Hershel’s Farm is compromised in ‘Beside the Dying Fire,’ The Walking Dead: Season 2 finale that premieres tonight on AMC. Spoilers for previous episodes are forthcoming so proceed at your own risk.
When we last left Rick and his group of survivors, Shane had hatched a devious plan to permanently eliminate Rick after Lori’s confession that she didn’t know who the baby belonged to and she had feelings for both he and Rick. A delusional Shane uses the prisoner Randall as bait, lures Rick out in the woods, and plans to murder him when he builds up the guts to pull the trigger.
Despite having ample opportunity to off Rick, Shane is the one who ends up having his life taken away by another human being. In his act of part self-defense and part freeing his friend from an increasingly delusional state, Rick takes one step closer toward losing the humanity he has so valiantly clung to since the Walker infestation began.
In the immediate aftermath of Shane’s death, Rick’s former best friend almost immediately awakens as a Walker and Carl is forced to fire a bullet into his brain. In the nearby woods, a massive herd of Walkers hears the shot and emerges in a field just beyond where Rick, Carl and Hershel’s Farm are, hungry for a fleshy meal.
Here’s what we know about episode 213 ‘Beside the Dying Fire’ based on AMC’s The Walking Dead promotional materials. The Walker herd will chase Rick and Carl back to the Farm where a massive fight for survival will take place. The episode will extend into at least the next day as several promotional images reveal Rick, Lori, T-Dog and others walking along a road.
The Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara has promised “lots of bloodshed” in the finale, which is hard to imagine considering the past two episodes have seen the deaths of Dale, Randall and Shane. The cast will apparently be trimmed yet again before the jump to Season 3. Hershel, T-Dog, and anyone from Hershel’s family seem like an obvious choice to knock off. Because of that, I expect the unexpected to transpire.
Mazzara also promises that the infamous “Dr. Jenner Whisper” from the Season 1 finale will be revealed in tonight’s finale. It’s already assumed that everyone will turn into a Walker when they die based on the past few episodes. Maybe there is more to the whisper than this small revelation.
I’m thinking that before the finale is over, Glenn will get a chance to redeem himself after freezing up during the bar gunfight. Rather than nearly get himself and his friends killed, I could see Glenn being the hero and saving lives in an act of unselfish heroism. Or, Glenn will freeze again and possibly fail in saving Maggie or Hershel’s life. That would be devastating for the already fragile-minded guy as he moves forward into the next season.
Speaking of The Walking Dead: Season 3, a special announcement regarding the upcoming season will be made during The Talking Dead which immediately follows the Season 2 finale. We already know The Governor will appear and, according to Michael Rooker at WonderCon this weekend, so will Merle. Could we be on the verge of learning who has been cast as Michonne, a character creator Robert Kirkman has said he would love to work into the television series?
Here is a preview clip, promo footage and a handful of images from The Walking Dead: Season 2 finale, episode 213 ‘Beside the Dying Fire.’
