'The Walking Dead' Recap: Season 4 Episode 2 'Infection'

And so ends the post-apocalyptic prison utopia. In “Infection” The Walking Dead broke up the daily prison routine and the brief hope of a semi-safe society that the premiere set up. Amid some odd character choices some more of the current societal structure was revealed in addition to Rick’s conundrum.

All hope for character change or relationships was seemingly vanquished in “Infection.” Whether it was Tyreese’s doomed from the start romance or Rick’s apparent new leaf turning, it all came crashing down when Patrick (in death, a member of the prison society has a name…) had his completely inexplicable death, and consequent zombification, explained away by some random flu virus. Conveniently Patrick at the larynx of his first victim, which allowed for the zombie attack from within to begin.

After many of the unknown characters were killed off due to this zombie attack Hershel and the gang discovered the means of Patrick’s death and realized that this could happen again if anyone was infected during their trip to cell block D. This “answered” the question of how Patrick could have died simply by collapsing in the shower at the end of last week’s episode. In another twist of fortune it seems no one else was infected by the virus aside from Tyreese’s new girl and someone named Dave.

While this storyline was a longtime coming it felt too rushed in the grand scheme of things for the season. The Walking Dead has never been known to have anything aside from its zombies slowly decay but the decay of the prison settlement could have been a nice first for the series. Instead of having the long and crushing drawn out demise of the prison it seemed, for the most part, that “Infection” let everyone know just how unsafe all aspects of the prison are, whether it is the possibility of zombification of one of the citizens or the very flimsy chain link fences.

Patrick’s buffet also thrust Rick back into the world of violence, which he had apparently been trying to avoid because of Carl. And while Rick definitely did seem to be a more peaceful man in the first episode “Infection” had to make sure to hammer the point home that Rick had given up his violent ways as it wasn’t evidently clear without spelling it out. Even after the quick shooting Rick defended cellblock D he seemed to fight demons as he impaled walker heads on his pointy stick as the fence was beginning to bend. Having such a change for Rick’s character, especially after last year’s war, is an interesting turn for the character. But the fact that it seems to be over now and that the audience to get to see his transformation or his transformed self for more than an episode makes this whole arc moot and doesn’t affect the audience as much as it should. By the end of “Infection” Rick has decided keeping guns off his, and Carl’s person, is too dangerous in case of a zombie invasion.

However, the whole reason the zombies were so gung ho to topple the fence in the first place does offer the show some mystery intrigue. It seems as though someone has been feeding the walkers rats through the fence. Possibly the same person also decided to kill and burn the quarantined Dave and Tyreese’s girl. Hopefully this plot arc will continue for a few episodes with the mystery man’s deeds escalating in nature. And while a more meaningful end to the prison would be simply because there is no safe place in this world, the saboteur and his identity do offer some extra appeal to the show.

“Infection” also gave the audience its first glimpse at the governing structure of the prison. The council that was revealed in the premiere episode was shown trying to figure out what to do about the possibility of the flu spreading. And while there weren’t any surprising members, aside from Sasha perhaps, it brings about questions of the governing structure. How are the council members elected, if at all? What exactly is their job – do they make laws for the civilization or just deal with problems? And is Rick or someone else the main leader? Or is the council the main governing body? While most of these questions won’t be answered it would be an interesting exploration into the life that the prison survivors have created for themselves.

Shoehorned into the size five episode were Carol’s size seven feet. Aside from being there to try and save and then later kill one of the bitten cellblock D people, Carol’s sensibilities and timing felt completely off. While it makes sense for her character to be worried about children learning survival skills, her demeaning display of one of the daughters of the aforementioned deceased made no sense. Those two children – who she vowed to look after as her own – clearly needed a shoulder to cry on not to be chewed out because they couldn’t kill their dad’s corpse. Later, when she went to talk to Carl, she also seemed too forceful and demanding in asking Carl not to tell Rick about her story time weapons training as he built gravesite crosses for the recently deceased. Her character seemed too cold and unsympathetic, which isn’t who she has been the entirety of the show.

“Infection” raised a lot of interesting questions, both intentionally and unintentionally, that seemed to set up some arcs for the main characters and one major plot arc. It was sad to see the prison’s semi-utopian society end so quickly before the audience could talk themselves into the possibility of a safe society in a world filled with zombies. Between Michonne’s odd reaction to holding baby Judith and Rick’s existential deliberations The Walking Dead could offer an extra layer it really hasn’t had in season’s past. Hopefully some of these character arcs won’t be rushed through just everyone can satiate their zombie bloodlust.