Although fans of the series peg the finale as the best episode of the series, I much prefer “Pretty Much Dead Already.” It’s when the survivors really go for each other’s throats, and the cast’s performances are top notch. Particularly Jon Bernthal who is just a bull dog ready to do whatever it takes to keep himself safe. Hershel’s big secret was a gruesome one in the comics, and here it works to the same effect.

Hershel is convinced the dead are just sick people, and he’s convinced his family of the same idea. And this has pretty much halted their survival, for better and for worse. They’re lucky they’ve been generally untouched by the apocalypse, but living in such denial eventually leads to catastrophe.

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This is the episode where it all begins to unfold. For readers of the comics, we already know what was in the barn and why Hershel was so protective of it, but here we finally see what the secrets cost everyone. Glenn is very lucky he didn’t just jump in to the barn preparing for Maggie. Investigating goes a long way in the zombie apocalypse, folks. This opening is much screwier than most episodes of the show as Carl is being his usual petulant self to Lori, while Hershel’s helper Patricia hobbles a bunch of chickens to feed to the walkers in the barn. The show has a penchant for animal cruelty, but it also serves to emphasize the eat or be eaten mentality that the world has become.

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