Monday, March 17, 2014

The Walking Dead: Season 4 Episode 14 - The Grove


Hello fellow Walkers! Well, Robert Kirkman had hyped up this episode as a "can't miss" and it certainly lived up to the billing.  Disturbing is probably an understatement to what was going on with those crazy kids, one in particular.  Of course, they served as the catalyst to the elephant in the room between Carol and Tyreese and that played out wonderfully.  Let's dive into it!

Discussion Points
  • Okay, so maybe we overthought it, right?  We said Lizzy being the crazy person feeding the walkers was TOO obvious.  Looks like obvious was the way to go here!  Of course, killing the rabbits a few weeks ago had us thinking this already.  Granted, they added more depth to the insanity in this episode by showing ultimately how unredeemable Lizzy was from her beliefs. Lizzy tried to save every walker that they came across.  At one point she wanted to become a walker.  Meanwhile Carol gave us foreshadowing that Mika was pretty much going to end up like Sophia because she doesn't have a mean bone in her body.  Of course, when push came to shove, Mika was the one saving her sister by taking out a walker.  
  • No sense building up to this.  While Carol and Tyreese were off talking about how this house they found could be a place to  make a life with these kids...Lizzy got into her experimentation and sliced her sister to death knowing that she'd rise again.  Lizzy's demented little brain thought that this would finally prove to Carol and Tyreese the point she's been trying to make.  As if running around playing with a Walker wasn't enough proof that they'd never be on the same page!  Of course, the most disturbing part was that Lizzy was already planning to do the same thing to Judith too.  (which was the thing I was fearing most the whole episode.)  
  • Now, I'm glad I don't live in a zombie apocalypse so I don't have to make these decisions, but after that it seemed pretty clear to me what THEY had to do.  Lizzy was unstable and could not be around any of them, especially Judith.  So, Carol did her thing and took out another one of the living.  RIP Mika and Lizzy.  You served as an important part of moving the plot forward!  
  • This turned out to be perfect timing for Carol to come clean on killing David and Karen.  It's a different world they live in, and while it is horrific, Carol was trying to save the greater numbers from dying and turning.  It was hard for Tyreese to hear, and he pondered grabbing that gun that Carol offered up freely...but in the end he forgave her.  Going through what they just went through in a short period may have been enough, but they've both been dealing with this drama for awhile now.  So, maybe it was just a fresh reminder.  I'm sure there is a bit of selfish "need" there on Tyreese's part too.  He could kill Carol, but then it's just him and Judith trying to get to Terminus.  But, now it will be the 3 of them heading there along with everyone else at their own pace! 
  • So outside of that main plot, there was the whole discussion about that fire.  What on earth happened there?  Someone set fire to a bunch of Walkers?  Surely, that's where the burning walkers were coming from right?  I wonder if we'll see next week a parallel story that will explain that.   Or, maybe it's something happening at Terminus.  
In any case, there are only 2 episodes left this season and still some hiking to go before they're all together!  Maybe before the end of that finale, we'll get to see a little bit of this supposed sanctuary!  We'll know for sure 2 weeks from now.  Until then, hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week! 

8 comments:

mj said...

Haven't read recap - busy work morning. But OMG. What an emotionally devastating episode.

Talking Dead was also great.

I wonder if they considered having Mika havebto kill Lizzy to save Judith since Mika made such a big deal that she wont kill the living.

M0re to say but have to go to a meeting that willbtake rest of afternoon. Ugh! Will try to get back this evening

Mike V. said...

Haven't gotten to Talking Dead yet but I'll try to. Interesting idea with Mika...that could've worked.

But I think that whole horror scene with those kids just served as a great catalyst for Carol to confess to Tyreese which was another crazy emotional scene!

mj said...

Crap. just typed a bunch and my browser shut down!

I assumed fire was the one set by Daryl and Beth. Carol not killing deer and them leaving walker on tracks was kinda an homage to the girls I felt.

Talk dead brought up their dad told Lizzy to just look at flowers. I don't remember that or him!

Def agree she needed to be put down. Vwhat a great actress playing lizzy. Her freak-out scenes were chilling. I can hear them, not 2 in one day, etc

mj said...

Oh- read todsy that twitter-verse was goin nuts that Judith was no with them. so much so that Talk Dead made sure to state Judith was with them

Mike V. said...

Ahhh totally forgot about them setting that house on fire. lol So maybe some walkers waked through that fire?

I remember the dad...but i forgot about the look at the flowers. There was a whole scene where Carol had to skewer their dad's head because he died from infection (I think)....I dunno..i remember the dad from the first half of the season, just foggy on the details! lol

Lizzy definitely was a creepy actress....it may have been questionable with Mika...but they played their parts well! lol

Yeah..I figured people would question the end about Judith...but there was another scene I was questioning it...and I saw Carol had her in a backpack...so I figured it was the same setup at the end.

Leslie said...

Wow!! Very intense episode! If I remember right, their dad was bit and Carol was tending to him, but when she saw how bad it was, she knew he had to be taken out, and she wanted Lizzy to do it, but she couldn’t, so Carol did it. I don’t remember about the flowers either. That young actress did a great job!

I also assumed the fire was from the cabin that Daryl and Beth set, and the walkers were attracted to it. Too funny that they referred to them as medium crispy and super crispy on TD. lol

Like they said on TD, I think the timing of Carol telling Tyreese after this happened with Lizzy probably changed how he took it considering when they were at the prison, he didn’t want to kill the walkers on the fence or go out on the hunts either, so maybe he could appreciate that Carol stepped up to do a horrible thing for the greater good.

Mike V. said...

Riggght...the dad was bit by the original guy that spontaneously died from infection, right? Or it was a direct result of that. There was an outbreak in that cell block and that was one of the casualties. I think.

Totally agree with the timing of when Carol told Tyreese. That was her best opportunity to tell him with a chance of surviving it.

mj said...

Oh yeah! I remember the dad now. Thanks Leslie.