Chad L. Coleman as Tyreese in The Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 2
Warning: This Walking Dead Season 4 post contains spoilers. Please wait until after watching, before reading further.
The Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 2 (Infected) proves that the show’s writers haven’t lost their penchant for eerie openings. This episode’s pre-credits sequence is creepy as f*** and it’s not just because it follows the season premiere’s foreboding ending.
In his opening, director Guy Ferland tantalizes us with a mysterious figure feeding walkers live rats at the prison’s outer fence. Then Ferland transitions indoors, where Tyreese sings to his girlfriend Karen. After that, he follows Karen as she travels perilously toward the newly zombified Patrick. Until she retires safely to her cell, Ferland has you on the edge of your seat because you’re suspicious that undead Patrick could jump out at any moment. Ferland finally delivers the gore you’re expecting, when he has walker Patrick chomp into the juicy throat of some poor sleeping guy. And…cue the show’s opening credits.
During the chaotic events that follow in The Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 2, there are several haunting scenes that stick with you long after the end credits.
- Cell block D’s fight for survival
- Michonne’s tearful breakdown
- Pig sacrifice to the walkers
- Rick’s fire and rearming
- Discovery of Karen’s torched remains
The fight in cell block D is unforgettable because the episode’s music reaches a peak that deftly conveys the frantic tragedy of the situation. Then as things settle down, the score comes crashing down, leaving you emotionally winded. Michonne’s breakdown while holding baby Judith is memorable since she hardly shows emotion. While she sheds tears, you can’t help wondering if she lost a child of her own. Rick’s sacrifice of his pigs for the safety of his settlement gives horrifying validity to the expression “bleeding like a stuck pig” as he cuts them and throws the unfortunate squealing animals to their death. The spray of blood and somber music here are gut wrenching. Following that mess, when Rick burns the pig area and puts his gun belt back on, you become certain that there’s nothing but trouble ahead for him. Lastly, Tyreese’s discovery of the bloody trail to Karen’s burned body is heartbreaking since he never got a chance to say goodbye or know for sure that she turned.
Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 2 provides answers on how Patrick got sick (pig meat) and whose gun Rick dug out of the garden (Carl’s). However the episode leaves us with a brand new questions as well. Who burned Karen’s body and why? Plus the subject of this week’s poll: Who is feeding the walkers rats?
Who do you think torched Karen and why? Click here to leave me a comment.