The Walking Dead 209: Examining fight or flight in ‘Triggerfinger’
By Wade Wainio
Season 2 episode 9 of The Walking Dead, titled ‘Triggerfinger’, is largely about people’s fight or flight actions in crisis mode. And Lori makes some kills!
“Triggerfinger” — season 2, episode 9 of The Walking Dead — is largely about people’s fight or flight actions in crisis mode. It begins at Lori‘s nasty car accident, where we see a walker trying to get her by squeezing his face through the broken windshield. This brutal and impressive sequence hints that more action is coming our way. It is truly a sight to behold, as the walker’s flesh is torn just so he can bite onto some human flesh. Fortunately for Lori, she escapes and ends up killing both undead assailants, resourcefully using a hubcap from the crashed car at one point. Who knew she was capable of that?
Anyway, where is her husband Rick? He’s still with Hershel and Glenn at the bar, where they had just killed two guys named Dave and Tony. Now there’s a search party arriving, and no one knows exactly what to do. Rick takes a chance, informing the party that Dave and Tony were killed in self-defense, and that they’d all be better off if further violence is avoided. Of course, these words fall on deaf ears and a standoff begins. Some people don’t like it when others are missing, or killed.
On that note, attention shifts back to Hershel’s farm, where we see Daryl Dixon considering flight from the group. Feeling like an unappreciated “errand boy,” he even mocks Carol about her recently deceased daughter (Ouch!). It may seem like a bizarre and cruel display, but it is part of Daryl’s way of saying “Leave me alone!” He is no doubt considering striking out on his own, feeling that he is resourceful enough to possibly make it, and that the others are just holding him back.
Daryl is not alone in weighing his options. Not long ago, Shane and Andrea had debated heading off together (or alone). However, it has been established that Shane is too possessive of Lori to seriously consider leaving the farm. This is also why he heads off to search for her now, finding her on the highway after her ordeal. When he falsely tells her that Rick’s at the farm, he may be doing so partly to protect her, but he surely also knows it’s the only way he’ll have her back in his presence — even for a short while. It could also be that, in Shane’s mind, Rick is probably already dead. It’s been established that Shane has little faith in Rick, and feels he is endangering himself and the group with his unrealistic decisions and expectations. Of course, he’s also resentful that Rick is still the alpha dog of the bunch, and no doubt intends to change that.
Shane’s lie about Rick is exposed. In defending his choice, he says he was concerned for Lori’s baby. And so, just like that, he reveals to everyone that Lori had been secretly pregnant. Another nail is driven into the coffin of Lori and Shane’s prospective relationship, though Shane undoubtedly doesn’t see it that way. Quite simply, Shane doesn’t like to think of himself as flawed. When Lori speaks privately to him, Shane tries to bring up the past, that they were meant to be together, etc. Of course, implied in Shane’s recent behavior is a man with flawed views of relationships, who has a tough time accepting answers of “No,” and who is possibly willing to kill others if it’s convenient.
Meanwhile, back at the bar, Hershel is forced to shoot one of the attackers in the ongoing standoff, and the man he shoots is eventually devoured by walkers (walkers are attracted by gunfire). As it turns out, Rick was right about the wisdom of avoiding this confrontation.
Unfortunately, not everyone listens to reason. Now they all need to escape the ensuing horde of undead freaks, and be on the lookout for living, armed assailants. When a man named Randall tries to jump off a roof, his leg is impaled on a fence, and the people he was defending quickly turn tail and run. Essentially, they leave him to die. Being the outdated heroic types, Rick and Hershel devise a brilliant plan for freeing his impaled leg. Okay, they don’t. While fending off approaching walkers, they end up pulling Randall’s leg up. It is disgusting.
They get back to the farm before long, and Hershel works his veterinary magic to repair Randall’s leg. Predictably, Shane considers Randall’s mere presence on the farm to be risky. For him, any risky decision is just not worth it, unless it’s for himself, Lori or Carl. Rick tells him that Randall was blindfolded on the way to the farm, and that Randall’s group left him for dead on the fence, but none of that apparently matters.
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However, this leads to a great moment in Triggerfinger, where Hershel scolds and silences Shane: “You know, we haven’t even dealt with what you did at my barn yet [massacring walkers, in a way that jeopardized people’s lives]. Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all… This is my farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. So do us both a favor… Keep your mouth shut.” So let me make this side comment: Hershel’s drinking days may be over (again), but his days of being a bad-ass have arrived in full force. He proved it in town by defending Glenn and Rick, and he proved it also by saving Carl and Randall’s lives.
Anyway, Andrea still seems smitten with Shane, defending his mentality in a conversation with Dale. Being sensitive and overly emotional herself, she probably needs someone like Shane, who at least seems like a confident, stabilizing force.
Because Rick is capable of nuance and doesn’t make as many rash decisions, she thinks he is more likely to get the group killed. Again, it makes me think the two should have left the group, if they really think they’re so great, and treated as outsiders. However, the two are far more insecure than they suggest, which is why they lash out at Rick to begin with.
Shane has even more reason to stay, as he can’t stand being told “No.” When Lori says the baby isn’t his and that their relationship was essentially a mistake, it’s something Shane cannot take. It is ultimately why Shane is dangerous, and Lori tells these fears to Rick.
Next: Season 2 Episode 10: 18 MIles Out
Shane is not even disgusted at Rick. At the core, he is disgusted by his own sense of failure, but does not have the dignity or self control to let the issue fade and make amends. This is why he can’t leave (that, and how the writers choose to keep him there).
“Triggerfinger” is definitely an action oriented episode of The Walking Dead that still tells a story.