After the average season premier, the second episode of The Walking Dead was a lot better. Some big things happened, people died (nobody you'd care about), and Carl is still doing Carl things. There were a lot of things that happened in this episode that kind of redeemed the premier. Think of the premier like World War 1, it was just the set up to something bigger.
The first thing that was popping in this episode was that someone has been feeding rats to the walkers. (insert shocked emoji) Who in the world is doing this?? There's a traitor in the prison, someone in Cell Block 4 (it's actually D Block but I like the CB4 reference better) is turning on the group. Is it someone working for the governor by any chance?? Either Rick or Darryl better figure out who it was, because they also burned some bodies (probably saved a few lives though), upsetting that feminine wallflower Tyrone.
We then move on to the attack. The Walking Dead has always been really solid about executing zombie attacks and this one was no different. It was really great to see Darryl in action, and even Glenn (GLENN!!) sliced up a few walkers. We were robbed of Michonne however, she broke her foot or tore her ACL or something like that. A bunch of minor characters died, so with less characters we don't care about, we are moving into established character territory (slowly but surely).
After the attack came the saddest part of the episode: the pigs. The pigs are apparently carrying some kind of spanish flu that is making everyone sicker and rapidly causing them to turn. So Rick and Darryl slice up the pigs and feed them to the walkers, which was sad to see. Even Rick got emotional and his face just screamed "This is what my life has become," which was hard to watch.
Carl ends up ratting out Carol about teaching kids how to kill zombies, two girl's dad dies, Michonne gets super emotional while holding a baby, Tyrone's girl is burned to a crisp along with someone else, and it looks like Rick is about to lose it. We are heading towards exciting territory here!!!!
Now let's move on to the weekly power rankings:
1. Darryl Dixon (last week: 1)
He's still the bad ass of the group. He'll never be the leader, but the fan favorite bounty hunter (think of him as Bobba Fett) will not be knocked out of the top spot anytime soon. Darryl had a few nice zombie kills, and his contribution to the group as the killer with a stable mental mind is only going to help them all going forward.
2. Rick Grimes (last week: 3)
All right we have a shakeup in the rankings!! Rick moves up because he shut up and became a quiet leader the group needed. He also didn't freak out when Carl ratted out Carol. I give him major props for that. And killing live pigs is the furthest thing from easy. Your mental state may be in shambles this week, Rick Grimes, but you're slowly crawling your way back into my heart.
3. Glenn Rhee (last week: 5)
Wooooo Glenn hopped right up here because of two things: he had a sweet zombie kill and he took a pic of his girl while she was asleep. Glenn is still the most normal of the group, which is going to come in handy when Rick has an inevitable breakdown (it's coming).
4. Rick Grimes' Beard (last week: 4)
Maintaining it's number 4 spot is the great beard of Rick Grimes, which I was afraid would be shaven. But it better watch out because Hershel's ponytail is starting to make some noise.
5. Patrick (last week: not ranked)
This all happened because of Patrick, so it only felt right to put him here. His impact on the episode was probably the biggest out of any character here. He caused the riot, they discovered a new kind of sickness because of him, and because of that we are heading into a whole new territory for The Walking Dead. All because of Patrick. Or the pigs...drats I should've put the pigs here.
6. Hershel Greene (last week: 6)
Still the wise one of the group. He's figuring everything out and surviving huge zombie attacks with one leg. He's bound to climb the rankings any day now.
7. Michonne (last week: 2)
What a drop off. It wasn't all her fault to be honest. She broke her leg or something like that during the beginning of the attack, so her swordsmanship was taken from us. It's like when you have a star player go down with an injury during a regular season game. It sucks at the time, but they'll eventually come back. We trust you, Michonne!!!
8. Carol Peletier (last week: not ranked)
Carrrroooolll!!! She's cold blooded. She also thought quickly on her feet when she went to amputate the infected dad, which didn't work out too well in the end. She's also teaching kids to toughen up, which she's actually the perfect candidate for because she's gone through physical abuse and losing her child over the course of the series. Carol has come the longest way since the start of the show, which is wonderful because my patience was thin for her in the middle of season 2.
9. Bob Stookey (last week: not ranked)
He didn't get on my nerves this episode, which is what moved him up. He also figured out the flu. If the writers ignore his cliche Hollywood drinking problem, then he has the power to move up the rankings. But he probably won't and I'm more than okay with that.
10. Carl Grimes (last week: not ranked)
Only because nobody else was worthy of this spot. He saved Michonne, so that counts for something. But he ratted out Carol. But he didn't cry because he didn't get his comics. But he's rocking skinny jeans (where are they getting these skinny's???). If Tyreese gets some dignity then he can get back into the rankings.
Not Ranked:
Rick's Hat
Tyreese
Tyreese's Manhood
Beth Greene
Carl's Comics
Sasha
The Traitor
Darryl's Bandanna (should've been ranked)
The Two Daughters
Darryl and Carol's Romance
Hayley Williams
This was an overall good episode. It was actually a great episode that managed to save an average start to the season. I'm docking off a few points because Beth broke my trust and started singing again. I had high hopes for her and she flashed such potential in the season opener, but she went riiiiight back to her ways. Also Tyreese HAS to man up. T-Dog did it and he only said two sentences throughout his time on the series. Tyreese, put down the showtunes and pick up an axe or something. DO SOMETHING!!
Final Score: 4/5
