Episode Commentary: Judge, Jury, Executioner
As the second season of “The Walking Dead†reaches its climax, this roller coaster ride has been full of intensity mixed with a high dose adrenaline rush. With two episodes left, the audience awaits in suspense as to what will happen next. “Judge, Jury, Executioner†focuses on Randall’s captivity and how the group feels about his execution after Rick makes the decision to kill the youngster. What you can expect from this episode is a solid story- it has a beginning, middle, and end. Not a lot to ask for but the end of this second season has been just that, structurally sound and eerily entertaining.
What makes this episode enjoyable is that we focus mostly on Carl- his view, his character- like we never seen before. In this episode, Carl is basically an explorer. He is curious about Randall and decides to take matters into his own hands after he steals a gun from Daryl’s motorcycle, almost getting himself killed after he encounters a trapped walker. After Carl taunts the walker, he is almost bitten and drops his gun. What makes this situation so compelling is that it will cause trouble later on in the episode.
Throughout this series we see Carl as a good kid, who does what he is told and obeys his parents. Here though, Carl is feisty. Not only does he put his father in his place by proving he is wrong with a smart remark, but he also insults Carol by calling her stupid [she believes that there was a heaven]. It is interesting to see how Carl as a character is dealing with the zombie apoloapyse and the loss of his friend, Sophia. What is so compelling about this storyline is that the audience gets to see how a child is living during such a harsh and cruel situation- in a world that is basically dead. Not only does this make good television- it is also smart.
As the episode moves along, we see how Dale feels about the possibility of Randall’s execution- it’s obvious that he feels it is a bad idea. Dale’s beliefs are civil and he thinks that there should be a jury involved in making such a harsh decision. What Dale fails to realize is that the world with laws are gone. It is now survival of the fittest, and no one can be trusted.
In a way, it ultimately costs him his life, but first his stomach.
As a result, Rick has decided to go forward with Randall’s execution.
While Daryl and Rick and Shane take Randall to the barn, an unexpected visitor comes to what eventually saves Randall’s life. Carl convinces his father to kill Randall, but Rick comes to his senses and realizes that the message he is sending to his son is out-right cruel; he decides not to pull the trigger.
As the rest of the group has been informed by Rick that the execution will no longer take place, they try to inform Dale, but he has decided go off on his own.
The episode ends with a scream and a shock.
It is now evident that the intensity has picked up. This show has finally arrived.
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