Month: November 2020

Tell It to the Frogs opens with Merle on the roof, rambling, nearly delirious, remembering time he spent in the stockade. The reality of his situation has set in. All the noise Merle is making brings the walkers up to the doorway. The only thing holding them back is the chain T-Dog secured the door with.

The more noise Merle makes, the harder the walkers push to get get through, but as Merle climbs under the pipes, trying to hide, he sees the tools that T-Dog dropped as he fled. Merle takes off his belt to try to reach the tool which is just out of his reach.

Back in the box van Morales tells Rick not to feel bad. No one is going to miss Merle, except for maybe his brother Daryl. This is the first time we get introduced to Daryl. Daryl is one of the all time best characters in the series. Comment below if you disagree!

As Rick steers the box van back to camp Glenn flies by, the alarm still going off, whooping in joy as he drives the Charger.

Camp

Back in camp Lori, Carl, and Shane are sitting in a circle. Lori is cutting Carl’s hair as Shane cleans a firearm, telling Carl he’s going to teach him how to catch frogs.

Glenn shows up first, the car alarm still going off. Shane is angry. Glenn just rang the dinner bell all the way back to their camp!

Andrea is the first one out of the truck. Her sister Amy runs and gives her a hug, relieved her sister made it out alive.

Morales and his family are next and there are hugs all around as the scavengers celebrate making it back to camp. Shane asks how they got out, the last thing he heard on the radio was that they were surrounded and in trouble. Glenn tells Shane the new guy got them out. Morales call out to “Hey, helicopter boy!” and Rick comes walking into frame. I think the look on Shane’s face says just about everything we need to know.

Rick Is Back

Rick and Shane stare at each other but then Rick sees Lori and Carl just behind him and the world narrows down. For Rick, all he sees is his family. The other survivors are in shock, not expecting the newcomer to have ties to their band. Rick clutches Carl to his chest, both of them crying as he carries his son towards Lori.

Lori’s initial reaction appears to be fear? Or maybe guilt? Guilt that she’s already jumped into bed with her not long dead husbands patrol partner? Rick and Lori were having issues before the apocalypse started. Maybe it started before the walkers started biting?

Lori recovers and hugs Rick, but her face is still more shock than joy. She looks over at Shane who just nods quietly, not knowing what to say or do. Is Lori crying tears of relief? Or are they guilt and surprise?

Campfire

In the next scene its night and Rick is sitting around the fire with his family and the other survivors, telling them what it was like to wake up in their new world.

The worst part is when Rick is thanking Shane for taking care of his family while he wasn’t there. Clearly Rick doesn’t realize just how much “taking care” of his wife Shane was doing.

We are then introduced to Ed, Carol, and Sophia Peletier. Ed built the fire up too high, and Shane makes him pull some wood off the fire so they can’t be seen. Or more correctly, Shane tells him to do it, and Ed makes his wife Carol do it.

Back at the fire the scavengers are discussing what to do about Daryl. Who is going to tell Daryl they left Merle behind? Dale warns them that when Daryl gets back its going to be a rough conversation. This is when T-Dog tells them he chained the door shut and Merle is probably still alive.

Rick puts Carl to bed before going to Lori, kissing her before lying down behind her.

Shook

Lori still looks more shocked than happy that Rick survived. This really annoys me. As they lay there Rick tells her he knew he’d find her. That he knew she was alive the moment he went to their house and saw that pictures and family albums were gone. Lori tells him she really didn’t think she’d ever see him again, and apologizes, telling him she wants to take back the anger and the mistakes. Rick tells her its okay, they got a second chance, which not many people get. We then find out the ring on her necklace is Rick’s wedding band, and she asks if he wants it back. Lori turns out the lantern, leading Rick to look over at Carl. Lori tell him Carl won’t wake up, which really creeped me out even further. How many times has she banged Shane with her son a few feet away? How else could she be so sure? It’s not like Rick was gone for year! How long could Rick possibly have been gone at this point? Two weeks? Three weeks? And she’s already jumped right into bed with Shane?

Outside, Shane is standing watch, but he’s really just watching Lori’s tent, knowing what’s likely going on.

Morning

When Rick gets up the camp is already in full gear. Carol has washed Rick’s clothing while Dale and team are stripping the Charger for parts, much to Glen’s dismay. Rick and Lori are discussing if it makes sense to go back for Merle when Carl starts screaming. There is a walker just outside camp, eating a deer that had been wounded by a hunter.

Rick and the others then go to town on the walker, beating it to death before Dale takes its head off with an axe.

We then get introduced to Daryl Dixon in the flesh for the first time!

Daryl is pissed that the walker got his deer and proceeds to kick the walker a few times. He is raw and hot headed, but he’s brought back some squirrel to eat, so he does put food on the table.

Where Is Merle?

As Daryl is calling for Merle to help him process his game, Shane tells him he needs to tell him something, which is when Rick steps up and just lays it out. Merle was a danger to them all and he handcuffed him to a roof. Daryl is not happy to say the least. He goes to take a swing at Rick but Shane stops him, putting him in a headlock which Daryl reminds him is illegal.

After Daryl calms down Rick agrees to go back to help Daryl save his brother. Shane doesn’t understand why Rick would go back for Merle. Rick twists Glenn’s arm to help. Glenn knows the way and has been in and out in the past. Shane is against anyone going, but Rick convinces Shane it’s worth it if they can get the guns Rick left behind.

Things get more emotional as Lori and Carl beg him not to, but Rick needs the bag not just for the guns, but for the walkie talkie he promised Morgan he’d connect on. Rick wants to warn Morgan that Atlanta isn’t safe.

Rick’s last stop is Dale’s RV where he bargains for a set of bolt cutters before heading out. As Rick is leaving Shane gives Rick his last 4 four rounds for Rick’s Colt Python.

Rescue Team

As Merle’s rescue team decides on their best course of action Andrea, Amy, Carol and Jacqui are scrubbing clothes, discussing the things they miss from the old days. Jacqui misses her coffee maker while Andrea and Carol miss their vibrators, which makes them all start laughing. Not far away the laughter draws Ed’s attention. Ed tells Carol to do her work and basically shut up, they aren’t in a comedy club. Andrea confronts Ed and things start to get ugly. Ed is completely willing to hit Andrea. Shane stops him. Violently. Shane is taking out his anger on the abusive husband.

Back in the main camp Lori is looking for Carl, which brings her down to the water to confront Shane.

Lori is pissed and tells Shane to stay away from her, Carl, and her family. Shane is the one who told her that Rick was dead, and that somehow makes it all Shane’s fault that she started to bang her dead husband’s partner before the body was even cold? I get it, she thought Rick was dead and she needed emotional support, but still, she has to take some responsibility right?

As the drama is unfolding in the quarry Merle’s rescue team is making it to the roof of the department store in Atlanta which leads to one of the huge cliffhangers that won’t be resoled for multiple seasons.

Merle is gone, or at least most of Merle is gone. The only thing left on the roof is the hacksaw and his hand.

Tell It to the Frogs Scoring

Tell It to the Frogs scored a 95/100, making it Worth Your Time. It was a strong, emotional filled episode with lots of revelations, but it only had a few scenes with walkers in it, which cost it a few points. Still, what other series is averaging a 98.3 in its first three episodes?

See how all Zombie Series rank here!

Guts opens up on Lori and Shane’s survivor group. We get introduced to characters we saw but didn’t really hear much from in Days Gone Bye. The first of which is Dale, who is dutifully watching over the camp from on top of the RV. We know he’s a good guy because Lori trusts him to watch over Carl if she needs to leave camp.

Lori is Whorey

Lori is in the woods when she hears movement. She nearly pees herself when Shane grabs her and pulls her to the ground. The two quickly get down to business. Shane pauses when he sees her wedding ring on a necklace and they don’t continue until she takes it off.

We then cut back to the tank where Rick is swarmed with walkers.

Glenn informs Rick he’s in trouble, but at least he’s got Glenn’s eyes outside helping him find the path of least resistance. On top of that Rick finds a grenade near the dead crew member. Glenn pushes Rick to run for it while the walkers are distracted with their horse dinner.

Rick makes it down the street and almost pops Glenn before his new friend leads him to the safety of a fire escape. Glenn then tells Rick what a dumbass he is again. As they flee across the roof Rick asks Glenn why he helped, and I love Glenn’s answer.

Rick: “Back at the tank, why’d you stick your neck out for me?”

Glenn: “Call it foolish, naïve hope that if I’m ever that far up shit creek, somebody might do the same for me. Guess I’m an even bigger dumbass than you.”

The exchange just shows Glenn’s nature. He’s a realist, but a glass half full type of guy at the same time.

Andrea

As Glenn and Rick flee down into the building Glenn radios out that he’s got a guest. Several people come out to bash some walkers as Glenn leads Rick into the relative safety of his friend’s company. At least until Andrea puts a gun in his face. She is pissed that Rick pulled walkers down on them.

Andrea is convinced that Rick has killed them by making so much noise. The other survivors explain to Rick that they are there to scavenge, and the key to scavenging is getting in, grabbing items they need, and getting out without making too much noise. Rick’s gunfire has pulled all the walkers in earshot. Worse yet, the glass isn’t going to hold the undead back for long.

The survivors ask Rick what he was doing out there, and me mentions the helicopter he heard and saw in the buildings reflection. They thinks he’s nuts. As they decide to flee upward they hear gunshots and Andrea askes “Oh no, is that Dixon?”

Merle

When the survivors get to the roof Merle is laughing. T-Dog is miffed that Merle is wasting bullets, and bringing more walkers down on them. Merle then shows his true nature. Merle isn’t a fan of diversity and isn’t willing to take feedback, much less orders from T-Dog.

I was a little shocked to hear Merle use the hard “N” word. Its been a decade since I originally watched Guts during its original airing and I didn’t remember that. This of course leads to a fist fight. Merle takes down Rick, then gets T-Dog on the ground and pummels him. He then goes on a rant. Merle votes Merle is in charge, and its honestly the only vote Merle cares about. He makes the other survivors raise their hands by casually sweeping them with his pistol.

Thankfully Rick is there to even things up and he bashes Merle in the back of the head. Rick then handcuffs the Dumb-As-Sh*t, Inbred White Trash Fool before reminding Merle you “Ought to be polite to a man with a gun.” Which is exactly what Merle told the rest of them when they started to complain about him shooting his rifle.

As the others discuss their next steps, Merle hits on Andrea. Even handcuffed Merle is just a disgusting human being with no self control.

Rick asks them if the sewers are an option which leads Glenn to show them what he thinks is the sewer entrance in the basement.

The team has a plan. Glenn and Morales are going to see if the sewers are a viable exit while the rest of the team monitors the store front and tries to reach out for help using the radio from the roof. Glenn and Morales find their way blocked by a massive steel grate, which already has walkers eating rats on the other side. Yum…

In the store Andrea is looking at a necklace and Rick asks her if she sees something she likes and we learn that Andrea has a sister. Andrea’s sister is still young enough to love things like unicorns, and especially mermaids.

When Rick asks her why she doesn’t take it, she replies that there is a cop staring at her before Rick assures her its okay. This is what TWD does so well, shows the humanity in each of its characters.

Glenn and Morales come back up and let them know the storm drain isn’t an option just in time for the glass in the storefront to break some more. Time is running out.

As the team discusses their options Rick comes up with a crazy plan. The walkers hunt by sound, sight, and smell, and Rick wants to know if masking one of those senses might change how the walkers react to them.

They grab one of the dead walkers outside the rear door and hack him up after saying a few quick words. At least the guy was an organ donor, so he did sign up for this right? The team then uses a bit of emulsified walker to coat themselves.

As Glenn is complaining, Rick tells him to think about something else, like Puppies and Kittens!!!

I had no idea that Z Nation borrowed this from TWD! I had to go back to check. Guts first aired on November 7th, 2010 while Z Nation’s Puppies and Kittens episode didn’t air until four years later.

Zombie Camo

Rick did achieve his goal though. He and Glenn smell like walkers. The last thing Rick does before walking out into the horde is to throw T-Dog the key to Mer’s cuffs.

Rick and Glenn carefully make it through the walker horde, their disguises appearing to hold up, at least for the moment.

Back at the survivors camp, Andrea’s sister, Amy is worried. T-Dog just manages to get a message through as the weather changes. T-Dog lets them know they are surrounded at the department store, but the connection is poor. Amy wants people to go into Atlanta to save her sister, but Shane say’s they can’t risk mores lives while Lori looks on, wide eyed.

Rick and Glenn are in the thick of the walkers when the rain starts to fall, washing away the precious walker gore they’ve covered themselves in.

Rick tries to comfort Glenn, but even as he’s saying their protective layer isn’t washing off, the walkers are beginning to focus on the two live humans more and more.

It’s time to run. Rick and Glenn just make it to the construction site before the horde turns on them. Thanks to the construction fencing they are able to grab a box truck and start rolling before the horde is on top of them.

Rolling Rescue

As Andrea, T-Dog and Morales watch from the top of the department store they are at first afraid Rick and Glenn are abandoning them, but Rick just needed to find another vehicle so they could create a distraction. Glenn calls them on the radio and tells them to come down to the rolling gates and be ready to roll.

As they move out Merle begs T-Dog not to just leave him there. T-Dog is actually going to let Merle go before he trips and the handcuff key goes flying.

I tried to highlight that little key flying towards the drain, and that is exactly where it went. T-Dog does the only thing he thinks will help and locks the door to the roof. At least the horde won’t be able to eat Merle while he’s trapped.

Out on the street Glenn uses his stolen Dodge Charger (with its alarm blaring) to pull the horde away from the side entrance. This gives Rick the time he needs to collect the other survivors.

T-Dog tells the others he dropped the key as they flee Atlanta.

Guts ends with Glenn flying down the highway, intoxicated with speed as the car alarm continues to go off.

Guts Scoring

Guts scored a 100/100, making the first time a season opener and second episode both just hit it out of the park. I forgot how awesome these original episodes were. Guts is Worth Your Time.

See how all Zombie Series rank here!