The Walking Dead: A Look Inside Sick And A Walk With Me Promo And Clip

We continue to see Rick's character tested on The Walking Dead. Last season, one of the bigger lines drawn took place in the bar when Rick had to kill those two guys, and we saw it again last night as Rick and his group encountered a handful of prisoners who have somehow been spared, thus far, the nightmares that have been taking place on the outside.

It's strange to think that anyone could be existing in a bubble somewhere that allows them to be virtually untouched by the horrors that have been taking place in the world. That was the case for this cluster of prisoners, who were locked away in a cafeteria, unaware of what's happening in the world. Their encounter with Rick and his group just after Hershel's leg was brutally amputated was just the start of their eye-opening experience.

In any other situation, the hardened prisoners would likely have had the advantage over average citizens (law enforcers or not) in a kill-or-be-killed scenario. And maybe that's what Tomas and his guys assumed when Rick showed a shred of mercy on them by letting them have their own cell block in exchange for helping them clear it out. These guys had no idea what they were dealing with, and that became especially clear when they approached the challenging of killing walkers by beating them together and stabbing them repeatedly in the chest - a lot of wasted energy. Head! Go for the head! Tomas also clearly underestimated Rick when he thought putting him in harm's way would be a good idea. The lesson to be learned there - if your'e going to try to get Rick killed, get the job done. Tomas never had the chance to learn from his mistake.

Rick killing Tomas with the machete was another line crossed. When he shot the two guys in the bar last season, they were going for their guns. That was a very clear self-defense situation. In this case, maybe Tomas was planning to throw-down with Rick right then and there. Or maybe he was just sizing him up for later. But after he nearly hit Rick with his ax and then shoved a zombie in Rick's direction, he made it pretty clear that he's a problem. And Rick's margin for mercy these days is apparently paper thin. I like to think Rick saw two different futures play out as he stared Tomas down, and then decided that the one where Tomas wasn't around was the better one for his group. Lori told him to handle the situation with a clear conscience and Tomas' actions allowed Rick to do that. Of course, letting the other guy get eaten by a bunch of walkers seemed like a harsh sentence, but Rick didn't appear to be especially remorseful over it afterward.

The video below looks inside "Sick," and features the cast talking about the episode. It also includes a replay of Rick's machete-moment.



It seemed vital that Hershel survive. If he didn't, we wouldn't have really known for sure if amputation was a way to quickly remedy a walker bite. Assuming he doesn't start showing signs of a fever, it seems safe to assume that if you cut the limb off early enough, the virus won't spread.

As much as I hate to say it, way to go Lori for saving Hershel. Not only did Lori manage to keep Hershel alive (Carol also gets credit for exercising her medical training by applying bandages), but she got Rick's attention. Now, if she could only get Carl to stop talking to her like she's nothing. Carl and Lori not getting along is making it really difficult for me to figure out which character I like less.

On a side-note, I kind of like those two surviving prisoners. I wonder if there's any chance they'd get to join the group.

Moving on to next week's episode! Will we finally get to meet the Governor? Looks like it! Here's the promo for "Walk With Me," which appears to check in with Andrea and Michonne.



Helicopter crash! The clip below shows Andrea and Michonne spotting the crash.



The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET on AMC.