Episode 1.03 “Tell It To The Frogs” Recap and Analysis by hemoWILLIEac

A Little Introduction

Yet another long week, yet another new episode of The Walking Dead. Filled with lots of human drama, (and a little decapitation) this one has a lot of material to cover, so let’s get down to it.

War Stories

The episode opens on Merle, still handcuffed to the roof where we last saw him. Merle is losing whatever marbles he had to begin with. He starts flashing back to a part of his life I can only assume was military related. He goes on about what sounds like an argument with a superior officer, who he eventually hits. Merle mentions having been in the stockade for 6 months, referring to it as “hard times”.

This scene is a great way to open the episode. It sucks you back into this world of desperation and death right away. Michael Rooker often gets remembered for his comedic role in Mallrats, but he really brought the emotion in this scene. He makes Merle, a character that has shown nothing but negative characteristics so far, actually feel sympathetic.

The zombies start pounding on the door that T-Dog locked, and Merle gets even more desperate. He notices the hacksaw nearby, and we cut away for the opening credits.

Homeward Bound

As we pick back up after the credits, Rick and Co. are travelling back to the camp. Morales mentions to Rick that Merles brother Daryl probably won’t be too happy about the handcuff situation, and Glenn enjoys the last stretch of his joy ride.

We see the camp, including glimpses at some yet unseen characters such as Carol and Morales’ family. Shane, Lori and Carl have a nice family bonding moment together. This scene made me feel more for Shane and Lori. They really are doing the best job they can do to give Carl a sense of normalcy in this insane world. Shane truly has taken a fatherly role with Carl, and seems to enjoy it.

Dale spots Glenns car (not very hard considering his lack of stealth), and the group rushes to greet him. Glenn not turning off the alarm is absolutely going to have some serious repercussions for the group. Judging by the promo for next week, those repercussions are coming soon. I also loved Emma Bell’s performance here, she really seems concerned for her sister, pleading with Glenn to tell her she’s safe.

Family Reunion

After Andrea and Amy, and The Morales family reuinite, Glenn mentions to Shane that “a new guy” helped them escape Atlanta. Of course the guy is Rick, and everyone in the group looks amazed at the revelation. Even though these strangers haven’t all met Rick, they have surely heard about him at some point.

The reunion scene was quite honestly tear-jerking. Everyone was spot on with their performances, especially Andrew Lincoln. His look of disbelief when he sees his family is so well done it had me tearing up a bit. Bear McCreary hits yet another high point in his career with this piece of music. It’s perfect. 

S’mores Anyone?

That night, the group gathers around the fire to hear Ricks tale of survival. Lori explains what happened after the dead started rising, and tells Rick that the hospital was going to transfer him. She clearly feels guilty for leaving him behind.

The group discusses Daryl and the possible reaction he could have to his brother’s predicament. T-Dog informs the group that he left the door locked to keep the “geeks” away, sparing Merles life in the process. I have to say, I’m liking T-Dogs character more and more. Hopefully he sticks around for a while.

Carols husband Ed is introduced in this scene, instantly showing himself to be a total creep. He’s burning wood to high, causing Shane to repremand him for being careless. We also get the introduction of Sophia, Carol and Eds daughter. These characters will all have major roles to play in the upcoming drama, no doubt.

Rick and his family head to their tent and share some nice, intimate moments. Rick and Lori discuss second chances. Clearyl, their marriage was scarred. If there is anything remotely positive about the zombie apocalypse, it’s their chance to start over. After a session of “don’t wake Carl”, we get a look at Shanes lonely shift as lookout. He’s definitely conflicted, because he’s happy his friend is alive, but not happy is friend is here.

Waking Up Is Hard To Do

The third time we see Rick awaken is vastly different from the first two times. This time, there’s no empty hospital and no being chained to a bed. It seems to almost take him a moment to realize where he is. Rick makes his rounds, chatting with Carol and Glenn. I loved all of Glenns reactions to his car being stripped. What a great comedic character that can also kick some serious ass if necessary.

Rick has a chat with his wife about possibly heading back to save Merle. At this point, Rick has already made up his mind about going back. Despite Lori’s resistance, he knows it’s the right thing to do. Not just for Merle, but for the group as a whole.

Venison

After hearing the kids scream, Rick, Dale, Shane, Glenn and Morales head into the woods to find a deer being devoured by a grotesque zombie. KNB once again out does themselves here with their brilliant work. This zombie is nasty. After the zombie takes a severe beating, Dale finishes the job with some excellent lumberjack skills. He mentions that the undead “never come up this far”, yet another clue that the crap is going to hit the fan at camp soon.

We are introduced to Daryl, the younger Dixon brother. Norman Reedus is awesome. He is super badass, funny and a complete douche all rolled into one. So far, he’s my favorite character original to the show.

Squirrel Throw FTW 

The gang heads into camp and begin to tell Daryl the bad news. He reacts about as sensibly as they predicted, and turns on Rick. He tosses dead squirrels, throws punches and even pulls a knife before being restrained by Shane in an “illegal chokehold”. 

I loved Rick getting in his face. It was very reminiscent of when he confronted Merle on the roof. This scene ends differently though. Where Merle refused to let it go and work with the group, Daryl calms down and becomes much more rational. I think this difference between the Dixon brothers will come into play later.

Daryl wants to head back to Atlanta to save Merle, and Rick agrees. Lori is not happy about this. She already knew Rick had his mind made up the second he came to her about the idea. However, it will take more than saving Merle to convince Rick’s closest allies that it’s a good idea to go back.

The Plan

Rick recruits an eager Daryl, an uneasy Glenn and T-Dog, who just wants to make things right. Rick explains to Lori that the bag he dropped carried a radio, and tells her about Morgan and Duane. She is still hesitant about letting him go, but you can tell she understands. With Shane still unwilling to relent, Rick tells him about the guns, giving him a reason to accept the mission as well.

I loved Shanes “no, douchebag’s what I meant” line. So good.

After doing a little bargaining with Dale and Jim, Rick and the group head out. Shane makes sure to give Rick a gun with four bullets, one for each man.

I loved the moment that Carl says he isn’t afraid of his dad dying. It shows that despite the best efforts of Shane and Lori to keep Carl from being changed by the world, his mind has still begun to work in mysterious ways. He almost seems wise beyond his years.

The Quarry

Carl and Shane go down to the quarry to catch some frogs. Shane really starts feeling sympathetic here. He really does enjoy being a father figure to Carl, and the boy enjoys it too. The ladies of camp are washing clothes and joking about what they miss from the old life when Ed approaches them, standing around and generally acting like the creep he is.

Lori shows up and tells Carl to leave. Shane and her start talking, and Lori basically tells him she wants nothing to do with him from now on, saying ”my family is off limits”. I was super mad at Lori by this point. We just had a nice moment of bonding with Carl and Shane, and here she comes telling him he’s essentially worthless to her. Then the writers totally flipped the script. Shane told Lori Rick was dead.

This revelation truly makes me want to assess the new dynamic it has brought up. Maybe Shane isn’t a decent guy. Maybe there’s more darkness to him than just the affair he was having. Surely, he’s got some serious skeletons just waiting to bust out of his closet.

After Lori leaves, Shane spots Ed getting a little too hands on with the ladies. Ed hits Carol, and all hell breaks loose. Shane tackles Ed, and the first couple of punches he lands are simply in defense of the women. The next ten hits are simply Shane losing his damn mind. He’s beginning to come unhinged, and though no one will feel bad for Ed, Shane was most certainly going overboard here.

Let’s just take a moment to reflect on how great Jon Bernthal is in this episode. He’s the absolute standout.

In Atlanta, the men arrive to save Merle and retrieve the bag. Daryl gets in another awesome crossbow kill, and they make it to the roof to find that Merle is missing. Or, at least most of him. His hand is laying in a pool of blood next to the hacksaw he used to liberate himself. Merle is missing.

Tell It To The Frogs

This was my favorite episode of the series thus far. It was a perfect mixture of action, horror and human conflict that left me slivating for more. Everything in the episode felt pitch perfect, from the music to the effects, to the brilliant performances of Jon Bernthal and Andrew Lincoln. The best yet in an already fantastic first season.

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