Beside the Dying Fire is the Season 2 season finale. The episode opens with a feasting horde. As they eat they hear the noise of a helicopter overhead. The noise attracts the undead. The Zombies slowly shuffle in the direction the helicopter is flying.
Unfortunately for Team Rick, the copter appears to be drawing the ever growing horde towards Hershel’s farm. A few fences aren’t going to stop them.
Even worse, the horde hears the shot that kills Shane. As Rick and Carl walk back to the farm we see the horde approaching in the dark.
Spoilers Below
Back in the house the anxiety grows. Shane and Rick haven’t come back yet, and no one appears to even realize that Carl’s missing. Lori is such a great mom! Come on people, keep track of your kids during the Apocalypse.
It’s not long before everyone realizes what is about to hit them. Rick and Carl hear the horde behind them as Daryl comes out onto the front porch. The horde is coming.
Rick and Carl don’t have an easy path to the house. The horde is too large and is between Rick, Carl, and the house. Just as Rick and Carl reach the barn, Lori realizes that Carl’s not in the main house with her.
The Horde
With not a lot of options Carl and Rick light the barn on fire to stage an escape. Meanwhile Daryl tries to lead the horde away from the house in a vehicle. Setting the barn on fire seems like a really questionable decision. Rick and Carl escape up to the 2nd floor after the RV shows up to save them. Sadly, the RV driver doesn’t survive his rescue mission. It does beg the question. What was the plan if the RV didn’t come to rescue them and the building is on fire?
It doesn’t take long for the majority of the survivors to realize they need to flee. Hershel tries to put up a fight but just ends up wasting shotgun shells. The horde was too large for a single old guy to defeat. (I could have done it however!)
People are dying as the survivors are overwhelmed by the horde.
Hershel almost gets bitten, but Rick is there to save him. It is a sad day for Hershel. The farm is lost. The Zombie horde is just too big. Everyone flees, stranding Andrea and Carol. Thankfully Daryll is there to save Carol after he hears her screaming.
The farm has been overrun.
They Morning After
As the sun rises, the survivors come to grips with what they have lost. Glen and Maggie are alone in a vehicle. Glen tells Maggie that he loves her as she breaks down in fear. She has no way of knowing if her father and sister are still alive.
As the survivors slowly regroup right back where everything started, on the highway where they lost Sophia.
As the now much smaller Team Rick drives off we cut over to Andrea, fleeing through the woods, pursued by Zombies as she runs through the trees.
Team Rick is forced to pull over so they can try and organize a resupply mission. As they are planning, Rick is forced to tell the other survivors that they all carry the virus. If you die, you turn. Rick then tells Lori that he was forced to kill Shane after Shane lured him out in the woods to ambush him. Lori, being Lori, reacts with anger, instead of compassion. It has to suck when your husband kills your baby daddy right?
Back in the woods, Andrea is out of ammo and exhausted, and is about to get bit. She is rescued by an epic newcomer, Michonne.
Team Rick is sitting by their fire when they hear something moving in the dark. People are panicking, afraid and unsure. The tension causes Rick to lose his cool. He rages. Angry that he killed his best friend to protect them all. Or least that is how he sees it.
Rick finishes his rant, bringing everyone back to reality. Then the camera slowly pans away until we see the Prison in the distance.
Beside the Dying Fire Score
Beside the Dying Fire was not just the Season 2 finale, but was also an amazingly powerful episode with tons of action. It also gave us a little taste of what is to come in Season 3 to keep us hooked. Beside the Dying Fire scores a 100/100, and is Worth Your Time.
| 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 |
