The Walking Dead: Indifference (S4: E4)

Rick wants Carol to go on a supply run with him. She goes to talk to Lizzie first, and they have a conversation about change. Lizzie wisely tells Carol, “Nobody gets to be the same as when they started.”

Carol and Rick drive down the road, and apparently Rick’s stony silence makes Carol a wee bit nervous because she starts explaining herself. She says they didn’t suffer, it was quick. Rick continues to look very similar to the way he looked when he was deciding what to do about Shane. Be afraid, Carol.

Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese, and Twitchy Bob have escaped the zombie-clogged highway. Tyreese is still having issues dealing with all of the death, as evidenced by his psychotic zombie wrestling match during their search for suitable transportation. Michonne chews him out, telling him anger will make him stupid. He asks her why she’s been hunting the Governor all this time. She has no good answer.

Daryl’s replacing a battery in the van they found when Bob decides to open up. He says he’s been through a couple of groups and come out the sole survivor (RED FLAG). He talks about their trip to the Big Box store, and how he only went along because he wanted to score some booze, and then the shelf came tumbling down and zombies were clobbering them from the sky. He says it’s his fault Zach died. Daryl listens patiently, then tells him it wasn’t his fault and he won’t have to do it alone anymore - he’s part of a group. (That’s very wonderful of you, Daryl, but for god’s sake get a haircut it’s starting to distract.)

Rick and Carol find a nice little suburb where they can get what they need. They go into a house and Rick starts swiping medicine from the bathroom cabinet. Carol asks him why he hasn’t said anything about the murders. He asks, “What do you want me to say?” She says she killed to protect the group and stop the infection from spreading. She points out that Rick murdered Shane. Rick says that Shane was trying to kill him, and Carol says “they were going to kill us.” Rick disagrees. Carol, apparently sporting a giant pair of balls since Ed’s demise, tells Rick that he doesn’t have to like what she did - but he has to accept it.

Back in the kitchen, they hear a noise. A walker comes staggering down the stairs. After they kill it two teenage types pop out, looking all fresh-faced and ripe for the slaughter. The boy has a dislocated shoulder, which Carol quickly fixes, and the girl has a bum leg. Rick decides they should take the kids back to the prison. The kids insist on helping before they leave the suburb, claiming they can be SUPER useful. Rick is reluctant, but Carol agrees to let them.

Daryl and friends find the veterinary hospital Hershel was talking about. They break in and get the drugs they need to cure the infected survivors. As they’re leaving, zombies chase them from the building. They end up cornered and break a window, jumping onto a second-story ledge. Bob is the last one out, and he overbalances and falls too close to the edge. His bag dangles, and zombies grab at it. He holds on, ignoring warnings from the others to drop it. He flings it onto the ledge, and Daryl realizes it’s loaded with booze and NO medicine.

I have to tell you, I always pictured Daryl as the withering stare type of pissed, maybe with a pointed verbal warning. He gives the warning all right - he threatens to beat Bob bloody if he drinks so much as a drop before the infected are treated - but he also does that third grade school yard chest bump thing that IS SO STUPID. Okay, so his redneck side is showing a little. Get a haircut and I’ll forgive the macho pectoral display.

Rick and Carol are picking tomatoes, having an almost friendly discussion about their lives before the apocalypse. She says she was afraid to be alone, so she convinced herself she was happy with Ed. Rick says Laurie couldn’t make edible pancakes but she kept trying because she wanted them to be the kind of family who ate pancakes on Sundays. They’re smiling at each other, and it seems like things MIGHT be okay until they get ready to leave and they spot a couple of walkers eating the girl with the bum leg. Rick looks sad, but Carol just shrugs it off and says they need to get going.

They wait inside the kitchen for a bit (hoping the boy might be alive). Carol gets impatient and says he isn’t coming and they need to move.

Outside, Rick breaks all of our hearts by telling Carol she can’t come back with him. He doesn’t trust her not to hurt other innocent people. She asks about Lizzie and the other girl - he says no way is she taking a couple of kids on the road. He tells her she’s not the same woman who was afraid to be alone, and dumps her bag on the curb. Carol struggles with tears, quickly shuts down her feelings and packs up the other car they found with some of the supplies. She gives Rick a little ring with a watch on it that Ed gave her. She drives away.

I have to say, Rick gave her plenty of opportunities to show remorse or compassion. When they were in the kitchen, and he asked if she thought he was doing the right thing bringing the kids back, she said something along the lines of if they are useful. Does Carol not realize that Rick operates primarily on HOPE? She didn’t give him any. I think she didn’t have any left to give. I wonder what Daryl will have to say?