Triggerfinger (The Walking Dead)

"Triggerfinger" is the ninth episode of the second season and 15th episode overall of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on February 19, 2012. The episode was written by David Leslie Johnson and was directed by Billy Gierhart. In the episode, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln)'s actions initiate a standoff between his group, Dave (Michael Raymond-James) and Tony (Aaron Munoz)'s men, and the walkers nearby. Meanwhile, Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal) decides to save Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies), who has been injured in a car accident.

Plot

Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies) wakes up from her recent car accident with minor bruises and narrowly fights off two walkers. She then continues further down the road to look for her husband Rick (Andrew Lincoln).

After killing their two attackers, Rick, Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson), and Glenn (Steven Yeun) prepare to leave, but a three-man search party arrives in town looking for the slain Dave (Michael Raymond-James) and Tony (Aaron Munoz). Rick, Hershel, and Glenn remain held up inside the bar, until Rick gives away their location and tries to negotiate with the men outside, stating they killed Dave and Tony in self-defense. The group responds by firing at Rick's group, initiating a standoff.

Back at the farm, the group notices Lori is missing. Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) finds Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and learns it was he who let Lori go out alone, as Daryl refused to be anyone's "errand boy". She receives harsh words from Daryl who mocks her for losing all of her family and being alone and insults her for not minding her business. While Carol is beginning to cope with the loss of Sophia, Daryl is becoming increasingly more aloof. Carol tells Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal) that Lori went into town to look for her husband, prompting Shane to locate Lori. When he finds her, he gets her to return to camp by deceiving her into thinking that Rick and the others were already back. When she finds out he lied, Shane tells her that he was concerned about the baby — inadvertently revealing to the others, including Carl, that she is secretly pregnant. Carl is puzzled with questions at the prospect of a new baby and he asks if the baby could be named after Sophia if it's a girl. Shane and Lori have a private talk about their past relationship. Over Lori's objections, Shane says he believes their feelings during the short-lived affair were real and is convinced that they were meant to be together. Andrea (Laurie Holden) consoles Hershel's daughter Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and tells her to be strong for her sister, Beth (Emily Kinney), who is still in a comatose state.

In town, Rick's group devises a plan to escape the bar through the rear, during which Glenn nearly gets shot, before the attacker in question is shot and wounded by Hershel. Attracted to the noisy gunfire, a horde of walkers swarms the town (killing the injured attacker in the process), leading the remaining two attackers to cease fire and attempt to escape. One attacker, a young man named Randall (Michael Zegen), who is stationed on a rooftop, attempts to escape by jumping off the roof. He, instead, ends up impaling his leg on a fence, and the remaining attacker deserts him. Rick's group attempts to save him, resulting in yanking Randall from the fence in an act of desperation.

Upon returning to camp, Hershel immediately operates to save Randall's leg, but he states he sustained nerve damage and will not be able to walk for a week. Rick's decision to return with Randall is met by skepticism from Shane who believes this to be a risky decision. Rick says that he blindfolded Randall on the way back to camp and argues that his group left him for dead and will not think of returning for him. Rick plans to send him away once he has recovered (much to Shane's chagrin). Hershel reminds the hotheaded Shane to 'keep his mouth shut' if he wants to stay on his farm. As Beth wakes up, Maggie expresses her disappointment with Hershel for disappearing and drinking. Glenn attempts to distance himself from Maggie, telling her that their relationship caused him to lose his focus during the shootout in town. Dale Horvath (Jeffrey DeMunn) is shocked to hear that Andrea still agrees with Shane's actions when she states that Shane has done more to keep the group safe than anyone else, including Rick. She and Shane later have a conversation, wherein both state their belief that Rick refuses to accept the reality of the situation, and that his actions will get the group killed. Lori tells Rick that Shane is delusional for believing the baby to be his and that their affair was not a mistake. Revealing to Rick that Shane has made threats to Dale and that she believes he killed Otis (Pruitt Taylor Vince), she tells her husband that Shane is dangerous. The episode ends with the camera panning in on Rick's angry and disgusted face.

Reception

Critical response

Zack Handlen writing for The A.V. Club rated the episode B on an A to F scale.^[1] Eric Goldman at IGN gave the episode 8.5 out of 10.^[2]

Ratings

Upon its initial broadcast on February 19, 2012, "Triggerfinger" was watched by estimated 6.89 million viewers,^[3] down from the previous episode which reached 8.10 million viewers.^[4]

References

External links

• "Triggerfinger" at AMC
• "Triggerfinger" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Triggerfinger" at TV.com