The Walking Dead Season 2 Episode 4 recap

Time to find out what the fallout is over Stupid Shane’s decision re: Otis The Fat Cannibal. Stupid Shane is now sporting Travis Bickel-esque hair.

The Farm of Doom folks seem to be collecting rocks. Hey Dennis, there’s some lovely filth over here.

Carl is awake and acting once again. It is an unspeakable horror.

Officer Rick: “We’d have lost Carl if not for [Shane].” OH RICK. Get with the program.

Ohhh, the rocks were to cover Otis The Fat Cannibal’s grave, presumably to keep zombies from smelling him? Herchel’s words about Otis’s sacrifice are horribly ironic. Stupid Shane makes up a story about Otis’s heroic actions as scenes of Shane’s treachery intercut with the funeral. Effective.

Dale, knowing the truth about Stupid Shane, gives him a curious look. Dale is suspicious of Shane’s story.

The combined group plans to resume the search for that non-listening punk Sophia. Shane makes a non-stupid suggestion that Rick finally give everyone gun training, but Herchel requests that they not carry guns on his property. He doesn’t like having to fight with his prey, I guess. Rick, being a nice guy, agrees and gives up his gun. DANGER, WILL ROBINSON.

Maggie and Herchel share a look after Andrea says they will tell Carol the truth if it turns out Sophia is infected and someone has to blow her brains out. The cannibals have secrets on the Farm of Doom.

Aww, Officer Rick sets up Glenn and Maggie on a supply run to town.

Horrible Lori meant it when she told Stupid Shane to stay. Of course she did. She’s horrible.

Andrea doesn’t want to give up her gun. Shane resumes teaching her how to clean it. This is still a terrible idea.

Rick tries to give Daryl an out from looking for Sophia but Daryl says his “other plans fell through”. Still some Rick/Daryl tension. Oh my god—cage match! Rick or Daryl, who wins?

Herchel doesn’t want Officer Rick setting up camp near the barn. That’s where they keep their people-pickling supplies. Herchel tells Rick their group will have to leave once Carl is well and Sophia is found. Don’t worry Rick. You won’t want to stick around.

Glenn crushing on Maggie is SO CUTE.

Horrible Lori has a special task for Glenn. In the feminine hygiene section. Dun dun dunnnnn

Dale and T-Dog agree to forget all that crazy sh*t T-Dog said while feverish. Dale stops T-Dog from drinking some well water. Here’s a shocker, there’s something wrong with the Farm of Doom’s wells.

Annnnd there’s a zombie in the well. A gross, bloated zombie.

The group decides they have to pull the zombie out of the well “alive” to prevent contaminating the water. This should be good.

Herchel and Rick trade thoughts on God. Rick takes a decidedly more negative view than Herchel. I feel that their differing views will be important. Hint hint.

Piece of zombie biology—the zombies don’t react to dead meat. “Live bait” must go down the well. They drop Glenn down the well. Poor Short Round. Of course the ballast gives and Glenn ends up plunging down the well toward the zombie. I will remind you that Stupid Shane was in charge of this.

Glenn managed to hook the zombie, cut to Daryl exploring an abandoned farm house. Please find Sophia and wrap this up.

No Sophia, but he does find recently eaten food and a pallet on the floor of the pantry. That little brat is alive and wandering around, not going back toward the road. Please let a zombie eat her.

The well zombie is an astounding bit of prosthetics and makeup.

OH MY GOD THAT IS SO GROSS. The well zombie is pulled in half just as they’re getting him out of the well. Guts and maggots everywhere, including back into the now-for-certain-infected well. Graphic bludgeoning death courtesy T-Dog. Maggie is upset.

Midway point: Without guns, the group is left to kill zombies in graphic ways. Herchel and the Farm of Doom cannibals have different reactions regarding the zombies. Sophia is probably alive. Daryl and Officer Rick still have some friction regarding that whole “I handcuffed your brother to a pipe and he got left behind and ended up cutting his own hand off and we haven’t seen him since” thing.

Andrea, Stupid Shane and Carol check on the traffic jam and see if Sophia came back. Of course she hasn’t, because that would make sense and Sophia has no sense. Stupid Shane lectures Andrea about how hard it is to hit a moving target. APPARENTLY NOT TOO HARD FOR YOU, SHANE.

Glenn and Maggie are riding into town and Glenn is trying to impress Maggie with being a loner. What? When has that line ever worked?

Maggie busts Glenn looking for Horrible Lori’s secret item and he grabs a box of condoms in his haste to hide what he was really looking for. Maggie asks him why he needs condoms. Flustered, Glenn ends up blurting out, “I would never have sex.” Maggie then offers straight-out to have sex with him. He’s awkward and weird and she’s like, “Whatever let’s do this, we’re lonely.” And then they go for it right in the pharmacy. This is why I love this show.

Having sex in the pharmacy with no one else on lookout does seem kind of reckless, though. What if a zombie finds them? Also, who else thinks this is Glenn’s first time?

Officer Rick begs Herchel to rethink letting the group stay on even after Carl is well. Herchel talks about his sh*tty father. Is this why he became a cannibal? Herchel agrees to reconsider.

Maggie crushes Glenn’s dreams, saying it was a one-time thing. Horrible Lori asks Glenn for her secret item. She detects judgment from Glenn.

Daryl returns from his search and gives Carol a flower, a Cherokee rose. He tells her the story of the rose, how it grew from the tears the Cherokee mothers wept as they lost children along the trail of tears. He found the rose at the farmhouse where he saw signs of Sophia, and tells Carol he believes the flower bloomed for her. Who knew Daryl could be both sympathetic and sentimental? Again, this is why I love this show.

Carl wakes up and Rick goes to apologize for telling him that Sophia was okay (at the beginning of the episode). Turns out, Horrible Lori already outed him for his lie. Way to go, Lori. Rick and Carl bond over both having been shot and Rick gives Carl his hat. More reasons to love this show.

Horrible Lori watches Rick going through his nightly routine. Rick is putting away his deputy’s shirt and badges. Symbolism!

Horrible Lori wanders off into the dark to take the—gasp—pregnancy test, which is positive after two seconds. 1) Seems like a bad idea, going off alone in the dark, and 2) who didn’t see this coming?

Status check:
Officer Rick -- Abandoning the trappings of his previous self.
Horrible Lori -- Knocked up.
Stupid Shane -- Haunted by Otis.
Daryl -- Turning out to be more nuanced than initially seemed.
Glenn -- De-virginized.
Sophia ¬-- Still missing, presumed alive.
Carl -- Making a full recovery toward bad acting.

Worst thing seen/heard this episode: The well zombie being torn in half.

Zombie kill of the week: T-Dog bludgeoning the well zombie with a wrench.