Summary:
A shocked Rick asks Hershel what he means by “dead ones”, after hearing him say that he keeps them in the barn. Hershel tells him he’s been storing the undead in the barn until he can figure out how to deal with them. He then asks Rick how his group has been dealing with them. Rick tells him very pointedly he’s been killing them, and the two get into an intense and heated argument. Hershel explains that no one understands what’s going on, Rick counters by saying that they do know the undead are trying to eat them and it’s dangerous to keep them so close to his house. He continues, saying they should kill every zombie in the barn before they are killed by the zombies. Hershel tells him that his son Shawn Greene was bitten and turned before their arrival and, not knowing what else to do, he kept him and all other undead they found in the barn. A sympathetic Rick tells Hershel the zombie in the barn is not his son anymore. Hershel furiously knocks him back, reiterating they don’t understand the outbreak and that it could be anything, while Rick continues to argue the opposite. Eventually, Tyreese steps in and calms Rick down. Hershel assures Rick it’s completely safe, and Rick hesitantly backs down.
Later that night, Allen is sitting outside the RV when Rick finds him and begins talking about his state of mind. Allen tells Rick he’s been thinking about Donna, claiming he heard her voice the previous night. Rick consoles him, but it does not help. As they talk, Glenn spots them and pretends to be out for air, secretly meeting up with Maggie as the two go off together during Rick and Allen’s chat.
The next morning, Rick meets up with Hershel and apologizes for his behavior the previous day, Hershel accepts and moves on as well. Rick offers him some extra guns and ammunition, which Hershel appreciates. Rick also informs him that he has planned some basic gun training for everyone.
Back inside the farm house, Andrea attempts to reconcile with Allen, who angrily refuses to speak with her. Dale starts to give him a talking to, but Andrea stops him, she apologizes to Allen and leaves. Rick talks to Tyreese and Carol about their kids and carrying guns. The survivors are later outdoors shooting cans at targets, but Hershel stops them, because they are shooting at the Thompson’s house, which was on the other side of the fence.
A zombie then appears, and Hershel takes hold of it and attempts to force it inside the barn. However, a large zombie was leaning against the door and knocks both Hershel and the other zombie to the ground. The door ajar, zombies begin spilling out of the barn. Arnold saves his father from an attack, but is bitten by Shawn in the process. Lacey Greene is devoured by a group of zombies as well. Upon seeing this, Hershel has a change of heart and joins Rick’s group in putting down the zombies, killing Shawn, Arnold, and Lacey. Hershel puts the gun to his head and is about to pull the trigger when Rick stops him.
The devastated group holds a funeral service for all the dead, where Hershel acknowledges that Rick was right about the undead. Julie and Chris go to Tyreese, asking him if they should return the guns from the practice as they still have them. For their safety, Tyreese says they should hold onto them, but be very careful. They go off on their own and talk about completing some plan using the guns.
Discussion / Thoughts:
This book starts off intensely with Rick and Hershel’s conversation about the undead and the zombies in the barn nearly turning into a brawl. Tryreese plays the peacekeeper when everyone else is too stunned to do anything. The only thing the two agreed on in this whole argument is that they don’t know what caused this to happen.
The next morning Rick does the respectable thing that everyone most likely thought he would. He goes to Herschel and apologizes. Once accepted he then offers guns and gun training which Herschel accepts gladly.
Gun training does not go smoothly either. Rick has them practicing where he thought it was safe and OK. However, he’s actually got them shooting a neighbor’s house. Herschel still holds out hope that his neighbors will recover and live there again. Before practice can be moved a walker appears. Herschel does his thing and then goes to put it in the barn. Sadly, this goes terribly wrong. Two more of his children wind up getting bitten. He nearly commits suicide as a result. It’s a painful way to learn a lesson of this magnitude. He now along with everyone else puts down all the walkers he’d been keeping in his barn. They hold a funeral for his three children who are now dead in the hopes that they may be at rest now.
Julie and Chris are a bit odd at the end. They have kept the guns from the practice and even ask Tyreese if it’s ok with him if they carry them. He agrees after the barn incident. It’s what they say after that leaves me confused and worried. They are talking about a plan they have. I hope it’s not to kill Tyreese so that they can do whatever they want. His daughter seems like a good kid under Chris’s bad influence.
Categories: Podcasts, Wonder Woman Comic Book Podcast