The Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 5: Internment

Silent image of the road as Rick drives back to the prison.  He stares at the watch Carol gave him.  Dogs eat the body of a zombie lying by the side of the road.  Hershel, Glenn, and Sasha are trying to intubate a fellow member of their group in the quarantine cell block.  They succeed.  Glenn and Sasha are coughing so Hershel orders them to drink some tea.  Hershel says it's some council meeting.  He says they should have spaghetti night every Tuesday, but first they need to find some spaghetti.  He leaves Sasha in charge for the moment to help the man.  He asks Glenn to go with him on his rounds.  People are lying down and coughing in their cells.  They find a man dead on his bed.  Glenn is going to kill him but Hershel says not to do it in there (Hershel doesn't want to other sick people to see the second death).  Hershel brings a gurney.  Glenn says it is fine for now but what happens in a few more hours when others are dead, including Glenn.  Hershel tells Glenn to shut up (no one wants Glenn to die).  Hershel tells Lizzie to get his copy of Tom Sawyer and finish reading it by tonight.  He's trying to keep her occupied.  Hershel and Glenn take the body to another area of the quarantined cell block.  Hershel is reading something from the Bible.  Glenn has the knife in his hand.  As the man is zombified Glenn plunges the knife into his head. 

Maggie is at the window talking to Hershel.  She asks where Glenn is, he was supposed to meet her.  He says that Glenn is tired from helping.  Maggie volunteers to help but Hershel says no.  She says he looks tired.  He says he is fine and that Daryl and the group could return at any minute and everything will be fine.  He tells her to hold on a little longer and that he loves her.  She says she loves him too.  Glenn tells Hershel thank you for stopping Maggie from coming in, if she had seen him she would have come in.  Hershel tells him to go lie down.

A giant group of zombies is at the fence.  Maggie is by herself trying to kill them.  She sees a car coming, it is Rick, and opens the gate for him.  He asks if Carl and Judith are okay.  She asks where Carol is.  He ignores her and asks about Sasha and the others.  She asks again and he tells her that Carol killed Karen and since Tyreese would be back soon it wouldn't be a good idea to have her around.  He tells her she can tell Hershel but no one else.  He asks if she would have brought Carol back.  She says he was right but she's not sure if she could have done it.  He tells her that she would have been able to.  She has done harder things.  I was surprised at how calm Maggie was at the news that Rick kicked Carol out of the group.  Is she really that accepting or is she just preoccupied at the moment thinking about Glenn and the others.  Rick goes inside and calls for Carl.  Rick asks if anyone is sick, if Carl has had to do anything (read: shoot someone).  Carl says he hasn't had to use his gun.  Rick tosses a bag with food for the others (which include fruit leather, yum, oh and don't forget to brush your teeth because dental hygiene is super important in a zombie apocalypse).  Carl mentions that he was around Patrick and Rick and he hasn't gotten sick.  Rick can't keep Carl away from it, from what always happens.  Rick says he still has to try.  This is basically the story of Rick and Carl since season one.  Rick tries to protect Carl from the zombies and violence of this new world but he can't. 

Dr. S is not looking well.  Dr. S mentions that not everyone gets to live.  End stage is a point no one gets to come back from and he is not going to be around much longer.  He tells Hershel he has made IVs.  It will happen very quickly.  First one, then another, and another.  He shows Hershel a gun he snuck in.  He tells Hershel he has a chance to live.  He tells Hershel to make sure everyone's doors are shut.  Dr. S is staring to bleed from the eyes, nose, and mouth.

Hershel is shutting everyone's cells.  A man stumbles out coughing up blood.  People start to come out of their cells.  The man dies.  Hershel pulls out his knife.  He sees everyone looking down at him.  He tells everyone to get back in their cells.  Sasha walks out and grabs the gurney.  She helps Hershel load the man on it.  He tells her to go rest.  Hershel takes the man away and grabs his knife.  He goes to kill him but hesitates.  Then he covers him up with a sheet and plunges the knife into his head.  Rick calls Hershel's name.  Hershel says it is the third one today.  They have been burning them.  "A sad soul can kill quicker than a germ."  That is why he didn't want the sick to see him killing the dead.  Rick tells him that they see Hershel keep going on even when all of the choices go away.  Rick asks if it is not going to be like it was.  Hershel says no.  Rick just caught a break.  He got lucky, they all did.  But Hershel still believes there is a grand plan.  Life was always a test.  Rick tells Hershel he needs to talk about Carol.  We don't see Rick tell him but we see Hershel's face.  Hershel is walking in and sees Sasha's feet sticking out of her door.  He walks past a cell where a girl is dead.  That girl is now a zombie.  He didn't close her door because he was distracted by trying to save Sasha.

Rick and Maggie are putting wooden posts up against the fence trying to keep it up.  He says that Hershel looks good.  Maggie asks him if Carl was sick would he be up there.  He says if he thought he could help.   A zombie grabs his leg.  She chops the arm off.  He says he's glad she is with him. 

Hershel is with Sasha.  She is now awake.  She was just dehydrated.  She doesn't believe in magic, luck, or gamble but she wouldn't be here now if it weren't for Hershel.  Glenn is with the intubated man when he no longer hears the man breathing.  He feels for a pulse and then starts performing CPR.  He calls out for Hershel but starts coughing up blood.  Hershel keeps closing cell doors.  He asks a man how his son is doing.  The man responds that the boy is sleeping.  Lizzie finds Glenn and notices that the man is now a zombie and she calls out to Hershel.  The woman zombie starts to attack Hershel.  The man from earlier comes out with a gun but his son is now a zombie and attacks him.  The man accidentally shoots a woman trying to help Hershel.  Lizzie is leading the other zombie away from Glenn.  She talks to him like he is a dog not a zombie.  Rick and Maggie hear the gunshot.  Rick tells Maggie to go and help.  She is reluctant, but agrees to go. 

Rick is inside the prison calling out to Carl.  Carl comes, he heard the shot.  Rick says he needs Carl's help.  Lizzie accidentally trips and the zombie falls on her.  Hershel comes up and grabs the zombie from behind and pushes him over the railing.  He puts Lizzie and another little boy in a cell and closes the door.  Glenn still can't breathe.  Maggie tries to break the door open with an ax but can't get in.  Dr. S is now a zombie; Hershel kills him.  Hershel is loading the gun in Dr. S's cell.  Hershel cocks the gun but doesn't shoot the zombie because Lizzie and the little boy are looking at him.  He leads her by making noise.  Maggie makes her way to the conversation window and shoots it.  Hershel finally starts shooting the zombies now that Lizzie and the others can't see.  Hershel is trying to help Glenn but he doesn't have any equipment with him.  He heads back and finds the zombie that was intubated.  Maggie comes in and shoots a zombie.  He tells her not to shoot the intubated zombies because they need the equipment for Glenn. She shoots the zombie and avoids damaging the medical equipment.   Hershel has the intubation tube and intubates Glenn.   

He keeps telling him stay with them.  It works.  Glenn is breathing.  Maggie tells Glenn he is going to be okay, they are going to be okay.  Hershel tells her that he didn't want her in there.  She says she had to just like he had to.  Lizzie comes to them and asks if it is over.  Maggie says she hopes so.  Lizzie plays with the blood on the floor with her shoe (there is something seriously wrong with this girl). 

Carl is helping Rick outside to keep the fence up.  Rick looks proudly at Carl for a moment.  Then the  posts start breaking under the weight of all the zombies.  The fence bursts open.  Rick tells Carl to run.  They both run towards the prison.  The zombies keep coming and are banging against the door.    Carl asks what they are going to do.  Zombies are pushing against another part of the fence.  Rick and Carl grab guns from a stash.  Rick shows Carl how to use the machine guns.  He tells Carl to shoot or run.  Don't let the zombies get close.  The zombies bust through the fence.  Rick and Carl start shooting at them.  They fall down one after another.  Rick and Carl are still shooting zombies and refilling their magazines.  Rick struggles to kill a zombie and Carl shoots it instead.

Rick looks at Carl as he would Daryl, another adult helping him kill zombies.  He still wants to protect Carl but in this moment Carl protected him instead.  Carl isn't that innocent little boy from season 1.  He is equal to Rick.  Carl and Rick kill off the last of the zombies.  They hear a car.  Carl sees that it is Daryl.  He tells Rick everything is going to be okay.  They open up the fence.  Tyreese asks how Sasha is doing.  Rick says he doesn't know.  Tyreese cradles Sasha in his arms.  She is wheezing.  Bob is making up the medicine for Glenn.  Maggie tells Hershel to rest now that Daryl and the group are back.  Hershel slowly makes his way downstairs.  He stops in Dr. S's cell.  He pulls out his Bible but shuts it.  Hershel sits and cries. Is this the end of Hershel's faith or just a momentary pause after the day he has had?

The next morning Rick walks out to the yard of the prison.  Michonne is clearing away the zombies from the night before.  He offers his help but she declines.  Carl runs after Rick.  Carl says that Rick didn't wake him up (harkening back to the first episode of this season).  Rick wanted him to sleep.  Rick says that he has to talk to Daryl and Carl asks if he has to do that now.  Rick says no (conveniently putting off the discussion he doesn't want to have with Daryl).  Glenn is breathing on his own now.  Daryl says that both Glenn and Hershel are tough SOBs.  Daryl asks where Carol is and Hershel tells him to go talk to Rick.  Hershel asks Michonne if is she is heading out.  She says yes and asks if he wants to come.  He says hell ya and gets in the car with her (he needs a little road trip after all that happened).  Rick and Carl eat peas from a plant on the farm.  The Governor looks on from outside of the prison.  The Governor is back!!

Final Thoughts
- Is Lizzie's view of zombies tainted by her time at Woodbury watching the staged zombie fights?  Or is she just creepy?
- What kind of revenge does the Governor have in store for our gang?
- Will we find out who has been feeding the rats?  Did they die of the recent outbreak?  I assume whoever it was has been working with the Governor.  I get the feeling the Governor has been keeping an eye on the prison for some time (pun totally intended).
- I don't want to see Rick and Daryl's friendship end when Rick finally tells Daryl about Carol.
- Scott Wilson did a fabulous job in this episode.  Lets get this man nominated for an Emmy and/or Golden Globe!
- Another potential spin off I would watch: Hershel and Michonne out on the open road.