I am not a fan of people who post spoilers, I actually
loathe them, being as I live off my DVR.
But, Sunday’s episode of The Walking
Dead was really something to write home about! So if you have not already watched season 4,
episode 14, named The Grove, you should go on the interwebz[1]
and do that; it is streaming directly on AMC.
This blog is going to contain spoilers.
Basically, I am going to dissect the whole episode. Really, it was too good not to! So, again, if
you have not seen it, only continue reading at your own risk. This blog is a little longer than usual, but
I feel this episode had so much going on, it is hard not to acknowledge and
give a preverbal head nod to every detail.
Now that the disclaimer has been put out there several
times, let’s get to it. Sunday’s episode
left me completely stunned; mouth agape, can’t believe my eyes, stunned! Ever since the prison was destroyed, the
season has been off to a slow start. I
understand that each story needed to be told separately, as the group is no
longer together, and not every story is exciting but does offer necessary
details, however the season was inarguably slower paced than the others. Yet with 3 episodes left in this season, TWD[2]
is setting up for some giant
cliffhangers and surprises. What I am
liking most about this season, is how all the stories are starting to coincide now
and how they each play out simultaneously.
The episode of The Grove is structured much
differently than the others. While it
does see its fair share of zombies, it is less about the cheap thrill of ‘will
they or won’t they get eaten by a zombie today’ and more about jaw dropping
shock value. We always knew there was
something wrong with Lizzie, but this episode really brings it into perspective. In the prison Lizzie and the other children
were naming the walkers[3],
and Lizzie defended her actions saying they weren’t dead, they were just different. Well, Lizzie, people can be different, but
those things just want to bite you to death and use you as their ‘life source.’
In The Grove, Lizzie tells Carol how she saved
Tyreese’s life in the prison by shooting two people who were going to kill him
first; she did specify, however, that her intention was not to shoot them in
the head. To me, that statement alone
spoke more than what the words strung together depicted. She did not want to shoot them in the head
because she did not want to ‘kill’ them.
Lizzie believes that walkers are the same as people. Carol ignores her statement and just commends
Lizzie for being so strong and a fighter.
She also tells Lizzie’s sister, Mika, that she needs to be stronger and
kill whoever she has to [walker or human] in order to survive. Mother of the year, that Carol, but she has a
very small point. In the apocalypse, previous societal and
moral norms are thrown out the window; like Darwin says, it is not the
strongest that survive, but those most willing to adapt. I am not saying that in the face of
apocalyptic chaos you should go on a killing spree, there are still good people
out there, but you do need to protect yourself at all costs.
However, Carol trying to corrupt Mika’s values really
annoyed me. She should have spent more
time trying to guide Lizzie, who was off playing with zombies and trying to
smother poor baby Judith. While I think
Carol means well, her execution is FAR off. She is trying to toughen Mika up because she ‘doesn’t
have a mean bone in her body’ much like Carol’s deceased daughter, Sophia. . .
. Hello, foreshadowing!! Carol’s view is even if you can outrun a
walker, you should know how to defend yourself, because much like Sophia,
running is not always enough. While I
can understand and agree with that, Carol is really pushing the line blatantly
bullying this little girl and trying to brainwash her into thinking killing
people is okay. Mika was not even
comfortable shooting a deer!! Let the girl be soft, she can shoot walkers,
something Lizzie cannot, that is good enough to expect from a child.
At the beginning of the episode they show you a ‘flash
forward’ scene of a kitchen and outside the window, a girl playing tag with a
walker. It is obvious the only person cray[4]
enough to think a walker is ‘playing’ with them is Lizzie, but that isn’t
confirmed until later in the episode.
When Carol discovers what Lizzie is doing she runs outside and dispatches
the walker, in which case Lizzie has a meltdown. She goes into a rant how that walker was her ‘friend’
and how would Carol feel if Lizzie killed her?
Well, I don’t know about you, but that statement alone reeks of
psychopath. Still, Carol feels safe
enough to leave Lizzie with Micah and Judith and go about her recon with
Tyreese. While they are gone, Lizzie
wanders off to feed mice to a walker stuck on the train tracks and Mika follows
her. Not only is this reckless because
Lizzie is feeding a walker, but who is
watching Judith?!!! She is a defenseless baby! Does NO ONE in the zombie
apocalypse have proper parenting skills[5]?!
Reckless.
Back to my point . . . Lizzie and Mika are in the woods,
exposed, playing with this walker when all hell breaks loose. Mika is trying to ration with Lizzie telling
her that walkers are not ‘different
people’ they are just dead. At
this point Lizzie is dangling her hand dangerously close to the walkers mouth
in hopes that he will make her ‘different’ and she can show everyone what she
means, when several, burned to a crisp[6],
walkers come out of the woods to attack.
As the girls go screaming back towards their house they [finally]
catch the attention of Carol and Tyreese who now decide they will be of
use.
From the epic amounts of foreshadowing in the episode, and
the episode teaser trailer, it was obvious Mika was not going to make it. So, it was not surprising that as the walkers
were advancing the 2 running girls, Mika
trips and her kicking leg is being yanked on by a walker. Luckily the power duo of Tyreese and Carol
(yes, this is complete sarcasm) intervene and [finally] save the
day. It is after this near death
experience that Lizzie proclaims she ‘knows what she has to do.’ If you think she means in regards to the
walkers, you are in for some more foreshadowing!! She gives Mika this little
speech on how she only has to be mean ‘sometimes’…sometimes? SOMETIMES? What is
that about? Oh, don’t worry, you find
out momentarily.
Once again, while Tyreese and Carol are out doing absolutely
nothing, they leave Mika and Judith alone in the capable hands of Lizzie. I am sure they regret that decision immediately when they get back to the
house and notice Lizzie’s hands are covered in blood as Mika’s lifeless body is
lying on the floor behind her. But “don’t
worry”, as Lizzie said, she didn’t hurt Mika’s brain. Well as if this is not heart wrenching
enough, Lizzie keeps shouting to ‘give her time’ and let Mika ‘come back’. She also lets us know that she was just about
to do the same to Judith. Being as now
at this point it is obvious to everyone that Lizzie is clinically insane [not
just a sociopath and a zombie sympathizer, but clearly delusional] Carol and
Tyreese make a silent pact that Lizzie cannot be around other people and
therefore they need to ‘take care’ of her.
Carol, the self-made mercenary, takes a walk with Lizzie and in the
middle of Lizzie apologizing and begging Carol not to be mad at her, she tells
her to ‘look at the flowers’, which is part of Lizzie’s calming routine. It is at that moment, mid sniffling apology,
that Carol raises her revolver, and a shot is heard as the camera pans to
Tyreese. By the time the camera pans
back to look at the field where Carol and Lizzie were standing, Lizzie is no
longer standing. This is where all the conflicting views come about in the
episode . . . did the writers go too far?
Personally, if I was in Carol’s shoes, I would have never
made sure Mika did not turn. She should
have tied Mika up like she told Lizzie she would do, and then let Mika have
Lizzie turn. I agree that Lizzie needed to
be taken out, she was a liability to the group and a loose cannon, but I do
think Carol’s way was a little . . . cowardly.
She shouldn’t have let Lizzie be crying and begging, going out thinking
she was in trouble, she should have been like ‘you’re insane, try to give your
zombie sister a hug and see what happens.’
While I disagree with Carol’s execution[7],
I think the writer’s got the perfect response.
They kept us hanging on a line and obsessed with the show, as they
always do. The suspense of the kills,
like held in every episode, was trumped by the sheer shock value of Lizzie’s
manic downfall and Mika’s death. For
this reason I think The Grove may be the best episode in TWD history. How do you feel about it? Did the writers take it too far? Do you think
Lizzie should have lived to die another day? Would love to get more opinions on
this.
[1] Cute
colloquialism for Internet. This was
noted in a previous blog. Get with it, people!
[2]
Acronym for The Walking Dead
[3]
Show term for Zombies
[4] Colloquialism
for crazy.
[5] Carol
HAD a daughter..HAD. Lori died giving
birth to Judith, but she certainly wasn’t the best mother for Carl. Mika and Lizzie’s dad left them in the
incapable hands of Carol, and what happened to their mother?
[6]
Thanks to Beth and Darryl’s moonshine and bad memory induced house fire. (I
love that the stories overlap)
[7] Literally
and figuratively. (pun intended)
