After the three-month hiatus, Nebraska was a much-anticipated episode, and it began where the last episode left off – Rick had just shot zombie Sophia. As we know, Shane let all of the walkers out from the barn. He and Andrea began shooting them one by one. This further pissed Dale off, although Dale hated Shane already, this simply adds fuel to the discontent between them. What I liked about this though, is that everyone else – including Carl – agreed with what Shane did. It really was the right thing to do, even if it wasn’t the best way to do it.

Aside from Sophia, Hershel’s wife was also in the barn. When the Greene family saw her zombie body lying in the heap amongst the others, it caused a lot of heartbreak. Beth (one of Hershel’s daughters) was crying when her not quite dead Zombie-Mommy began reaching for her. Beth escaped only to watch her mother’s skull be penetrated by a farming tool. This sent Beth sent into a state of shock – and where was Hershel?

After making it very clear that everyone but his own family was to immediately leave the farm, Hershel discovered an old flask in his dresser drawer. From there he then went to town to his favorite bar from the old days, and promptly Rick and Glenn go out after him. During this bar adventure, two more characters were introduced: Dave and Tony – a couple of guys who are clearly bad news. Their inquisitive about where Rick and the others are staying, and this is the first time that we really see that the dangers to the group are far more vast than just dodging walkers. With Rick’s refusal to pony up any info, the strangers get increasingly hostile, until one of them draws his gun on Rick. Rick very quickly shoots both of the men.

Best scene ever!

Back at the farm, Dale tells Lori that he is pretty sure Shane sacrificed Otis to escape the walkers when they went to the school a few episodes back. Dale explains that although he has no proof, Shane all but admitted it to him. This is a telling factor, as Shane at one point asks Dale ‘What it is you actually do around here?’, it would appear Dale’s most recent job is to see through the bullshit that everyone else appears blind to.

When Beth’s condition seems to get worse, Lori tries to send Daryl to get the guys. Daryl is still very upset about the Sophia situation, and refuses to go. Lori then grabs a gun that I am not entirely convinced she knows how to use at all, and gets in a car to go get the guys from town. She is pregnant and has a son at the farm, but… who cares? The 90 pound woman is going to bring back the three grown men. Only she gets spooked by a zombie …and flips her car. Women drivers… pshh.

I thought that this was a pretty great episode. There were parts of this episode that I thought were slow, but as I was reminded, they are trying to show how desensitized everyone is becoming to the world around them.

I would give Nebraska a 4/5. The scene in the saloon really made this episode.

[Editor’s Note: The scene where Tony and Dave arrive at the bar, which lasted roughly 8 minutes, was for me, the most intensely enjoyable scene in the history of the show. That is largely thanks to a mostly still unknown, and surely under-appreciated actor named Michael Raymond James, who many people will recognize as ‘Rene Lenier’ from the first season of True Blood, but who will forever be known to me as ‘Britt Pollack’ from Terriers. There was something about him and his interactions with Rick, as if he is the ‘Rick’ of the other group, and he wasn’t always a bad guy, he was just handling things much differently. He seemed to channel almost a ‘John McClane’ type of edgy-swagger about him and the way he talked. I was sad to see him killed off so quick, but I suppose it just makes Rick that much cooler in the way he handled it. Kudos to the casting department on that one.]