The Walking Dead Ep. 211: Judge, Jury, Executioner

The Walking Dead Season 2, Episode 11: Judge, Jury, Executioner

TV Rating

TV-14

ZPAA rating

Late teen and up

Gore level

7 out of 10--Bloody torture scene including use of a knife on a leg; only one bluish zombie who gets lots of close ups throughout the episode; said zombie attacks people; bloody chest wound; one mostly-zombie-eaten cow.

Other offensive content

Bad attitudes from characters, especially from Carl; psychological manipulation; tense execution scenes; some language; cows in peril.

How much zombie mythology/content

I forgot to mention last episode that Rick and Shane discover two guards at the parks and rec place who were dead but not zombies, seemingly scratched to death. Not sure what that was about but it seems slightly relevant to this episode when a zombie scratches up someone (again no zombification results).

How much fun

No real comedy here, though the discussions about what makes us civilized and how to preserve the law are very interesting. On a happier note, Hershel seems to accept Glenn as a son-in-law-to-be with a great pocket watch story. Eat your heart out, Quentin Tarantino.

Synopsis & Review

This episode opens with Daryl torturing the newcomer to get information about the newcomer's group. Daryl is fairly successful, finding out there's 30 well armed men who have no compunctions about killing others and taking brutal sexual advantage of any women they come across. The newcomer claims he was just going along with them and he's "not like them." But mostly he begs for his life.

This information leads into an extended debate throughout the episode of what to do with the newcomer. Rick at first is inclined to execute him as a threat to their group. Everybody goes along with it except Dale. Dale convinces Rick to let him talk to everyone individually to change their minds. Dale's main argument is that they will lose their humanity and civilization if they go through with executing a man who hasn't committed any crimes yet. He goes one by one trying to bring people around to his way of thinking. Will he succeed?

The episode is full of discussions about what is practical and what is right in their situation. Dale insists that they will be no better than the group they fear if they go through with killing the newcomer. Rick's group will become lawless, bloodthirsty, and possibly worse. Clearly the group is already challenged (Dale calls it "broken") in being a cohesive and united community.

The issue of preserving their prior civilization is interesting to me because clearly that civilization is gone. They no longer live in the United States of America and it doesn't seem like the federal, state, or local governments will function again. Rather than clinging to the past they should establish a new social order. Surely morality doesn't change but practical actions dictated by morality do change under substantially different circumstances. They have become a nomadic society (though they've stopped moving around temporarily). They can't imprison someone long term and the death penalty is morally permissible if their is no jail system that can keep malefactors out of normal society.

Another interesting aspect is Hershel and Carol's reactions. Hershel says he trusts Rick and wants no input on the decision. Carol just wants someone else to decide. Clearly some people want a central authority to make decisions without relying on democratic input for every decision.

Carl is having a rough time of it in this episode. He wants to be more of an adult but he isn't ready and that does have a price. He is going to be even more messed up than he already is.