Lizzie taking out Alisha (I think that was the name of Tara's girlfriend) was actually my favorite scene of the entire episode, and that's saying a lot tonight! Alisha was a badass, she charged all the way up to the prison and had Tyrese pinned down, and then Lizzie (with perhaps some help from Mika) just take her buddy and then her out with single shots. Damn! So having said that, I'm still thinking (hoping) that Judith is safe too. If Lizzie can take down Alisha and other armed adults, she should be able to protect Judith too. We'll see of course.
That was a strong scene, as Alicia (if that was her name) was annoying, and in trying to be the badass marching her way through, she was put down by a determined child. ...thanks to Carol's psychological re-training, of course. I would not be surprised if they rescued Judith at the last second, since she--like Beth--was on a majority of "they're gonna die" lists, only to survive.
That scene reminded me a bit of Homer Simpson. "We played Dungeons and Dragons for three hours. Then I was slain by an elf."
Goddamn what an episode. Really nice job hitting many of the same beats as the comic end of the prison arc (Tyrese/Hershel death, the tank, Lily killing the Governor in disgust, everyone scattered, Rick and Carl limping off alone) while subverting expectations and making good use of the continuing divergences. I'll be completely shocked if Judith's not dead - the empty bloody carrier is about as close as they probably felt they could come to seeing an infant brutally killed. Daryl's badass credentials are absolutely sky-high now. Crossbow beats tank. I'm more thrilled than is probably sensible that Beth survived. For somebody that's looked several times like easy fodder it's nice to see her keep beating the odds, and hopefully they give her more to do. Having her off with Daryl for however long the group is separated should be interesting. Lizzy as rat dissector and taking the place of Allen's boys (along with Mika) makes total sense, I definitely agree that's where it's going. No way Carol's just covering for her though, she owned that far too completely - murdering Karen and David is still on her. I also liked how quickly the fallout from Carol's exile was dealt with - Daryl pissed, but comes around after a bit and who knows if it comes up again with Tyrese. Excited to see where this goes! So let's see, we've got Rick and Carl as one group; Daryl and Beth as another; Maggie, Sasha and... drunk guy... as a third; the bus including Glenn; Tyrese and the girls; and Michonne by herself? It seems unlikely that we'll be dealing with six different groups when the show returns, so I bet some or most of them link back up offscreen.
Why Beth? I'd say Michonne had first dibs, with Maggie behind her, then Glenn, then Daryl, then Rick. The only thing better is Daryl taking out a tank with the crossbow! Give the guy a break; he only has so many eyes to go around. I thought it was pretty cool that there was an explanation built right into the Sand Walker's sudden appearance, even if the whole thing was pretty bizarre. Not like Andrea getting ambushed by a walker from behind a tree last season when she should have heard it coming. It's possible that someone nailed a walker just as it was reaching for Judith. That would allow for a rescue and also explain the blood. Or Little Ass-Kicker did it herself. Could anyone tell whether the buckles were open or closed? If closed, that's bad-- she was simply torn out of the carrier. If open, it could go either way. Either someone deliberately unbuckled her to get her out, or she was never buckled in at all, and anything could have happened. The "Talking Dead" poll said most people would miss Hershel's advice and wisdom. So if his head is still intact, maybe he could still advise them... ? Where did Michonne go? Seemed like she vanished right after rescuing Rick. Tara and Lilly are both still out there, right?
Tara went fetal and/or ran off during the battle. Not a whole lot of options for her during all that gunfire though, especially with the walkers streaming in. Both she and Lily don't have much in the way of survival skills or experience, and Lily looked pretty catatonic, so I don't see them lasting very long.
Actually it was the girl from the first episode. The girl with hurt ankle not only lost her ankle but looked like she was being devoured pretty good by the Walkers. Hershel was he father, makes sense she should get a share in the kill.
That was awesome. So yeah, wow. I really feared for Glen this episode but I'm glad he didn't die. Hopefully he has more to do in the latter half of the season than he has in the first. Sad to see Hershal go but it wasn't entirely unexpected. And what a way to go. Loads of badass moments. The bit with the girls was awesome, and Daryl blowing up the tank - All of that was great and I really enjoyed it. I thought the mud zombie was one of the best zombies on the show so far as well, and it doesn't seem to be getting any love! I was a little disappointed that Daryl took the news about Carol so easily. I was also disappointed that Tyreese didn't get to know as well, it could be a long time before they're reunited again. Will he still care by that point? Will we? I'm guessing the saboteur will have a part to play at some point in the rest of the season because they mentioned them again in this episode. It seems they weren't working on behalf of the Governor otherwise it would have been mentioned. I'm in the camp that doesn't think Judith is dead.
Theory on Judith: Tara goes running for somewhere to hide and since walkers are swarming in from the opening in the fence she goes towards the prison. She takes a bullet somewhere non-fatal, lets say shoulder. She comes across Judith crying, sees walkers heading towards her so she spends an inordinate amount of time trying to undo the buckles because she is freaking out and one of her arms is bleeding like a stuck pig and mostly useless. She runs off to hide and takes the baby with her.
Although damaged and walkers roaming around, I think the prison is still the best place to stay. They can fix the fence where the tank breached then clean up from there. I'm sure not all the cell blocks were damaged from tank fire especially towards the back. The governer is dead too so they don't have to worry about him anymore.
I'm not sure I agree... I guess, logistically, it would be possible to repair the fences and deal with the herds of walkers, but at this point, with the destruction, disease and overall bad karma the prison has, I imagine it would be almost unbearable to live there any more. I realize that when you're fighting for your very existence, that you suck it up and make due with what you've got, but with the inhabitants as well as the "warriors" scattered in the wind, it would take a hell of a lot to regroup and deal with the swarms of walkers now converging on the facility...
That was one of my first thoughts at the end of the episode. Poor Hershel will reanimate with no one around to finish him off.
True; I'm just keeping score. Actually that was me, not Kestrel. Okay, I'll put Beth in line ahead of Rick, but everyone else from my list is ahead of Beth. Michonne because of Andrea and because he tried killing her several times before any of the others. Next, Maggie for sexual abuse as well as for her father. Next Glenn, for torture, attempted Death by Walker, and for Maggie. Next Daryl, for Merle. Beth gets a turn after that, if there's anything left of him. I did! It's just that I called him Sand Walker.
Maybe that's where Michonne dissappeared to at the end, to finish of Hershel. Otherwise, wtf? she helps Rick stand up then just walks away?
Didn't the Governor come up on him as he crawled away (next to the tank) and bash him in the head with the pommel of the sword? I figured that's what he was doing.
We could see the outline of Hershel's body behind the Governor with the head definitely separated, but it was blurred because the focus was on the Governor. I couldn't tell if the head was still intact. It was realistic that the Governor wasn't able to take Hershel's head off or even kill him with just one swipe. Picking up a katana doesn't automatically give you ninja skills! It shows Michonne has had some training.
Oh, and EmoBorg, I didn't mean to sound so clinical on the heels of your post. It truly is sad for Hershel and his family, but personally I don't find it as horrible as Dale's death. Any death that involves walkers or intentional torture is disturbing to me, and Hershel's was neither. Plus Hershel had just had some validation that his message was getting through, where Dale had just had the opposite. Tone makes a lot of difference.