The Walking Dead: Isolation (4x03)

I'll dive straight into the plot.

Tyreese is horrified to find Karen and David's burnt corpses outside, and tells Carol, Daryl, and Rick that he wants the murderer found. He is so upset, in fact, that he gets into an altercation with Rick over it. Rick goes a little crazy, beating up on Tyreese until Daryl can pull him off.

Meanwhile, the infection that killed Patrick is still spreading. Although initially hopeful that the deaths of Karen and David may have cut the infection off at its source, the group soon discovers the extent of their dilemma. When Sasha starts to show symptoms, she goes to find Dr. S and the other patients. She discovers that everyone, including the doctor, is violently ill. All of the patients remain in isolation, and the children and the old (aka Hershel) are put in isolation elsewhere, in an attempt to stop the sickness from spreading. Glenn begins showing symptoms as well, to Maggie's horror, as does the little girl, Lizzie, whose father died in the previous episode.

Hershel states that the disease itself isn't what's killing anyone, but rather the symptoms. If they can get antibiotics, they might have a chance. Daryl, along with Michonne, Bob, and Tyreese, who is still angry about Karen's death, decide to go try and find medicine. On their way to a veterinary school, they are unexpectedly surrounded by an enormous horde of Walkers. They have to abandon their car, but they all manage to escape, at least for the time being.

Hershel, irritated about being kept in isolation, decides that he should be helping the sick, since the other doctor is out of commission. He goes out to the woods to check the traps, reluctantly allowing Carl to come with him. They see a few Walkers, but they get away just fine. Maggie and Beth are of course very worried about Hershel, since he's exposing himself to the disease, but Beth reminds her older sister that "we've all got jobs to do," and that "we don't get to get upset."

The episode ends on a horrifying realization. Rick, who has been trying to discover more about Karen and David's deaths, puts together what must have happened. He asks Carol, and she admits that she killed them.

So, a lot was happening in this episode, and I found it to be fantastic. The character dynamics explored here were really fascinating. There were, however, a few things I could have used a bit more of, and a few elements that were a bit heavy handed. I'll make a brief list of standout elements.

- Glenn is sick. Love it! I mean... I don't love that he's sick, and I'll be more upset than I've ever been with this show before if he actually dies. But for the sake of the story, it adds a beautiful tension to the relationship with Maggie.

- Beth and Maggie's bond as sisters.  Beth is one tough cookie. She actually spent more time comforting her older sister than the other way around. I also like seeing her taking care of Judith so much. I'm wondering if that's building to anything bigger? What if at some point down the line the group separates, and Beth feels like Judith belongs to her?

- Carol's moral greyness. Carol is really stepping it up and becoming one of the most fascinating characters on the show to me. She's willing to step into some seriously murky waters to keep everyone safe, but she by no means feels completely guiltless. Some of the best moments in this episode were actually really quiet spots in the episode, such as when Carol sends Lizzie into isolation, or when she tells Tyreese how sorry she is about Karen. At one point in the episode, she gets caught outside fixing the water pump, surrounded by quite a few Walkers, Rick is able to save her. I liked this scene because it showcased their relationship. The two of them, along with Daryl, really seem to be running the entire operation.

- A voice on the radio? Just before Daryl and the others get trapped in middle of the road by Walkers, they hear a voice over the radio saying something about possible survival. Does that mean something else is out there? This was an intruiging little nugget, and I really loved it.

- The Walkers. Always amazingly designed,  of course, but I'm noticing a lot of great detail work in this season. I found the one covered in moss to be particularly disgusting. Kudos to the makeup artists, as always. I also like how commonplace the Walkers have become. Nobody freaks out when they see one or two of them nearby. It's just a part of life, and that actually makes it a lot creepier.

There were a lot of other great things, but let me turn to a few of the weaker elements...

- Carl and Hershel's scene. I'm finding Carl's arc as a character a bit difficult to understand. Rick is very adamant that he not kill anything - not even a Walker - unless absolutely necessary. I suppose his scene in the woods with Hershel was supposed to show that? The focus of the scene was unclear, and I'm a bit unenthusiastic about Carl's character in general this season.

- Rick. I'm sorry, but the inner struggle between his dark side and his boring pacifist side is actually not all that interesting to me. The narrative seems to be suggesting that Rick can be either a cold blooded killer or a gardener. There is no in between. Whenever he has to resort to violence, such as when saving Carol's life, we're supposed to view this as a slip in his control and cause for worry. I'm sorry, but there's a freakin' zombie apocalypse on. Some killing is necessary. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh,  but at the moment Rick's character isn't nearly as interesting to me as most of the others.

So, that's the episode. There were a lot of fantastic things about it, and even those things that I didn't love as much were not huge problems. Ultimately, I think we're setting up a lot of interesting plot and character elements for the future. In fact, for the first time this season, I'm really anxious for the next episode! In particular, I hope Glenn will be okay!

8/10