“Chupacabra,” episode 5 of AMC The Walking Dead season 2, would have been terrible had it not been for Daryl’s adventure. It’s interesting how Daryl, who is becoming the favorite character of many Walking Dead fans including yours truly, isn’t even in the comic. And right now he’s the hard redneck with a soft and chew center is the only one doing anything.
Things have been moving so slow this season! The search for Sophia has gone on long enough. Find her or kill her already! If this goes on the entire season I’m going to be furious. The episode did advance plot a little bit, but not a lot. All of the necessary, interesting story development points could probably all be put together in just two episodes. There’s still just enough going on in each episode, though, to keep you coming back the following week. Dale, what’re your thoughts on this week’s developments?
Action Chick, did I ever tell you about a sensual encounter I had with a young Elizabeth Montgomery? This was before that witch show of hers, of course, but let me tell you she certainly bewitched her way into my heart that night in that fateful Hardee’s restroom.
Thanks for the update, Dale.
Here’s What Happened:
The episode starts with a flashback that shows Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), Shane (Jon Bernthal), and Carl (Chandler Riggs) in the streets with a bunch of other people trying to survive after the apocalypse but before they’ve formed their little group we see in the present. Then it shows planes bombing the city. Hope you guys weren’t planning on moving back once this is all over!
Back to the present: It appears nothing much has changed. The women do the laundry while the men make a plan to search for Sophia (Madison Lintz). Daryl (Norman Reedus) says he once saw a Chupacabra, thus the name of the episode.
Shane and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) share bromance moments in the woods, talking about people they banged in high school. Then go back to the house.
Shhh, there there. Tell me about it, partner.
Daryl takes one of the doctor’s horses out looking for Sophia and finds her doll in the river. The horse gets spooked by a snake and throws Daryl off. He falls down the steep, rocky, river bank causing one of his arrows to pierce his side. He then starts to hallucinate Merle (Michael Rooker) telling him no one will ever care about him and that Daryl has become a little slave to Rick. Daryl comes to his senses with a zombie trying to chew up his shoe. He kills some zombies then realizes Merle is right. It looks like Daryl is taking a turn back to meaner, more uncaring Daryl, which is kind of a bummer but at least he’ll be doing something, unlike the rest of the meat puppets on this show.
Back at the camp: Glenn (Steven Yeun) tells Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) that he and Maggie (Lauren Cohen) had sex. Hershel (Scott Wilson) tells Rick to control his people and run things by him before they do anything.
Daryl finally comes stumbling into the camp looking like a walker. The men run out to take care of the “walker” while Andrea (Laurie Holden), tired of doing laundry and wanting to help protect the camp, snipes Daryl right as the others get there and see that it’s not a zombie.
Fortunately for Daryl, Andrea just grazed him and the doctor patches all of his wounds up. Hershel keeps dropping hints about how inconvenient it is for them to be there.
Earlier, Glenn propositions Maggie to have sex again, and she shoots him down hard. Then, later she changes her mind and writes a note to Glenn asking where he wants to do it. He replies with the hayloft, but finds that the barn is all locked up. Not letting a silly lock come between him and sex, he climbs up the outside of the barn. He finds a group of zombies locked in the barn. Maggie rushes out there too late and says, “You weren’t suppose to see that.”
Likes:
- Daryl got a lot more screen time.
- Daryl bashing in the head of the zombie, then pulling the arrow out of his side to shoot the other one. That’s hardcore survival right there!
- The group of zombies locked in the barn.
- Andrea taking charge and shooting at the walker, even though it was Daryl. At least she showed some initiative.
Dislikes:
- Maggie being such a hardass when she shot down Glenn initially. Poor Glenn.
- Wasting time looking for Sophia. Forget that effin’ kid and move on already.
- Rick and Shane fighting. Is the bromance over before it ever gets to bloom?!?
- Hershel. If being an annoying stick-in-the-mud is his mission, then mission accomplished.
This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!
Andrea is quickly becoming my least favorite character in their group… she clearly let her need to ‘be one of the guys / badass’ blossom into recklessness / bitchiness.
When you nearly snipe a friendly in the head (when there was no reason to fire a shot in the first place): you have validated everyone’s objection to you carrying a firearm.
More Darryl means a better show. I love how his brother represented some thoughts that you know were in his head, but he’s been shuffling them off to the side. I was wondering why he had gotten so nice after his introduction as such a hard ass. Still, he’s the one character who just gets out and does stuff. Rick’s too conflicted. Shane’s too callous, and, in my opinion, self-serving. Laurie is a bit hard to take, and Darryl gets all the best kills. T Bone is mostly just there. Glen’s purpose is filled so far. Darryl has been the only one who just takes the initiative and gets things done. If he becomes meaner Darryl, he could end up grouping up with Shane and Andrea, who is oddly attractive to me, considering I generally do not like blondes. As for Merle, I am guessing that he’ll figure into both Darryl and Rick’s futures.
“The search for Sophia has gone on long enough. Find her or kill her already!”
Agreed. The missing child storyline was a great plot device, bit it was played out two squares back. Time to resolve it and move on.
As for Dale, his stock just went up in my estimation. Elizabeth Montgomery? You go, Dale! If it turns out he got jiggy with Barbara Eden back in the day, he may replace Daryl as my favorite character.