The Walking Dead Mid-Season Finale (2011)

This was an excellent episode. Just heartbreaking. I am going to delve into spoilers or else I can't really talk about this episode.

For awhile now The Walking Dead has gotten 'slower' and focused more on the humans than the zombies. This angered people that wanted their zombie show to be focused on zombies. One person on The Walking Dead Facebook Page said that the title refers to the survivors and not the zombies.

If this is true, then it makes sense for the show to focus more on the human characters.

Throughout Season 2 (up to this point) finding Sophia has been of the most importance. Rick and gang are staying at Hershel's farm and won't leave until Sophia is found.

By this episode these things happened:

Lori (Rick's Wife) is Pregnant
When Shane finds out he tries to say he's better than Rick (since he thinks he's the father, as do a lot of the viewers). The rift between the two is shown. While Shane did have a moment last season of showing this it was more of a secret (though it's shown in this episode Dale did know about it).

Possible Daryl and Carol Relationship Implied
Okay, yeah, this is shipping. But the two have been growing closer all season as Daryl became more human. In the scene where a possible relationship is implied it is shown that Daryl still has his old feelings and that Carol cares for him (so much that she would abandon the search for Sophia to spare Daryl's life).

Shane and Dale Showdown
Dale is finally acting on his suspicions of Shane. He takes the group's guns in an attempt to hide them so that Shane can't do any harm. When Shane finds Dale things come out that show that Dale is correct in his suspicions. While Dale's warning to Andrea of Shane (since she is now in a relationship with him, secretly) may seem controlling. Dale is right to be worried.

The ENDING
This is by far the best, saddest, and most messed up part of this episode. Shane finally loses his shit and it leads to a slaughtering of all the Walkers living in the barn. While this scene is disturbing it doesn't hold up to when they find Sophia. This show takes a lot of risks and having a child becoming a zombie and then being killed takes a lot of balls.

I was pitying Shane for the last episode or two but now I'm back to hating him. His philosophies are good but he takes them in a very dark direction. While Shane can do more stuff in the face of danger, Rick is the more human of the group. And, when you're trying to keep humanity alive, being human is very important.

I liked that Sophia was found and that her death really meant something. It meant that the group could see from Hershel's point of view. Plus, with the Barn Walkers Massacre, Hershel could understand the groups point of view.

Now I can't wait for the second part of Season 2! February can't come soon enough!