Yuppers, they wanted to know the groups strength and what they had....unfortunately for them, they ran into Rick!

 

The trailer would imply that they were not alone.

 

100% correct. Rick is a cop first and foremost. He leads with calm and courage. Diffuse the situation first, take direct action second. It was AWESOME seeing Rick act, and perhaps bringing Hershel over to his side.

 

That was a big moment for tv show Rick especially after declaring in season 1 that "we don't kill the living". Breaking news Rick. Yes you do.
I can imagine him doing a similar thing even if the apocalypse wasn't happening. It was a threatening situation and the guy pulled a gun on him first. Training and instinct took over. An excellent scene.

 

Swan Song rocks! Sister Creep is one of my fave characters of all time!! :shining:

 

I re-watched this episode and Rick was on point with not trusting those 2 from the beginning. Everything about them was 'off'

 

Rick is a LEO 24/7 and has been from day one. And those instincts were so apparent when those to thugs walked in that bar. Rick gave them the option more than once to just walk away. Calm and patient. Then he did what any other LEO would have done took out his gun and fired first. And down the two thugs fell shot down dead.

 

I am also left to wonder if what Dave said about Fort Benning is true or if that was to just throw Rick off?

 

Yep and when he saw that Rick and Hershel were more tight lipped but Glenn was more loose lips, he tried to start directing the questions to Glen. Good thing Glen was smart enough to read Rick's glare to make him stop.

 

Good point! There should have been at least some hint of military activity in the sky near by. There is nothing. I think it is an abandoned fort.

 

If you were the military that far into a world of the undead, would you waste fuel and resources unless absolutely necessary, no. You would start using man power as much as possible. If I were the co of a platoon in this world, I would have established protocols for dealing with the living and the undead, setup a perimeter . Then would comb the surrounding area for supplies and killing the undead. Maybe setup booby traps for the undead.

 

When they first started talking about Ft. Benning, I thought, "DUH! That must be where the helicopter Rick saw in the pilot came from!" But you bring up a good point that makes me question that assumption. I really hadn't picked up on that until you pointed it out.

 

Rick best episode

I thought this was Ricks best episode to date. His character evolved in this episode From him stepping up to deal with Sophia to when he shot the two men in the bar. It showed a reality that would be common if such a world existed. That people who do not have the skills to survive would take what others had from them if given the opportunity to do so. I think Herschel changed towards Rick. It was unspoken but the realization that you not only have to fear the walkers but other people as well. (Remember Rick on the rooftop in a previous episode saying that "we don't shoot the living" or something like that) and that Rick was willing to protect the farm with his life.
I don't think Rick is becoming emotionally detatched or cold but just doing what he has to do to protect his group. being a cop had already made him "street smart" (and being shot in the 1st episode) and leary of people's intentions.
It was a great episode for Rick, But now his wife Lori is a different case.
It will be interesting to see if the accident was a way for her to "lose the baby"
Have to wait and see !

 

Couldn't agree more. I am surprised Rick and Shane haven't done some "what if-ing" with the others to try and prepare them on how to act if and when they encounter walkers or people.Giving people some idea of how to act could only be a good thing but might not make for good tv.

 

I read Swan Song too. Not quite up to The Stand but not bad.

 

Read The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

 

I didn't know it was that close. You would have thought as much as Shane gripes about going there that he would have gotten in the car in one of his fits of rage and drove less than 1/2 an hour to find out if it was secure. Get a Jeep and drive off road if the interstate in blocked.
FWIW: Fort Benning is a large installation and if it was walker infested, pulling up in the ole Hyundai may not be the wisest choice. They are doomed if the Philly guys were telling the truth.

 

In a way, it was a return to normalcy. He went from dealing with dead people coming back and trying to eat him, hell, the little girl he'd been traveling with, to dealing with a couple of scumbags. Easy Peasy.