Warning: Spoilers ahead.
The latest episode of "
The second episode of season 4, "Infected," was good, but we've seen a lot better.
Sure, it was chock full of zombie action - plenty of kills, guts, and gore to keep us satisfied. An entire attack on one of the cell blocks filled nearly half the episode before another threat from the outside kept Rick and the gang occupied, but other than that it was a slow-moving episode.
The producers keep telling us that they're planting the seeds right now to lead to some explosive storytelling later in the season.
We'll trust that.
Here are the big takeaways from Sunday's episode.
1. There's a mysterious super flu.
Forget the walkers. People are getting sick and are becoming walkers overnight! As a result, we said goodbye to Karen (who we barely knew to begin with) along with 14 to 15 others.
Executive producer Greg Nicotero made it clear on after show "Talking Dead" the contagious virus spreading around isn't Swine flu.
He revealed the illness is actually based on the influenza from The Great Pandemic of 1918 to 1919. It's estimated that 30 to 50 million people passed away worldwide. 675,000 were Americans.
Nicotero says the virus ended up affecting people in their prime, not the young or old.
2. People inside the prison are now a threat, too!?
Not only are people dropping like flies, but someone's killing innocents as well. At the end of the episode, two burned bodies are found. Plus, zombies are also getting fed rats. Is the same culprit behind both?
3. We're not sure what to think of the introduction of two girls Lizzie and Mika.
Carol takes charge of the two after their father dies.
We quickly learn something's off with Lizzie. The girl has a HUGE attachment to the zombies - she names them and seems more concerned about "Nick's" death than her father's. Naturally, it looks like she may be the one feeding the walkers. (But there's no way she could drag two bodies out and burn them.) Plus, it doesn't help that her sister says "She's messed up. She's not weak."
4. Gore on the show is amping up - but are they trying too hard?
Gene Page /
However, after last week's ridiculous raining Zombie scene, is the crew trying too hard to keep us entertained?
5. Now that Carl has his gun back, is he going to get trigger happy again?
At the end of last season, Carl shot a teen in cold blood. Will he start abusing his power? It doesn't look that way. He went straight to his dad and told him Carol's training girls to fight with knives. As well, he seemed slightly distraught he had to pick up a gun to defend Michonne from an onslaught of zombies.
6. Clearly, there's a somber Michonne backstory we want to know more about.
The machete-wielding woman broke down while holding Rick's daughter Judith. Did Michonne once have kids, was she pregnant, or does Judith just have the power to bring every strong character on this show to their knees (see Daryl)?
7. The sheriff is back in town ... but is the Ricktatorship?
At the end of the episode, Rick not only gives Carl back his gun, but also puts his Sheriff's belt back on with gun in its holster. He wants to be a good father and role model for his kids, but just because he's tuning the zombie apocalypse out with earbuds, doesn't mean it isn't happening.
Rick's not back in leadership mode, but he may be a few deaths away from getting back on that saddle.