Episode 2.02 “Bloodletting” Recap and Analysis by hemoWILLIEac
A Little Introduction
Season two of The Walking Dead returns for its second week after leaving us all waiting in anticipation to see the status of Carl. If the first episode pulled us back into our favorite undead-driven show, this episode serves as the appetizer for things to come this season.
The Calm Before the Storm
Our episode begins with a flashback, instantly reminding me of Lost (another personal favorite). This sequence deals with Lori’s discovery of the shooting that put Rick under. Shane gives her the bad news, which she then has the misfortune of having to tell Carl.
The acting here is emotional, but not over the top. I have to give this show credit for not overdoing the emotional moments the characters have faced so far. The scene definitely parallels the similar wound that now threatens Carl’s life.
It also illuminates the fact that Shane has been deeply invested in this family previous to the zombie apocalypse. He obviously feels like something of a surrogate father and husband to the Grimes family, and one has to wonder if he and Rick discussed his taking care of them before. It seems natural that two best friends in that field of work would have such a conversation.
I also have to wonder if this won’t be the only flashback we see this season. It certainly feels good to see the lives of these characters before all hell broke loose, and it gives us viewers a brief moment of peace among the chaos.
A dysfunctional bromance.
Hanging in the Balance
We return to see the aftermath of Carl’s encounter with the wrong end of the barrel. Rick is rushing through the woods, carrying his son with Shane and another man we’ll come to formally meet: Otis.
One of my major complaints about this episode had to do with Otis’ introduction. Given the events before, I wasn’t expecting a “nice to meet you” moment, but some sort of confrontation would have been nice. Having him just barrel out of the woods with Rick and Shane felt awkward to me.
Rick makes it to the farm to be greeted by Herschel and his group consisting of his two daughters and Otis’ wife/girlfriend Patricia. After concluding that Carl wasn’t bit, they take him inside in an attempt to save his life.
Shane and Otis eventually catch up and Rick once again takes his “man of action” attitude, wanting to leave and find Lori to tell her of the accident. This is one of the first times that this behavior has led Rick astray. The best thing he could do is be with his son, but he constantly feels the need to make any given situation right.
It is nice to see a softer side to Shane after his very intense role in season one. Andrew Lincoln and John Bernthal do feel like best friends, instantly able to sooth one another with the simplest of words.
Shane talks him down, and heads out with Otis to retrieve some medical supplies key to saving Carl. Unfortunately, upon arriving they are greeted by a quite sizeable group of walkers.
The Search Continues…
Daryl, Lori, Glenn, Carol and Andrea continue the quest to find Sophia. There are some tense moments when Andrea is attacked by a walker in the woods. The slow approach he makes after rounding that tree was utterly terrifying.
Herschel’s daughter Maggie arrives, saving Andrea from a grim fate. The slow-mo shot was a little silly, it just felt out of place and overly dramatic. She takes Lori to the farm and after some witty remarks from Glenn and another hilarious zombie kill by Daryl (this guy has to have the highest kill count by now), they decide to head back to Dale’s RV.
Speaking of Glenn, he does feel underused so far this season. Given, we’re only two episodes in, but he is the voice of the audience and therefore too important to neglect. Glenn always offers humor in the ridiculous situations, a clear-head in the dangerous and he says the things we want to say to these characters. Hopefully we’ll get more of him next week.
I have to be completely honest, I really hope they find Sophia soon. The search is beginning to bore me after this second episode, and hopefully the search isn’t something we’ll be dealing with for any extended period.
The dreamer and the realist.
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Before the group meets back up with Dale and T-Dog at the RV, the two men have quite a startling conversation about T-Dog’s increasing paranoia. Though he does make some good points about the perceived “sanity” of some group members, it’s clear that his wound from last week and subsequent infection have made him lose it a little.
I know some people were mentioning that this dialogue seemed out of character for T-Dog, but the man has been through a lot. He unintentionally left a man for dead, almost died himself last week and is now in horrible shape physically. Let’s give the poor guy a break.
The searching party reunites with the RV duo, and Daryl grabs some of Merle’s drug stash to help T-Dog’s infection. This guy is really looking out for the others. For all we know, these people could be the closest things to friends that Daryl has ever had. I really hope that over time he takes a leadership role among the group, maybe teaching them survival skills along the way. I also appreciated the fact that the writers haven’t forgotten about Merle, it should be interesting to see how he reacts to his little brothers newly developed sense of generosity.
The group decides to stay in place, hoping that Sophia will return to find them…
Blind Faith
Lori arrives at the farm for another emotional scene for the Grimes family. Upon discovering Herschel’s less than stellar surgery experience, Lori gets a little judgmental. If my kid was dying on a table, I’d be willing to take any chance I had to save him. Maybe a little confidence booster for Herschel would help him perform better? Just a thought.
Speaking of Herschel, I have to say I cannot wait to see what is in store for this character. His conversation with Rick on the front porch opens up a lot of possibilities for him. He clearly has faith that whatever caused the dead to rise can be cured. This faith could be his salvation or his undoing. Despite his kind nature, he certainly seems to be hiding something. There is a feeling of mystery about his words that could be conceived as devious. We shall see…
Shane and Otis get past the zombies by distracting them with flares, introducing a new method of survival against the undead hordes. They reach the medical supply truck and raid the supplies needed for Carl. After leaving they find themselves in quite the predicament stuck between a fence and a wall, with dozens of flesh craving walkers just feet in front of them.
Bloodletting
The intensity in this episode doesn’t stem from the nail biting suspense of last week, but instead the human drama and emotional turmoil these characters are facing. The group is divided completely, both physically and emotionally.
Next week should prove interesting, hopefully continuing to create new subplots as well as tying up some loose ends (I’m looking at you Sophia). Once again despite some flaws, I remain impressed with this sophomore season.
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Will Gibbs is a Michigan native and journalism student at Oakland University. He is a long time Walking Dead fan and self proclaimed "zombie survival expert." When he's not writing, Will enjoys watching movies, playing video games, and reading comic books. |
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