Hey, you guys. Everybody can relax. We found Sophie.
That's right. Everybody had been complaining about Sophie being missing and dragging out over the course of several episodes. "Find Sophie, already" they said. Well, they found her, alright. Here's how it all played out in Episode 6 of 'The Walking Dead' - Pretty Much Dead Already.
The show opens with Glenn outing the 'walkers' in the barn. There is a general freak out, especially with Shane, who is ready to blast all the dead in there. Rick says hold off, he'll talk to Herschel about it. But old man Herschel holds his ground because the 'walkers' are not 'dead', they're sick. And its his land, so its his rules. No negotiating.
Daryl and Carol are playing the love/hate game when she shows concern about Daryl running off into danger to find Sophie. She sticks beside him, even when he insults her.
Well, the show continues with the growth of the relationships. Maggie and Glenn are also playing love/hate. Playing the same game is Dale and Andrea, revolving around Dale's concern for Andrea being so trigger happy all of a sudden and 'becoming' like Shane.
In what might become a symbolic gesture, Dale throws Glenn his hat. Was that a metaphorical passing of the moral guard? Maggie even offers to wash it later in the show.
And speaking of Shane, Shane and Lori play love/hate. After Rick tells Shane Lori's preggos, Shane consults with Lori about how he will share the baby with Rick and her. Lori emphatically states that's not happening. Shane pleads his case that he's 'mas machista' than Rick, having 'saved' Lori's life over and over. Shane claims Rick 'is not made for this world', but Lori holds her ground. He then walks past young Carl, who is wearing his daddy Rick's hat. Shane gets a chance to play daddy when the boy cusses.
That's when Shane discovers Dale has run off with the guns. That doesn't sit well with Shane. Dale tries to hide them but is quickly found. Shane challenges Dale to shot him after Dale calls him Otis' killer. Dale lifts the gun, but Shane pulls Dale's 'punk card' because Dale can't close the deal. Dale tells Shane he's 'made for this world', and though he might not survive the Zpoc by hook or crook like Shane, at least he didn't sell out his soul.
Herschel tries to tell Maggie that the people need to leave. Maggie regrets being such a turd as a child, but throws Herschel's Bible back in his face in regards to the survivors. She tells her dad what he told her during her wild young days, saying, "Love one another as I have loved you". It's also a phrase her dead mother, who, by the way, is in the barn, used to say to her.
That's when Herschel is called out to the swamp because "it happened again". Herschel enlists Rick for this mystery mission that is discovered to be two of Herschel's neighbors, dead, and stuck in the bog swamp. The three help the dead out with assistance from two long implements.
Shane returns to camp ready to make a move on the barn. He arms the camp with the guns, including handing one to the precocious young Carl.
But Shane completely goes apeshit when the fun bunch Herschel and Rick come back with the dead neighbors to deposit in the barn. At that point he proves the beasts are dead by shooting the female dead lady Herschel held with his tool. He then goes off into an angry rant about survival, rule changes, and the need to exterminate the 'walkers' in the barn before forcing everybody's hand and opening the barn.
And, as you might imagine, here comes the dead. Shane gets the party started, followed by his acolyte, the women's libber, Andrea. You know Daryl's ready to go. Then T-Dogg jumps in the mix. Maggie gives Glenn the nod, and he jumps in the fray. Lori holds Carl back. Rick stands by in disgust, along with poor Herschel, who is now watching his dead family and friends blasted.
When the final 'walker' hits the ground, Dale shows up. It was the massacre he was trying to prevent.
Well, everybody had a good time, blasting zombies, having fun. It was a great time in the Zpoc neighborhood until the last one finally comes out. And it was the last zombie they ever expected.
Sophie.
Now, everybody was all happy for blasting Herschel's family, a family they didn't know or care about. It was a good time and means of 'survival' in the black new world.
But now that the zombie was one of their own, was the girl they had been looking for over several days, Sophie, now nobody wanted to play anymore. Now it was real. Now it wasn't just dead no one cared about, making it easy to blast them. It was one of their own.
Shane didn't want to play. Neither did Andrea, or the others who were okay crushing Herschel's family.
Now they knew how Herschel felt.
In the end, it turned out the only one ready to make the move was the one that, supposedly, wasn't ready to deal with this world.
Rick.
It was a harsh finish to the 'mid-season' finale, but yet again a good one.
And that's the real question. Herschel was being 'civil' in a 'now-uncivilized' world. It's been said before, when it comes to survival, civilization is thrown out the window. Katrina, anyone? Segments of Africa, where the young are armed or killed by warring warlords. The streets of America. Hell, the world.
The zpoc has always been a metaphor for the real world since our Lord and zombie saviour, George A. Romero, put his story to film in "Night of the Living Dead". Most of us who are fortunate enough to have these great technological resources to blog and Tweet and Facebook also have opportunities for work, shelter, and food. Many around the world don't, and its a fight for survival.
A zombie survivalist I know mentioned the fact that the survivors were actually being very civil themselves. Let's face it. They have the guns. They could have made the rules on the Herschel ranch upon their arrival, but they didn't. The shackles of civilization still held fast to their hearts.
Would a death squad from the Darfur region done the same? Or thugs from the streets of Anytown, USA?
Shane thought he could make that philisophical jump, but ultimately couldn't (literally) pull the trigger when the cold dead truth looked him in his black heart. He was still more human than animal to do it.
It's ironic and sad that Rick, the torch-bearer for Hope and the return of civilization, had to step up. He put no bullets into the strangers, the people who meant nothing to him. Rick put a bullet into the one person that had kept the team together for the past few days, the person that meant the most to everyone.
In fact, Rick only pulled his weapon to do the most humane thing for Sophie, the most civilized thing he could do for one of their own.
Looks like Rick has the stones for 'this world' after all.
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YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY READING THE FOLLOWING BLOGS:
All that is hidden in darkness will see the light.
The cats fly out of the bag in episode 6 of "The Walking Dead" - 'Secrets'
What happens when a zombie mob faces a team of vampires?
"Deadliest Warrior" answers that question with pure awesomeness!
Zombies bum rush a FEMA camp in the Permuted Press classic
"Down the Road". Read an excerpt here:
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Bowie Ibarra is the author of the "Down the Road" zombie horror series.
His upcoming release, "Big Cat" is about two dorky friends who are thrust into a dangerous hunt for a man-eating animal on the south Texas countryside.
Check out Bowie's books at:
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BLOG EXTRA!! A ZOMBIEBLOODFIGHTS.COM
'WALKING DEAD" JOKE!
(in best UK accent)
ZBF: Well, I have good news and I have bad news. Which would you like first?
NotZBF: The Good News
ZBF: Well, the good news is we've found young Sophie, and she's dead.
NotZBF: What's the bad news?
ZBF: The bad news is that one of us is still going to have to shoot her in the face.
(UK audience laughter)
