4.5 Internment Even if it’s not wholly scientific accurate (I’m not an epidemiologist, so your infectious disease questions should be routed to someone else), there’s a fairly consistent logic to what’s going on here in the last few episodes. The flu has been striking down adults, rather than children and the elderly; Hershel has been having people cough in his face for days and he’s somehow still fine. That mirrors the 1918 influenza outbreak that savaged the world in the wake of WWI and killed somewhere between 50 and 100 million people worldwide. Basically, that particular flu caused the body’s immune system to go crazy and attack healthy cells in an attempt to fight off the disease. The reduced immune response in the elderly and children prevented them from getting sick to the point of death—perhaps that’s why Lizzie is sick, but not dying like everyone else. Hershel, as we see this week, has a real desire to isolate the sick and dying patients from the reality of their situation. Even though they know what happens when someone dies from the flu, since they lived through it during the Massacre In Cell Block D a few episodes back, Hershel still makes sure to sneak dead bodies out for disposal and, when the zombie outbreak inevitably happens, he lures the zombies away from the group so he can discreetly off them, rather than off them in front of people. This is also solid medical science. These are clever real-world examples for the show to bring into its closed setting, even if it feels a bit artificial at times to have Hershel go out of his way to avoid killing zombies in front of people in the sick ward. It seems appropriate for him, though. Hershel’s only concern is the health of his patients and the safety of his family. That’s why he locked himself in with the sick and locked Maggie and Beth on the outside with the healthy. Scott Wilson has kind of a thankless role in the series, but he’s really good at conveying the optimism of a character like Hershel while still hitting the valley of sadness that Hershel hits in the moments when he’s not able to save lives. Unlike Rick, he’s able to strike the balance between being selfless and looking out for his family’s best interests. It’s fun for The Walking Dead to have a Hershel-heavy episode, because he’s one of the more interesting characters at this point (at least until Carol comes back leading her army of zombie henchmen). Sasha and Hershel have a nice little moment or two together, and while I’m not a huge fan of Lizzie since she keeps making Season Two Carl mistakes, at least the idea that she might be crazy is kind of fun. David Boyd, who did the brilliant Arrow in the Doorpost from last season, is back in the director’s chair. While I think the fight scenes in the prison could be a little muddled, particularly when it was a one-on-one fight, but the wider shots were all really well-composed. The herd of walkers worked incredibly well, and Hershel’s back-to-the-wall shotgun fiesta in Cell Block A was really well shot, particularly from the outside. He also did a great job emphasizing the little bonding moments between Rick and Carl without over-selling the moments. Sometimes, all you need is a meaningful reaction shot. Another week, another good episode for AMC’s cash-cow zombie show. This season has lacked the significant ups and downs of seasons past, and while it’s tough to miss those really, really jaw-dropping moments, having a consistently entertaining experience from week to week is kind of nice. Besides, with this show, things can go from good to great at the drop of a hat. Or, perhaps, the donning of an eyepatch. Read Ron’s review of the previous episode, Indifference, here. US Correspondent Ron Hogan thinks that Carol should be the lead on Robert Kirkman’s new spin-off program set in The Walking Dead’s universe. Find more by Ron daily at Shaktronics and PopFi. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
