The crew gathers around the vehicle with Herschel to set up a plan to search for Sophia but Hershel tells them that Rick has given too much blood and that Shane's ankle isn't ready for that kind of pressure yet. Hershel tells them that he does not want them to carry guns on his property and Rick promises to respect his wishes, which does not make Shane happy. Shane asks what happens if we find her if she is bit and Rick responds, "you do what has to be done". Then Shane goes ahead and announces that Dale is going to keep watch, of course ignoring what Herschel just said he does not want guns on the property. Rick turns and smoothes it over by saying that "people would feel more comfortable with this situation". Where does Shane even have the gall to attempt to take a leadership position after what he just did?
Shane asks Lori if she meant it when she said stay and Lori responds that she meant it. I suppose after saving her sons life, the fact that he tried to rape her is forgivable (yes, much snark).
Of course, Andrea is not happy about laying down her gun and arrproaches Shane. He then shows her how to take apart her weapon and she smiles. I hope that this is the start of turning Andrea into the sharp shooter that she was in the comics, because as it stands, her character is downright petulant, though she has a point about the men being the only one allowed to carry weapons.
Hershel tells Rick that once Carl is fit for travel and they find Sophia, that they need to move on. they have an exchange in which Hershel points out that though his life has been hard recently Rick has had a lot of good fortune and sees that as God's work. Herschel is clearly a man of deep faith, but Rick is not moved.
Glen and Maggie go to the pharmacy to get supplies, but before they leave, Lori asks Glenn for a specific item, but him promise to be discrete about it. Lori tells him to look in the feminine hygene section for the product. Those who have read the comics knew immediately that the item in question had to be a home pregnancy test.
In the field getting water, T-dog and Dale have a chat while they are getting water from the well. T-Dog is intent on letting Dale know that he is going to pull his weight in the group. T-Dog says, "I'm not weak. Up on the highway I don't what that was, I don't know where that came from, that wasn't me. If' it's okay, I rather you not tell anyone about that stuff I said." Really? No, seriously really? How much more are they going to undermine T-Dog? First they have Glenn dismiss every valid thing that he said, and now T-Dog himself is backing away from it. Darryl is a redneck good ole boy and we all know that po po are no friend to the Black man, furthermore, he is in the south surrounded by White people but his concerns about racism are not valid? This is just pure shit.
As T-dog is about to take a drink of water, Glenn stops him because there is a zombie in the well. They realize that they have to get the zombie out alive in order not to risk contaminating the water any futher. They try to tempt him out with canned ham, and realize that they need live bait. They lower Glenn and despite almost dropping him in the water, he manages to get the roap around the zombie (note: T-dog caught the rope and stopped Glenn from falling, but ever so manly Shane who should be dead, took the rope from him and pulled Glenn up) When they get the zombie up, it breaks in half -- with half of his body falling into the well. T-dog then hacks to death the torso which is still alive, saying "good thing we didn't do anything stupid like shoot it."
Back at the highway, Andrea tries to tell Carol that there's always a chance and Carol tells her that she doesn't want to hear it anymore. They leave a sign on a car, with some food telling her to wait there. On the way back, Andrea who is gun obsessed, asks how long before she can carry. Shane tells her not to rush, and then says she has the desire, but that it is not easy to take down an assailant who is trying to hurt you. He tells her, "you have to stop thinking; you act because someone is counting on you as a partner or a friend. There is nothing easy about taking a man life, no matter how little value it may have. When you get it done you have to forget it. I guess I haven't got that last part down yet." Yes, that is the guilt eating away at Shane over Otis and I still feel no sympathy for the man at all.
On the way to the pharmacy, Glenn tells Maggie that this is the kind of thing he normally does on his own; he says that he is a loner. Glenn then asks how she is doing, because he saw the look on her face back at the well. He says being out on the road, they have seen a lot, and that he is gotten a little numb to it. The phramacy has a sign saying, "take what you need and God bless."
Glenn grabs a pregancy test and stuffs it in his bag, and then grabs condoms to hide them. When Maggie catches him, he stumbles, and she says that she will have sex with him. When Glenn asks why, She says that her options aren't vast these days. She tells him that, he is not the only one who is lonely.
Rick begs Hershel to reconsider asking them to leave. He says, "if you saw how it is out there, you wouldn't ask. You're a man of belief, if you believe anything believe that". He tells him that he is asking for his boy, and that after the price that Otis played, that he should give it some thought. Hershel tells him that there are aspects to this he won't discuss, but if the people respect his rules, that he will consider it. People who have read the comics know exactly what he is hiding.
When Darryl gets back he finds Carol sewing. She cleaned and says that she wanted it to be nice for her daughter. He tells her the story of the Cherokee rose. Apparently these roses grew on the trail of tears from the tears of the mothers who were losing children as a sign to give them up. He says he is not fool enough to think that there are any flowers blooming for his brother, but believes that flower is blooming for Sophia, and tells her that she is going to really like it in here. I know that this was meant to be a tender moment and show a soft side to Darryl but all I saw was a redneck White man appropriating Indigenous culture. There isn't even a single Native American in the cast, but apparently it's okay to draw upon their history and their pain to make appoint. This yet another example of how The Walking Dead fails when it comes to race. Appropriation no matter the reason, is never acceptable.
Lori walks off by herself and takes the pregnancy test. When it comes back positive she lowers her head and starts to cry. Clearly, we are having a set up for the big Rick/Shane throw down, because she cannot be sure who is the father. Even if this means finally getting rid of Shane, I have to say that I find the whole love triangle thing boring.
What are your thoughts on Lori's pregnancy and the racial appropriation in this episode?
