Ok, I caught up with the series. So far I'm really enjoying this new arch.
First episode was pretty good. It dealt with some of the aftermath of the barn and set up the new equilibrium for the rest of the season. Everyone is upset about what happened, both Hershal's clan because they've had to deal with the fact that the walkers are dead and Camp Rick because Sofia was with them. The ending really appealed to me because of the parallels between Hershel initially refusing sanctuary for Rick and his people, and now Rick having to do the same to these new guys. I wonder if anyone will try to leave the farm now, though. With Sofia being a major reason why they were still there, will some of the minor characters like T-dog decide to leave?
2nd episode. We've picked up at the bar right after Rick takes out the two new guys. I like the way a lot of this sequence played out. Rick tried to make peace and explain before just opening up on them, Glenn having a moment of doubt and everything. The only thing that felt out of place was Hershel deciding that he was a badass now. He shoots a zombie, and even shoots that other guy, like it ain't no thang. Granted he was doing it out of survival, but it still felt weird that he'd give zero fucks about it. I liked the situation at the end with if they should take the guy, shoot him, or just fuckin' leave him.
3rd episode. This one felt a little... motionless? I mean they're in the almost exact same situation they were in before. I liked the initial solution of deciding to just leave him in a place where he'll have a chance but won't be able to get back. It felt humane while still protecting your own. I thought they were a bit too quick to flip out when they realized he knew about the farm anyway. Really all of their dealings with him from that point on felt weird to me. If it were me, I'd probably just blind fold him again and instead of 20 miles down the road I'd shoot for 100 or so. Why not just take him so far away that it'd be extremely unlikely for him to find his way back, or even have a reason to come back at all. Then after the ordeal at the facility they were at, they make him pull over so they can bind and gag him again? Even though he's fully aware of whats up? It just seems like they've stopped thinking about the situation and I don't know if it's a character decision or a producer decision. We also have these two scenes of Rick and Shane talking which can be summed up with Rick telling Shane that it's his way or the highway. Overall I feel like we're on the same page we were at the end of the last episode, character wise. Although we did see the real difference between Shane and Rick. I feel like given the chance, Shane would have killed Rick right then and there, as we saw with the wrench. I also think that Shane would have left Rick in the school bus in a heartbeat.
It seems the big question of this half of the season is going to be if they should kill this guy or not. While I do enjoy the moral question itself, my fear is that this will be dragged out a bit too long. To me, the solution is to just let him go, but far, far away from the group. I think we might get another explosive reaction out of Shane though, who will probably just end up killing him. The big reveal though, is that Shane will shoot him in the chest and they'll find out that it's not just those who die by scratches or bites that come back, it's everyone.