‘The Walking Dead’ Retro Recap: ‘Triggerfinger’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

There are, a great many things that we fear in this world. We fear death, we fear getting sick. We fear losing control of our minds and our bodies and above all else, we fear harm from our fellow man. In fact, that last fear on that particular list, might be one of our biggest fears of all. Because deep down we know what kind of cruelty humanity is capable of and the thought of being subject to that level of anger or desperation is quite terrifying to say the least… and that’s why horror stories explore it often. For our darkest side is indeed the greatest monster ever known and its true potential can be delved into in print and on screen in the most fascinating ways imaginable, and it just so happens that the first examination of dark side of humanity in the world of The Walking Dead, came about in the next episode of this storied franchise.
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For ‘Triggerfinger’ picked up immediately after Rick was forced to defend himself and his friends from the two unsavory fellows that walked into the local watering hole and well… their dispatch led to the raw anger and cruelty in question. For their friends came looking for their buddies and well, once they were aware that enemies were in the bar and that their pals wouldn’t be coming out, they immediately gave into their darker instincts and attacked. Which led to a horrendous and downright scary firefight at the bar, one that saw Glenn endure more close scrapes and saw Hershel be forced to fight. All because there was a real chance that these men, who clearly gave into the fear and let their darkest instincts come out… would have killed our heroes without giving the situation and circumstances a second thought.

Which was a blunt way to remind us of why to fear to desperate men, and that would explain why it took its examination of why we fear those kinds of dudes one step further. Because TWD is all about nuance and detailed explorations and it was eager to dig far deeper into this mess, and did so, by showing us how far men like this will go to get their way and feel needed when they believe they are marginalized. A feat that this story accomplished by way of Shane’s journey. Since he rescued Lori when it was discovered that she had gone out on her own and he promptly lied to her about Rick’s status in order to get her and the baby back home safely and his lies and manipulation spoke volumes to how desperate he was to feel relevant again and that makes him as tragic as ever since it is quickly becoming clear that he is a broken man looking for purpose.

But Lori was right about one thing in this tale, he is in fact… quite dangerous and quite scary. Because clearly, he will do and say whatever it takes to get his way and obtain what he thinks is his and a brand-new conflict is brewing because of that. For this episode wasn’t all pure darkness. It also featured an errand of mercy since Rick and Hershel and Glenn didn’t leave one of the attackers behind to be torn apart by the living dead and well… that’s something that clearly didn’t sit right with Shane. Since he firmly believes now that doing whatever it takes is the only way to live in this world and it will be quite interesting to see how he will express his new beliefs to Rick, now that a bold and daring and downright insulting line has been crossed in Shane’s wild and frustrated eyes.

But while we wait to see how that plays out, we can bask in the wonder of one intense tale. One that made it clear that the real enemy in this world isn’t the walking corpses that meander about the countryside, but the humans left behind. Because not everyone is good and not everyone is keen to support others and that reality and a few other important moments to come forth in later episodes of season two, set the stage for so much of the show’s future. Such as what Rick and his group would stand for and how hard they would fight for that, and of course, the powerful villains to come and wouldn’t you know it? That exploration of what the group is going to stand for gets underway in the next episode, courtesy of an unwholesome road trip between two best friends. Until next time.

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