Previously on The Walking Dead: Zombies ruin everything. Okay, it wasn’t quite that cut-and-dried, but almost. Survivors of an apocalyptic plague that turned the majority of the world’s population into mindless, flesh-eating zombies, escaped Atlanta, and tried to make their way to a military installation. Their journey was derailed by a disabled vehicle, and a herd of zombies that chased one of the children from their party into the woods. During the search to find her, the other child in their group is felled by a bullet from an unseen gun.

Flashback: Lori chats with a friend at the schoolyard, while they wait for their children, about a fight that she and Rick have had. As they talk, police vehicles pull up and when she sees Shane with serious expression getting out of the car, she immediately knows what has happened. Shane tells her that Rick has been injured in the line of duty, and is in surgery. He takes the blame for Rick’s injury, saying he wasn’t fast enough to save his friend. She is stunned, and trying to process it, when they see Carl coming towards them. Shane watches from a distance as Lori breaks the news to her son.

Back in the present, Rick sprints through a field, carrying his unconscious son. He weeps as he runs, and nearly stumbles. Shane and a man dressed in hunting gear, and carrying a rifle, run after him. Shane hisses at the man to keep up, and Rick screams “How far?” at the man. The heavyset man, points and tells him half a mile. and to find Herschel, who will help his boy. Rick continues in his desperate race to save his son. He sees a large farmhouse, and struggles to reach it. On the farmhouse porch, a young woman with field glasses watches his approach, and alerts her father.  A small group of people come out of the house, armed and suspicious. As a breathless, gasping Rick gets to the house, Herschel asks if Carl was bitten. Rick briefly explains what happened, and Herschel quickly ushers them into the house to help. He calls out for people in the house to bring him supplies, and it sounds like he has at least a passing acquaintance with medical treatment. Herschel quickly begins treating a gray, lifeless-appearing Carl on the bed,  while a desperate, grief-stricken Rick hovers nearby. When Herschel is able to find a faint pulse on Carl, the others tell Rick to step aside, so they can help his son. As he backs away, he notices Shane, and the hunter Otis, running up to the house.

Rick, covered in his son’s blood, comes out to the porch, where Otis anxiously asks about Carl. A visibly distraught Rick is unable to answer, and wipes his forehead, leaving a bloody smear. Shane lowers his pack, reaching inside it as he comforts Rick. He pulls out a cloth and gently wipes Rick’s forehead, shushing him and helping his friend. They go back into the bedroom, where Rick answers questions about Carl, and Otis (played by splendid character actor Pruitt Taylor Vince) who is clearly devastated by what he has unwittingly done. As Herschel works on Carl, Rick realizes that Lori doesn’t know what has happened, and finally breaks down.

Lori and the others are making their way back, through the woods, when Lori pauses, to look around. Daryl, Carol, Lori and the others discuss what the single gunshot they heard may have meant, and what they should do now. They continue to make their way through the woods, looking for Sophia as they go.  Andrea expresses sympathy for what Carol is going through, and says that they are all praying for Sophia’s safe return. Daryl angrily comes up and tells them that prayer is a waste of everyone’s time.

Back on the highway Dale continues to tinker with engines, and T-Dog expresses concern that the others aren’t back yet. Dale becomes worried about T-Dog’s wounded arm. It is becoming dangerously infected and the men decide they need to look for antibiotics in the abandoned cars.  When T-Dog is looking in one of the cars, he finds a cigarette, and something else as well, a blood-spattered car seat, which evokes a strong reaction in him. Deeply affected by the sight, he rushes away.

At the farmhouse, Rick has begun second-guessing his decisions and is blaming himself. Shane tries to talk him down, but Rick refuses to be consoled. Maggie, Herschel’s daughter comes to find Rick, telling him that Carl needs a transfusion of Rick’s blood. Rick goes in, to find Carl awake and shrieking in pain, as Herschel tries to remove the bullet fragments from his wound. Rick is forced to stand and watch his child be operated on without the benefit of anasthesia (or doctors, for that matter.)  They frantically work to get blood from Rick to Carl, as Carl passes out from the pain. Herschel removes a fragment saying, “One down. Five to go.” Gahhh.

Later, Carl rests peacefully as Herschel checks his vital signs, which are stable for the moment. Rick wants to go and get Lori, but Herschel shuts him down with no argument, telling him that he can’t leave Carl’s side, because Carl will need more transfusions. Defeated, Rick and Shane leave the room and tell a waiting Otis and the others that Carl is stable for the time being.  Rick tells Shane that Lori needs to be notified, and Shane says that he will handle it. Shane then tells Rick firmly, but kindly that Rick needs to get his act together and be there for his son. Rick realizes that Shane is right. Shane tells Rick about when Lori’s strength when Rick was injured, and that now Carl needs that same strength from Rick. Herschel comes out and says that Carl is out of danger for the moment, but that is the only good news. There are still more bullet fragments that are buried deeper, that must be removed, and Carl is showing signs of internal bleeding. He needs substantial surgery, and that means proper anasthesia, and surgical equipment, none of which they have. Otis steps up and suggests that a local high school that was turned into a FEMA shelter might have what they need, but it was overrun with walkers. Shane offers to go, and Otis with a resolute expression says that he will take him. As a volunteer EMT, Otis has the familiarity and experience to know what Herschel will need. Maggie, Herschel’s daughter, asks Rick where Lori is. Back in the woods, the searchers decide to head back for the day, and continue their search in the morning. Otis and Shane head off, with few weapons, and not a whole lot of time to spare.

On the highway, T-Dog says that they have been left behind because they are the weakest of the group. Dale is the oldest at 64, and T-Dog is the lone minority.  He cites two good-ol’ boys and a trigger happy redneck, who will leave them behind at the first opportunity. Dale reminds him that “the redneck” saved his life on more than one occasion, but remains doubtful about the stability of their group. He gets louder and more frantic, wanting to take the RV and head out before the others get back. Dale realizes that T-Dog has a high fever, and forces some medicine on him. The people in the woods near the roadway, Andrea is set upon by a walker, who is almost upon her (as in, he is literally on her and about to start chowing down.) Maggie rides up, on a horse, wielding a baseball bat, which she uses like a polo mallet, and wallops the walker into the middle of next week, just as the rest of the group comes racing up to them. She quickly finds Lori, and tells her about Carl. Lori digests this and gets on the horse, as Daryl protests. Lori quickly gives Glenn directions to their farm, and gallops off. The walker regains consciousness, briefly, but Daryl quickly kills him with a shot from his crossbow.

When they get back and fill Dale in, he is incredulous about everything that has happened, and is very concerned about Andrea’s close call. Andrea seems to be having a bit of a day, clearly still rattled from her brush with death. When he asks how she is, she just looks at him in disgust and shakes her head.  If Dale had just left her to die, she wouldn’t be having to put up with this nonsense. Poor Dale.

Rick and Herschel survey the quiet fields, and Rick marvels at how peaceful it is. Herschel reminds him that when the epidemic hit, they lost people too; his wife, his stepson, and other friends. The people at the farm just want to ride out the crisis until a cure is found. Rick tells him that they were at the CDC, and that there is no cure. Herschel remains calm, and assures Rick that mankind has endured plagues before, that nature is just restoring some sort of balance to the world. Rick isn’t quite so sure. They see Maggie and Lori ride up, and Rick goes to meet her. They clutch at each other in anguish. When Lori goes in the house and sees Carl, she falls apart momentarily, but goes to him and lies by his side, whispering to him that she is there, and she will take care of them.

Rick gives Carl more blood, and Rick feeling the effects of the transfusions and exhaustion, is dizzy and disoriented. He takes some juice from Herschel, as Lori questions him about what comes next. She asks Herschel if he has done the procedure before, and Herschel tells her that he has, in a manner of speaking. He is a doctor, but not quite the kind she has in mind.  He is a veterinarian.  She gets a bit short with him (A questionable strategy for dealing with someone, upon whom you are depending on to save your child’s life, I think.) but he is unruffled, and politely tells her that they are all in over their heads, not just him.

Otis and Shane approach the seemingly deserted high school, but as they crest the hill, they see dozens, if not hundreds of walkers milling about. Bad luck.  Otis shows Shane a large, mobile medical trailer which is likely to have what they need.

Back on the highway, Carol argues that they can’t leave for the farm, without her daughter, lest she come back. Dale wants to split the party, and have Glenn take a vehicle and T-Dog to the farm to meet up with their group, and get medical assistance for T-Dog, who is rapidly getting worse. Glenn argues, but Dale says that T-Dog will die without medication. Hearing this, Daryl ambles over to his brother’s motorcyle and plugs out a gallon ziploc full of pharmaceuticals, most of them highly illegal. He does have antibiotics though, which he immediately gives to Dale for T-Dog. So much for T-Dog’s fever-induced racist redneck theory.

Night is falling, and the zombie herd is restless. Shane and Otis quietly raid a police car, and find flares which they use to create a distraction for the zombies. The walkers shuffle towards the bright flares, while Shane and Otis take the opportunity to sprint towards the trailer.

Carl is deteriorating, and Rick wants to go after supplies, assuming that something went wrong with Shane’s mission. Lori and Herschel again make sure that Rick understands he can’t go anywhere.

Shane and Otis fumble in the darkness of the trailer, gathering the supplies that they need. As they open the door to the trailer, the walkers become aware of them, and the guys make a run for it, with the walkers in hot pursuit.  And once again, I feel I must  point out that the walkers are able to shuffle much more quickly than I am comfortable with.  They are soon cornered, and have to seek refuge in the deserted high school, shooting their way in, then pulling a gate across the doors and locking it just in the nick of time. They are safe for the moment, but not going anywhere, which is bad news for Carl.

Tracy Maher is a party planning guru and director of marketing for DiscountPartySupplies.com. She has a husband, three children, and a cat that should be registered as a lethal weapon. She throws many parties, mainly as an excuse to cook (and eat) a lot of food! She really recommends that you have a therapist on speed-dial, to help you calm down after watching The Walking Dead.