4.04 "Indifference" - Spoilers

From en.wikipedia.org

[i]The episode begins simultaneously with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) preparing for a trip out and Carol (Melissa McBride) talking to Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino) about being strong and careful while in quarantine. Lizzie tells Carol how the people in the cell block are going to die soon, but that they will at least be “something” instead of just dead. Carol tries to argue otherwise to Lizzie, that she cannot take the walkers to be anything anymore. Rick walks around the prison and into the Tombs, thinking of Carol’s hand in murdering Karen and David, with flashbacks showing Carol performing the act and dragging them outside.

Rick takes Carol with him out for a supply run in some neighborhood. Along the way, Carol tries to defend her actions while Rick does not seem too enthused. They find a freshly used wagon outside of a house, and inside of the house they find a surviving couple, Sam (Robin Lord Taylor) and Ana (Brina Palencia). The two have only been in the neighborhood for two days, and they explain their constant moving rather than sitting in one place. Sam has some slight wounds and Carol patches them up, and also relocates his shoulder, while he explains their origin. The two ask to return to the prison with Rick and Carol, though Rick cautions about the disease spreading around. Eventually, Rick gives and tells them to stay put, but Carol urges them to look for supplies against Rick’s wishes. It is clear that Sam and Ana are not fit for much work and Rick does not want them to go anywhere, but the two insist after Carol’s suggestion. Rick is reluctant but gives them both handguns as well as his watch, telling them to meet back in two hours and instructing them to shoot the guns if they’re in trouble.

Meanwhile, Daryl (Norman Reedus), Michonne (Danai Gurira), Bob (Lawrence Gilliard, Jr.), and Tyreese (Chad Coleman) come upon an auto shop while looking for a new car. While cutting the brush away from the front door, Tyreese is too forceful and Daryl warns him to calm down. Tyreese unknowingly severs wire holding the door shut and walkers attack the group. Tyreese intentionally lets a walker overtake him and pin him to the ground, but Bob and Daryl save him. Michonne questions Tyreese on his intentions, telling him that anger makes one do stupid things and that he needs to push on. Tyreese returns the questioning about Michonne’s hunting for The Governor when he is not to be found. Shortly after they make it into the shop, Bob confides in Daryl about his alcoholism and his guilt in the incident in the store that resulted in Zach’s death. Daryl tells Bob not to take it upon himself so harshly, and the two of them fix a car outside of the shop.

Back in the neighborhood, Rick questions Carol about her actions with Karen and David, testing her feelings about it all. Carol seems strong and unwavering against what she has done, while Rick seems obviously upset with her lack of emotion. Carol questions Rick on his leadership, telling him that he “can’t just be a farmer” when it comes to protecting people, but Rick argues that he never killed any of his own people. Carol brings up Shane, but Rick argues that Shane attacked him first. Later, Carol and Rick find Ana’s dead body being eaten by walkers. Carol seems unfazed. They wait inside the house for Sam, but he does not show up. Rick wants to wait longer, but Carol, uncaring, urges him to leave.

Daryl and the others arrive at the college to look for supplies. In one of the rooms, Bob goes into a corner to grab an object while Michonne eyes him suspiciously. The group manages to collect a good amount of medical supplies but awaken some walkers. They escape down a hallway and through a stairwell to an outside ledge of the building. Bob almost loses his bag to a group of walkers down below and refuses to let go of it, almost resulting in his own death while the other three try to help him up. The bag bursts open revealing that Bob only has a bottle of alcohol and no medicine whatsoever. When Daryl tries to chuck the bottle away, Bob tells him not to and almost draws his gun. Daryl, enraged, approaches Bob, disarms him, and grabs him, almost prepared to throw him to the walkers. Tyreese tells Daryl to let him go, saying that Bob has made his choice. Daryl allows him the bottle but Daryl warns Bob that he will be beaten if he takes a drink before the people at the prison get the medicine.

When preparing to leave the neighborhood, Rick locks Carol out of the car. He tells her that Karen and David might have lived. He tells Carol that Tyreese will kill her, that the others in the main group will not agree with her decision, and that she took matters into her own hands when she didn’t have the right to do so. Carol is still unfazed, arguing that she can handle Tyreese. Rick tells her that if the others (Daryl and the group) don’t make it back to the prison, then he himself will not let Carol be there. At this point, Carol finally shows emotion and argues that she did what she had to do. She says that she wants to bring the two girls that she cares for at the prison with her. Rick will not allow her to take the girls, and he blankly states that she will survive on her own.

Rick loads up the other car with some supplies for Carol. She in turn gives Rick her pocketwatch that was a present from Ed, her dead husband, saying that she should have given it away a long time ago. Rick watches Carol pull out and drive away. The episode ends with Rick driving off down the road, unsure of what he has just done, with Daryl and the others making their way back to the prison.[/i]

Discuss

The Talking Dead this week covered the episode amazingly well. I won’t rehash any of it here. It was one of the best Talking Dead’s I have seen. The only difference I can offer from what was discussed in Talking Dead is that Ana’s leg was clearly hacked off - not torn off by walkers. I suspect Sam got pissed off at Ana slowing him down and he cut it off only to discover she couldn’t walk at all without the leg. He hid from Rick and Carol in case they either saw what he did or figured it out. However Rick and Carol did tell Sam where the prison was so I suspect we’ll see Sam again once he makes his way there OR he tries to sneak up on Carol to take the car and supplies back.

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Erm. What? You think the happy couple at the eve of their being saved and brought into a group got crazy? I think the leg was simply gnawed off plain and simple.

I agree with your assessment of the Talking Dead summarizing things up pretty well. Best analysis I’ve seen on the show beyond its usual, “Wasn’t that AWESOME!?!?!?”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Letting Carol go was a mistake. Multi-tiered mistake. First Rick didn’t have the authority to do so, but beyond that he is just wrong. Should Carol have killed those two people? No, of course not. Did she think she was acting for the greater good of the group? Yes, like she always does. Would that have caused problems back in the prison? Yup. Could they have worked through it? Yup.

My hypothesis is that this is an example of more to come. People making decisions for the greater good that make pragmatic sense but break them further from their old lives and their old world.