Dale is kind of like Yoda. Inside this review: Why I trust Dale over other characters on The Walking Dead, the many lies of Lori and Rick, and an explanation of my urges to slap Andrea.

The Walking Dead season 2 Review “Secrets”

Secrets were revealed, and secrets were discovered. Maybe it’s because The Good Wife airs on Sunday nights now, too, but I immediately thought of politics and how its’ always better to reveal your own secrets than have them discovered by someone else. That’s why Eli advises political advisers to come clean first so they can control the story. But that’s enough of The Good Wife for now, you can read my “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” Review after this one, if you want. (You want, you want! …Am I talking like a muppet?)

This episode started off with all fans wondering what was going on with the barn situation. You remember, all those walkers, alive (er, dead alive?) just hanging out in a low key rave space? That’s weird. And definietly not safe. One of the first questions I had after that episode last week was “OMG THIS SHOW IS SO GOOD, WHY ISN’T ALL TV SO GOOD?” Then I wanted to know wtf was up with Hershel and his decision making skills. And then, finally, I wondered if everyone else in Hershel’s camp knew about the walkers and was on board. Well, we learned this by seeing one of his people taking chickens, breaking their legs (I wince at even typing this) and feeding them to the walkers.

So, not only are the walkers (they don’t call them walkers) being kept, they’re being fed. Maybe its’ to keep them under control, but it’s also an act of kindness. As many of us guessed, in the barn are family members and neighbors that Hershel et al all knew. They don’t seem to be sure there’s ever going to be a cure, but they aren’t going to kill them. So they locked them up and are hoping nothing bad happens. (Testing the fates much?) I’m curious about how they got all the walkers in there… hopefully there’s a flashback at some point.

Anyway! So, the chickens. It seems dumb to be giving up your food sources for these things you should kill. It’s irrational. And how many chickens did they start out with that they still have a few left?

We didn’t see much of Daryl, but we did see him chillaxin in a tent, telling Andrea that he didn’t hold a grudge against her for shooting him. Well, I think someone should take her to task. Instead, everyone in the episode spent time nurturing her and her Annie Oakley routine. … I can’t be the only Walking Dead fan who wants to slap her, right? She has no consequences. She’s selfish and dangerously emotionally voalitle and ugh, her attitude sucks. She’s not likeable most of the time.

Glenn couldn’t keep his two big secrets, so he outed them to Dale. And Dale is the best person to ell things. He reminds me of a Pastor or a Priest. Remember Shepard Book on Firefly? He reminds me of him. He’s wise, non-judgmental, but also smart. It should be noted that Dale is not a man of the cloth, though. He’s just a really cool old dude! I probably trust him more than any other person on the show. Is that weird? You’d think I’d offer up some undying allegiance to Rick,especially when I think he’s a good, capable leader. But he leads when it comes to action and plans. That’s different. At least it feels different. (Shane would be the worst leader. Ugh.)

Dale approached both Hershel and Lori with the information he had, but he did it in only a way that Dale could. It wasn’t filled with accusation. He didn’t explode or overreact in the heat of the moment. He was calm. (He even fed some hay to a horse before saying anything. Now that’s a calm man!) He knew what he wanted to say, and he did it in a smart way.

He didn’t have to tell anyone about Lori, not that it would be his place. But he didn’t even have to encourage Lori to tell Rick – that fell to Glenn. (God, don’t you love Glenn?)

As for Hershel, I’m curious about what Dale will do. I can’t imagine he won’t tell Rick eventually, but when and where is all up in the air. It’s the responsible thing to let the gang know what is going on. Lori wants to stay there because she’s pregnant and going to have this baby, but staying at the camp is not a safe idea at all. Especially with a newborn baby that’s going to cry a lot.

Speaking of Lori and Rick, let’s talk about their son Carl for a moment. It was a question about whether or not to let him learn to shoot a gun. Part of me thinks most kids would be natural shooters because so many play video games that involve not just hand-eye coordination but actual gun-shaped objects where the kids are playing shooting games. We’re raising a legion of assassins, guys!

For our final note, we’ll talk about the final scene of Rick and Lori in the field. She tells him he should know about “Shane and I.” And Rick says he knows. I am not sure if I believe him. But … it seems like he was being truthful. My only issue is, if he knew that was going on, why make Shane and Lori feel guilty and walk on eggshells? He should have said “hey, I know it happened and I know why.”

Well, that’s my reaction to The Walking Dead “Secrets.” What did you guys think?

Grade: A

React: Do you think Rick really knew about Lori and Shane hooking up? Do you think Lori can know for certain her child is Ricks?

The Walking Dead airs Sundays on AMC.

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