How Will Hershel Deal with the Massacre of His Zombie Kin?
If you watched the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead, then you know that Hershel's barn is now free of zombies, thanks to Shane and the rest of the guests to the farm. I have to say, I almost felt bad for the poor zombies. They never even had a chance! Here they were, content to live day-to-day in the dark recesses of the tightly-locked-up barn, and dining on fresh chickens without a care in the world, when suddenly the doors burst open. Can you imagine what they were thinking? FRESH MEAT!
But poor Hershel. As the group of guests sharing his farm opened fire on his zombie-afflicted friends, neighbors, and family members, all he could do was fall to his knees in agony. The look on his face was raw emotion. Part grief, part disbelief, and part anguish. He didn't speak, protest, or make any other non-submissive move towards trying to stop the group of gun-wielding zombie killers, which leads me to wonder -- what's his next move? Here are some thoughts I had:
- Hershel realizes now that keeping a menagerie of zombies in the barn was a rotten idea and admits this to the rest of the group. He lets the Atlanta survivors stay on the farm and they live a zombie-free, happily-ever-after life.
- Hershel flips out, tells the Atlanta survivors to leave, and goes on a hunt for more zombies to replace the dead ones.
- Hershel demands the Atlanta survivors leave his farm, and Maggie joins them (They need someone to replace Sophia, right?) to be with Glenn. However, for reasons unknown at this time, Hershel later resurfaces and confronts the Atlanta survivors.
Personally, I think the latter sounds most plausible. In the graphic novel, Hershel catches Glenn and Maggie in bed. He demands the Atlanta survivors leave. Later in the story, Rick goes back to the farm and offers Hershel and his family safer quarters in their new digs. (I'm so not telling you where they are. It will ruin the surprise if AMC follows that storyline!)
Also, Maggie is a fertile young woman. Glenn, for all his quirks, is a virile young man. Not to mention, pickings are slim in the post-apocalyptic zombie-infested world they've come to accept as day-to-day existence.
It will be very exciting to see what happens in the next episode, but sadly, we have to wait until February. Until then, you can find me re-reading the graphic novels and playing my favorite new game, Zombie Dice!