All Bets For Safety In The Prison Are Off

This week on The Walking Dead, more people we barely know die, Rick kills his pigs, and Michonne cries. At the end of last week's episode, we left Patrick dead on the floor of the prison’s shower. We meet him again this week as a walker, the first inside the prison walls this season. He manages to stumble into the cell of another former Woodbury resident, chomp into his throat, and munch on him for most of the night. By morning, Patrick’s dinner also turns and the two head out to wreak havoc on the rest of cell block D, leaving a number of people dead. This is the first time we get to meet some of the 40 or more people who are at the prison at this point, and of course none of the casualties of this attack are any of the key players. There are a couple of close calls for Michonne and Glenn, but that’s about it.But, after tonight’s episode, it seems like all bets for safety at the prison are off — the walkers that are building up outside the fences aren’t showing up by accident. Someone on the inside is feeding them a tasty meal of rats each night. Could it be Lizzy? She has a strange attachment to the walkers, not to mention she cries more over the death of Nick-The-Zombie than the death of her own dad. (Really, what is the deal with her?) When the fence nearly gives in completely from the walker buildup, Farmer Rick is the one to save the day, sacrificing his prized pigs for the safety of the prison.Everyone at the prison has been exposed to a new type of infection. Patrick wasn’t the only person who dies without being bit. The weird red eyes from so-called “internal lung pressure build-up” are also seen on Charlie and a walker that Rick was particularly hung up on last week. So the possible flu, as Herschel postulates, is killing people in less than a day. At this point, the only known symptom is coughing — but be careful not to cough in front of just anyone! Karen shows signs of illness and is quarantined, as is another person who shows signs of the lethal flu. Before these two even have the chance to get better (or worse), someone kills them and burns the bodies. This cuts the blossoming love story between Tyreese and Karen short, but really, how can anyone there expect to start a deep meaningful relationship without one of them winding up dead? (Or worse, a ghost.)During this episode, we also see another side of the women we thought we knew. Carol, the leader of the prison’s secret youth self-defense group, is now the caretaker of Lizzy and Mika after their dad dies in the Patrick-related chaos. Her once-fragile persona is now ready to take on the task of toughening the girls up. On the other hand, emotionless Michonne is hung up on the fact that Carl and Maggie risked their lives to help save hers. Later, when she reluctantly holds Baby Judith, she breaks down in tears, possibly overcome with the idea that she cares deeply about the group. But fingers crossed that her sensitive side won’t impact her mission for vengeance against the Governor!In the end, Rick gives Carl his gun back, so what does that mean? Is Rick ready to give up on his newfound love of dirt and cucumbers already? Just when we thought Daryl might be ready to step up as the leader, Rick could be back. Let’s just hope he doesn’t fly off the handle this season.

Image: Gene Page/AMC