- The Walking Dead S01E01: Days Gone Bye
- The Walking Dead s01e02: Guts
- The Walking Dead s01e03: Tell It to the Frogs
- The Walking Dead S01E04: Vatos
- The Walking Dead s01e05: Wildfire
- The Walking Dead s01e06: TS-19
- The Walking Dead s02e01: What Lies Ahead
- The Walking Dead s02e02: Bloodletting
- The Walking Dead s02e03: Save the Last One
- The Walking Dead s02e04: Cherokee Rose
- The Walking Dead s02e05: Chupacabra
- The Walking Dead s02e06: Secrets
- The Walking Dead s02e07: Pretty Much Dead Already
- The Walking Dead s02e08: Nebraska
- The Walking Dead s02e09: Triggerfinger
- The Walking Dead s02e10: 18 Miles Out
- The Walking Dead s02e11: Judge, Jury, Executioner
- The Walking Dead s02e12: Better Angels
- The Walking Dead s02e13: Beside the Dying Fire
- The Walking Dead s03e01: Seed
- The Walking Dead s03e02: Sick
- The Walking Dead s03e03: Walk With Me
- The Walking Dead s03e04: Killer Within
- The Walking Dead s03e05: Say the Word
- The Walking Dead s03e06: Hounded
- The Walking Dead s03e07: When the Dead Come Knocking
- The Walking Dead s03e08: Made to Suffer
- The Walking Dead s03e09: The Suicide King
- The Walking Dead s03e10: Home
- The Walking Dead s03e11: I Ain’t a Judas
- The Walking Dead s03e12: Clear
- The Walking Dead s03e13: Arrow on the Doorpost
- The Walking Dead s03e14: Prey
- The Walking Dead s03e15: This Sorrowful Life
- The Walking Dead s03e16: Welcome to the Tombs
- The Walking Dead S04E01: 30 Days without an Accident
- The Walking Dead: Season Four
- The Walking Dead: Season Five
A review by C J Dee
Director: Michelle MacLaren
Writer: Scott M. Gimple
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Chandler Riggs, Steven Yeun, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, IronE Singleton, Melissa McBride, Scott Wilson, Lauren Cohan
Running time: 43 minutes
Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3/5
[Spoilers, Sweetie — review includes a synopsis of the episode]
‘Pretty Much Dead Already’ begins with Glenn (Yeun) telling the rest of the group that there is a horde of zombies in the barn. Shane (Bernthal), the ever-growing antagonist, believes they should go in without Hershel’s (Wilson) permission and slaughter them. Rick (Lincoln) disagrees and says he will speak to Hershel.
Dale (DeMunn) reveals to Andrea (Holden) his fears about Shane, but she shrugs them off (my notes actually say “and as usual she’s a bitch to him”).
Rick talks to Hershel about the barn and despite Rick making the case that Lori is pregnant, Hershel demands the group leave his farm by the end of the week. Maggie (Cohan) has been listening to the discussion and confesses to Hershel that Glenn saved her life when she was attacked by a walker in town. As they have this discussion, Hershel’s stepson comes in and says ‘it has happened again’.
Hershel goes to Rick and asks for help where we discover the ‘it’ that ‘has happened again’ is walkers getting stuck in the farm’s creek. Hershel tells Rick his group can stay on the farm if he helps herd the walkers into the barn, a job previously belonging to Otis.
Shane’s resentment of Rick becomes even more clear when he tries to convince Lori (Callies) that he is a much better man for her and Carl than Rick is. Lori makes it clear to Shane that the baby is Rick’s even if it isn’t.
Shane puts on a grotesque display, shooting the zombie that Hershel is herding to the barn. The culmination of his display is to break open the barn doors. Several of the group line up to shoot the walkers emerging from the barn.
The episode ends with the last walker emerging from the barn – it’s Sophia. While everyone else in the group freezes, Rick does what needs to be done and kills her.
Well, everyone had faith that they would finally find Sophia and they did. Kinda. To be honest I had lost all faith that the little girl would be found alive (sorry, Daryl), but to see her come stumbling and growling out of the barn was a shocking television moment.
The show feels like it is beginning to run in circles a bit. Dale and Shane butt heads. Rick and Shane butt heads. Shane tries to bully Lori into loving him. Andrea is a cow. Maggie gets mad with Glenn. It’s just beginning to get a smidge repetitive and dull.
All round good episode. Not great, but good.
“These things ain’t sick. They’re not people. They’re dead.”