The Walking Dead: Cherokee Rose

Dale: “For the first time in my life I’m bettin' on the snowball.”

Is there anyone else out there wondering when this lovely idyllic existence is going to blow to pieces?

A whole episode of not much killing, not much tension, a place to take a breath. But the other shoe is going to fall. It has to or we have one really boring farm show. Of course there is something up on this farm. Hershel doesn’t want our survivors to stay. He doesn’t want guns on his property and he has things he can’t talk about. My guess is a zombie loved one, maybe a child, is being kept somewhere. We’ll see if I’m right.

This episode was a breather after the pace of the last two episodes. We had some tension when they lowered Glenn into the well (what were they thinking?) and the pipe broke, and a little more when Daryl was checking out the farm house but no big reveals, no cliffhangers, just some set up for future episodes. I’m not complaining. I could use a rest and there were some important moments this week.

Glenn was adorable with Maggie. I felt awful for him as he stumbled and fumbled in the drugstore and then again when he returned to the farm house with a big grin on his face, only to have it wiped away by Maggie’s matter-of-fact statement that it was a one time thing. Glenn can handle himself when it comes to covert zombie operations and he can even keep his head enough to lasso a “swimmer” as it tries to eat him but he is out of his depth with girls, especially strong, straight-forward girls like Maggie.

It was also hard to watch Shane struggle with Otis’s death. Having to speak at the funeral must have been torture but he did it and did it well. I am still ambivalent about his killing of Otis, but his explanation of what it means to kill someone and how you deal with it made me shift more to the side of -- he had to do it to save Carl rather than he did it to save his own skin. Shane is struggling more than anyone to hold on to his humanity and stay connected to the group. When he asked Lori if she meant for him to stay, I was glad she said yes, although considering the results of the test, she may regret that decision.

Rick continues to struggle with his own capacity to lead people, with his faith in anything including the future and his ability to care for his family. It took a lot for him to ask Hershel to reconsider and more to ask “his people” to lay down their weapons. Our little group of survivors could take the place by force, but Rick is holding on to his civilized self. I wondered what it meant when he put his sheriff stars away. Is he finally saying goodbye to the old world?

Daryl continues to surprise me. The Cherokee Rose that he brought for Carol was such a kind gesture. The fact that he knew the story was surprising. There is much more to him than a backwoods redneck. And he still misses his brother.

Bits and Pieces

Did they go and get Otis? They were burying something. Would it have been safe to go gather his body?

They can grow gills? Why would they? Do they breathe?

I hope that was Sophie staying at the old abandoned farmhouse. If it was where is she now? And what will they do if they don’t find her? Daryl will be heartbroken.

Okay, this is a woman talking, but wouldn’t you pick up every package of pads and tampons you could find?

And I hope Glenn and Maggie found a safe place to get it on -- pharmacy with plenty of glass windows in a town that has a lot of walking dead around. Just sayin’.

Quotes

Shane: “We’ve got to save the boy, that’s what he said.”

Hershel: “We’ve managed so far without turning this into an armed camp.”

Rick: “That’s Glenn, our 'go to town' expert.”

Glenn: “Horse?”

Daryl: “You got a point or we just chattin’?”
Rick: “My point is to let you off the hook. You don’t owe us anything.”
Daryl: “My other plans fell through.”

Rick: “Last time I asked God for a favour and stopped to admire the view, my son got shot. I try not to mix it up with the almighty anymore. Best we stay out of each other’s way.”

Lori: “There’s a reason the dead didn’t come back to life and start raiding our cupboards.”

Dale: “Back to the drawing board.”
Glenn: “Says you.” -- BooYa!

Shane: “Because somebody’s going to die and you better hope that it’s you makin’ the decision.”
Andrea: “How? How do you do that?”
Shane: “Turn off the switch, THE switch, the one that makes you scared, or angry or sympathetic, whatever. You don’t think you act ‘cause odds are somebody else is counting on you and that’s your partner, your friend. It ain’t easy taking a man’s life no matter how little value it may have. But when you get it done, you have to forget it. I guess I haven’t quite got that last part down yet.”
Andrea: “But you’re getting there.”
Shane: “I hope so.”

Maggie: “I’ll have sex with you.”
Glenn: “Really? Why?”

Hershel: “Some men do not earn the love of their sons.”

Daryl: “I believe this one, it bloomed for your little girl.”

Sign in the pharmacy window: “Take what you need and God Bless.”

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