REVIEW: The Walking Dead “Bloodletting”

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Not much happened this week on AMC’s zombie party The Walking Dead and that’s okay. Mindless brain-sucking meat bags shuffling around in the Georgia heat gets old really fast so when things slow down for some good old character drama I get a little excited. I got even more excited when the episode kicked off with a flashback to a time before the zombie apocalypse when Lori was faced with Rick being shot in the line of duty right after they had a nasty fight. It was odd seeing Lori with makeup on.

When we left our survivors little Carl had just been shot by a hunter and we pick up with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) hoofing it through the woods toward a farmhouse. The shooter, a portly gentleman whose neck might be slightly red named Otis was doing his best to keep up, encouraged by a somewhat angry and worried Shane (Jon Bernthal). The farm belongs to Otis’ family and there is a doctor there. Nice coincidence right? Well don’t get too comfy because this doc is a vet but still thinks he can help the little tyke and what other options do they have? Rick wants Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) there but he can’t leave so one of the doctor’s kids heads out to find her while Shane and Otis head to the local high school to get some supplies to help Carl.

Meanwhile out in the woods the others (minus Dale and T-Dog) are still looking for Carol’s missing daughter but aren’t having much luck. Things get even hairier when Andrea (Laurie Holden) has a close call with a walker that really messes with her head. The doctor’s daughter shows up on horseback and saves Andrea, then whisks Lori away back to the farm. She tells the others how to find them and they head back to the highway where T-Dog has been trying to convince Dale to ditch the others and leave.

With Sophia still missing they send Glenn to the farm while they stay behind to make a sign telling Sophia where they went. Glenn (Steven Yeun) takes T-Dog along to get some meds because the infection from his cut has been making him crazy. Andrea is not handling her near miss with the walker well and Shane and Otis have run into another herd of walkers at the high school. Most of this episode was spent establishing how close Shane and Rick are and dealing with the gravity of Carl’s condition. You have to wonder if Lori and Rick are wondering if saving Carl is the best thing given the bleak outlook for their future. Of course a parent’s first instinct is to do anything to save the kid but I suspect as this situation draws on longer they will ask some hard questions.

And how much of what T-Dog was ranting about was fever induced? Daryl’s attitude toward the group and T-Dog in particular has certainly improved and he is by far the most resourceful one of the bunch. He did come to T-Dog’s rescue yet again this week when he produced his presumably dead brother’s stash of drugs. Things are looking bad for Otis and Shane at the school though. Funny how quick on their feet the zombies become when food shows up.

As I mentioned before I get bored with zombies very quickly so it says something about the writing on this show (to me at least) that I find it interesting enough to tune in every week. Having never read the graphic novel I have no idea what lies at the end of this tale. Something tells me it isn’t a cure or the revelation it was all a dream so I plan on enjoying the ride until the inevitable downbeat conclusion, and a nice low key episode like “Bloodletting” is a welcome distraction from all the brain-eating.

The Walking Dead airs on AMC every Sunday night at 9.