The Walking Dead 4-5: You Kids Don’t Play on the Fence

Freaking holy squirrel brains! The Walking Dead has become exhausting to watch because of all the horrible things that keep happening to Rick’s Rebels. I think it would have been best to end “Internment” with the song “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter: “You had a bad day, the camera don’t lie…” Rick’s Rebels just can’t catch a break; when they get one thing under control another goes off the rails.

Also, I should mention that I forgot to feed you baby birds last week due to Comikaze-related illness, so here’s my ultra-concise recap of last week’s episode: Because of her stint of murdering people who might harm the group, and Tyreese’s clear bloodlust towards whomever gets discovered as the murderer, Rick voted Carol out of the prison. She’s got supplies, she’s got a car, and she’ll survive, but she’s out, both for her own safety and because she can’t be trusted.

Now, before we get into this week’s recap, let’s check in with Dale.

Well, Action Chick, you caught me smack-dab in the middle of my thirty-day hot dog challenge. They say a man can’t eat hot dogs for thirty days, and I aim to prove them wrong. Week one was a delight; hot dogs every day, morning noon and night. I’d throw some eggs on a dog in the morning, some chili on them for lunch, and relax at the end of the day with some ‘chup and ‘stard. You know, the classics. Yes, those were the halcyon days of this hot dog challenge. Now things are starting to feel like work. But I’m gonna persevere, by God! Dale Horvath’s not the man to stop eating when the eating gets tough!

Thanks, Dale. Now, onward, to the recap!

Rick returns to base camp sans Carol, hoping maybe no one would notice her absence, but Maggie immediately gets the info out of him and agrees she would have done the same thing. Rick lets Hershel in on what happened, too, and gets his support… which he’ll probably need once Daryl and Tyreese find out. That bit of gossip got saved for next episode, but I’m betting it’ll stir up a lot of draaaaamaaaaa (jazz fingers).

Inside the sickbay, people are dropping like flies but Hershel’s been staying on top of it- removing their corpses and making sure they don’t come back as zombies. There’s only so many dead people one one-legged old dude can remove in such a short amount of time, though, and he soon falls behind, leading to this viral outbreak to become a walking dead outbreak. Maggie leaves Rick outside to deal with the ever-crumbling fence and charges in to save her hubbie and daddy. Let’s take a moment to reflect on how awesome these two have turned out. Maggie’s always been pretty kickass, and now she’s even more kickass, whether she’s helping Hershel extubate an uncooperative zombie and caps that walker in the head, or just diving through busted windows. And Hershel! He’s like an unstoppable Santa Claus, always there with some comfort or a joke even when everything’s going to hell.

As if one intense situation isn’t enough, TWD throws in another one like a psychotic juggler tossing around razor blade-covered apples. While Hershel and the gang fight inside the sickbay, Rick and Carl fight for their lives at the outskirts of the prison. We’ve all suspected the fence was going to break down at some point, and today was the big day! Rick and Carl are fruitlessly trying to reinforce the fence with logs, but sticks just ain’t enough to hold back the tide of zombies, so they all flood in like rowdy party guests. After some hesitation, Rick and Carl arm up like Rambo and get ready to fight. At this point, Carl has used guns, killed plenty of zombies (and one person), and grown up way too freaking fast. That’s a lot for a kid to handle, which is why season three Carl became a cold-ass little Terminator. Here, however, he’s finally showing that he can handle the responsibilities of trying to make it in this screwd-up world- it feels like the mark of Carl’s real transition into adulthood. You can see it on Rick’s face that he knows it, too. He might’ve wanted his boy to stay innocent for longer, but what’s done is done, and he’s accepted that his kid’s becoming a man. Let’s just hope he doesn’t revert into being a Terminator man.

So, people get shot and bitten (nobody important) before everything gets back under control, and Sasha and Glenn are knocking pretty loudly on death’s door. Enter Daryl and the gang with just the right medications to bring everyone back and seemingly get the sickness under control. Way! *air guitar solo* And they live happily ever after…until the very last second before credits roll, where we get a glimpse of the Governor watching the prison from the woods. It’s about freakin’ time they bring him back into the game. Michonne’s got a bone to pick with him, and I’m itching to see it get picked clean.

Likes:

• Hershel’s idea for spaghetti Tuesday every Wednesday. I laughed, and I laughed harder when nobody on the show laughed at all.
• Maggie blows a walker’s brains out without blinking an eye and moves on to the next.
• Glenn is safe, Sasha is safe. No one important died.
• Daryl and gang are back.
• Half-way through the episode I wondered: where the hell is the Governor? Well, that question got answered. The Governor’s back in office, baby!

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!

Dale’s Deeds by Alex Langley.