Our favorite moments from The Walking Dead season 4

The Grove

Season 4, episode 414 “The Grove”

Sonya says:

While no one can say it was a “favorite” moment because of the dark subject matter there cannot be a discussion about the stand out episodes or moments of season 4 without talking about “The Grove”. It remains one of the most intense, poignant, and staggering episodes of The Walking Dead and always will. It’s absolutely extraordinary.

Melissa McBride and Chad Coleman both delivered award worthy performances that left us all immersed in the shock, horror, and sorrow of Lizzie’s murder of sister and near murder of Judith in an effort to get them to turn. And Carol’s recognition that she had to kill Lizzie because Lizzie was a danger to the living left fans speechless, as did the scene of her killing a child that was in some ways so much like her own. It was haunting and mesmerizing and beautifully tragic.

But it’s impossible to talk about “The Grove” without talking about Brighton Sharbino’s fantastic performance. For a child to be able to subtly portray the complex emotions that Lizzie had and the sociopathic way that her mind worked after being exposed to trauma and the horrors of the apocalypse world is really extraordinary. Even though Lizzie killed her sister and was ready to kill Judith Sharbino’s performance still made Lizzie a sympathetic character whose delusions about the walkers made her a tragic figure instead of a monster.

If anyone were to ask me what five episodes of The Walking Dead to watch to understand the show, or why it is so special, I’d say “The Grove” is one of those episodes. It is a perfect snapshot of what it’s like to live in a world where death is everywhere and there are no easy choices anymore.