The Walking Dead Recap: Beside the Dying Fire (Season 2 Finale)

This is it, folks–after a season that has seen the numbers and spirits of our group of survivors dwindling, the Greene Farm is under siege by walkers as the group struggles to adjust to the events of the last couple of weeks, with the loss of two major characters. It’s the most talked-about finale yet this year, and we’re going to start talking about it, too–right now.As always, remember that these recaps are intended for viewers who have already seen the episode, or for whom spoilers are a non-issue. SPOILERS ON.The episode begins in flashback–in Atlanta, where zombies feast on human and animal remains alike until they’re drawn by the sound and sight of a helicopter through the streets. Dozens of walkers band together, shambling down the highway and into the country,  before walking right into a cow fence (perhaps the one Hershel told Rick had been damaged?). There’s a bottleneck, until literally hundreds of walkers pressing forward against one another finally cause it to burst and find themselves in the woods behind the Greene farm. All this time, they’ve been fairly aimless, until the sound of Carl’s pistol moves them out of the woods and into the clearing where Rick and Carl are walking away from Shane’s body.Inside the farmhouse, Daryl and Glenn arrive moments after the shot, but Rick and Carl aren’t back yet. Daryl begins to tell the group that he believes Shane killed Randall–he reveals that Randall was in fact not bitten before he turned–but is sent back out to find Rick and Shane.