"Shane that's enough!" - Rick "You know what Rick, that is enough." Shane kills the zombie in front of Hershel.
Wow - what an ending. "Pretty Much Dead Already" has it's moments of greatness in this episode that come mainly in the final fifteen minutes. The confrontation between Dale and Shane was, yet again, strong and fierce. Even as Dale tries to defend his reasoning for taking the guns, Shane stops him and says, "Dale just shut up and give me the guns." Even after Dale pulls a gun on Shane, he is not able to pull the trigger. It is then that we know that Shane is fit for this apocalyptic world by slowly turning into a psychopath.
Another powerful scene was between Lori and Shane after Rick's informs his deputy that Lori is pregnant. The whole discussion about whether the baby was Rick's or Shane's was great specifically when Lori tells Shane that the baby, if his, will never be his but will be Rick's.
Finally the ending is where "The Walking Dead" really shines. The show is really powerful during sad moments that make you feel sorry for the character's and their decisions. The pilot of the series really showed this with the half-bodied zombie being killed by an apologetic Rick. That was great. In this episode, Rick kills Sophia who comes out of the barn. It was emotional, tragic and powerful. But even before the big shocker, Shane kept on shooting a zombie that Hershel was bringing to the barn. He shot it in the stomach, chest, heart and lung before killing it. Jon Bernthal, who plays Shane, was absolutely amazing in this scene. He shows his anger and frustration by torturing the zombie with bullets and Hershel with the truth. As Shane and the group killed all the zombies in the barn, Hershel watched and realized that these "sick people" are not sick but dead and dangerous.
The episode isn't without it's problems though. The lame joke with Maggie and Glenn with the "rotten egg" in the hat was . . . . really stupid. The writers were trying to be funny but it failed miserably. The scene with Shane saying that Rick isn't cut out for this world was sort of pushed in my opinion. While I do get that the show is trying to show that Rick and Shane are beginning to split apart, Shane saying that Rick isn't cut out for this world wasn't as thought out as I wish it was. Instead of saying it to Lori, Shane should have said it to Rick himself to make it a more powerful scene. Also wouldn't Maggie or anyone say that they have a little zombie girl in the barn after they have been searching for her the past couple of weeks? Come on, they put couldn't put the two together?
Saying that "Pretty Much Dead Already" is good is an understatement. The mid-season finale truly shine as probably the best episode so far in Season 2. While I think the episode "Cherokee Rose" with Shane killing Otis is pretty damn good, "Pretty Much Dead Already" might surpass it. In the end, I can't wait until February to see the final episodes unravel. 10/10
Wow - what an ending. "Pretty Much Dead Already" has it's moments of greatness in this episode that come mainly in the final fifteen minutes. The confrontation between Dale and Shane was, yet again, strong and fierce. Even as Dale tries to defend his reasoning for taking the guns, Shane stops him and says, "Dale just shut up and give me the guns." Even after Dale pulls a gun on Shane, he is not able to pull the trigger. It is then that we know that Shane is fit for this apocalyptic world by slowly turning into a psychopath.
Another powerful scene was between Lori and Shane after Rick's informs his deputy that Lori is pregnant. The whole discussion about whether the baby was Rick's or Shane's was great specifically when Lori tells Shane that the baby, if his, will never be his but will be Rick's.
Finally the ending is where "The Walking Dead" really shines. The show is really powerful during sad moments that make you feel sorry for the character's and their decisions. The pilot of the series really showed this with the half-bodied zombie being killed by an apologetic Rick. That was great. In this episode, Rick kills Sophia who comes out of the barn. It was emotional, tragic and powerful. But even before the big shocker, Shane kept on shooting a zombie that Hershel was bringing to the barn. He shot it in the stomach, chest, heart and lung before killing it. Jon Bernthal, who plays Shane, was absolutely amazing in this scene. He shows his anger and frustration by torturing the zombie with bullets and Hershel with the truth. As Shane and the group killed all the zombies in the barn, Hershel watched and realized that these "sick people" are not sick but dead and dangerous.
The episode isn't without it's problems though. The lame joke with Maggie and Glenn with the "rotten egg" in the hat was . . . . really stupid. The writers were trying to be funny but it failed miserably. The scene with Shane saying that Rick isn't cut out for this world was sort of pushed in my opinion. While I do get that the show is trying to show that Rick and Shane are beginning to split apart, Shane saying that Rick isn't cut out for this world wasn't as thought out as I wish it was. Instead of saying it to Lori, Shane should have said it to Rick himself to make it a more powerful scene. Also wouldn't Maggie or anyone say that they have a little zombie girl in the barn after they have been searching for her the past couple of weeks? Come on, they put couldn't put the two together?
Saying that "Pretty Much Dead Already" is good is an understatement. The mid-season finale truly shine as probably the best episode so far in Season 2. While I think the episode "Cherokee Rose" with Shane killing Otis is pretty damn good, "Pretty Much Dead Already" might surpass it. In the end, I can't wait until February to see the final episodes unravel. 10/10