The Walking Dead S04 E14: The Grove

Holy Pigs Feet! I was not expecting the craziness of last week’s episode. Between the fog walkers and the one-eyed apocalypse dog, which I’ve officially nicknamed Lucky; Maggie’s team had one too many close calls. While Sasha realized that it was far better to be part of a team, Daryl and Beth were split up. Who took Beth and what’s happening with Team Tyreese? Find out after the jump.

Lizzie

Without the help of GPS it’s taking one hell of a long time for Tyreese, Carol, and the girls to find this mysterious sanctuary called Terminus, but luckily for them they find a house with a pecan grove. Home sweet home with a kettle of water heating up for a spot of tea, and a puzzle for the girls to work on, what could possibly go wrong?

There is something very wrong with Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino). Carol (Melissa McBride) sees it and so does little sister Mika and yet everyone feels okay leaving baby Judith with The Walking Dead’s version of the The Bad Seed. Lizzie tells Carol that she saved Tyreese at the prison. I didn’t know this.

Lizzie is okay with killing people, but zombies; not so much. Lizzie thinks of them as friends, playmates that she can play a game of tag with. Lizzie goes all Norman Bates on Carol for killing a playmate walker. Later we see Lizzie feeding rats to a walker. The mystery is finally solved on who started the feeding frenzy at the prison gates. But was Lizzie always like this?

Mika

Mika (Kyla Kenedy) reminds Carol of Sophia. Mika is sweet and gentle, but Carol wants to make sure that Mica is able to kill if necessary. Mika, unlike Lizzie, is okay with killing walkers, but she doesn’t like to hurt people or animals; she’d rather eat a peach. Does Mica understand how sick Lizzie is? I think she does. Children are smart that way. Mika has her own way of calming the mad Lizzie. “Look at the flowers, Lizzie. Just look at the flowers.”

Carol taught the children at the prison how to survive, but did she create a monster in Lizzie? I don’t think so. There was always something a bit strange with Lizzie, maybe it’s hereditary, or maybe growing up during a zombie apocalypse is just too much for a fragile mind. It was pretty scary when the girls were attacked by the ‘Crispy Critter Walkers’.  Where did they come from?

Tyreese

Tyreese (Chad Coleman) is tired of running and fighting walkers. He’s been dragging three little girls all over the place; raising children is hard enough without zombies chasing after you. I think Tyreese is ready to settle down and what better choice for a mate than Ninja Carol. Tyreese tells Carol that he still dreams about Karen and wants to know who killed her. Oh, oh! Don’t confess Carol, not with Tyreese holding his Thor hammer. Luckily, Carol keeps her secret and they head back to the farm to find Lizzie standing over her sister with a bloody knife.

Conclusion

Everything works out the way it’s supposed to. That’s what Mika and Lizzie’s mother told them, but does it? Lizzie killed Mika, killed her without batting an eye and was ready to kill Judith because of her sick fascination with dead things. The look on Carol’s face was heartbreaking when she realized that with Mika’s murder, she had lost Sophia for a second time. What do you do with a sociopath? There are no institutions to care for Lizzie and Carol was not about to give Lizzie get a second chance to kill Judith.

Did Carol feel responsible because she taught the girls how to kill walkers? I don’t think so. Carol was only teaching the children survival lessons, but Lizzie was sick and like the walkers; had to be put down. The only person capable of doing this deed was Carol because: she was a mother figure to Lizzie and knew there was only one solution. “Look at the flowers, Lizzie.”

Carol sits at the table with the puzzle pieces that the girls were working on and tells Tyreese the truth about Karen. I expected Tyreese to pick up the gun and shoot, but there’s been too much death already and Tyreese, although he won’t forget what she did; he forgives Carol and they head out for Terminus.

This was a hard episode to watch. I don’t like to see children die or worse yet, kill another child. Carol has proven herself to be the strongest of Rick’s team, maybe even stronger than Michonne. Carol has seen it all and lost plenty. She’s an apocalypse mother. She kills the monsters… sometimes… even when that monster is a human child.

Side note: The puzzle that the girls were working on was a picture of Sophia. The crispy critter walkers may have come from the house that Daryl and Beth burned down. Showing that even though Rick’s team is separated, the dots still connect. See you next week, my little zombie snacks, and remember the Twitter hashtags for this week are #OverTheRailWalker, and #SuperCrispy and #MediumCrispy walkers.