TV Diary | The Walking Dead – Episode 2.10 – “18 Miles Out” – Original Airdate: 2/26/12

Episode Grade: B

Unquestionably, the main focus of The Walking Dead since it returned from its midseason hiatus [1] has been the Rick/Lori/Shane triangle. We’ve seen the continuing devolution of Shane to the point where I speculated in my review of “Triggerfinger” that he’s unlikely to emerge from this season still alive. What “18 Miles Out” did – in uneven fashion – was have both Rick and Shane lay their cards out on the table and get all of their issues out in the open. Shane tells Rick that he can’t expect to be able to simultaneously play the good guy and survive the new world order while Rick informs Shane that he needs to forget any feelings he’s still harboring for Lori and rein in his destructive streak if he wants to remain a part of the camp. Two men who were once as close as brothers have been put into a situation where it’s becoming increasingly evident that one or the other isn’t going to survive and, most likely, the one who doesn’t is going to die at the other’s hands. It’s yet another example of The Walking Dead proving that life in the middle of a zombie apocalypse is pretty damn bleak and hopeless. But, while it accomplished that, it did so in uneven fashion, hearkening back somewhat to the up-and-down episodes that pockmarked the middle of the first half of this season. While the narrow focus of the episode has been praised by some critics [2], I didn’t feel that the set piece in the parking lot following Rick and Shane’s argument was as effectively tense as other similar sequences this season have been. Granted, the in media res opening of the episode is possibly my most despised narrative device [3] so things got off to an inauspicious start, but once “18 Miles Out” headed into linear territory the discussion between Rick and Shane that I referenced earlier got things back on track as did yet another example of Rick’s decent-hearted nature [4] flying in the face of the group’s safety. Rick also brings up the need to move away from using firearms as much as possible when subduing walkers both from a ammo scarcity-standpoint as well as from a need to be quieter tact as well. So, of course, he and Shane later get into a knockdown, drag-out fight that leads to Shane chucking a wrench at Rick that ends up going through a window in an abandoned building housing a shitton of walkers, all of whom awake and set Rick, Shane, and Randall in their sights. In the midst of the chaos of struggling to survive yet another walker overrun, Randall blurts out that he actually knows Maggie which causes Rick and Shane to reconsider whether keeping him alive is still possible since the chance that he could draw his own camp back to the farm is now in play and, indeed, in the end Rick did seem to come to the realization that Randall has to die for the betterment of everyone else. It also raised some interesting new questions that I’ll address in the Miscellany section, so at the very least a longer view was served. Still, their escape from the walkers was strangely devoid of much suspense and took the air out of the episode more than a little but the forward movement in the Rick/Shane conflict was still presented well enough as to not drag the episode as a whole down too much. The narrower scope of the episode was a welcome one and, so long as the show’s writing staff learns from some of the mistakes “18 Miles Out” made, future attempts in this vein should prove to be very effective.

[1] If not the entire season, for that matter.
[2] And while I don’t necessarily have a problem with this approach, The Walking Dead’s writers are kind of new to this kind of storytelling as the regular characters that we saw in this episode were Rick, Shane, Lori, Andrea, and Maggie. Randall – the dude with the metal peg through his leg – and whatever the hell Maggie’s sister’s name is were literally the only other tertiary characters besides the walkers who were seen in “18 Miles Out.” Less is definitely more sometimes and I wouldn’t warn The Walking Dead’s writing staff off of episodes like this in the future, but they’re going to have to be more effective in doing so.
[3] Because it’s incredibly, incredibly lazy and overdone. Find a smarter way to hook your audience, writers.
[4] The plan was initially to drive Randall 18 miles out – hence, the episode’s title – from the farm and leave him on his own but, after reaching the 18-mile mark, Rick decides spontaneously to try to find a more agreeable spot to drop Randall. Shane, unsurprisingly, wasn’t pleased.

Miscellany:
*Meanwhile, “18 Miles Out’s” B-story unfolded back at the farm and much of it was forgettable. The problem was that it wanted us to invest in Maggie’s sister Beth – whose name I only know because I just looked it up – and the fact that she’s now apparently suicidal. If any attention whatsoever had been given to this character in the past other than her just collapsing all of a sudden back in “Nebraska” maybe the storyline would have landed but – and not to sound like a harsh asshole – I really didn’t care if she killed herself or not. It would just be, “Goodbye, tertiary character whose name I had to look up on Wikipedia. I really hardly knew you.” When Andrea tells Lori, “This could have been handled better,” that assessment clearly applies to this entire plot thread. The only real item of consequence to come out of it was that someone finally called Lori on the carpet as Andrea pushes back when Lori basically tells her that she should be hanging with the rest of the women doing laundry and kitchen work instead of being out hunting with the menfolk. So… did I miss that The Walking Dead turned into Mad Men somewhere along the line? Again, the less that’s said about all of this, the better.
*Back to Shane – what’s the purpose of the foreshadowing looks at the lone walker out in the woods? There were two separate instances where this happened. The first time, Rick is laying out the plan for the coming winter as Shane, barely paying attention, is looking out the car window wistfully at a lone walker and making it clear that he wants nothing to do with that type of future. Then, as the episode concludes, he seems to be looking out again at the same walker in the woods while possibly weighing the merits of staying with the larger group versus going out on his own. Not to beat a dead horse, but I see no chance that Shane’s back in season three. None.
*The other very intriguing thought to come out of the Rick/Shane storyline is Shane’s observation that the walker-ized security guards at the building where he, Rick, and Randall ultimately end up don’t seem to have been bitten yet have been zombiefied. What does this mean longterm? Is the walker virus or however you want to characterize it mutating to the point where bites are no longer necessary? And, if that is indeed the case, what are the implications of an open wound around walker blood as seen here when Rick and Shane both slice their hands to use their blood as bait for the walkers? This has Chekhov’s gun all over it. Why would Shane mention this at all if it wasn’t going to prove to be significant. Keep an eye on this in the coming weeks.
*Though the effectiveness of the tension the show creates was down a notch this week, I continue to love the way this show uses silence. It’s one of the most effective weapons in its arsenal, in my opinion.
*This week’s Walking Dead Extreme Gore Moment: Rick cuts his finger to lure a walker and then stabs him in the brain with his pocketknife.
*This week’s Walking Dead Extreme Gore Moment #2: Randall hacking into the back of the head of a walker with a knife.
*This week’s Walking Dead Extreme Gore Moment #3: Rick, under a stack of walkers, sticks a gun barrel through a walker’s mouth in order to shoot the one behind it.
*This week’s Walking Dead Extreme Gore Moment #4: Randall, while driving Rick’s car, running over the head of a walker in graphic, melon-splattering fashion.
*”When I found out about you and Lori, I wanted to break your jaw, let you choke on your teeth.”
*”He’ll be locked up in the barn. Unless you bust it open.”
*”There are no rules, man. We’re lost.”
*”If you wanna kill me, you’re gonna need to do better than a wrench.”
*”I don’t think you can keep them safe.”

The Walking Dead: “18 Miles Out” - In this episode, tensions between Rick and Shane come to a summit, sort of. And the fact that the episode focused on a few characters made it a very strong episode for the show. Rick has THAT talk with Shane saying that hey, Lori is his woman and the child growing in her is his child! And he’s the leader of their rag tag group of human survivors. To sum it up, Rick puts the stamp on his authority and Shane complies, sort of. Debating on whether to kill Randall becomes the main issue of the episode: Does Rick have what it takes to kill for the better of his people and Hershel’s family? Shane thinks he doesn’t have the cajones to do it, and reveals that he did indeed killed Otis. Rick and Shane start grinding it out with a good old-fashioned fight but it’s cut by a swarm of zombies. Rick and Shane get separated with Shane getting cornered in a school bus and Rick fleeing the scene. (By the way, how awesome was it that Rick shot that zombie by sticking his gun through another zombies mouth?! It was kick ass!) However, Rick comes back for Shane and saves him, further revealing that he is the LEADER! Rick tells Shane that he won’t kill Randall without at least thinking on it farther. And Shane complies again or does he? Yeah, I don’t think so either. Shane is a hothead and this is going to boil, making for great television ahead.

Meanwhile, back on Hershel’s farm, Maggie is trying to convince her sister to not take her own life in a zombie post-apocalyptic world. Lori convenes and Andrea interferes saying that she has the right to at least, consider suicide. Andrea lets Beth make her choice and Beth does so by cutting her own wrist but failing a suicide attempt. She now realizes that she indeed wants to live.

“The Walking Dead” is fantastic television and if you’re not watching it, you should!

I am the law!

Eastbound and Down: “Chapter 15″ - Now in it’s third season, Kenny Powers is still f*cking in and we’re f*cking out watching his hilarious hijinks in all it’s ridiculous glory! In this new season, Kenny Powers is playing Minor League baseball in Myrtle Beach alongside actor Jason Sudeikis, and dealing with April’s split and leaving their child behind with Kenny himself. In this episode, Kenny is trying to figure out what to do with his child: He tries to pawn it off to his brother Dustin and his wife, it failed. And he also puts the baby on a raft having him float away a la Baby Moses style! However, Kenny realizes he’s not that big of a piece of crap but he knows he needs help. Thus, he sets out to find Steve, his ever-so-loyal acolyte. But he finds Steve working for Will Ferrell’s hilariously ridiculous character Ashley Schaeffer’s new Kia dealership. This sets in motion the hilarity of the episode when Kenny attempts to free Steve by barging in on Ashley’s dinner plans. I won’t go into detail about it because I’d be ranting in numerous paragraphs. Just watch it, it’s hilarious.

How I Met Your Mother: “Karma” - So “How I Met Your Mother” has been really solid for the past three weeks. Granted, this episode wasn’t as strong as last week’s episode but by the end of the episode, it hit the right mark. After Ted’s confession for his love of Robin, he’s dealing with the empty room that she once lived in. He purposes the room for his selected hobbies, each one he fails at. And he’s having conversations with a ghost Robin, or the Robin in his mind. Either way, the room is haunted for Ted. Robin goes to stay with Marshall and Lily to their house in Long Island and humorously, Robin becomes imprisoned against her will into Marshall and Lily’s married life in Long Island. Her entries into the diary plays upon the fact that she’s an observer peering into boring, married life. However, the episode is titled after the woman that has been occupying Barney’s thoughts, Quinn, whom he met in “The Drunk Train” episode, and it’s revealed that she’s a stripper who goes by the name of Karma. Once Barney finds out who she is, he keeps trying to score a date with her. Quinn accepts, or so Barney thinks, because all she does is have Barney keep coming to the strip club and give her plenty of money for lap dances. And Barney (foolishly?) keeps coming back and the best line comes from Ted: (To Barney) “Can’t believe we’re at a strip club and the biggest boob in here is you.” By the end of the episode, Barney wises up to her game and realizes that he probably deserves this karma for his past with promiscuous women. However, Barney convinces Quinn to actually give him a chance.

Marshall and Lily reveal to Robin they don’t like Long Island. Ted, haunted by Robin’s ghost, cleans out the apartment and gives it to his two best friends. With this move, Ted is moving on and getting closer and closer to meet the future mother of his children. Like I said last week, the show is returning to it’s form by focusing on Ted’s never-ending search for the love of his life.

Spartacus: Vengeance “Chosen Path” - This episode picks up immediately on the highlight of last week’s epic episode and it doesn’t falter. Folks, “Spartacus” is thrilling and excellent television! Watch it! The hero, Spartacus, is dealing with the aftermath of their successful rescue of Crixus and Oenomaus, and dealing with Gannicus. The villain, Praetor Gaius Claudius Glaber, is also dealing with the aftermath and with an iron fist, sets things in motion to capture the Thracian and quell his rebellion. He allows Ashur to create a rebel force of gladiators to capture the old champions of the House of Batiatus and strikes Seppius with force!

After learning that there is a traitor in the midst, Spartacus wrongly accuses Gannicus and they duel in the courtyard during a thunderstorm. However, the beautiful Mira, portrayed by Katrina Law, notices the true traitor and shoots her with an arrow.

This show always has the right amount of violence, motives and political intrigue. It’s definitely one of the best shows on television.

Other Mentions:

I know I’m late to this realization but I’ve been catching up with “Game of Thrones” and I will claim it’s the best show I’ve watched that aired last year. I haven’t read the books (which, I hear, are excellent!) but just by watching the show, I can sense the richness of the characters, the land of Westeros and the overall story that is so palpable in my mind. When a show is able to achieve that, IT IS SUCCEEDING!

Ricky Gervais’ new show, “Life’s Too Short,” starring Willow himself, Warwick Davis, is pretty effin’ funny! I definitely recommend it! That scene from Episode 2 with Johnny Depp was classic!

I’ve also recently caught up with “Shameless,” and man, what a show! I feel as if I, myself, am now part of the dysfunctional Gallagher clan.

Until next week, I bid you adieu.

Air Date

Aired 02/26/12 |  Score: 9.2

Tvseries4U Summary and Comment:

The situation between Shane and Rick come to a head while Maggie grows concerned for Glen’s feelings due to freezing up during a firefight.

Walkers Rampage.

It’s always cool wait for this show. Almost every Monday I sit in front of my TV and the first thing is watch The Walking Dead. And it’s always a great surprise. Today was about friendship. But not something common or simple to deal with. This friendship is messed up big time. Rick and Shane finally have a much needed talk, and give each other a good bro beat down and Rick emerges as top dog. I liked every thing about this episode from the cinematography, acting and zombie action, to the questions asked and how the story unfolded. I look forward to watching the next episode for sure!

Well, we can’t say we didn’t see it coming. As characters clash and tensions reach boiling point, us viewers are treated to what’s possibly the best instalment of The Walking Dead so far. Hot off the heels of last week’s antics, Rick and Shane are escorting their recently recuperated tag-along to a remote area in order to give him a fighting chance of survival. The plan’s simple. Find a location that’s far away from Hershel’s farm; dump the guy and leave. However when the dead walk the earth, simplicity’s the first thing to jump out the window.

Thanks to Lori’s tip off, Rick’s now aware that Shane harbours some serious doubts about his partner’s leadership skills. He’s also clued into the fact that Shane believes wholeheartedly that Lori and her unborn child are his property. Needless to say, the duo needs to straighten things out. After locating an abandoned school yard, Shane and Rick set about unloading their unwanted cargo but when he lets slip that he knows Hershel’s daughter Maggie, Rick’s carefully plotted plan is thrown into question. It’s not long before the discussion of what to do with this newfound liability quickly deteriorates into a vicious fight between Rick and Shane. Fists fly as the two battle each other across the seemingly vacant schoolyard but when Shane tosses a wrench through a window these frenemies discover they aren’t as alone as they once thought.

Much like Hershel’s barn, the building houses a hoard of particularly nasty looking Walkers, forcing the duo to think on their feet to escape.  This nail-biting sequence is exactly what fans of the show have been waiting for.  Gloriously gory and unbearably tense, it reminds you why you’ve invested so much time into this dark story and cements its status as one of the most compelling programmes on TV.  Meanwhile back at the farm Hershel’s youngest, Beth (Emily Kinney), is on suicide watch having roused from her sedated state. Lori, Maggie and Andrea take turns watching her, however it soon becomes clear that not everyone has Beth’s best interests at heart.

As series two nears the end of it’s thirteen-episode ark, it becomes more and more clear that this is a show that’s finally found its groove. Unafraid of taking the darker path and reluctant to turn away from the brain-splattering realities of life in an Undead world, The Walking Dead is simply a must for horror fans. With only three episodes left to go, 18 Miles Out leaves you wondering whether there’s light at the end of the tunnel or just more darkness. Either way, we’ll be there to find out.

Originally featured on Onthebox.com

All gripes aside, this was a real standout episode. Here many of the secondary characters were not featured at all and the result is something that feels fresher, moving at a much brisker pace, not bogged down by weaker characters. As I mentioned before a good 60% chunk of the episode follows Rick, Shane and newcomer Randall. While Rick and Shane air their laundry while deciding what to do with Randall, they get into some trouble with zombies. With Rick confronting Shane about the situation with Lori, I still wasn’t totally convinced about the way Rick needled the truth about Otis out from Shane. Again it was all just hearsay, Dale never had anything concrete to base his assumption off of, and came across as little more than a gossiping yenta to Lori who spread the rumor to Rick. That kind of unfounded gossip was the way characters on CW shows interacted a decade ago. I’ll chalk that one up to the creative bastardization of the show following Darabont’s dismissal. Anyway their argument escalated quickly and attracted the attention of a bunch of zombies, who were dealt with in terrifically gory fashion.

The other 40% dealt with *shocker* female drama on the farm. Ok, that wasn’t totally fair, but Beth’s suicide ideation after remaining effectively comatose the past few episodes came out of nowhere and failed to rattle my emotional core. Even when she was awake, she didn’t do much for me. I much preferred Lori and Andrea’s confrontation about the situation that quickly turned personal. I used to like Lori’s character way more when she was more sympathetic, but lately she’s been a whiny bitch who I now have more interest in seeing killed off. I hope the writers can salvage her to a tolerable point. Andrea made a lot of true things about Lori’s situational comforts about not knowing about loss, because she still has her family intact and a baby on the way. While Lori did have some valid points of her own, I’m definitely siding with Andrea on this one.

Shane had a number of good moments and I think the show will suffer without him, even when he was a “good guy” he was a strong character and one I think most viewers gravitate towards. It remains to be seen if the show will explore the “scratches, not bites” theory of how the zombie infection spreads. And we’re still waiting to hear what Jenner said to Rick in the first season finale. Second only to the pilot in terms of quality, I wish every episode approached the greatness “18 Miles Out” strived for.

Final Grade: A

TRR TV Revue by Jacob Aquino

The suspenders keep his torso from ripping away from his legs.

I’ll preface this by saying that if you haven’t watched last night’s The Walking Dead yet you may want to hold off reading this as it’s more than likely going to contain SPOILERS-This particular post is pretty clear! No fear! (it does, however, contain rhymes.)

While these ABC’s will ideally be general guidelines for any and all zombie apocalypses*, chances are I’m writing this with T.W.D. on the brain.

A is for AMMO

In last night’s episode of T.W.D., “18 Miles Out,” our gang of survivors finally acknowledged the fact that maybe they should stop using up all their ammo on lone walkers and swinging logs. Up until this point, it’s seemed like they were working off the assumption that bullets grow on trees, so much so that Shane once spent an hour in the swamp with Andrea…shooting trees.

You shoot the damn log Andrea! That's the log that killed Amy!!!

In worlds outside of Kirkman’s T.W.D., bullets don’t flow so freely. Hell,

NOT PICTURED: Guns

if you’re in the UK you’re going want to hold onto whatever guns/bullets you can find because unlike in the US, guns aren’t as readily available. Shaun had to use that cricket bat because the time it takes to get a license for a handgun would have interfered with trivia night at the Winchester.

In my opinion, Rick’s view on ammunition conservation is that of a man who still has a unique hope. It’s not a hope that this world is going to be what it once was. It’s not even a hope for a world without Zombies. It’s a hope that they will keep surviving and will need those bullets in the years ahead. I don’t think Shane and Andrea share that hope. I also think that whatever they’ve got running around in their heads makes them reckless to boot. They don’t seem to care that gunfire attracts Zombies, because who gives a shit right? They can keep just keep knocking them off one by one because they’re ultra-amazing sharp shooting badasses and gee, doesn’t it feel awesome to put a bullet in the brain of a Walker (or a Daryl). “Look Ma! I shots one!”

Conversely, one can argue that the Shanes and Andreas of the world do have hope. They are the antithesis of the Ricks and Loris. They DO see a world without Zombies or they are at least headed towards the light at the end of the tunnel whereas Rick and Lori would rather just build a nice cozy fire in the middle of that tunnel and stay put.

I’m not sure which camp I’d be in. If I had a husband and kid maybe I’d be satisfied to hunker down and “create stability.” But if I’m on my own, do I really want to sit back and live the rest of my probably short life watching the happy family I’m not going to have and occasionally anger-banging the one or two other single guys in the group? Probably not, I’m probably going to push on and try to find out what’s going on or at least try to find a bigger pool of survivors to increase my odds of making my own little post-apocalyptic family.

So, to shoot or not to shoot? I’d say it really depends on what you’re hoping for.

If the shit hit the fan tomorrow and KJack and I made it out maybe I’d hold onto the ammo we stole from the bodega next door for the longterm, but if KJack didn’t make it and I’m on my own, then feck it, I gotta’ get through today using whatever I have on hand and if I have to find more ammo, so be it.

Or we'd just live a nice life as Zombies in love...with eating faces.

Totally Non-Zombie Related:

*This made me think of Buffy episode “A New Man,” when Riley says; “I suddenly find myself needing to know the plural of apocalypse” One of the best episodes of BtVS. Giles turns into a Fyarl demon and only Spike could understand him as, of course, Spike speaks Fyarl. Any time Spike and Giles were partnered it was awesome.

via digitalspy.com

This week’s episode of “The Walking Dead” had two main conflicts, besides the usual “humans against walkers” problems. Though different, the conflicts worked well together because they each followed themes that have been brought up throughout the season and still needed to be addressed. It was also set up in way that “The Walking Dead” hadn’t been recently, opening with a scene set slightly into the future, and then going back to show the build-up to that moment—leaving the viewer with suspense and keeping the audience hooked until the plot finally catches up to that moment.

The always-brewing tensions between Shane and Rick finally mounted to confrontation as each man voiced their concerns to the other about what’s best for the group, with Rick standing up for himself to say that Lori and Carl were his family, not Shane’s. This conversation and the men’s attitudes towards each other showed that despite their many disagreements, they did still care about each other as friends. Jon Bernthal gave a great, subtle performance during their roadside conversation, as Shane actually seemed vulnerable and upset, while barely saying anything at all.

The second conversation between Rick and Shane went in a completely different direction, as the anger and resentment the two felt for each other was instead brought out violently–something that has been building for a while. Even though they both attacked, Rick’s greater sense of morality still shone through, as Shane seemed to have gone to much further extremes.

After their fight was broken up by a sudden swarming of walkers, it seemed that Rick had finally had enough of the trouble Shane was causing as he shockingly decided to leave him completely surrounded. Shane himself seemed genuinely shocked as well– he had just been criticizing Rick for being too weak, and yet he was counting on that same goodness to bring Rick to his aid. But all it took for Rick was to change his mind was two conveniently placed dead bodies, dressed in police uniforms. The earlier mention of the bodies was confusing at first, a seemingly random thing to address at the time, but their relevance quickly became clear as the realization of what he was about to do hit Rick.

As Shane and Rick fought over the best way to stay alive and help others survive, Lori, Andrea, and Maggie fought over whether life in this new world was still worth living. Andrea rehashed her previous issue with Dale–stopping her from committing suicide– and felt that everyone was entitled to the choice, something much in line with her character’s constant insistence on total independence.

The fight between Lori and Andrea wasn’t very surprising, as the two have very different personalities and reactions to events. However, it was surprising that this feud led to a conversation on gender roles, which had previously only been implied. Lori made it quite clear that she believes the men are fine protecting the camp, and Andrea would be more helpful taking care of the domestic tasks with her and Carol. The women of “The Walking Dead” have been shown doing laundry and cooking multiple times, but it was never truly addressed until Lori and Andrea confronted each other, and neither held back their true feelings.

This episode kept “The Walking Dead” on the right track that its been following since the mid-season premiere. The pace has greatly improved, and the slowly building tensions has been exploding into central plot points that allow greater character development and exciting scenes. Though the debates between Shane and Rick, and the ideological differences of the women both seem far from over, “18 Miles Out” provided solid developments in the themes that should take us all the way to the season finale.

Samantha Rullo is a contributing writer. Email her at entertainment@nyunews.com.

Okay, there’s so much frustrations happening here I have to replace my typical analysis with a rant.

First off, glad to see Rick stand up to Shane finally.  Really shoved is fist in Shane’s face.  A camels back finally broke.  I’m glad to see how Rick ended up being the better man in the situation but at the same time, in the end, nothing changed.  Shanes going to go back to the farm and go right back to his crap.  I’m sick of it.  I would have been happier if Shane made his own faction (which he probably will) and go his own way with Andrea.  Which brings me to my second rant.

I’m SO SICK of Andrea.. I’m really sick of her.  I can honestly say her suicidal crap is making me hate the show.  Barking at Lori because she can, driving someone to dying, smirking because she feels she accomplished something.  Who the heck acts like that?

Outside from those issues… outside from half the show taken up by suicide watch… it had some pretty good action.  Seeing Rick and Shane duke it out while at the same time fight off some actual walkers!  Was some good stuff.  Also, Shane learned a few things from Rick.

On with this weeks Walker Point tally.

—–Walker Points!—–
Rick: 4 Point (+2 points for being the better man, and beating the snot out of Shane)
Shane: -3 Point (-1 For Being a continued plague)
Lori: -1 Point (Nothing)
Daryl: 0 Point (Nothing)
Dale: 1 Point (Nothing)
Hershel: 2 Point (Nothing)
Andrea: -6 Point (-5 For being a tool)
Glenn: -1 Point (Nothing)
Maggie: 3 Points (+1 for telling Andrea off)
Carl: 1 Point (Nothing)
T-Dog: 0 Point (Nothing)
Carol: 0 Point (Nothing)

“18 Miles Out” could have also been called “The Gaping Plot Hole.” Even in the middle of Rick and Shane’s slap fight, all I could focus on was the nerd minutia, like how the two of them could cut their hands open, run around sticking their them in dead people’s mouths and knife wounds and somehow not get infected. Some might call this a trifle BUT IT’S NOT. If the zombie virus is transmitted through blood, are you going to be in any rush to tear another person apart and drape their intestines over your shoulders? What an absurd show.

When I looked back on the episode, I felt that my focus should have been on Rick and Shane’s fight, and where it left the two once it was over. Conflict is good, but I do enjoy seeing these two guys working together. And for a moment there at the end, I thought that they may have come through this whole thing with a new understanding for each other. Then I thought about it, and the sun sank toward the horizon, and I realized that these are two men who will never again understand understand each other. I realized that what Andrea said about Lori is also true of Rick. He’s living a blessed life, here at the end of the world. He came out of nowhere to find his wife, his son, and his one-time best friend alive. And while he’s lost people, those losses haven’t been close enough to change his worldview the way it has Shane’s. While I’m sure Shane has lost people close to him, the biggest loss he’s suffered, at least that we’ve seen on the show — is his relationship with Lori. That’s the rest of his life.

So while Rick will tell Shane that he wants to take a night to debate whether or not to kill the kid they have tied up and blindfolded in their trunk, Shane will be stomping his feet, pissed off that he doesn’t get to shoot the kid RIGHT NOW. Things will remain this way until Lori and Carl are eaten or something.

Of course, this is assuming the show can keep itself on some sort of semi-rational track. I was kind of surprised to see Rick taking this kid to dump him off in the middle of nowhere in the first place. And in the middle of town, no less. He tells Shane that he’s looking for a place that’ll give him a fighting chance of survival. So instead of cutting him loose in the middle of nowhere, he stops off at an abandoned bus depot. Letting him go like this already seems to be going against his philosophy. AND THEN, when Rick and Shane find out that this kid went to school with Maggie, they start debating whether or not to shoot him in the head. How does this make sense?

Back at the farm, Lori and Andrea are also throwing down. And after their argument, I have to say I had a hard time figuring out which one I agreed with more. I agreed with Andrea in that neither Lori or anyone else could butt in and tell Beth or whoever that they had to carry on in a world like this if they were dead set against it.** What’s the point? If someone is that determined to kill himself, he’s probably going to find a way to make it happen. But I also agreed with Lori in that Andrea wasn’t really doing anything to protect the camp besides shoot people like Daryl in the face. I’m not saying Andrea needs to settle into a long life of washing shirts in the creek or cooking the men’s dinners, but her grabbing a shotgun and jumping on top of Dale’s RV does seem a little overexcited. In the end, the argument between these two is the argument between Rick and Shane. It’s just being played out a little differently. And while they’re both likely to come down on the side of their respective man, Lori does admit that Andrea’s little stunt with Beth — leaving her alone long enough to make the decision whether or not she wanted to kill herself — worked, and everyone now and then you had to do something crazy and over the line like that, for great justice. Maybe Lori and Andrea will be able to see past their differences and work together. Women truly are the more sensible sex. But that “boyfriend” remark Andrea made to Lori? Not cool, man. Not cool (Lori kind of had it coming).

(**And speaking of which, how selfish is this girl? I understand her wanting to kill herself. But how to do you go and beg someone else to kill herself, when two seconds before she was asking you to give life another chance? “Hey, how about instead of your idea, you go a million miles in the other direction and commit suicide instead?”)

While the ladies may be able to put their differences aside, I don’t think the same can be said of the men. Shane’s got too much skin in this game. And Lori throwing him to the curb, parading around with Rick on one arm and Carl on the other is just too in his face to be swept under the rug. I guess the question we have to ask now is who’s going to land on whose side. Maybe Rick should take notice, keep himself from killing that kid. As Bert Cooper said, you never know how loyalty will be born, but you have to imagine not killing someone is a pretty good start.

In the street out front, one of the strangers in a truck calls out to his friend named Randall on the roof of the pharmacy to jump down because walkers are approaching. When Randall lands, one of his leg is impaled on a sharp pointed tip of a gate. Randall’s friend in the trucks tells him “Gotta go, I’m sorry” and quickly drives off. In contrast, Rick puts Hershel’s, Glenn’s and his own life in jeopardy rescuing the stranger that was shooting at them moments earlier. Meanwhile, Lori, who has just survived a car accident and narrowly survived an attack by two walkers, is discovered walking on the highway by Shane. In order to convince Lori to come back with him, Shane lies to her saying that her husband Rick has safely returned and is waiting for her at the farm. In the morning, Rick and company return back to the farm with a blindfolded Randall. The survivors have a heated discussion on what do with Randall once he’s able to get on his feet. Rick suggests that they drop him off on the main road with a canteen which Andreas says it’s almost like leaving him for the walkers. Shane is frustrated because he sees the potential danger of releasing Randall who might come back with his friends; starting a war between the survivors.

At this point, one could argue that the biggest danger to Lori is herself, not Shane. Lori is willing to risk her life, her unborn child’s life, and leave her son an orphan to go alone into town to bring back her husband. Shane is volatile but his actions are usually for the greater good. He shot and left Otis for dead because he needed to live to bring back the medical supplies for Carl. In “Pretty Much Already Dead”, Shane confronted Dale because he needed the guns to kill all the walkers in the barn which was a time tomb waiting to explode. (It was actually Dale that pointed the rifle at Shane.) As Andrea explained, Shane’s actions were to protect the group, he just needs to work on his presentation. Shane does believe that the child is his, because he tells Andrea he can’t leave anymore. Still, Lori has made a lot of assumptions in presuming how far Shane is willing to go to be with her. Now she is planting the seeds in Rick’s mind that he must do whatever it takes to protect his family even if it means taking a life, which she makes her no different than Shane.

This episode did a solid job in setting up the moral ambiguity of the dilemmas the survivors must face everyday. Whether the audience is Team Shane, Team Rick or Anti-Lori, there are defintely strong points to make on either sides. In the next episode, we hope to see the consequences of Rick’s decision to save Randall’s life and if it will change the group’s opinion on who is best suited to lead them in this world.

Likes

• Unlike the previous episode where all the suspense was contained in the final scene at the bar, all the action and thrills were in the first half of “Triggerfinger”.

• Great moments when the walker was pushing his head through the windshield and also the walker that surprised Lori from behind.

• Dale on the talk: “Don’t look at me, that’s your father’s job.”

• Shane questioning Dale if he knew about Lori going to town because he usually knows what everyone is up to. Dale: “I dunno.”

• Maggie running past her Dad and gives Glenn a hug.

• T-dog (pointing): “Who’s the hell is dat?”. Glenn: “Its Randall.”

• Lauren Cohan, the actress that plays Maggie, gave another strong performance this episode.

• Darryl lashing out at Carol because he was hurting and trying to push her away and she just took his verbal abuse. Everything he said about Carol was just him projecting his own insecurities, feeling alone, scared and sadness because he didn’t save Sophia. By morning, he made some progress as he was ready to join the group to head into town looking for Rick – something he refused to do the day before. He was also present at the group discussion about Randall which was nice to see.

• The two characters that I’ve been the most harsh on had some good moments. Andrea who is usually focused on her own problems was empathizing and caring for other people. For example she took the time listen to Maggie’s story and she made sense in her talk with Shane.

• Hershel standing up to Shane, “Keep your mouth shut.” We also see how much his family depends on him when he is missing.

Dislikes

• Lori still going into town after narrowly escaping death … twice. She would have died if she went to town that was swarming with walkers. She should thank Shane for lying to her.

• Glenn freezing up when he was almost shot and killed is understandable. But he pushes Maggie away because he thinks his feelings for her put himself, Rick and Hershel in danger. Glenn thinks his love for her is selfish when he should realize her love is a reason worth living for.

• Did Rick really think they could cut Randall’s leg off with a pocket knife with less than minute before walkers arrive?

• The long story by Maggie about Beth finding her birth control pills was a bit pointless. It was a cute story but I already like Maggie. It didn’t make me care about Beth or wish that she’d come out of her catatonic state. It would have been more effective if Andrea told us a story about herself so the audience could begin to empathize with her (if anybody cares ).

Note: This review contains some speculation on what might happen in future episodes. It is only my opinion. I actually try to avoid any spoilers and don’t watch any previews or trailers for this show. I also have not read the graphic novel(s) that this show is based on.

If I recall from the first season, being infected does not result in an immediate transformation into a zombie, it actually takes some time. So the time line of Sophie being infected, captured by Otis, brought to the barn, then Otis goes out hunting the deer and shoots Carl does not seem plausible. If Otis discovered a newly infected Sophia that quickly, she should have still have been able to communicate to Otis and would not appear “dead”. It’s hard to imagine he’d throw this girl into a barn filled with walkers and not mention this to anyone. To stretch out the fate of Sophia over seven episodes was a bit much, especially since I cannot recall one scene that gave the audience any reason to care about her. At least, Shane was asking Hershel a lot of the same questions the audience were asking or thinking.

When Glenn was first introduced I got the impression that he was a bright, capable guy with strong survival instincts for example when he guided Rick out of the tank. However, he seems to just go with flow and do whatever people tell him to do. Earlier this season he allows himself to be lowered into a well with a zombie inside (so stupid!). In this episode, he appeared a bit naive in his scenes with Maggie but it is understandable. When Maggie is asking about the future of their relationship he avoids the subject because he hasn’t sorted out his feelings for her. No one has ever loved Glenn before (except his Mom ), and he doesn’t know why someone would love him. The journey for Glenn is to believe in his self worth . Once that happens, he can accept the love from Maggie and stop putting himself in dangerous situations. I think it would be interesting if Glenn had to make a tough decision to stay on the farm with Maggie or leave with the group. However, I think it will be Maggie who will have to leave the farm with the survivors. Also, it didn’t really make that much sense that Glenn volunteered to go looking for Hershel because the last time he went to town he and Maggie almost died. Maybe he just wanted some space and time away from Maggie? Or he is willing to take risks because he doesn’t realize how important he is to Maggie and the group.

In this brave new zombie world, it’s the survival of the fittest and unfortunately for Hershel his days are numbered. If the group would have left by the end of this episode, like I thought they would, there would be a chance that Hershel would live. But there is another group of survivors nearby that poses a significant threat and unfortunately, Hershel is too slow to adapt and won’t be able to protect his farm and family.

Likes:

• This episode did a good job of capturing the emotional aftermath of the barnyard shootout.

• Carol destroying the flowers that once symbolized her hope of finding her daughter and how she said her Sophia was dead a long time ago.

• Darryl’s reaction to “Olive Oil” was completely understandable. He was so determined to find Sophia only to realize he never had any chance of saving her.

• Shane genuinely offering his condolences to Carol. He didn’t know Sophia was in the barn, but he still would have done it anyways.

• Carl saying he would have shot Sophia himself.

• Everything that happened in the bar including Hershel’s conversation with Rick about hope and giving their people a reason to go on.

• When I recognized the actor that played Dave (Michael Raymond James from True Blood) I thought it would be interesting if he become a regular on the show but of course he didn’t even make to the end of the episode. The actor did a fantastic job. It was a bit weird at first hearing him talk without a Cajun accent like his character on True Blood.

• “I hear Nebraska’s nice.”

Dislikes:

• Glenn saying how Sophia meant so much to them. There’s no way the audience would believe that.

• Although Dale knows that Shane is dangerous, it is highly unlikely for him to guess exactly how Shane shot Otis and left him for bait so he could get away.

• Andrea. The writers are trying too hard to make her a badass. For example, when she swings the sickle through the walker’s head and when she picks up the arm and sits in the back of the pickup truck full of bodies.

• Beth in a catatonic state. It’s hard to care about a character that I barely recognize or remember existed. Maybe she got scratched by a walker and got infected?

• Lori tells Rick that he shouldn’t go into town to find Hershel because their son needs a parent like Rick around … that’s alive. Shortly after, she tells Andrea of all people to keep an eye on her son and does exactly what she told Rick not to do. Do you think her car accident will cause a miscarriage?

Note: This review contains some speculation on what might happen in future episodes. It is only my opinion. I actually try to avoid any spoilers and don’t watch any previews or trailers for this show. I also have not read the graphic novel(s) that this show is based on.