This is the episode where Rick begins his transformation from law man to post apocalyptic warrior. Shane has been intimating for a while now that things are just different and there’s no method to the madness anymore. People will die, people will be killed and people have to be sacrificed. Maybe Otis needed to be sacrificed, or maybe not. Shane definitely felt it was worth sacrificing Otis to get to Carl. Would Shane and he have made it out of the school if Shane didn’t kill Otis and leave him behind? Who knows? I’m not saying what he did was justified; it’s just the law of the new land.
When Rick completely stores his sheriff’s uniform and badge in to a drawer, it’s the hint that this is no longer a man following a code. He’s no longer living by normal rational guidelines that we all once lived by.
This is a world where anything goes, now. Shane displayed that, and Rick has seen it over and over, from his experience with the vatos, right down to Merle. Rick has finally admitted to himself that he’s simply not a law enforcer because there is no law. There is no order. Carl lies in bed recovering from surgery thanks to a senseless accident, and were it not for Shane he’d likely be dead.
This is the episode that focuses on the development two character dynamics as well: The beginning of Maggie and Glenn’s romance, and Daryl’s evolution in to an anti-hero. It’s hinted that Sophia managed to live a lot longer than we originally thought, as he finds a can of sardines and a small blanket in a closet, but it’s never confirmed. There’s heavy implication that she survived before being taken by the walkers, but we’ll never know for sure. That’s probably what’s most gut wrenching about Sophia’s story.
We’ll never really know what her last moments involved; we just know that she’s missing, and likely dead. Glenn and Maggie’s bonding and eventual affair is different this time out from the comics. In the comics Maggie seems to sleep with Glenn mainly because there’s simply no one else around, but here Maggie approaches Glenn because he’s much more assertive. This Glenn has a different attitude and persona and I appreciate Yeun’s portrayal. Glenn is so much more passive in the comics than he is here, and I like that Maggie sees something in Glenn that makes her drop her skivvies and sleep with him.
The situations in which they sleep with one another are also very different, but I’m okay with that. I’m just glad they’ve gone whole hog with the Maggie and Glenn romantic storyline, as we don’t often see Asian men taking the sexual roles in American pop culture too often. I always chuckle a little bit when she takes off his cap to get down and dirty with him. It’s kind of the evolution of the character from young man to adult male. Lauren Cohan is a gorgeous goddess, and she’s perfect as Maggie, here. She has that farmer’s daughter forbidden fruit quality that makes Glenn all the luckier for being chosen by her.
I could never have sex in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, no matter how sexy the woman is, but suspension of disbelief, and all that. I especially enjoy the scene with the well, as it’s a foreshadowing of things to come. Did anyone else see that walker down there for so long? Why didn’t anyone do a thing about it? Mostly, it’s Glenn being assertive again, and it’s a sketchy proposition when you consider Shane is leading the charge to get Glenn in to the well. He just sacrificed Otis, I think he’d also be willing to sacrifice Glenn. The scene is grotesque, but definitely serves a crucial significance to the season. All in all, “Cherokee Rose” is a solid episode that sets up a lot of storylines for the future, including Glenn and Maggie, and Lori’s pregnancy. Whose baby is it? I guess that’s one for the ages.