Rick and Co.’s Atlanta excursion this week goes uneventfully, as they position themselves near Grady and work out a plan. Rick lays out a vision where the team goes in quietly, basically kills everyone, and grabs Beth and Carol and leaves. Noah likes it because the wards will help out if they see a way out, but Tyreese is skeptical. If they’re luring cops out of the hospital, why not take them hostage and propose a prisoner exchange with Dawn, since she can’t afford the loss of manpower. Rick doesn’t like that plan because they risk losing the element of surprise and they don’t get to kill people, but Daryl, perhaps showing more of that change Carol talked about last week, endorses Tyreese’s idea.
One of the three cops the group manages to kidnap is Sgt. Lamson. What’s fascinating about these three cops is how willing they are to work with Rick and the gang to usurp Dawn. One suggests they be let go to lead a coup against Dawn, at which point they’ll release Beth and Carol unharmed, but Lamson instead gives Rick insight into Dawn’s thinking to make him a more effective negotiator.
Of course, there are other reasons not to trust Lamson. First of all, he’s a cop named “Lamson,” and as Veronica Mars fans know, you can’t trust a cop with a name that sounds like “Lamb.” Secondly, there’s something inherently untrustworthy about anyone that will throw in with strangers before considering the person who their survival is dependent on. You can hate Dawn and the way she leads without rolling over on her, and given the way Lamson knocks out Sasha and makes a run for it at episode’s end, I guess I’m right about that.
Right now it’s tough to predict where things will end off after next week’s mid-season finale. I’m sad to say that I’m becoming more convinced that Carol is toast, as the writers seems to be building up Beth in comparison to Carol, who spent the week unconscious. Sneaky Beth bribed a fellow ward with strawberries for a distraction and refused to take Dr. Edwards warnings at face value, which suggests the sunny-sided Beth is becoming more cynical and more savvy. Even if all goes well with the rescue, just how mobile is Carol going to be? Rick declaring that he owes Carol more than anyone else almost seals her doom, because in the world of The Walking Dead, redemption is not so easily won.
At some point, it might be nice if the show addressed Rick’s “shoot first, ask no questions later” default planning, as his paranoia seems to be reflecting badly on Carl, who warns Gabriel that the preacher has to learn to defend himself because you can’t stay in one place too long and trouble comes for you whether you’re ready for it or not. Even Michonne, who’s seen her share of trouble, is looking at Carl like he’s a zombie killing Travis Bickle in the works. I doubt anything that’s about to go down at Grady Memorial is about to change Rick’s opinion of humanity, but it might be nice if the group started encountering nice people again. It’s not likely, but it might provide a nice balance for once.
Before signing off for the week, let’s give special regard again for the special effects crew for brilliantly realizing the “rotters,” those pink slime zombies. Once again, The Walking Dead‘s make-up crew managed to redefine gross on a series that seems to rarely have any trouble finding new ways to disgust you.
