The Walking Dead – Dammit, Shane.

Rest in Peace, Dale.

Let’s face it – someone had to go in order to move the story along. I think the decision to make it Dale was probably an easy one.

I liked Dale – not all the time, but I did like him. He irked me with his willingness to offer his opinions all the time, even though most of the time I agreed with him. And when he protested to the group that their humanity was the only thing they had left, I liked his opinions a little more. Unfortunately, humanity is not what a story about zombies needs.

So that is all I am going to say about episode 11 – Judge, Jury, & Executioner. If you disagree, feel free to comment.

Stupid Lori continues her reign of manipulation by offering Shane a ‘heartfelt’ apology. I actually believe this is long overdue. I know Shane lied to Lori about Rick being dead, but honestly, the place was overrun with walkers and police shooting humans – why wouldn’t he actually believe that Rick was dead? I firmly believe that’s Lori’s constant manipulation and her jerking Shane around is what finally drove him around the bend. Don’t get me wrong, he had to be halfway there himself to leave Rick in the hospital in the first place, so it wasn’t much of a leap for him to go full-blown crazy. She continues to confuse him by half-admitting that she had feelings for him too, and he instantly catches her meaning. I felt really bad for him at that point, because you could see he really had loved Lori, and clearly still did. And the needless mentioning of not knowing the paternity of her baby and how it must be killing HIM?? Did anyone else want to punch her?

When Shane goes into the shed that Randall is in, it becomes shockingly clear how far off the reservation he is. He slaps himself in the head and points the gun at Randall. We knew that Shane was losing it, but this was clearly the final snap he needed to go all the way. He tells Randall he wants to join their group (which, if you recall from last week, is a group of about 30 men who have no issue with raping two teenage girls in front of their father – sounds like Crazy Shane will fit right in, non?), and for a half-second I believed it. Then he snapped his neck, and ran himself into a tree.

Even I, who you all know has been waiting with baited breath for Shane’s demise, couldn’t believe it was actually going down this road.

Cue Darryl, the expert tracker. T-Dog (really, did I miss a mention of his actual name? Pretty sure that’s not it. I really hate stereotypical cliché nicknames.) discovers Randall is gone and sounds the alarm. Glenn and Darryl, Shane and Rick go another. The tension is palpable between Shane and Rick as they lead each other through the forest looking for Randall.

Darryl figures out Shane is lying when he sees the blood on the tree, and is fully convinced he’s lying when they kill a walker that turns out to be a scratch- and bite-free Randall who clearly had his neck broken. I assume they double back to find Rick and Shane, but they never appear again.

Rick finally turns to Shane and asks him if this is where he is going to do it. I believe that Rick knew all along it was coming to this, and that is why he did not let Darryl go with Shane to release Randall.

Rick ends the impasse between him and Shane by stabbing Shane in the stomach. He screams and screams at Shane, and his pain at having had to kill the man who once was his best friend and partner is clear. Flashes of a walker indicate what Shane is becoming, and Carl, who had been watching the field and must have heard Shane’s gunshot as Rick stabbed him, shoots Shane as he heads towards Rick. The walkers coming out of the woods….the season finale is going to have to open with a bang!

My brother thinks that all the living carry the zombie virus now, and it is activated when the person dies. He may be on to something.

I was glad. When Rick stabbed Shane, I felt relief that it was over. And I felt pissed off with Shane because it didn’t have to be that way. It could have been so different. RIP Zombie Shane.

Making me mourn a character I hated? That, my friend, is good writing.