What Lies Ahead kicks off Season 2 for The Walking Dead.
Rick hasn’t forgotten about his promise to Morgan, and before they flee Atlanta, Rick is talking into his walkie, trying to let Morgan know that the CDC in Atlanta was a dead end, they are trying to move on to Fort Benning.
If there weren’t Zombies and abandoned cars, that is just a two hour drive, it’s even walkable at just under forty hours, even if you were only going to hike eight hours a day for a week. If you pushed yourself this could easily be done in just three days. But of course during the Zombie Apocalypse, nothing is going to be easy.
Spoilers Below
Team Rick hasn’t made it far when they run into a massive traffic snarl, which is made worse when the RV radiator blows, bringing the survivors convoy to a complete halt.
With little option, the group spreads out to scavenge. They need gas, water, supplies, and of course a radiator hose. The survivors are scavenging when Rick sees a walker in the distance.
And then the horde that is rapidly approaching.
The scavengers do their best to hide under cars and get out of site but T-Dog cuts hi arm pretty badly and everyone else is freaking out as the horde filters between the cars they are hiding under. Andrea gets stuck in the RV, trying to put together her pistol as a walker stumbles around inside the cabin.
We then get two awesome Zombie Kills in rapid succession. The first is Daryl saving T-Dog with a nice stealth kill:
Followed up very quickly by Andrea also discovering what an awesome tool a screwdriver is to kill the Undead. Its perfect for eye socket to brain damage.
Andrea of course isn’t quite as calm and composed as Daryl is, but she gets the job done.
Sophia Goes Missing
Outside the group thinks they’ve survived, but just when they were about to start coming out from under the cars Sophia is chased out from under her car and flees into the woods. Rick follows her and is able to find her, but there are walkers everywhere. He stashes her in a hole in the bank of a stream and leads the group of walkers away from here, trying to save her.
When Rick loops back after losing the horde, Sophia isn’t there. Team Rick spreads out in the woods, searching for Sophia.
As Daryl tracks Sophia and Rick follows, we get introduced to the first of many mistakes Carl will make when he decides to scavenge a bag of edged weapons without any backup.
Out in the wood Rick & Daryl take down a walker and when Rick finds what looks like skin under its nails, they have no choice but to gut it to see if its got Sophia in its guts.
Thankfully the walker only has some woodchuck in her belly.
When Rick and Daryl come back as night is falling Carol is heartbroken. Her little girl is out in the woods, in the dark.
The next morning the survivors distribute the edged weapons Carl scavenged and head out to search for Sophia again. Dale is worried about Andrea having a firearm, and Shane agrees that they should restrict who has firearms to help save everyone. Andrea wanted to die back at the CDC, and only came out because she didn’t want Dale’s blood on her hands – and she let’s him know she’s not happy about it.
Out in the woods the searchers discover a tent, and there is a brief moment of hope that Sophia may have found it and spent the night, but when Daryl goes to search the only thing inside is a suicide.
The team is still in the woods when they hear bells ringing in the distance and head for the sound. Could Sophia of found a church?
T-Dog & Dale
As the searchers march for the church T-Dog and Dale have a wonderful conversation. Dale already fixed the RV’s radiator, but didn’t tell anyone because he doesn’t want to give the group a reason to stop searching for Sophia too soon, or as he puts it, to weigh the benefits of the many against the one. Jeffrey DeMunn, who plays Dale, is just a phenomenal actor.
After the searchers clear the church Shane and Lori argue outside. Shane’s planning on running, and he’s not willing to talk to Rick. He pretty much leaves it up to Lori to tell Rick whatever she wants.
Rick takes a moment alone inside the church to beg a higher power to give him a sign. He feels responsible for Sophia being lost, and he’s struggling with guilt. He feels responsible.
Rick, Shane, and Carl end up out in the woods and come upon a deer. There is a magical moment as Carl walks up to the wild creature, and then a shot comes out of nowhere, taking down the deer and hitting Carl with a through and through shot.
What Lies Ahead ends with Carl hitting the ground, a gunshot wound to his chest. Now we have to wait until next week to see if he survives!
What Lies Ahead Scoring
What Lies Ahead scored a 95/100, making it Worth Your Time. The episode starts out strong and ends strong. There was a small lull in the 3rd quarter that cost it just a few points.
Carl’s Questionable Decisions
- Season 2, Episode 1, What Lies Ahead (29:15) – Carl scavenges a bag of edged weapons from a car without any adult supervision. Sure it turned out to be someone who was dead dead, but he had no idea.
- Season 2, Episode 6, Secrets(7:45) – Carl gets caught with a revolver he stole from the RV. I get the motivation, but he should have asked first.
- Season 2, Episode 11, Judge, Jury, Executioner(10:35) – Carl decides he should approach the prisoner in the barn and chat with him.
- Season 2, Episode 11, Judge, Jury, Executioner(19:35) – Carl steels a 45 from Daryl’s motorcycle. Haven’t we been down this gun path before?
| Season | Episode | Episode Name | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Days Gone Bye | 100 |
| 1 | 2 | Guts | 100 |
| 1 | 3 | Tell It To The Frogs | 95 |
| 1 | 4 | Vatos | 94 |
| 1 | 5 | Wildfire | 95 |
| 1 | 6 | TS-19 | 99 |
| 2 | 1 | What Lies Ahead | 95 |
| 2 | 2 | Bloodletting | 91 |
| 2 | 3 | Save The Last One | 83 |
| 2 | 4 | Cherokee Rose | 94 |
| 2 | 5 | Chupacabra | 97 |
| 2 | 6 | Secrets | 85 |
| 2 | 7 | Pretty Much Dead Already | 100 |
| 2 | 8 | Nebraska | 88 |
| 2 | 9 | Triggerfinger | 76 |
| 2 | 10 | Miles Out | 90 |
| 2 | 11 | Judge, Jury, Executioner | 70 |
| 2 | 12 | Better Angels | 75 |
| 2 | 13 | Beside the Dying Fire | 100 |
