In celebration of The Walking Dead returning from its mid-season hiatus this Sunday, I have assembled the best shocking moments from the last 2.5 seasons. Now, these are not necessarily my favorite moments overall, but they are the scenes that metaphorically "gutted" me (that pun totally works for at least 2 of these). Having read the comics, I was not surprised by much, but these five punched me right in the feels.
**The following contains spoilers**
5. "Lightening crashes...."
"An old mother dies." This is not nearly as shocking as the fate that befell Lori in the books but it is shocking in its own way. The biggest surprise here is how much this scene disturbed me, especially Maggie slicing Lori's belly open like a fish as the life fades out of her face. All before the eyes of her young son, Carl. I also never expected baby Judith to out-live her mother but Lil Ass Kicker is still kicking. This scene did the unthinkable - it made me feel sympathy for Lori.
Full episode review of "The Killer Within"
4. Rick Happens.
This is the moment when comic book Rick Grimes fans went, "FINALLY!". Here is the bad-ass leader we know and love! Machete first and ask questions later! It was shocking to see Rick act so brazenly, but I also did not expect Tomas to bite it so quickly. It took Rick two seasons to deal with the Shane situation and about 30 minutes to take out this troublemaker. "Shit happens" alright! Viva la Ricktatorship!
3. Holy Cow (pun intended)! Dale Bites It
Here is another character I completely expected to die - not because of the comics, but rather the obvious character arc and Jeffrey DeMunn's loyalty to Frank Darabont. Despite that, I was still shocked by when and how it happened. I thought for sure Dale would fall victim to Shane's temper, not some stray walker Carl lured back to the farm! On top of that, much like Lori's death scene, this one is brutal. The irony alone is almost unbearable. Here we have Dale, the last bastion of humanity and life, now begging to be killed. This was devastating, but a proper send-off to one of my favorites.
Full Episode Review of "Judge, Jury, Executioner"
2. The Scene That Gave Me A Raging Michonner
While a zombie being killed with a kitana is always bad-ass, this choice is totally biased because I couldn't WAIT for Michonne to arrive, and the show-runners did an incredible job keeping this scene under wraps! Usually that stuff always leaks out (hello, Tyrese!) but I NEVER expected this lady to show up in the season 2 finale! I squealed with joy and surprise. And what an appearance it is, complete with ninja sword and pet zombie boyfriends. Oh, it's so, so perfect, I wish I could wipe my memory and keep reliving the first time I saw it.
Full review of "Beside the Dying Fire"
1. Shut That Door, Sophia! Were You Raised In a....oh.
Talk about a kick in the nuts. This is the scene that most strayed from Robert Kirkman's comics and, dare I say, is superior to the source material. In retrospect, I should have seen this coming, and yet, anyone who says they expected this to happen is a goddamn liar. After half-a-season of all these characters desperately seeking a lost little girl (who was quite alive and well in the books) with what seemed like an inevitable outcome, The Walking Dead dropped this bombshell on us. This was the moment when I knew the show had balls. The idea of a zombie girl is not exactly shocking - hell, Rick blew one away in the very first episode. No, it was crushing the survivors' hopes for humanity and willingness to live on, and then smearing in the fact that poor Sophia had been under their noses all along. Damn.
