Save the Last One
Directed by Phil Abraham
The episode begins with a Flashforward to Shane showering at the Greene farm. He shaves his head and stares at his reflection in the mirror for a long moment, appearing conflicted.
Earlier, Rick and Lori wait at Carl's bedside for Shane and Otis to return from their trip to procure the medical supplies needed for Carl's lifesaving operation. Rick tries to keep Lori's spirits up while she urges him to eat as he is weak from giving multiple blood transfusions to keep Carl alive. Meanwhile, on the highway, Carol is crying over her daughter's disappearance in the bedroom of the RV, prompting Daryl to go out and resume searching for the child as he is unable to sleep. With nothing better to do, Andrea decides to accompany him, ignoring Dale's protests.
At the high school, Shane and Otis are trapped in the auditorium and outnumbered by walkers. They devise a plan wherein Otis will lure the walkers away to the locker room, allowing Shane to escape through the window, which Otis will be unable to fit through on account of his size. Otis is able to draw off most of the horde, but Shane is grabbed by a zombie as he goes through the window, forcing him to shoot it and fall two stories to the ground, injuring his ankle.
At the same time, Glenn and T-Dog arrive at the farm and are greeted by Maggie, while Hershel informs Rick and Lori that they will soon have to make a choice as to whether he should attempt the surgery without the equipment if Shane and Otis don't return. Lori wonders whether Carl wouldn't be better off if they simply allowed him to die; Rick doesn't want to hear it, but when she begs him to give her a reason why it would be better to live he is unable to answer. Meanwhile, Shane is slowed down due to his injury and is about to be overrun when Otis saves him, though they are both almost out of ammo.
As Carl's condition continues to deteriorate, Daryl and Andrea scour the woods for Sophia. Andrea is doubtful they will find her alive, but Daryl is more optimistic about her chances, relaying a story of a time he got lost in the woods as a child. As they search, they encounter a walker hanging from a tree after having apparently tried to commit suicide, the flesh from its legs having since been eaten. Daryl doesn't want to waste an arrow on it, but eventually agrees to shoot it if Andrea answers his question about her own suicidal tendencies; she replies simply that she doesn't know if she wants to live or if it's just a habit, and Daryl reluctantly fulfills his end of the bargain.
Meanwhile, Glenn tries to pray for Carl's life as T-Dog has his arm attended to, but is interrupted by Maggie and admits that he has never prayed before. Maggie confesses that she has begun to question her own faith in light of everything that has happened, and the two engage in a theological debate. Rick is able to convince Lori that it's worth giving Carl a chance, and they tell Hershel to go ahead with the surgery without anesthetic. Just as he is preparing to begin, however, Shane returns; he is alone and clearly shell-shocked, and tells the others that they were swarmed and Otis didn't make it. Hershel insists that no-one tell Patricia until after the surgery, as Maggie breaks down and Rick thanks Shane for bringing back the equipment.
As Daryl and Andrea return to the RV, Dale apologizes to Andrea for taking away her choices and returns her gun to her, though he asks her not to make him regret it. He then wants to know if Andrea forgives him, to which she can only respond that she's trying. At the farmhouse, Glenn comforts Maggie and she reveals that she has also lost her stepmother and stepbrother. Hershel is able to stabilize Carl, and Shane watches as he and Rick break the news of Otis's fate to Patricia before going to see Carl. Lori asks him to stay but he finds that he can't, and after Maggie gives him some of Otis's clothes to change into he goes to take his shower.
In the bathroom, Shane has a Flashback to what really happened at the high school, remembering Otis helping him along as his ankle gives way, both of them down to their last bullet. He tells Otis to leave him and take the supplies, but Otis refuses; as the walkers get closer, Shane apologizes before shooting him in the kneecap, taking his backpack and his gun. Otis rips out a chunk of Shane's hair in his attempts to fight back, but Shane is able to pull away and makes his escape as the walkers tear Otis apart. Back in the present, Shane shaves his head in order to conceal his bald spot - the only evidence of what really happened.
Tropes
- Apologetic Attacker: Shane apologizes to Otis before shooting him and leaving him for dead.
- Big Damn Heroes: Otis saves Shane as he's about to be overpowered. It comes back to bite him later on...
- Shane himself arrives back at the farm, just as Hershel was about to begin an operation that probably would have killed Carl, if he hadn't had the supplies Shane brought.
- Black Comedy: The walker that Daryl and Andrea find hanging from a tree, mostly due to the accompanying suicide note and their reactions to it.
- Blatant Lies: Shane is... not very convincing in relaying his version of events as to what went down at the school, though most of the others seem to buy it. However, it's revealed in a later episode that at least two members of the group, Daryl and Dale, were able to work out what had really happened right away.
- Call-Back: Dale apologizes to Andrea for undermining her choice, referencing their conversation from "What Lies Ahead" and the events of "TS-19".
- Character Death: Otis dies when Shane kneecaps him to distract the walkers while he escapes.
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: Dale's gambit to save Andrea doesn't miraculously make her think life is worth living again, it just forced her to live. Moreover, she's not exactly grateful and resents him for it.
- Continuity Nod:
- Daryl refers to suicide as 'opting out', the same term used by Edwin Jenner in "TS-19". He also asks Andrea whether she wants to live now, referring to her attempted suicide in the same episode.
- Glenn is seen with the guitar that was salvaged from the highway in the season opener.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Daryl hints at one, telling the story of how he spent several days lost in the woods as a child with no-one seeming to notice or care that he was missing.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Lori towards Shane after he returns with the medical supplies.
- Devoured by the Horde: When trying to outrun a horde of zombies, Shane shoots Otis in the leg with his last round and takes his supplies just before the horde surrounds and devours Otis.
- Driven to Suicide: The walker that Daryl and Andrea find in the woods died as a result of this. They also discuss Andrea's past suicide attempt, though it seems that she doesn't intend to try again any time soon.
- Easily Forgiven: Averted with Andrea and Dale; she's trying, but she's not quite there yet.
- Flashback: Otis's fate is revealed this way, as Shane thinks over what really happened at the high school.
- Flashforward: The episode opens with Shane having arrived back at the farm, before returning to the present time to show how he got there.
- Foreshadowing: Rick's steadfast refusal to let Carl die and the suicide walker both hint at the reveal at the end of the season.
- Friendship Moment: Andrea and Daryl, who haven't shared many scenes prior to this episode, bond while searching for Sophia.
- Genre Blind: Daryl remarks that the zombie infectee who committed suicide to avoid turning obviously didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head.
- Goodbye, Cruel World!: The suicide note found with the hanging walker.Daryl (reading aloud): Got bit. Fever hit. World gone to Shit. Might as well quit.
- Guilt Complex: Shane after killing Otis.
- Heel Realization: A non-villainous version, Dale realizes that he was out of order in forcing Andrea to leave the CDC and apologizes as he returns her gun.
- Heroic BSoD / Villainous Breakdown:
depending on your interpretation of Shane at this point, his behaviour after returning to the farm could be seen as either. - How We Got Here: The episodes starts with Shane shaving his head, then goes back to the events that lead to him doing it.
- Important Haircut: Shane's new look reflects the change in his morality as well as hiding the only evidence of his guilt.
- Knee Capping: Shane incapacitates Otis by shooting him in the kneecap, creating a diversion for the walkers so that he can escape.
- Locked Out of the Loop: When he learns that Otis died on the trip, Hershel orders everyone else to not say a word to Patricia since he needs her help to perform surgery on Carl. She's not told until after Carl is stabilized.
- Mauve Shirt: Otis had been characterized as a decent guy who made a complete mistake and wanted to make up for it, whatever it took to save Carl's life. And he ended up dying a horrible death anyway.
- Nay-Theist: Maggie appears to have this outlook; she believes in God, but she remarks that quite a few prayers have gone unanswered recently.
- No Zombie Cannibals: Possibly averted, in an unusual case. The established rule of the show is that the zombies are only interested in living flesh, but the walker that Daryl and Andrea find has had some of the flesh eaten from its legs. However, it's possible that this happened prior to reanimation, as the corpse would have been relatively fresh.
- Once More, with Clarity: Right before Shane gets back, we see him and Otis limping away from the horde, so we're left to fill in what happened to Otis. Then he has flashbacks of the little detail that he left out...
- One Bullet Left: Shane and Otis both get down to their last bullet as they attempt to flee the school. Shane uses his on Otis.
- Pragmatic Hero: Hershel knows better than to tell Patricia that her husband has died before they perform a desperate surgery on Carl, and waits until after Carl is stabilized to tell her.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Otis isn't a major character, but his death was a major statement on Shane's state of mind going forward.
- Ship Tease: Glenn and Maggie share some heartfelt conversations and comfort for each other.
- Shower of Angst: Shane has one upon returning to the farm, shaken from sacrificing Otis.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Rick and Daryl fall into the idealist camp, while Lori and Andrea both come down firmly on the cynical side.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Played with. Lori initially thinks this may the case for Carl and questions whether it would be more cruel to save his life given the Crapsack World he would be coming back to. Rick convinces her otherwise.
- Unfriendly Fire: Shane is able to shoot Otis as no-one will question it if he claims the other man was simply overpowered by walkers. Or so he thinks...
- We Need a Distraction: Done twice. The first time Otis willingly draws the walkers away to allow Shane a chance to escape through the window; the second time he isn't given a choice in the matter as Shane shoots him and leaves him for walker bait.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: When Daryl decides to exact revenge on Andrea for laughing at him by grossing her out.
