The Walking Dead, Ep. 213, Beside the Dying Fire

The Walking Dead Season 2, Episode 13: Beside the Dying Fire

TV Rating

TV-14

ZPAA rating

Late teen and up

Gore level

9.5 out of 10--Um...yeah, there were lots of zombie exterminations with blood, guts, gore, etc., too much to document but it's really, really gross though mostly not gratuitous; some people die with blood and organs coming out/splattering all over the place.

Other offensive content

Rough language; bad attitudes; lots of property destruction; lying; confused equation of the Christian concept of the resurrection of the dead and the zombies; crazy spouses treating each other poorly.

How much zombie mythology/content

Rick reveals what he learned at the CDC about how the zombies come back from the dead.

How much fun

Laughless but so much stuff from the comics is referenced that it's very exciting for readers of The Walking Dead.

Synopsis & Review

The episode mysteriously opens with a shot of a helicopter flying over Atlanta which the zombies follow through town. There's no real explanation of what's going on with it. Maybe they are just trying to remind us from last season when Rick saw a copter in Atlanta. This first bit was where the (I thought) gratuitous zombie gore happened (they were eating like they were in George Romero movie!).

Meanwhile, back at the farm, Carl asks Rick how Shane died. Rick hems and haws and then notices that zombies are coming. They race back to the house to gear up for a major battle. As they approach the house, they are cut off. They run into the barn for safety but most of the zombies follow them. Rick comes up with a plan to kill lots of zombies and maybe escape too--burn the barn! This tips off the others to where they are and makes a rescue possible.

The rest of the people gear up for battle to save the farm. They pile into cars and do a lot of drive-by shooting of zombies (which went on a little too long--it became gratuitous but not very gory). Eventually things fall apart and they scatter off the farm, though not everyone makes it.

Will they reunite? Will Rick tell anyone or everyone what he's done to Shane? What will happen next season? I think the first answer is kinda obvious, the second not so much. The third answer is if you haven't read the comics, you've only gotten hints of what will happen. If you have read the comics, you are grinning from ear to ear.

The most interesting bit to me was when Rick really takes charge of the group in a way that made me think "Rick is the new Shane." He says the group is no longer a democracy and more or less claims absolute leadership. Hopefully he won't go crazy like Shane, but you can never tell with this show. I may write a longer post about this issue with spoilers aplenty.