Weâre now three episodes in to The Walking Deadâs second season, and before tonightâs episode, TVâs only zombie-centric series was 1-to-1 with critics (and snarky recappers). The season premiere was well-received overall, but enough online grumbling existed afterwards to prevent the episode from being considered a runaway success. Last weekâs episode, on the other hand, was pretty much universallyâ¦well, if not âlovedâ, then âheavily likedâ. So, whatâs the score looking like after week threeâ1-to-2 or 2-to-1? Youâll have to find out after the jump, folks.Last week, I tossed a crazy idea out there-- what if The Walking Dead (the show) decided to separate itself even further from The Walking Dead (the comic series) by making Shane the lead? The thinking behind this was simple: Jon Bernthalâas Shaneâis a helluva lot more compelling onscreen than Andrew Lincoln, who plays the seriesâ hero, Rick. His characterâs more interesting, as well. Sure, heâs done a few bad things (including some rape-y bad things, which are never OK), but a character with a complex morality is always more interesting than a straight-up Boy Scout.Anyway, the response to this question was about what I expected (I received a number of outraged emails-- how dare I ârewrite historyâ, did I think I âknew better than [Robert] Kirkmanâ, and several other overreactions to a casual âWhat if?â scenarioâas well as a number of emails from those that liked the idea), but I know suspect that even daydreaming about this scenario is a waste of time: based on what we saw during tonightâs episode (âSave The Last Oneâ), Iâd say that Shaneâs days are numbered. Were I the type of man that used emoticons, thereâd be a frowny-face one right here.But Iâm getting ahead of myself! Letâs start at the beginning (Worth considering: did this recap begin with a flash-forward because tonightâs episode began with a flash-forward? Discuss), like reasonable people would.When we last saw Shane and Otis (an always-welcome Pruitt Taylor-Vince), they had busted into a local high school to retrieve some medical supplies, stuff needed by the kindly doctor trying to save Carlâs life back on the farm. Theyâd secured the necessary items, but had become trapped by the overwhelming number of zombies hanging out in the immediate area. Tonightâs episode began with the aforementioned flash-forward, wherein we saw Shane shaving his head in a steamy bathroom (that oneâs for you, ladies), and then we jumped right back to the high school, where Shane and Otis were still working on how the hell to get back to the farm.A plan was hatched, and soon enough the two had split up with the intention of meeting back up outside the schoolâs gymnasium. Before going their separate ways, Shane makes some throwaway remark about how committed Otis is to the mission at hand, and Otis says, âIâm just tryinâ to do right by that boyâ. The point? This Otis guy? Good people.And Carl? Well, he was still back on the farm, of course, passed out and gut-shot.  Rick (Lincoln) and Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) are worrying over himâas they are wont to doâand eventually Lori says what any reasonable person might be thinking in this situation: why is so much effort being expelled to save this kid? Yes, heâs their son, and yeah, being shot by Pruitt Taylor-Vince in a forest isnât how any parent wants to see their kid go out, but what sort of life are they saving? He gets better, and then he spends the next (indeterminate amount of time) hiding from zombies and parading around an apocalyptic landscape? Doesnât make sense.Now, this sceneâs notable for a few reasons. For one thing, it might be the most reasoned, intelligent, non-bitchy thing that Iâve ever heard Lori say (like many of you, I read through recaps on other sites after posting my own here on Collider, and I noticed more than a few of my fellow critics reaching critical mass last week with Loriâs general shrewishness: some of them even deigned to use the dreaded âB-wordâ). For another, it raises a very interesting point about the idea of survival in this brave, new world our characters have found themselves in. To start thinking along those lines is a slippery slope, of course (one that probably ends with a gun barrel in oneâs mouth), but there is a lot of logic in it: whatâs the point of struggling to survive when even your calmest, most peaceful moments are wracked with tension and fear? Thatâs not really a life worth living, is it?Anyway, Rick reacts to this sentiment about how youâd expect him to, which is entirely understandable. He argues thatâeven though the worldâs gone to h-e-double-hockey-sticks in a handbasket-- thereâs still the possibility that their family could have some semblance of a meaningful life together (I mean, come on, Carl saw a deer. What else do you need, Lori?). I wasnât sure that I was buying what Rick was selling as much as I was with Lori, but I understoodâfrom the moment that Lori broached the topicâthat this was where the conversation was gonna go. The Walking Dead seems willing to go to some really dark places, but I did not (and do not) expect things to get so dark that two parents might just shrug and let their kid bleed out in a veterinarianâs house. And thus, the decision was made: they would continue their attempts to save Carlâs life.Yâknow, as soon as that medical equipment shows up.Which brings us back to Shane and Otis, who were still making their way back to their ride outside the high school. After reuniting, the two begin a long, shambling walk towards their carâ¦and thenâ¦well, then the scene ended, and we didnât see what happened until later. Weâll get there, of course, but letâs take a moment to check in with the rest of the survivors to see what theyâre up to.Andrea and Sawyerâ¦er, I mean, Daryl had decided to leave the comfort and safety of the RV to look for Sofia, whoâs still running around out in the woods somewhere (presumably; itâs my hope that sheâs currently residing in a handful of zombie-stomachs, a fitting end for someone dumb enough to wander away from safety and into a zombie-infested forest). The two talk about life and survival and blah, blah, blah, and eventually they came across a zombie hanging from a noose near a campsite. Apparently, a dude got bit, decided heâd rather die than become a âgeekâ (Câmon, guys, just let âem call them âzombiesâ), and then promptly became undead after hanging himself. Daryl and Andrea argue about whether or not to put the âgeekâ out of its misery, eventually Andrea wins, and they wander back to the RV.Once there, Dale and Andrea have yet another tete-a-tete where Dale tries to speak to her reasonably and Andrea acts like a first class bâuh, Lori. Andreaâs still sour about Dale taking her gun away when she was talking all fatalistically, but tells himâafter he hands the gun over, of courseâthat sheâs working on forgiving him. Meanwhile, Melissa McBrideâs character lays down somewhere and cries about her missing, somewhat-stupid daughter. And that, my friends, is what the other survivors did this week.Before we get back to the Shane/Otis-Rick/Lori stuff, letâs take a moment to look at the budding relationship of Maggie and Glenn. In the comics, Maggie and Glenn meet-cute on the Greene family farm, hit it off, and become a couple. It seemed like tonightâs episode was setting these two up for the same romance, and thatâsâ¦well, OK, then. I donât really feel one way or another about this. So far, the series has separated itself from the comic series in many ways, and Iâve been grateful for the differences. The show wouldnât be interesting if it were a Sin City-style recreation of the graphic novels, so when it comes to things like the âMaggie-and-Glennâ thing, I can take âem or leave âem. Itâs nice that this continuityâs in place for those that like such things, butâif given the optionâIâd always push for more differences from the comics than less. All that said, Iâm fine with it if Glenn wants to get some post-apocalyptic ass. You go, Shortround.To be perfectly frank, the episode up to this point didnât blow my skirt up in the same way that last weekâs episode didâfelt like there was a good amount of wheel-spinning and pontificating going on tonightâbut things did take a turn for the awesome in the episodeâs final stretch. So far, there hasnât been much to spoil, but if youâre reading this before seeing the episode (which, by the way, is just weird), be forewarned that the rest of this post will be spoiler-laden.Upon returning to the Greene farm, Shane hands over all the medical equipment needed to keep Carl alive, and Herschelâthe doctor/vetâgets to work. He explains that Otis didnât survive the attack, and because we last saw the pair on the run from the zombies, we accept his explanation and get back to thinking about Carlâs recovery (earlier in the episode, Carl appeared to breakdance after briefly regaining consciousness, but Herschel explained he was having a seizure). The doc fixes Carl, everyoneâs happy, and then we see Shane stumbling around the area looking a littleâ¦out of it. He wanders into Carlâs room, where Lori tells him to âstick aroundâ (or something to that effect), and it seems to imply that Shaneâs gonna take that advice: rather than taking off on his own, heâll stick around a while longer forâ¦Loriâs sake? I guess? I dunno, guys: were it me, Iâd just give up already. Iâd probably go after Andrea: sheâs kinda badass, seems slightly less bitchy, and doesnât have that âbag of antlersâ look that Loriâs got.But I digress. After Shane gets his marching orders from Lori, he heads into the steamy bathroom we witnessed at the beginning of the episode and notices a wound on his scalp. Staring at the scalp in the mirror kick-starts a flashback (little known fact: looking at wounds, scars, or facial trauma in a mirror will always cause a flashbackâitâs science), and we learn what actually happened to Otis: Shane shot his ass and left him as bait for the approaching zombie horde. Whoa.The sceneâand the revealâwere great, but it was also a sad moment, because I think this is the beginning of the end for Shane. All along, fans of the series have commented upon how likable Shane is, how heâs the best thing on the show, and so on. The writers were smart to write him a little more multi-dimensionally than Kirkman did in the original comics (where heâs basically a roided-out anger-machine), but it had a curious side effect: it created the âTeam Shaneâ/âTeam Rickâ divide. Iâve maintained for awhile now that the writers would have to swing the pendulum back the other wayâin the direction the comics took Shaneâs characterâto get the audience back on âTeam Rickâ, and it appears that theyâve begun that process. One could argue that Shaneâs âRoman hands and Russian fingersâ pseudo-rape-scene during the season one finale was the true beginning of this process, but Iâd argue that Shane was drunk, remorseful, and Lori probably had that coming (/sarcasm). I guess the point here is, if you werenât already on âTeam Rickâ after Shaneâs pseudo-rapiness, you should be now. Maybe if people still maintain that Shaneâs the real hero of the show, The Walking Deadâs writers will have him eat a live baby or something. Letâs see if we can get #TeamShane trending on Twitter, if only to see that play out.Overall, I wasnât thrilled with tonightâs epâ¦but I also wasnât left with a mediocre taste in my mouth, as I was with the season premiere. Iâd call this one an âup the middleâ success, and will hope that the âNext Week Onâ promosâwhich seemed to include something Iâll be referring to in the future as a âWell Zombieââdeliver all the viscera and somewhat-more-exciting shenanigans that they seem to promise. If I had a gun to my head and were being forced to grade tonightâs ep, Iâd give it a solid âBâ.Stay tuned, Walking Dead junkies and zombie-enthusiasts. Weâll be back next week with another recap/review. While youâre waiting on that to arrive, be sure to keep your zombie-hungry eyes peeled for my report from Mondo Mystery Movie IX, which took place last night here in Austin: 700 of us got on chartered busses, were ledâby police escortâto a nearly abandoned mall, and watched Dawn of The Dead with George Romero.  It was, in a word, sofuckingawesomeyourheadwouldaasploded. That reportâwhich will include photo, videos, and pictures of the Mondo prints distributed at the eventâwill be going live sooner rather than later.
THE WALKING DEAD Recap: "Save the Last One"
The Walking Dead recap "Save the Last One". A recap of The Walking Dead episode "Save the Last One" starring Andrew Lincoln and Jon Bernthal.
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