The Walking Dead, Season 2, Episode 8

Nebraska opens exactly where Pretty Much Dead Already ended. Rick has just put down Sophia, and Carol and the team are all stunned by what they just saw.

Hershel’s people are just as devastated, their family members have all been put down, or mostly put down? When Hershel’s daughter runs to her family, we find out that not all the walkers are completely dead, they were just mostly dead, but thankfully Andrea was there to finish the job.

The Secret is Out

With the secret out, Shane goes off on Hershel, who in turn demands that Team Rick moves off his land. Rick and Shane then go at it. Rick is pissed that Shane forced the issue, and Shane is pissed that Rick seems fine with the fact that there was a barn full of walkers.

Glen then proceeds to put his foot in his mouth, telling Maggie that now that they know what happened to Sophia they will move on. He doesn’t seem to see how Maggie is taking the “move on” bit. She wants him to stay.

As everyone is dealing with the fallout Andrea and several of the others clean up the Zombies, which leads to an arm getting free from the truck. I don’t know why, but I really liked this scene. It speaks to how messy The Walking Dead world is, and also to just how much we, as humans, can normalize just about anything.

Meanwhile, Glen and Maggie are trying to deal with what happens next. Maggie clearly wants Glen to stay, and Glen isn’t picking up on what she’s laying down.

Falling Off The Wagon

When they go to find Hershel, they find he’s gone, and likely fallen off the wagon too boot. After finding an empty flask Rick decides he needs to go into town to get Hershel. Lori doesn’t understand why, not until Rick tells her they need Hershel – to deliver Shane’s baby. (He didn’t say that, but I’m pretty sure that’s Shane’s baby.)

Dale then drops a few reality bombs on Lori, telling her that he’s pretty sure that Shane killed Otis, and that Shane is going to kill someone else. Lori looks perplexed, but I think she knows that Shane has a dark side.

Out on the road, Glen tells Rick about what has been going on with Maggie.

Glen isn’t sure if Maggie really cares about him, but Rick tells him that everyone else can see it. Maggie cares about him. Glen is still so innocent and sweet at this point. The only women he’s ever professed his love to were his mom and sisters.

The Bar

In town they find Hershel at the bar, and Rick tells him that Beth needs his help. While Rick is trying to convince Hershel to come back to the farm Lori has decided to go into town to tell Rick they need Hershel emergently, and in turn ends up hitting a walker while looking at a map, and then flipping her car.

While Rick is comforting Hershel, two newcomers walk into the bar. The newly enlarged group shares a drink, before the newcomers share how they made their way from Philadelphia to Georgia before dropping the bomb that Fort Benning has been overrun.

The newcomers start to set of Rick’s alarm bells when they get real interested in where Rick’s people are, and if they have someplace to hole up. Things get ugly after Rick tells the newcomers they can’t join up with them. This leads to Rick having to take care of business.

I love how Rick puts a final bullet into the bigger guy – just to make sure, and never has any hesitation. This is the Rick that kicks butt.

Nebraska Scoring

Nebraska scored an 88/100, making it a solid, Worth Your Time episode. It is a ground breaking episode the reveals what happened to Sophia. Nebraska is one of those episodes that just sticks in your mind.

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