The Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 3: Isolation

Everyone at the prison is stressing over the deaths of their buddies, and digging the requisite graves.  Tyrese is super worked up about the two burned people, one of which is his girlfriend.  He implores Rick to use his detective skills to find out who did it.  Then he just starts beating up on everyone, until Rick has to pound his face in until Daryl pulls him off.

Herschel bandages up Rick's bloody knuckles and they chat about the state of the prison.  Herschel compares Rick flipping the fuck out on Tyrese to his previous alcoholism.  Not the greatest analogy but okay.  Tyrese is frantically digging graves and will not get checked by the doctor, OKAY?!?!  Sasha is coughing and woozy, but thinks a visit to the doctor will fix that right up.  Herschel and Glenn look understandably concerned.

Dr. S gives a foreboding message: "It's starting."  Basically, the people who are sick are dying in their cells and then becoming zombies.  Herschel has a plan to check out a vet college that may not have already been raided.  He offers to go with, but Daryl chimes in with, "out there, sooner or later, we have to run."  Herschel decides to draw a map instead.

Carol goes on a stupid mission to fix a water pump or something, but mostly just chats with Rick.  Rick takes off to chat with Tyrese, who is probably still pretty pissed about the beatdown, and his dead girlfriend.  Carl is not only pissed about going to the children's quarantine, but also oddly concerned about how soon he will have to shoot people.  Glenn is sick.  NOOOOOOO.

Tyrese is keeping watch on the isolation block.  Daryl gets ready to make the run.  Herschel makes a run for the woods, while Carl tries to interfere.  I feel bad for these poor people locked up in the cellblock because they're pretty much getting a death sentence.  And I know Carol is coming across as kind of insensitive, but seriously, I would not survive the zombie freakin' apocalypse to be killed by a cold.  Maggie and Beth have a chat through a closed door.  Beth reminds her that they all have jobs, even though Beth's is pretty much chillin with a baby.

Herschel gathers berries while Carl keeps watch.  They come across a tree zombie that is BAD ASS.

They also see another zombie with her leg caught in a bear trap.  And they decide to LEAVE THEM BOTH.  WHY?!  All zombies must die, right?!  I mean even as slow as the one is walking, she could get to the prison eventually.

Tyrese has a sad chat with Sasha, then decides to go on the run.  He also creeps up on Carol, and asked her to take care of people while he's gone.  In a fit of rage, she knocks over the water supply.  Maggie bitches at Herschel for getting out of quarantine.  Herschel is determined to help the patients with elderberry tea and just general assistance.  He lays some fucking knowledge on Rick and Maggie.  They are too stunned to even respond.

Can we just talk for a second about how Maggie's wardrobe this season is very Lara Croft?  I'm loving the boots but isn't it like a billion degrees in Georgia?  Also remember when we first met her at the farm and she was kind of wishy washy and lame?  She has truly made one of the biggest turnarounds on this show in terms of becoming way more awesome.

Meanwhile, Rick investigates the body-burning, while Carol still works on the water project, alone with the zombies.  Rick has to come and save the day OF COURSE. The new chemistry between Rick and Carol is kinda freaking me out.  On the run, Daryl tries to convince Michonne to stop looking for the Governor.  While fooling with the radio, they hear a voice!  But then also run into a GIGANTIC HORDE OF ZOMBIES.  Like this is worse than that time when they were stranded on that highway.  The car gets stuck on a pile of them, and they're all forced to run for the woods.  Tyrese gets kinda trapped, which seems somewhat intentional anyway.  Daryl knows dude is a weak link and the three of them head for cover without him.

But, surprise, surprise, Tyrese emerges just in time to help out!  And all four run along.  Herschel makes himself useful by handing out tea.  He and Glenn have a heart to heart.  Herschel is really quite the inspirational speaker on this ep.  Carol returns with the stupid water she almost died over.  Rick calls her to task on her little solo adventure.  I hope they don't bang because I'm not really prepared for that.

Rick asks Carol straight up if she killed Carol and David, and shocker!  She did.  Until next week!

The Walking Dead - Season 4 Episode 1 - 30 Days Without an Accident

It's been hard for me to get back in the swing of things with TV recaps.  This time of year, I go from writing zero recaps to keeping up with two per week!  But they are one of the biggest visited pages on my site, so it looks like someone is reading them.  So I'm nearly a week behind on The Walking Dead but I promise to get this week's recap up on the same night that the episode airs.

An undisclosed amount of time after we last checked in with the prison, Rick and the group are thriving.  They've got a nice little garden going, while the zombies still watch from the gate.  When are these bitches finally going to die?  Do they have an expiration date like in 28 Days Later? Rick is listening to an iPod, God knows how he's keeping that charged.  They also have a pig that they are raising for food, which may or may not be sick.

Apparently people are still being brought in left and right, in addition to the folks that came from Woodbury originally.  Some nerdy kid calls Daryl "Mr. Dixon" and "Sir."  Carol tries to stake her claim on her mancandy, now that there are several other ladies around for Daryl to choose from.  There are people working at the fence, and their job is to just repeatedly stab the zombies that come up to the perimeter.  Carol is concerned about the amount of walkers that have gathered.

Maggie and Glen -- still going strong.  Glen -- getting a little overprotective of Maggie.  He doesn't want her to go on today's run, and she reluctantly agrees to stay.  Tyrese has a new love interest, but he's done stabbing the zombies on the fence, and wants to go on the run instead.  Beth has a cutiepie love interest as well.  A new guy, who's name I totally missed, volunteers to go on the run as well. Michonne on a freakin' horse!  YES.  She's apparently on a tireless search for the Governor, and living at the prison very sparingly.

Herschel lectures Rick on bringing his gun when he leaves the prison. A short time later, Rick goes wandering about, and runs into a strange woman.  She pleads for help with dragging a dead animal back to her husband, but really just wants to come back to the prison.  We learn that now newcomers get asked three questions before they get a chance to come back: how many walkers have you killed? How many people have you killed? Why?

This time the run is taking place at a superstore, which was previously overrun by zombies.  But the quick-thinking prison residents put a boombox nearby to draw them out.  Sasha has turned into a total badass, while Tyrese is still a little wishywashy.  New guy struggles with the decision to sneak some wine, and while he tries to make the right choice, he topples over an entire display, attracting the walkers that are hanging out on the roof.  Just when you thought there could be no more new ways for walkers to appear, they fall through the roof like rain!  A zombie battle ensues, and they lose Beth's boytoy, narrowly escaping as the roof starts to completely cave in.

After what seems like an episode-long stroll through the woods, Rick finally reaches this weird lady's camp, where she immediately tries to kill him!  It turns out this chick's husband is a walker, and she kept him "alive," and wanted to feed Rick to him.  Rick is having none of that.  She is now going to kill herself, and begs Rick not to "end it" after she becomes a zombie, so that she can be with her zombie husband.  Ummmm, cray cray.

Back at the prison, Carol is using storytime as a cover for teaching the kids zombie survival skills.  Good on you, Carol.  The nerdy kid feels nauseous and has to leave, but Carl hides behind a bookshelf to observe the lesson.  Carol spots him and fears he will tell Rick.  Tyrese is a whiny little bitch about making runs as well.  Maggie tells Glenn she's not pregnant and both are happy.  But she thinks they could have kids in the future.  Daryl breaks the news about Beth's boytoy and she doesn't cry, but resets the "days without an accident" calendar.  She gives Daryl a much-needed hug.  Meanwhile, Michonne studies a map of Georgia.  The nerdy kid is sick with something and dies in the showers, releasing a zombie right into the middle of the prison!