your-seat moment, though he quickly falls back under, his breathing back to normal. I swore my spine hit the ceiling when that happened, as Lori actually had her mouth to his, and it was just terrifying. She could've had her face ripped off. Well done, show. Kudos to you.

By the end of the episode though, once everyone's back in the cell block, Hershel opens his eyes and takes Rick's hand, showing that perhaps there is hope and maybe it comes from the prison, of all places. I think that is what we need right now, especially now that Rick has become the new Shane. I do wonder though, perhaps Maggie will end up being right. How long can a one legged man escape walkers?

The glaring absence of Andrea and the black woman with the walker-pets was noted, though the show functions somewhat fine enough without them. I was waiting patiently for them to make another appearance, but in the end I'm quite happy to have to wait until next week to learn what's up with them. 

There is a gloom that perpetually sits on top of this show, and an almost unsettling sense of dread that continues even in the confines of the prison. Any noise, any movement could be a walker. At one point Carol collects one of the creatures from outside the fence so she can investigate her insides - she worries she may have to do a caesarean section on Lori - and the ease with which she undid the mended fence hints that a determined walker - or pack of walkers - could make its way in. 

I still wonder what can be done at a place like a prison. The farm from the second season got some negative reviews from viewers, even if I didn't have any issues with it. I guess the grounds of a jail a considerably larger and more labyrinthine than what we had last season, and with the prime gains there we could easily see a near war build over this compound. They will surely put Andrea back with her companions at some point, and to do that she'll have to meet up with them again, which could happen through battle for the prime real estate. We know that she's going to join up with some other group in order to get medicine for her sickness, right? Anyway, there is still a lot of potential within the impenetrable walls of the jail, but how long before it is exhausted, and we have to bring in threats from the outside? Clearly this episode, though an i­mprovement over the premiere, didn’t really answer any questions. ­­­