‘The Walking Dead: Judge, Jury, Executioner’ – Recap

Posted Monday, March 5th, 2012 04:00 pm GMT -4 by 0

I have to admit that I wasn’t looking forward to this episode based on the teaser trailers from last week.  By all accounts it looked like there would be a lot of drawn-out torture, which I don’t usually choose to spend my Sunday evening watching.  Unfortunately I ended the show in a violent fury.  Let’s see how it all unfolds, shall we?

[Spoilers ahead!!]

Daryl questions Randall alone in the barn.  He finds out Randall was previously with a group of about 30 heavily armed people, the men of which would go out and scavenge.  He was with them for protection and comfort until one night they came across a man and his two daughters.  The men of the group forced the dad to watch as they raped the two girls.  Randall claims he took no part in it, and that he’s not “like that.”

Lori and Rick - The Walking Dead - Judge Jury Executioner episode

Lori and Rick. Why can't Lori get eaten by a walker?

After hearing what Daryl found out, Rick tells the group that his plan is to eliminate the danger, which in this case is Randall.  Dale is upset.  He wants to talk to everyone, but Rick doesn’t want to draw out the decision.  He gives Dale until sunset to convince everyone to spare Randall.  Dale asks Andrea to guard Randall – he’s afraid that Shane will get impatient and just shoot the prisoner.  He tells her, “Keeping our humanity – that’s a choice.”  Andrea finally assents, though she doesn’t agree with Dale.

Randall is able to listen in on the conversations that happen around the barn.  This may or may not be relevant in upcoming scenes, but it seems important to note since it’s a chance for Randall to eavesdrop and plot.  Shane shares an idea with Andrea, an idea about taking control of the group by locking up Rick and Hershel and taking their guns.  Carl sneaks into the barn and Randall chats him up.  Carl doesn’t speak but gets closer and closer until Shane catches him.  Shane is furious and tells Carl to stop trying to get himself killed.

Dale’s first appointment is with Daryl.  He appeals to his decency, but Daryl thinks the group is broken and doesn’t care what happens to Randall.  Lori finds Rick in the barn loft, where he’s arranging a noose.  She says she’ll support whatever decision Rick thinks is best.

Carol finds Carl at Sophia’s grave and offers comfort by saying they’ll meet Sophia in heaven one day.  He retorts that heaven is just another lie, and if she believes it, she’s an idiot.  Carol confronts Lori and Rick, saying he’s disrespectful.  I would have called it mouthy and rude, but whatever.  Rick catches up with Carl, who again says that heaven isn’t real.  Rick tells him to apologize to Carol and “don’t talk, think.”

Dale meets up with Hershel, who doesn’t to even want to know about what happens to Randall.  He also says he’ll leave the decision to Rick.  Hershel has three daughters left, and is a nice throwback to the story Randall told about the father and daughters earlier.  Hershel has every right to be concerned for his family.  Looks like Dale is out of luck on this one too.

Carl in the woods - The Walking Dead - Judge Juror Executioner episode

Carl

Carl finds a gun in Daryl’s bike pack and takes it out into the woods.  He comes upon a walker by the creek.  His first reaction is fear, but when he sees that the walker is stuck in the mud, he comes closer and throws rocks at it.  This can’t end well, am I right?

Next on Dale’s journey is a surprise – Shane.  Dale doesn’t deny that they’re in danger, but killing Randall won’t change that fact, it will only change them.  Shane tells Dale that if he can convince the rest of the group not to kill Randall, he won’t dissuade them.  Back at the farm, Hershel takes a break from tending to Beth to give Glenn a family heirloom pocketwatch.  It’s his way of giving his approval of Glenn and Maggie’s relationship.  I know these are extreme times and they call for extreme measures and all that, but it feels a bit like Hershel is handing Maggie herself over to Glenn.  Shouldn’t she be around for this conversation, or to receive the watch herself?

In the woods, Carl gets closer to the walker, aiming the gun at him.  He gets within arm’s reach and suddenly the walker frees his foot, getting enough slack to grab onto Carl.  Carl panics but is able to escape, running back towards the farm.

Sunset arrives and the group convenes.  The issue is that Randall can’t be trusted to live among them, and he would also be a strain on their already low resources.  No one is able to come up with a better solution than killing Randall.  Dale begs for everyone to do what’s right, to spare Randall because he is a living human being, and Andrea finally sides with him.  They are the only two who stick up for Randall, and Dale is brought to tears.  On his way out of the farmhouse he tells Daryl that he was right and the group is broken.

Randall is escorted to the killing barn by Rick, Shane, and Daryl.  He is blindfolded but before Rick can shoot him, Carl comes to the door, saying, “Do it, dad.”  Rick loses his nerve and tells Daryl to take Randall away.  Rick holsters his gun and walks Carl back to camp, where everyone is gathered.  The new plan is to keep Randall in custody for the time being.  He tells Lori that Carl wanted to watch the execution and couldn’t go through with it.

Dale - The Walking Dead - Judge Juror Executioner episode

An angry Dale stalks off into the night

Dale comes across a gutted cow on the farm and is attacked by Carl’s creek walker.  Dale holds him off but the walker literally tears into his intestines.  The group comes running and calls for Hershel, but it’s too late to do anything for Dale.  Carl sees that his zombie was the one to rip into Dale.  Dale is suffering, and everyone looks to Rick to make a decision, but Daryl is the one who finally shoots between his eyes, killing him.

I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY KILLED OFF DALE.  He was the last moral compass of the group.  As we discovered in this episode, everyone else seems to have already figured out that Shane killed Otis, but Dale is the only person to have an issue with it.  I was also extremely disappointed in Rick.  His famous decree of “We don’t kill the living” sure didn’t last very long.  If he was going to kill Randall, he should have done it when his leg was impaled back in town.  What was the point of dragging him back and healing his leg and saving his life AGAIN in the last episode if he was just going to torture and shoot him?  The rest of the group was more than happy to leave the decision to Rick.  Why?  So they could blame him later when they felt guilty about it?  Or so they wouldn’t have to make the decision at all?  This group has quickly adopted a new moral code, demonstrated both by Carl’s rapidly dissolving innocence and the death of the last man who stood up for what’s right.  To be honest, I hated this episode.  The decision-making was drawn out to an absurd degree, and then the decision wasn’t even followed through on!  The only thing that can appease me now is the arrival of Michonne, which better come in a hurry.

What were your reactions to the show?  Is anyone else as fired up as me?  And if you do weigh in, please note if you read the comic as well or not.  I’m interested to see if this is just an issue for lovers of the comic.

If you missed the previous episode be sure to read ‘The Walking Dead: 18 Miles Out’ recap.

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  • Tyedyeguy37

    comic and tv show to different creatures   comic is way way way way better!!!!!!!

    • Kammecat

       I know, I know I should be able to separate the two, but I’m having a difficult time doing so!  But I agree, I like the comic much better!

  • Tvardiman

    I do not read the comics.  Perhaps that is why I completely disagree with Cathy’s interpretations and conclusions.  As such, I don’t hold anything against Cathy’s points of view, simply I see it from a totally different point of view.

    1) This group is adopting a new moral code, because they have to.  Without going into example after example, history has shown us that society’s rules must and will break down when confronted with extreme danger (bubonic plague, concentration camps, etc).  Surivival is the FIRST and foremost priority.  Humanity and decency are great ideals to live up to when possible, but when survival is threatened, the safety of the group trumps all else.

    2) (This doesn’t really matter) When a father has the “blessing” conversation with the prospective suitor, it is typically held in private – not with the father’s daughter present.  This type of conversation is a rite of passage between one man and another.  It’s not sexist – it’s just the nature of being men.  I can witness to this from direct experience.

    3) Regarding the decision to “save, abandon, save, then kill” Randall was not a waste of time nor was it drawn out.  The circumstances and available information all impacted these decisions and events.  In essence, the onion is being peeled, and each new layer presents a new challenge, new information, and thus, a new decision point.  We needed to see these characters migrate through this type of critical decision, and it revealed a tremendous amount of information regarding the core character of each person within the group (Andrea’s waffling, Dale’s apathy in wake of despair, Rick’s ease of making a hard choice while not having the strength to act on his decision, even Shane’s surprising regard for Dale’s strength of conviction). 

    4) The decision to show Dale the exit was, in my opinion, inevitable.  Dale, while well-intentioned, never adapted to this new, cruel, and pernicious world.  Since Dale never could adapt, he was going to continually weigh down the group with his carthatic and drawn out confrontations, which ultimately would spell his dealth at the least, or under worse circumstances, could have lead to the death of the entire group.

    In short, this group is in grave, moral danger, and we are starting to see the kind of deep, rich, character-driven writing that TV audiences are in extreme shortage of.  Kudos are due to the writers of this episode.

    • Kammecat

       First of all, let me say thank you for writing a polite and well-thought out response!  I have no doubt that my love of the comic has tainted my views.  I see what you’re saying about the moral code evolving, but I also think keeping our humanity is important.  At the end of the day you still have to live with yourself.  I think it is ultimately cruel to keep dangling freedom in front of Randall and then threatening to kill him.  Accept him, or drop him off in the woods, or kill him on the spot – but make a decision.  It’s not right to play with a man’s life.  That’s more of what I meant to say about the decision being drawn out.

      I see your point about Dale not being able to adapt, but was anybody else making a decision?  Character after character was putting everything off onto Rick’s shoulders, and I saw Dale as being the only person who tried to find an alternative to killing Randall outright (though I’m also unsure why anybody thought hanging him would be a quick death for him).

      Killing Dale felt like a deliberate wrenching of the audience’s emotions.  We’re already seeing an evolving (or devolving) moral code with the group, especially with the cold and distant demeanor Carl is developing.  If the characters continue to act only on survival instincts, what separates them from criminals or even the zombies? 

      At any rate, I’d love to hear more of your thoughts.  Thank you again for your well-written comment!

      • Ripapes

        I think it is pointless to keep comparing the comic with the TV show. They’re totally different plots by now with lead to a different evolution in the characters’ personalities and experience. So we should start analizing the characters’ decisions and behavior putting the comics aside, at this point.
        If we don’t see as many zombies as some of us would like, it is for two reasons: 1) This is a tale of survival, it’s all about exploring the ethics and psychology of a certain group of people put to the limit, but of course the zombies are a nice action-gore touch that keep the survivors (and the audience) moving. And 2) It’s well-known that AMC has made some cheap cuts on the show’s budgets, so apparently there’s not enough money for too many extras and makeup artists.
        I just hope the writers and producers keep surprising us and diverging from the comics, in order to allow the show have its own personality, so to speak. Wouldn’t it be cool if Merle reappers as the bad-ass leader of the rival group? Is there any possibility of him becoming the ‘Governor’-like character of the show?

        • TheWenchAlchemist

          I have no idea when Merle will return, but they’ve cast David Morrissey as the Governor.

        • Kammecat

           I like your idea of Merle appearing as the leader of the rival gang.  Their violence would be right up his alley!

      • Tvardiman

        I agree with you – Randall is being treated cruelly and inhumanely.  With that said, if Rick had killed him without “sleeping on it”, that would have been ultimately more cruel and inhumane.  In my opinion, Rick should have slept on that decision, then acted on it that next morning.  That way, he would have exercised due course to weigh the options, without dragging it out. On the flip side – remember than Randall was (is?) a member of a deadly gang that posed imminent danger to Rick and his group, and even tried (twice, counting Tony and then the search party) to kill Rick.  Basically, I am saying that Randall is too dangerous, and due to the circumstances, he must be eliminated.  Sorry, that’s just the hard truth (as I see it).

        Another point you made that I completely glossed over is the amazing bravery and conviction that Dale displayed.  You are right – without him, this group would have just gone along with anything Rick decided (except Shane, where he would have fought Rick on any option other than death to Randall).  In essence, without Dale, we are seeing this group devolve into a monarchy where Rick holds the power, and Shane is the dictator-in-waiting who is conspiring to dethrone Rick.

        One last point that I am going to make in this harsh and (thank God imaginary) world – this group, like it or not, is becoming more and more like a pack of hyenas that are beign hunted by lions.  In the cold, hard world of the animal kingdom, morality doesn’t play into it – mere survival is the only consideration.  I’m sorry to say that this new world is being reshaped into an animalistic, do-or-die food chain (everything’s just food for something else – thank you Carl).  I’m getting depressed just thinking about it!

        Thanks for your thoughts, this is very fun to discuss.

        • Kammecat

           You know, I actually agree with you.  Randall was a threat and should have been eliminated.  I think Rick should have shot him in the head when he got his leg stuck on the railing and ended the discussion right there.  At that point, Randall was just a nameless member of the gang that tried to kill them.  There would have been no issue and no morality to worry about (as far as I’m concerned).  But in bringing Randall back to the farm, Rick took on the role of his caretaker, and that’s where I think the morality starts to get a bit muddy.  The more time we spend with Randall, the messier the decision becomes – not to mention once everyone knows about it and wants to weigh in. 

          I have quite enjoyed discussing the show with you!  I hope you’ll weigh in about the show this Sunday!

          • Tvardiman

            Agreed!  Looking forward to Sunday :)

  • Raleighzoom

    One of the cornerstones of the comic is that characters get
    killed suddenly – unexpectedly – and often with shocking consequences.  The choices the creators of the TV show have
    made, to keep some of those characters alive and kill off others may be in-part
    to keep those of us who read the comic off balance . . . there is no way to
    know what is coming . . . I just think of them as parallel universe versions of
    a similar story. 

    • Kammecat

       That’s a good strategy.  I think a big part of my problem is that there isn’t already a live action version of the comic, so to not see that version before seeing parallels and variations upsets me.  Thanks for your comment!