The Walking Dead S5E7 "Crossed" 11/23/14

This week my excuse for not getting this recap up until now is because Mr. Mouse's parents (the Mouse-in-laws) came to visit us for Thanksgiving.  It's apparently rude to watch zombie shows in front of non-zombie-loving company.  I get that.

Church.  As Rick's group prepares to go after Carol and Beth, they fortify the church against attacks because Carl, Michonne, Father Gabriel and Judith are staying behind.  Gabriel is struggling mightily as the others dismantle the organ, sharpening the pipe ends and planting them as a fence around the door.  "Are you going to take the cross too?"  After the raiding party leaves, Carl and Michonne nail the doors closed as Gabriel freaks out a little and tries scrubbing the bloodstains off the floor.  Dude is not stable and I don't trust him for a minute.

Raiding party.  The raiding party consists of Darryl, Rick, Noah, Tyrese and Sasha.  Sasha is still struggling with Bob's death.  When they get to Atlanta, they hole up in an old factory (?) and Rick lays out the plan: attacking the hospital and killing lots and lots of people.  It's a pretty bloody plan and Tyrese is not at all comfortable with it.  He suggests that they snatch up a couple of Dawn's cops and offer her a trade: her people for theirs.  Surprisingly, Darryl sides with Tyrese against Rick, saying this way, "Everybody goes home."  Rick is taken aback but finally agrees.  (Of course, this being The Walking Dead, we all know that they'll end up doing Rick's plan after Tyrese's plan fails - because nothing can ever go right for these poor people.)

Hospital.  Beth, on floor scrubbing duty, tries to be in Carol's room as much as possible without arousing suspicions, holding her hand and whispering that she is there.  Later, she hears Dawn and one of the cops deciding to take Carol off life support.  Beth gets super-upset about this when Dawn orders her to turn off the machines so as not to waste resources.  But after the cop leaves, Dawn strangely gives Beth the key to the drug locker and tells her to give Carol whatever she needs to try to save her.

Eugene's group.  Eugene is still unconscious; Abraham is still zoned out.  They're out of water but the giant walker herd hasn't noticed them yet so Glen, Rosita and Tara go off to get water from a stream back aways.  Maggie stays behind to keep an eye on Abraham and Eugene.  I kinda love Maggie when she and Glen are not all lovey-dovey.

Church.  Carl tries to teach the useless Gabriel how to defend himself.  Gabriel reluctantly takes the proffered machete but can't deal learning how to smash it into zombie skulls that aren't that soft.  "I need to go lie down," he says.  Some time later, Michonne checks on Gabriel, making sure he's okay.  After she leaves and he closes the door behind her, he turns back to the center of the room where he's using his new machete to pull up floor boards.  Oh, Gabriel, you idiot.

Hospital.  Beth asks Dr. _____ what to give Carol to save her.  He demurs, saying that Carol suffered internal injuries so it's just a guessing game.  Beth presses him and he tells her to try an epinephrine drips.  Carol won't wake up right away but it should help.

Glen, Rosita and Tara.  When they get to the creek, the water is super-muddy.  Rosita, however, knows how to make a water filter using gravel and a piece of her shirt.  Eugene taught her how to do it.  Then Rosita gets more lines than she's gotten the whole show, telling Glen and Tara how she met up with Abraham and Eugene.  Then, as they wait for the water to pass through the filter, a fish jumps and Glen's all, food!  They rig up some nets and catch some fish and Rosita even knows how to clean them.

Maggie, Eugene and Abraham.  After the others have gone off on their water quest, Maggie rigs up a sunshade over Eugene.  Eventually, she offers Abraham some water and tries to get him to talk to her.  It's seems like he hasn't given up entirely.  There's some noise from under Eugene's sunshade and Maggie runs back there with a grin to check on him.  Maybe Eugene's coming around but I'm pessimistic and think he's maybe dead and turned.

Raiding party.  Using Noah and some gunshots as bait, Rick's group lures two of Dawn's cops out and captures them.  In order to draw things out a while longer, another cop drives up and rescues them, only to drive a little ways away until wrecking the car on some walker bodies and then running off on foot.  They abandon the car in a truly gruesome spot: a parking lot that had been burned, fusing partial walkers to the asphalt.  The group splits up and the camera focuses on Darryl.  At this point, things get a little tense because no one has died in a while and if they kill Darryl off I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL QUIT THIS SHOW.  One of the cops lunges out and tackles Darryl, knocking him to the ground.  The cop is much bigger than Darryl and Darryl gets pinned between two of the fused walkers, the cop choking him while immobile but still lively walkers try to chew his face off.  Darryl flails around wildly for something to use as a weapon.  And then, it happens:  Darryl grabs onto a walker's head, pokes his fingers into its eye sockets for a good grip, rips the head off the walker's neck and bashes the cop in the head with the now-decapitated skull.  It is amazing and disgusting and incredibly original.  Bravo!  Then Rick is there, with his gun.  He is tempted to just shoot the cop but Darryl convinces him that three captives will be better than two.  Since when did Rick become the loose cannon and Darryl the voice of reason?  I love Darryl.

The raiding party takes the captive cops back to the factory.  The cops cooperate, telling Rick et als. how to deal with Dawn.  One of them, Lamson, is very calm and rational, seemingly honest.  (But I've been watching this show for 5+ seasons now and I don't trust any new characters.)  He tells them how to approach Dawn, how to reason with her.

Hospital.  Beth bribes another of the wards with a couple of fresh strawberries.  He starts coughing and retching and clutching at his throat and three cops rush over to him.  While he provides the distraction, Beth raids the drug cabinet, taking what she needs.  As she walks past, the coughing ward is suddenly fine.  Beth goes into Carol's room and hooks her up with the epinephrine drip.  She stands there, holding Carol's hand and whispering to her.

Church.  Gabriel has pulled up enough floorboards to wriggle down through the crawlspace under the church.  When he stands up outside, he has managed to step right on a long nail which pierces his foot.  He pulls out the nail and hobbles off into the woods.  He has not taken the machete with him.  He's not too far into the woods when a lone walker attacks him.  He manages to throw her/it to the ground where it gets impaled through the chest on a stump.  He picks up a rock to crush its skull but when he sees the small, gold crucifix around its neck, he can't do it.  He limps off, still not having killed his first zombie.

Raiding party.  Rick thanks Lamson for his insider information with respect to negotiating with Dawn.  Rick, Darryl, Tyrese and Noah head out for the hospital, leaving Sasha to guard the prisoners.  Lamson sighs heavily and tells a sympathetic Sasha (because his first name is "Bob" and she's still all hung up on her Bob dying) that he saw a former friend/current zombie fused to the asphalt out there.  He's all sad about it because the guy saved his life once.  Sasha says they can't go outside but she's a good shot and they can put it out of its misery.  They go to another part of the factory; Lamson's hands are still ziptied behind his back but his legs aren't tied.  Sasha looks out the window, searching for that walker.  Lamson suddenly rushes at her, bashing her head against the glass and knocking her out.  Then he makes a run for it.

Previously on The Walking Dead / next time on The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead S5E6 "Consumed" 11/16/14

At long last ... it's the Carol and Darryl show!  Not a lot happens plot-wise but it's awfully nice to spend time with my two favorite characters.  Also, the show is none too subtle with its smoke symbolism because Carol comes right out and explains it all for us.  I've helped by using CAPITALS.

Flashback.  Carol drives off after Rick casts her out for killing and burning those two sick people in the prison.  She cries a little, scared to be on her own, then rallies and holes up in a law office in some small town.  She's not that far away, however, and sees the black SMOKE when the Governor attacks and burns the prison.  She drives back and sees the destruction, eyes wide and jaw dropped.  All her friends (or former friends) are scattered.

Now.  Darryl and Carol chase the car with the white cross, Darryl telling Carol what happened with him and Beth.  They follow all the way to the outskirts of Atlanta.  When their car runs out of gas, Carol says she knows a place nearby where they can hunker down for the night.  They go into a big office-type building.  Carol finds some keys and leads Darryl further and further in, through a series of doors until they come into a small room with a bunkbed.  It's a shelter for abused women and children and she and Sophia stayed there once when she was still married to her horrible husband.  At one point in the night, they hear a couple of walkers banging on one of the doors.  It's a former woman and small child; they can't get in.  Carol makes a move to go put them down and Darryl stops her, saying, "You don't hafta.  You don't."  In the morning, Carol wakes up to find that Darryl has killed the mother and child walkers and is respectfully burning their bodies.  She thanks him as the black SMOKE rises to the sky.

Flashback.  Carol and Tyrese bury the two little girls as white SMOKE (from Darryl and Beth's burning the shack) billows into the sky.

Now.  Darryl and Carol continue into Atlanta on foot, looking for signs of vehicles with those white crosses.  They get into a tall building, hoping for a better view.  At one point, there's a contingent of walkers camped out in a hallway.  No, really: the zombies are trapped in sleeping bags and tents.  "Some days I don't know what the hell to think," mutters Darryl as they take out the sleeping bag zombies.  They leave the ones in the tents because they don't seem to be getting out anytime soon.  Unbeknownst to our heroes, however, someone is watching them.

They make their way to an office on a higher floor.  As they look out the window, searching for the white crosses, Carol mentions that Darryl still hasn't asked her what happened with Tyrese and the girls.  Darryl: "Well, I know what happened.  They ain't here."  Carol: "It was worse than that."  Then they see a van with two of the crosses in its back windows, half-hanging off an overpass.  They decide to take what supplies they can find and head over there to see where it leads them.   On their way back out of the building, Noah - Beth's escapee friend - gets the drop on them and takes their gun and crossbow.  "Sorry about this," he says, opening the zombie tents, "But you look tough."  Noah bolts and Darryl quickly deals with the emerging tent zombies.  Carol brings up her pistol, shoots a walker and then aims at Noah's back.  Darryl knocks her hand down.  She glares at him.

As they find their way out, Carol complains that [Noah] stole their weapons and she should have been allowed to shoot him.  Darryl retorts that he's just a kid.  She goes on, getting a little wound up, saying that without weapons they could die, and she doesn't want Darryl to die, she doesn't want any of their friends to die but she can't stop it and that's why she left the church because she just needed to be somewhere else ... Darryl cuts into her rising hysteria, sharply saying that they aren't somewhere else.  They're here, trying to do their best.

They walk out onto the overpass to that van.  There's nothing in it except a gurney stenciled with "GMH" - Grady Memorial Hospital.  Darryl suggests that that may be where Beth's kidnappers are holed up, but before they can discuss a plan, the van is surrounded by walkers.  There are too many to fight off so they climb into the van and strap themselves into the front seats.  Holding each other's hands, they brace themselves ... and the walkers knock the van off the overpass.  It's a pretty cool stunt (defying the laws of physics a bit so that it lands wheels down), especially when several walkers follow the van down, crashing onto the roof and windshield.  Darryl and Carol have survived the fall but they're pretty battered and Carol can't really use her right arm.  Clinging to each other for support, they leave the wreckage and head off towards Grady Memorial.

They make their way into another office building near the hospital and keep watch.  They talk a little, Carol saying that in her old life, when she was married to ol' asshole Ed, she just waited for something to change instead of making the change for herself.  When the zombie apocalypse happened, that person GOT BURNED AWAY.  At the prison, she felt she became the person she should have been.  And then she GOT BURNED AWAY (like when she burned the sick people and couldn't save the little girls).  Darryl:  "Hey.  We ain't ashes."  They are interrupted by banging and shouting and shooting.  Upon investigation, they find Noah battling some walkers.  Carol almost gets taken out because of her hurt arm but Darryl takes care of her.  He also nearly takes care of Noah, dropping a heavy bookcase on him and intending to leave him defenseless against the walkers.  Carol pleads with Darryl and finally he relents and spares Noah.

Flashback.  Carol, after blowing up the propane tank that would ultimately free Rick et als. from the cannibal Terminus people, strips off her zombie guts-covered poncho and wipes her face, crying, as black SMOKE from the explosion billows behind her.

It's a good thing they kept Noah alive too because it quickly comes out that they all have Beth in common.  Noah tells them about the hospital set-up and says that they'll have to be careful because they will have heard the shooting.  A cop car cruises by and Noah panics, "We gotta go.  We gotta go!"  He says that they can get into the hospital through the basement of the building next door.  Darryl lags behind, helping the badly limping Noah along, while Carol runs on ahead.  She dashes out into the street and is immediately hit by the cruising cop car, rolling up and over the hood.  Darryl lunges for her but Noah pulls him back.  They watch as the cops take out a gurney and load the unconscious Carol into their car.  Noah says that the cops will take Carol to the hospital where they can help her; if Darryl goes out there now, it'll be a big fire fight which won't help Carol at all.  Darryl watches helplessly as the cops and Carol drive off.  Noah: "We can get her back.  We can get Beth back."  Darryl: "What'll it take?"  Noah: "A lot.  They got guns.  People."  Darryl:  "Yeah?  So do we."

Last scene:  Darryl and Noah find a truck and drive out of Atlanta, back to the church [where Noah will be the person hiding in the bushes when Darryl and Michonne meet back up].  Now they've got two of their people to rescue.

Previously on The Walking Dead / next time on The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead S5E5 "Self Help" 11/9/14

Again, sorry for the posting delay.  I'm still battling this week-long head cold and it's put me off schedule a bit.  However, I don't know that anyone has been particularly clamoring for a recap of this episode.  It's fine and all, but was anyone, even those who haven't read the comics, in the least bit surprised by Eugene's big reveal?  No, no, they weren't.  Also, OMG CAN WE PLEASE GET BACK TO BETH AND CAROL AND DARRYL?

Now: Abraham drives the church bus down the road, everyone calm and fairly content and pleased to have a plan and a goal.  Rosita and Abraham are kind of couple-y, which is cute; everyone else talks a bit amongst themselves.  Glen asks Eugene about the plan for killing off the walkers ("That's classified") and about his mullet ("I like it").  Everything is copacetic ... until something explodes and the bus flips.  And a small herd of walkers surrounds it.  So much for an idyllic drive in the country.

Flashback:  In a grocery store, Abraham beats several men to death using a can of food as brass knuckles.  His hands are nearly shredded and he staggers further into the store, calling, "Ellen!"

Now: After the crash, everyone is shaken up and a little battered but basically okay.  They check to make sure Eugene is okay - because he's the most important thing - and then they form up to get out of the bus.  Abraham and Glen first, to start on the approaching walkers, then Maggie and Rosita, then Tara and Eugene.  Tara gives Eugene a knife so he can defend himself and also gives him a little pep talk because he's clearly terrified.  (Seriously, how does this guy last this long without being able to fight back at all? Abraham's such an enabler.)  As it turns out, a walker nearly gets Tara but Eugene knocks it over and stabs it in the head - his first kill.  As everyone catches their breath, the bus catches on fire and Abraham is all, this changes nothing - we're moving forward.  Eugene suggests that they're only fifteen miles from the church but Abraham shouts, WE DO NOT GO BACK!  Glen calms him down (Abraham: "I took a pretty hard shot to the sack in that crash - I am stressed and depressed ... but if you say we're rollin' on, I'm good.") and they keep walking.

Flashback:  Abraham is searching for "Ellen," calling her name.  He finds her, cowering behind a register, two little kids hiding behind her.

Now:  The group takes refuge for the night in a bookstore, pushing bookcases up against windows, building a little cookfire, stitching up each other's wounds.  Abraham goes to do a sweep and some time later Glen finds him.  There's a lot of talk, some about what happened back at the church: seems like everyone who is left is strong now - and you either help them so they help you or you kill them before they kill you.  Glen suggests that Abraham turn in since he's got a watch later on.  Abraham: "Yeah.  I really need some ass first."  Glen, after Abraham leaves: "Didn't need to know that but ... cool."

Eugene watches Rosita and Abraham have sex, peeking at them from behind the self-help books.  They know he's watching but don't really care.  Tara, however, finds it creepy and distracts him by thanking him for saving her life back there at the bus crash.  She's legitimately reaching out to him and then he confesses to causing the crash: he put crushed glass in the fuel line but didn't mean for it to go so FUBAR.  Tara's like, WTF did you do that for?  Eugene says that if he doesn't save the world, he has no value in it and he's just freaking out.  Tara says that he's their friend, and that he's stuck with them, and it's going to be okay ... but he really shouldn't tell anyone else about causing the crash.

Flashback:  Abraham says, "I stopped them.  You don't have to be scared now."  But Ellen and his kids (his son has red hair like his dad) are terrified, looking at him all bloodstained.

Now:  In the morning, Rosita suggests that they take the day to regroup, resupply and recover.  Abraham's like no, absolutely not.  And then when Maggie and Glen show up and suggest that they take a day to sweep for supplies, Rosita immediately toes her man's line: We'll sweep as we go and we'll leave today.  Also, Abraham has found them a vehicle: a firetruck with a full water tank.  It takes some doing to get it going - the air intake is clogged with human and/or walker remains.  As they frig around with the truck, trying to get it going, a bunch of walkers come out of the firehouse at them.  There's a lot of them, too many, and for a moment it looks like there are too many.  But then Eugene gets up on the roof of the truck and unleashes the hose on them.  It is an EXCELLENT new way to kill zombies: the force of the water ripping their rotting bodies and heads to pieces.

Flashback: In the morning, when Abraham awakes, Ellen and the kids are gone.  She's left him a note: don't try to find us.  Screaming their names, Abraham runs out of the store.

Now:  It's not clear how far they have gotten, but the firetruck breaks down.  They're without water too because Eugene emptied the reservoir when he put down those zombies.  While they wait, Maggie chats with him a little bit, saying how she admires him for not giving up.  "You started this thing."  Abraham can't get the truck going so they continue on foot, until they crest a small hill and see a massive herd of walkers ahead in the distance, roaming through what looks like a former feedlot.  Everyone is all, let's get out of here, let's find another way around.  Everyone except Abraham who is determined to go straight through.  He is unreasonable and unyielding and things get tense.  Abraham and Glen start to get into fisticuffs and everyone starts shouting until Eugene shouts too: "I lied! I'm not a scientist!  I don't know how to stop it."  Everyone stops fighting immediately and stares at him, shocked.  (Really?  You're surprised? You people are dumb.)

Eugene explains that he's very smart and a good liar and when the zombie apocalypse shit hit the fan, and he realized that he was a coward, he came up with his story because then people would protect him.  Rosita: "People died tryin' to get you here."  Eugene says he knows, and names them all, and says that the closer they got to their goal, the more he lost his nerve.  But now, he realizes he's screwed either way.  Everyone's face is desolate.  Except Abraham who has completely lost his shit: he stands up and slug Eugene in the face once, twice, three times.  Eugene falls to the ground, unconscious and landing on his face; his head makes a sick thud when it hits the tarmac.  Maggie, Rosita, Glen and Tara rush to him and roll him over.  He is knocked out at best and it may be much worse.  Abraham falls to his knees.

Flashback:  Abraham finds his wife and kids, torn to pieces by walkers.  He falls to his knees and pulls out his pistol, sticking it in his mouth.  Just then, on the road behind him, a man calls out for help.  It is Eugene, being chased - slowly - by a few zombies.  Abraham gets up and puts the zombies down efficiently, then walks off down the road.  Eugene follows him, thanking him profusely: "Wait, stop!  You can't leave!"  Abraham: "Why?"  Eugene, thinking quickly: "I have a very important mission."  Abraham turns and you can see the dawning hope in his face - he's just been given a reason to keep living.

Previously on The Walking Dead / next time on The Walking Dead 

Penny Dreadful is plenty delightful

I recently watched the first three episodes of the first season of Showtime's Penny Dreadful ... and ooh, wasn't that fun!  It's a slightly over the top Victorian monster movie mash-up, with no little resemblance to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  In the first three episodes we got to see (and this is not an exhaustive list, mind you) AND SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD: vampires, Dr. Frankenstein, Frankenstein's Monster #1, Frankenstein's Monster #2, Dorian Gray, a Wild West sharpshooter (who may or may not be a werewolf), a hard-up Irish lass with consumption, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, a seance, a request for a bride for Frankenstein's monster, the Grand Guignol theater, rumors of the return of Jack the Ripper (not likely), a possible Renfield sighting (by the name of Felton, for some reason), visions, possessions and tarot card readings.

Starring Timothy Dalton (former James Bond), Eva Green (former Bond girl), Josh Hartnett and Billie Piper (Doctor Who?), there is clearly something for everybody in Penny Dreadful - if everybody wants classic monsters, Victorian outfits, blood and guts and some sex and cussing.  The pacing was slow-ish in the first episode, right on in the second and slow in the third - for some reason focusing on Victor Frankenstein and his issues to the exclusion of nearly all else.  Dalton's Sir Malcolm Murray is the least developed character thus far, with Eva Green's Vanessa Ives just ahead of him - although she at least got some scenery to chew in the second episode between the flirtation with Dorian Gray (more of him please!) and the seance scene.

Despite the show needing to figure itself out a little bit, I ate it up greedily and can't wait to see the rest - plus HOORAY it has been renewed for a second season.   It is shot fairly lushly for television, all dark and moody and damp-looking, and is off to a promising start - hopefully things will just keep getting better as we go along (as in, just let Eva Green rampage all over the place!).  Penny Dreadful?  Penny Delectable is more like it.

The Walking Dead S5E4 "Slabtown" 11/2/14

Apologies for the delay.  I've been a bit under the weather which has put me off schedule.  

Beth - it's Beth everybody! - wakes up in a hospital room with an IV in her arm.  She yanks the IV out of her arm and runs to the closed door, pounding on it and screaming to be let out.  A doctor (Steven Edwards) and a police officer (Dawn) come in and calm her down, explaining that she's at Grady Memorial in Atlanta.  Dawn explains that her officers picked Beth up out in the world (alone, not Darryl) and rescued her; Dr. Steve attended to her broken wrist and minor head wound.  And since she's been taken care of, she owes them.  Yikes.

Later, Beth is given scrubs to wear and shown around the hospital. Dr, Steve explains, as he turns a patient's life support off (run on car batteries) that if patients don't show any sign of improvement, they cut their losses to conserve resources - Dawn's call.  Beth helps him take the body to an elevator shaft and dump it down there: they have to hurry before the body gets cold because there are walkers down in the basement and they'll eat the bodies if they're warm enough.  As far as living humans, there are only enough living in the hospital to keep the status quo going.  It doesn't seem like very many: a few police, a few people in scrubs working off their debt, just the one doctor.  When Beth goes to the cafeteria for food, she meets a skeezy police officer Gorman who leers at her.  Skeeved out, she leaves without taking anything - because the more she takes, the more she owes.  She does bring Dr. Steve his meal and he is nice to her, talking about music and art and the guinea pig he's dining upon.  He shares his breakfast with her, saying that Dawn doesn't have to know.

The officers bring in another one and for some reason Dawn insists that they save him, even though he fell off a building, even though Dr. Steve is convinced the guy won't make it.  When Dr. Steve bucks her, Dawn lashes out, slapping Beth viciously and snarling, "Try to grasp the stakes here."  Afterwards, Dr. Steve restitches the cut on Beth's face and tells her to change her shirt: the one she's wearing has blood on it and Dawn likes things to be neat.  Some time later, the officers bring in another one - Joan, a former inmate of the hospital who ran away.  Joan has been bitten on the arm, however, and Dawn insists that they cut off her arm so she doesn't turn.  There's no anesthesia so Beth and Dawn hold Joan down while Dr. Steve saws through her arm.  It's pretty grim.

After that, Beth takes the bloody scrubs to the laundry and meets Noah, who works off his indenture there.  He tells Beth that he's been there for a year trying to work off his debt - it doesn't look like Dawn has any intention of letting him go.  So he's planning on escaping as soon as he can.  Beth's eyes light up.  That night, Dawn brings Beth dinner as a peace treaty, trying to talk with her.  Beth is like, I never asked for your help.  Dawn: "But you needed it."  Dawn is convinced that someone is out there and will come rescue them; until then, everyone has to contribute.  Beth begrudgingly eats a little.  

Later, she mops in Joan's room and speaks with her a little: apparently Joan was at Gorman's mercy and Dawn did nothing to make him stop.  Beth's voice quavers when she asks what Gorman did to Joan but the other girl just mutters that it doesn't matter.  It does matter, however, because the next day Gorman corners Beth.  Dr. Steve comes in just in time to make him back off.  Gorman growls that Beth should have been his, plus he'll get Joan back because Dawn won't stop him, but he leaves Beth alone for now.  When he's gone, Beth snaps at Dr. Steve, "Why do you stay here?" so he takes her down to the ground floor and shows her all the walkers surrounding the hospital.  This is why he stays - because he's too scared to go.  "As bad as it gets," he says, "it's still better than [out] there."  When Beth says she should get back to work, Dr. Steve asks her to look in on the latest arrival and give him his scheduled dose of Clozepine.  Okay, says Beth, sure.

She mixes the drug and gives it to the guy - who immediately goes into convulsions and dies, to Beth's horror.  Dawn comes in and puts a scalpel into the dead guy's head, and then demands to know what happened.  Noah steps in and covers for Beth, saying he must have knocked the life support offline while mopping.  Dawn takes Noah off to her office for a beating and an unhappy Beth protests to Dr. Steve that wasn't what happened.  Dr. Steve is like, well, you gave him his Clonazepan, right?  Beth is all, you said Clozepine.  Dr. Steve, no, I didn't.  Beth, in her head, yes you did.

She's had enough and tells Noah that she's coming with him.  He tells her that he can keep an eye on Dawn but Beth will have to go into her office to find the key to the elevator banks because the fastest way out will be down the elevator shaft and through the basement.  Beth searches the office and finds not only the key but the latest patient's ID: Dawn was anxious to keep him alive because he was another doctor.  She also finds Joan, dead on the floor, having ripped the stitches out of her amputated arm and bled out.  Unfortunately, Gorman comes in and sees Beth.  He backs her up against the desk and starts groping her.  Beth allows it because she's seen dead Joan's finger twitch.  Then she smashes a glass candy dish against his head.  Gorman falls to the floor where zombie Joan immediately goes for his throat.  Beth grabs Gorman's gun out of his belt, clutches the key she came for and bolts.

Beth and Noah make their way to the elevator shaft.  Noah has made a rope out of tied-together sheets and Beth climbs down first.  As Noah follows, a walker lurches out at him from a door on a lower floor.  He panics and falls, landing on the pile of dead, broken bodies at the bottom of the elevator shaft.  He's okay and the two of them make their way out through the basement.  There are lots of walkers and Beth has to use the gun - she's still a very good shot, even with her hand in a cast.  They get outside and run for the fence, still battling their way through the zombies.  Noah climbs through the fence and runs; Beth gets tackled by one of Dawn's officers and dragged back inside the hospital.  Beth has a smile on her face, though, glad that Noah made it out.

Dawn takes Beth back to her office to confront her.  Beth snarls that Gorman attacked her, just like he attacked Joan, just like Dawn allows.  Beth:  "No one's coming, Dawn.  No one's comin'! We're all gonna die and you let this happen for nothin'!"  Furious, Dawn hauls off and belts her.  After Dr. Steve stitches her back up again, Beth asks him how he knew that patient was a doctor.  She's all, "That's why you had me give him the wrong meds, right? Because with another doctor, Dawn wouldn't keep you around and protect you."  

When Beth leaves Dr. Steve's office, she takes a pair of scissors.  But when she walks down the corridor, seemingly intent on using them, she sees some officers rolling another gurney down the hall.  On that gurney: Carol.

Previously on The Walking Dead / next time on The Walking Dead

Mini movie review: Snowpiercer

Earth's scientists spray a compound into the atmosphere to combat the global warming crisis.  It works all too well, sending Earth into an ice age and killing almost everyone and everything on the planet.  The only survivors live on a super-train constructed by an eccentric billionaire before the ice age: it circles the planet, never stopping, powered by a nearly mythological Engine.  Wealthy first class passengers live in the front of the train, surrounded by luxury and warmth; the dregs of this closed, self-sustaining society are packed into the train's tail, living in filth and squalor, drinking water recycled from first class's waste.  If the train ever stops, if anyone tries to escape to the world outside, they'll freeze to death.  They've been living like this for seventeen years.

From time to time, as you might imagine, the folks in the tail of the train revolt against their treatment.  All revolutions thus far have failed.  But this time, Curtis (Chris Evans, very un-Captain America-y) is determined to make it to the front, supported by his young buddy Edgar (Jamie Bell), the tail section's de facto leader Gilliam (John Hurt) and Tanya (Octavia Spencer) whose young son has been taken away from her for possibly nefarious purposes.  Grimly, violently, the uprising moves up through the train cars, but every car taken - prison car, food processing, water reclamation - only affects the cars behind and doesn't hurt the greater luxury towards the front.

I'm doing a terrible job of describing this movie but really, Snowpiercer, directed by Bong Joon-ho (who also did The Host, which I loved) is a great, post-apocalyptic science fiction flick.  The train is wonderfully imagined, nightmarish and clever like something Terry Gilliam might have come up with (and has inspired me to watch Brazil, Time Bandits, etc. again soon).  Tilda Swinton, who keeps order amongst the lower classes, steals every scene she's in.  The ending of the movie is probably not what many viewers would have wanted - dire but hopeful and open-ended - but I think it seems to fit.  I don't think Snowpiercer got much of a theater audience but I hope it finds some legs in at-home viewing.