This review contains spoilers. Don’t read if you don’t want to know what happens!
Can we all agree that keeping a barn full of zombies is a terrible idea? And if you found out there was a zombie-filled barn in the area, wouldn’t you be sure everyone knew so they could keep far, far away from it? Perhaps that’s why no one is writing zombie survival stories about me, because I would loudly cut to the ending with “YOU GUYS, THIS IS A CRAZY PEOPLE FARM WITH THE UNDEAD IN THE BARN! It’s been fun, but let’s move on out!”
Maggie begs Glenn to keep the zombie barn a secret. The farm group has been feeding them live chickens to keep them… well, I guess ‘healthy’ isn’t the right word, but perhaps ‘less hungry.’ Andrea apologizes to Daryl for shooting him, and he seems to be okay with it. Sadly, this is all we see of Daryl for the rest of the episode. Glenn urges Lori to tell Rick she’s pregnant so that she’ll be taken care of, but she tells him to keep quiet. Shane and Rick organize gun training. Carl wants to attend, and after a lot of hand-wringing, Lori agrees.
Glenn is a terrible secret-keeper. He walks around camp a nervous wreck. The second he’s alone with Dale, he spills everything about the barn zombies and Lori. Gun training goes well for Andrea, who is adept at every gun she picks up. Even though the zombies are usually attracted to noise, none of them show up during the sustained gunfire. Shane stays behind to teach Andrea advanced shooting skills. This may or may not be code for something else.
Back at the farm, Dale talks to Hershel about the barn walkers. Hershel believes the zombies will be cured one day – they’re just sick. His wife and stepson are among those in the barn. Dale and Glenn keep the barn a secret for now, which as I mentioned before, is aterrible idea. I can’t stress it enough. Lori tries to thank Hershel for his hospitality in letting them camp out on the farm, but he quickly cuts her off and tells her he expects them to be moving on soon.
At gun practice, Shane tells Andrea that she is too emotional and shoots “like a girl.” In his attempt to psych her up, Shane tells Andrea to pretend she’s shooting at the zombie that bit Amy and she stalks away, horrified. He catches up with her and apologizes. He says he has a lead on Sophia and needs Andrea as backup. They enter a neglected suburb and search each house, finding plenty of dead people but no Sophia. Suddenly they are surrounded by walkers, having to shoot their way to the car, and Andrea finds her focus, taking out as many zombies as she can. On the way back they have survivor sex in the car.
After the smell of camp food almost makes her sick. Dale talks to Lori about her pregnancy. She insists that the baby is Rick’s, but is worried about bringing a child into the new zombie-infested world. Later she asks Glenn to make a run into town for her. Maggie goes with him, although she’s angry that Glenn told Dale about the barn. While Maggie looks for the drugs that Lori requested, a zombie attacks her, and it’s Glenn who saves the day, severing its neck and then axing it in the head. Maggie is furious upon their return and hurls Lori’s drugs at her – morning after pills. Glenn brings Lori something else he got at the pharmacy – prenatal vitamins. Now she is faced with a choice.
Lori takes the morning after pills but immediately makes herself throw them up. Upon Shane and Andrea’s return to the farm, Dale seems to know something has happened and tells Shane he should leave on his own. “I know what kind of man you are,” Dale warns. Shane pushes back with a not-so-veiled threat to kill Dale. Shane has certainly chosen which side of the moral line he’s on – his own.
Rick finds the empty morning after pill packs and confronts Lori. She tells him they can’t leave the farm. Rick is angry that Lori kept the pregnancy from him, but he promises they can work it out. Lori has some valid concerns – who will deliver this baby? Where? And what will they do about a noisy baby that draws the attention of every zombie within earshot? While she’s at it, Lori confesses that she slept with Shane. Rick tells her he already knew and that he understands because she thought he was dead. I can’t say I would be quite so forgiving.
Should Lori and Rick plan for a baby on the run, or is Lori right to try and eliminate what she sees as trouble down the road? Rick is full of platitudes, convinced that things will always work out, but he’s the only person left who seems to believe it. Sophia has been missing for days, and though no one admits it, it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll find her alive. T-Dog and Daryl are injured, Carol’s barely hanging on… things are looking rough. Is it wrong to try to streamline your life on the run? What say you?
Did you miss an episode of ‘Walking Dead? Check out our recap of last week’s ‘Chupacabra‘.
