The Walking Dead returns after a nine-week hiatus to find Rick seeing ghosts.
After patching everyone up, Hershel leads the group to talk with the interlopers. Tyreese is willing to do anything to be able to keep his group in the prison. He speaks to Rick, and clearly gives over the reigns of any control to Rick. As we’ve seen before with other groups that the team runs into, Rick’s immediate response is “hell no”. Hershel likes these people, and vetoes Rick’s judgment call. He tells Rick, “You’ve got to start giving people a chance.”
We see Rick nod a bit, seeming to consider this sound advice from his buddy, Hershel - until the camera jumps to the upper floor of the prison. A shimmering, yet shady Lori look-a-like is standing by the window. Rick doesn’t seem to give into the hallucination and tries to fight it. But then he starts yelling at this phantom Lori. “What do you want from me?” “I can’t help you. Get out!” “You don’t belong here. Get out!”
Tyreese thinks these maniacal rants are towards him and his group, and they run out of the prison.
Close up on Rick’s dazed and confused face. End scene.
I don’t know about you guys, but I think Rick is folding under the pressure of being a leader and responsible for all of these people. Not to mention the fact that he couldn’t save Lori, and that will always be guilt on his conscience. Oh, and the fact that he kills people as well as zombies now, can’t help either. Can Rick fight the demons within himself, or will he let himself be swept away by Phantom Lori and the omnipresence of death and destruction?
Score: 9 / 10
