The Walking Dead Season 4 Recap – Episode 11: Claimed

Claimed

Straight up I am going to say I both loved and hated Season 4, Episode 11 (entitled Claimed) of AMC’s The Walking Dead. The bits with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) mostly scared the crap out of me, yet there were moments where I just found myself questioning if the writers really know their characters at all. Oh, and the realisation occurred in this episode that AMC are just going to draw out the reunion of all the characters until – bare minimum – the Season 4 finale, if not, the start of Season 5.

So, this is what went down…

We start Episode 11 with Tara (Alanna Masterson) making notes on where Abraham’s (Michael Cudlitz) crew are taking them – wonder where she found a working pen this far into the zombie apocalypse? Especially on the back of an army truck…

Rick, Carl (Chandler Riggs) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) are playing happy families, which makes me wonder how long it is before Rick and Michonne actually hook up. But, as with all good things on this show, AMC have to throw a spanner in the works. In this case it is Michonne and Carl leaving Rick behind to rest while they go and wrangle up some supplies.

This is when it goes all horror movie on us.

While Rick is sleeping, other apocalypse survivors enter the house and make themselves right at home! We see an awful lot of Rick under a bed, dust bunnies and near misses on the stairs after this.

” Carl, is that you? Who am I kidding – Carl wouldn’t be in the house…”

So Carl and Michonne chance upon a ‘happy’ home while Rick is hiding for his life. Carl manages to get some more backstory out of Michonne – gotta know about your new mummy, after all! So, of course, during this Q & A session, Michonne comes across the gruesome scene of familicide. When Carl questions why Michonne is all pouty faced, she tells him it’s a dead dog in the room. Carl, for once, is mature enough to work out he doesn’t really want to see it.

Rick, meanwhile is still trapped under the bed. Nasty 1 is sleeping while Nasty 2 is passed out on the floor. Yeah, this is where I really got shitty with the episode. So N1 and N2 fight over who gets to sleep in poppa bear’s bed. N1 obviously wins, but not before he nearly strangles N2 (who glances a view of Rick under the bed before it’s nighty-nite for him). Seriously, it looks like he’s dead – but he can’t be, because wouldn’t N1 be worried about N2 turning while he sleeps? So we are back to this weird coma thing that AMC seem to be fond of in Season 4. *sigh* This guy remains passed out for the rest of the episode…

That awkward moment when Glenn realises he’s with the Maggie look-a-like…

Now Glenn (Steven Yeun) is waking up in the back of the army truck. Tara tries to assure him it’s all okay but Glenn is not planning on staying put, not even the fact that they have driven THREE HOURS past the prison van will make him give up on Maggie (Lauren Cohan). While Glenn, Tara and Abraham fight like kids in a school yard discuss the fact that Glenn has no choice but to stay with they, Rosita (Christian Serratos) does the only thing she seems to know how to do and that is to stand there a la Lara Croft and look pretty menacing. Mr. I’m-Going-To-Save-The-World Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt) just waits for the children of the corn to arrive and manages to kill an army issue truck when they do…

Rick is now actively trying to escape his house of horrors. After finally getting to a room that has a window that opens, he meets Nasty 3 on the crapper. There is no questioning whether N3 is in a coma or not once Rick is finished with him.

Thinking that Rick is finally free of the house, we are drawn into yet another horror movie cliché: the ha-ha you thought you were free move. Rick nearly comes face to face with (who I am assuming is) N1. Quickly ducking down behind the porch, Rick makes the decision to kill this guy too – especially since he has just seen Carl and Michonne walk up IN PLAIN SIGHT. Seriously how fucktarded are these group of nasties that they can’t hear Rick running about on the stairs, or the scuffle that occurred in the bathroom when N3 was killed and now they can’t see two strangers approaching the house?! So, just as Rick is about to blow this guy’s head off, N3 reanimates in the bathroom and at the shouts of another nasty (is it N2 waking up from his ‘sleep’ or is there yet another person in the house?) N1 runs off to investigate. Rick Michonne and Carl make a clean getaway.

Glenn and Tara start the loooooong walk back to the prison in search of Maggie. Abraham tries to mess with Tara’s head.

Rick, Carl and Michonne come across the Terminus sign and decide that even though they have just fought off one crazed nutter who claimed his town was a safe haven, they don’t even discuss it, but just decide to go there.

What the fucked up fuck AMC?

Really?

The Governor (David Morrissey) and Woodbury did not even cross their minds?

And why are they not actively wondering where everyone else is? They seem to be the only group who have left the rest for dead and are just moving on…

So what did you think of AMC’s Season 4, Episode 11, entitled Claimed? Were you are disappointed as I was? Let me know in the comments below.

You can read my Episode 12 recap here.

(Photo Credits: AMC)

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