The Walking Dead: Indifference (4x04)

Alright. Good episode. Things are really getting going now, and I find myself eagerly awaiting next week. This story centered around two groups outside of the prison, thus moving us away from our stationary location and giving us some of that migratory adventure that was so important in earlier seasons. It was a breath of fresh air to see some of these characters on the move again. 

So, we have Carol and Rick who go out to look for more food and any medicine they can find. It's just your average supply run, except for the awkward tension in the air. Carol continuously tries to defend her decision to kill Karen and David, but Rick is very unresponsive. While on their supply run, the two come across a man and a woman who have been staying in the neighborhood for a while. Their names are Sam and Ana. Carol helps Sam with a dislocated shoulder, and Rick plans to take the couple back with them to the prison. The two enthusiastically ask to help with the supply run, and while Rick doesn't think it's a good idea, he allows them to help. However, the two don't make it back to the house, having been killed by the Walkers. At the end of the episode, Rick tells Carol that she can't come back to the prison with him because of what she did to Karen and David. With sort of an eerily serene acceptance, Carol drives off, going out on her own.

So, I gotta say that Ana and Sam seemed like entirely useless characters. This is the second time that we've been teased with the idea of pulling in new people and then it hasn't gone through. (The first being the crazy girl with the Walker husband that Rick met). If this couple had maybe illuminated something about our characters, I could understand it. But since they appeared only to be killed off, I really didn't see the narrative purpose of having them at all. They were well acted and interesting characters, which just made it frustrating that they weren't around longer.

And then there's this business with Carol leaving. Talk about an interesting development! If the Sam and Ana stuff didn't really grab me, the twist with Carol more than made up for it. My jaw dropped when she actually left. It's Carol! What are they all going to do without her? How is Rick going to explain it? Will he say that she's dead? How the heck is Daryl going to react to this news? And those little girls, Lizzie and Mica? My goodness, this is going to be really interesting moving forward. And what a tragic scene between the two of them. Rick and Carol have been around from the beginning, longer than almost anyone else in the group. Think about how many of the other original members have died - Shane, Lori, Andrea, Sophia, Ed... it goes on and on. And now Rick is saying goodbye to Carol, one of the last connections to all of those people. The acting in this portion of the episode was astounding.

Now we'll turn to the other plot. Daryl, Michonne, Bob and Tyreese are making their way to the veterinary college to look for medicinal supplies. They are looking for a new car first, however, since their old one was completely overrun by Walkers. They find an auto shop, but have a close encounter with some Walkers. Tyreese seems to let one of these Walkers a bit too close, although he is saved by Bob and Daryl. Michonne accuses him of letting himself almost be killed. The two of them talk about anger, and how it's best of you just let it go.

At the college, the four of them get supplies but then are nearly trapped inside by an infestation of Walkers. While escaping, Bob nearly loses his bag full of supplies, but fights very hard to keep it. It is then revealed that the bag contains alcohol rather than medicine. Daryl is pissed as hell, but eventually allows Bob to keep the booze.

I liked this plot thread quite a bit for Tyreese and Michonne. Their conversation was very interesting to me and I thought it brought up a lot of thematically intriguing elements. However, I'm a bit on the fence about Bob. He's not a character that I feel particularly invested in, so his struggle with alcoholism doesn't mean as much to me as, say, the same plot applied to Hershel. And hey, there's a good point - we already have a character who is established as having a fondness for the drink, and they've resolved that part of his character arc just to bring in a new guy who also struggles with alcoholism, but who has no real emotional connection to the other characters. I'm not unhappy with Bob's potential, necessarily, but thus far he's not doing much for me.

Over all, this episode makes me very excited for what's coming next, especially in regards to Carol. I'm so worried about her - she's got to be coming back into the story, right? We're not just done with her? I'm also still scared about Glenn and all the other people who have contracted the illness. Things are getting really crazy, and I think this episode did a good job of maintaining the mounting tension while also showing some really good character moments.

8.5/10