The Walking Dead: Chupacabra
Recap by Marc Patterson
We’re back with yet another spoiler filled recap of last night’s episode of The Walking Dead. If you haven’t seen it yet then go see it BEFORE reading on. Trust me, you don’t want this one to be spoiled on you.
Chupacabra is the name of the episode. The Chupacabra is a sort of mythical mutant dog that thirsts after blood. No one has really seen one, but Darryl Dixon claims to have once seen one when he was young out hunting in the hills. The question begs, did Daryl see really see one, and does it matter if the lasting effect is the same? You might not think the answer matters all that much, but I assure you – in this episode it absolutely does.
Chupacabra, as an episode, belongs to Daryl Dixon, the new hero of the show, the fan favorite, the character that never existed in the comics. Amongst the key male figures Shane is a die-hard survivor. We talked about this in my last recap. Shane makes difficult choices with self-preservation taking center stage. Rick is increasingly annoying and soft this season, unable to make tough survival decisions in the face of adversity. He clearly carries too much sand in his vagina. His “first wife” Lori has grown equally annoying. This pregnancy angle is only going to increase that factor, I’m sure. Together they play to the middle and “try” to do what they think is right. Between the two extremes sits the lone cowboy with his hand-built chopper and a crossbow. Daryl is a tough-as-nails survivor, but yet he’s strangely compassionate. He’s got that whole Clint Eastwood thing going on, and I like it. I like it a lot. He’s tough because life made him that way, but he’s soft when and where he needs to be. He’s the leader this group so desperately needs.
In this episode we celebrate the triumphant return of Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) to the series, though he doesn’t appear quite the way viewers might expect. It starts with Daryl relentlessly searching for Sophia, and making the most progress at tracking down clues to her whereabouts than anyone else. As a side note – it has become clear at this point that Sophia’s disappearance is simply a catalyst to bring deeper personalities in the series to the forefront. In the wake of a missing child we are exposed to a deeper layer of ever-increasingly complex characters, though not all of them are that interesting.
While on the search, the badass Daryl, who looks even more rugged riding horseback gets thrown from what turns out to be a remarkably skittish horse, falling down a steep embankment and puncturing his side with his last crossbow arrow. Then, with the arrow still running through him (and I mean all the way through), he musters the strength to climb that hill only to lose his grip and tumble down all over again. I nearly bit off my knuckle in the sheer agonizing pain I felt for him vicariously. In his banged up and bloodied stupor, lying in that creek bed his brother Merle comes to pay him a visit. Enter the Chupacabra. Merle kicks Daryl’s ass into gear in a way only an older tougher brother can. The ghost of Daryl’s past constantly goads him on. Ghost or not, Merle saves Daryl’s life.
Daryl wakes up from being knocked out to find a walker about to gnaw on his leg. With his last arrow literally skewering him Daryl’s choices are limited. He musters the strength to beat the zombie to death with a stick, crushing its head, while another walker emerges from the bushes nearby. In a moment that still amazes me, Daryl, conjuring every ounce of pure survival instinct, pulls the arrow out of his body, loads his crossbow and puts that arrow through the skull of the other walker. Incredible. Yes Annie, it’s true, Chuck Norris really does wear Norman Reedus pajamas. I think even I was a little aroused at this masculine display of intestinal fortitude. Any other man would have rolled over and died. Daryl then pockets Sophia’s doll, which he found down in the creek, and climbs that hill once more, prodded on by Merle’s endless haranguing.
This scene, more than any other in this episode, became a centrally defining moment for Daryl. He realizes, perhaps for the first time since Merle’s passing, that he doesn’t need this group. He can get it done on his own, even without Merle, and he’s finally waking up to that fact.
Back at the farm, after being patched up by Hershel, Carol enters the room to give Daryl a consoling kiss, telling him that he’s done more for her daughter than her drunk ass father ever did, ensuring him he’s every bit the man Shane or Rick is. I think it’s safe to say we agree. However, where this bit of enlightenment will take Daryl is tough to say. Will he continue to emerge as a leader type? God help the man that would think about killing Daryl off.
In other plot lines, not much happened… once again. This was, for all intensive reasons, an otherwise bland and boring episode. Lori wrestled with her pregnancy, Glenn wrestled with Maggie’s mixed signals, Rick wrestled with Hershel, and Andrea wrestled with being a big girl. Oh yeah – I almost forgot to mention, Andrea is finally starting to realize she’s a crack shot with a rifle. Lucky for Daryl she’s not that much of a crack shot. She took a pot shot at what she thought was a walker (after being told not to). Turns out that “walker” was just Daryl dragging his beat up ass out of the woods. Thankfully, the bullet only grazed Daryl’s skull. Dear Andrea, first rule of shooting: never pull the trigger unless you have a clear and confirmed target.
In between all the bullshit malarkey side stories that supported the awe inspiring scenes belonging to Norman Fuckin Reedus, we get a five-minute interlude where Rick and Shane trounce about the woods talking about all the girls Shane banged in high school. It’s a nice way to lead into a deeper conversation, and one where Shane confronts Rick about being such a pussy and not being able to make any real game-changing decisions that put the survival of the group first. Apparently some of it sunk it because Rick has to go back to Hershel’s farm and talk to his wife about it. Note to Rick: Reach down in your pants, and fondle those balls, thanking whatever God you pray to that they haven’t gone gray just yet. Then, act like they’re still pumping out man juice and get to action! Do something, would ya!? Jesus fuckin’ Christ, already!
The real WTF moment of the show comes in the final scene when Glenn takes off to the barn for a secret rendezvous with Maggie. Yeah, they went from hot to cold back to hot. Hey, remember when I mentioned that looming ominous barn last week? Well, the cat’s out of the bag now. That barn is full of walkers, but Maggie didn’t quite get to tell that to Glenn, so he discovers it for himself. Fuuucked up. Apparently, Hershel and the gang have been herding them and keeping them locked up in the barn. The question on everyone’s mind, naturally, is what the fuck is Hershel and crew thinking? Truly, it’s mind-boggling insanity. I can’t wait until news of that breaks out in camp. Shit will hit the fan in no time at all. Tune in next week for more hot/cold craziness.
As far as fans of the comic are concerned it’s high time we hung up our hats and let sleeping corpses lie. The show’s best characters are now ones that have either been A) killed off in the comic but live on, or B) never existed in the first place. Additionally, I’ve settled into the fact that some key characters will never exist in this series. I’m fine with it. I’ve come to terms. So should all of you. The bonus is that we’re getting other interesting sideline plots that actually have room to grow.
