Secrets (The Walking Dead)
Encyclopedia
"Secrets" is the sixth episode of the second season
of the post-apocalyptic
horror
television series The Walking Dead
, which aired on AMC in the United States on November 20, 2011.
) feed chickens on the Green farm. Meanwhile Patricia (Dianne McNeill) breaks the legs of several chickens before putting them into a potato sack, and carrying them to the barn to feed the walkers being kept there.
Rick (Andrew Lincoln
) and Lori argue about how to tell the group of Hershel's (Scott Wilson
) refusal to let them stay on the farm once they get back on their feet. Maggie (Lauren Cohan
) begs Glenn (Steven Yeun
), already struggling with being the only one to know about Lori's pregnancy, to keep secret the presence of walkers in the barn. Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn
) quickly notices Glenn's nervousness and after being questioned Glenn blurts out both secrets. Dale goes to Lori and promises her that he will not tell anyone about her pregnancy. Dale also confronts Hershel about the walkers in the barn. Hershel asserts that all walkers are still people, and that they are just "sick." He explains that among the walkers in the barn are his wife and stepson. Dale argues that they are not human beings, and explains that they are too dangerous to be kept alive based on what he has seen in them. Hershel however considers killing the walkers to be 'an atrocity.'
Glenn and Maggie go off to the pharmacy to pick up additional medical supplies for Lori. Glenn, like Dale, expresses his opinion that the walkers need to be killed. Maggie is annoyed at his use of the word 'walker', saying that she knows those in the barn by their real names, as they were her friends and family. In the pharmacy, Maggie is attacked and nearly bitten while retrieving the supplies - she narrowly escapes after Glenn kills the walker. Returning to the farm with the supplies, Maggie angrily confronts Lori about her lies, saying that they almost got her and Glenn killed. After Glenn intervenes, Maggie tells him that she cares about him but that the rest of the group do not respect him and that they use him as 'walker bait.' Glenn however tells Lori that he is her friend, and again urges her to tell Rick about the pregnancy. Unwilling to bring a child into a world that she sees as without joy, Lori takes the Morning After pills Glenn gave her, but immediately throws them up. She ultimately confesses both her pregnancy and her previous affair with Shane (Jon Bernthal
) to her husband, who reveals that he had already known about both.
Meanwhile Rick, Shane and T-Dog (IronE Singleton) give gun training to Jimmy, Carl and the women on the farm - after Andrea impresses Shane with her shooting skill, he takes her for advanced training. The two then go off to town after Shane finds a lead on the missing Sofia, but find it overrun by walkers. After escaping, the two begin an affair. Upon returning however, Dale quickly guesses that something has happened between them. Feeling protective, he warns Shane to stay away from her, and tells him that he witnessed Shane aim his shotgun at Rick in the woods near their old camp outside Atlanta, as well as raising suspicions as to what happened to Otis while he and Shane went searching for medical supplies. Shane denies ever intending to kill his best friend, but threatens Dale, hinting he would kill him should he make any more 'wild accusations.'
, the ratings "Secrets" received with adults 18–49 were down one tenth of a point. It was still the highest rated cable show that Sunday, with a rating of 3.1 in that group. It was also the most watched non-sporting cable show of the week, with 6.8 million viewers. While viewership was still high, TV by the Numbers
commented that the continuing ratings slide of the show – along with that of AMC's other Sunday show, Hell on Wheels
– was cause for concern for the channel.
Scott Meslow of The Atlantic described the episode as one focused on love and relationships. He considered it wise to underplay the tryst between Shane and Andrea, which he predicted would not lead to anything serious. Starlee Kine of New York
magazine's Vulture blog complained that, even though she had high expectations about story lines that could emerge from the zombies in the barn, these were not met. She was disappointed about the amount of time instead spent on watching characters go through gun training. IGN
' s Eric Goldman was also expecting further developments on the barn story, but he found that "quite a bit of strong character drama" made up for this omission. He also found the final scene between Rick and Lori both well acted and well written.
Several commentators criticized the episode for being potentially misleading about emergency contraception
. Erin Gloria Ryan on the website Jezebel
pointed out that morning-after pills do not cause abortion, as the episode seemed to imply. An actual abortion pill, the so-called RU-486, "is administered by medical professionals and wouldn't be available in a pharmacy", she wrote. This criticism was echoed by Amanda Marcotte, writing for Slate
' s XXfactor blog. Marcotte explained that morning-after pills simply "work by stifling ovulation before any sperm can make their way toward the Fallopian tubes". Glen Mazzara
, the show's showrunner, responded to this criticism with the following statement:
The Walking Dead (season 2)
The second season of AMC's television series The Walking Dead premiered on October 16, 2011 on AMC and will feature 13 episodes. The series is based on the series of comic books of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard; it was developed for television by Frank Darabont, who...
of the post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
television series The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead (TV series)
The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series developed for television by Frank Darabont and based on the ongoing comic book series, The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard...
, which aired on AMC in the United States on November 20, 2011.
Plot
Carl (Chandler Riggs), regaining strength after his gunshot wound, is back on his feet and helping Lori (Sarah Wayne CalliesSarah Wayne Callies
Sarah Wayne Callies is an American actress who is best known for her role as Sara Tancredi in the American television series Prison Break. She now plays Lori Grimes in The Walking Dead.- Early life :...
) feed chickens on the Green farm. Meanwhile Patricia (Dianne McNeill) breaks the legs of several chickens before putting them into a potato sack, and carrying them to the barn to feed the walkers being kept there.
Rick (Andrew Lincoln
Andrew Lincoln
Andrew Lincoln is an English actor, known for his roles in the TV series This Life, Teachers and Afterlife, and the films Love Actually and Heartbreaker...
) and Lori argue about how to tell the group of Hershel's (Scott Wilson
Scott Wilson (actor)
Scott Wilson is an American actor.-Movies:Wilson appeared in such films as In the Heat of the Night, In Cold Blood, The Gypsy Moths, The Great Gatsby, The Right Stuff, A Year of the Quiet Sun, Malone, Dead Man Walking, The Grass Harp, Junebug, The Host, Monster, Young Guns II, Pearl Harbor, and...
) refusal to let them stay on the farm once they get back on their feet. Maggie (Lauren Cohan
Lauren Cohan
Lauren Cohan is an American actress. Her most recognized role to date is that of the role of Bela Talbot on Supernatural...
) begs Glenn (Steven Yeun
Steven Yeun
Steven Yeun is a Korean-born American actor. Yeun is currently starring in the role of Glenn in AMC's original series, The Walking Dead since 2010. Other than The Walking Dead, Yeun guest starred in the critically acclaimed American sit-com The Big Bang Theory as Sheldon's former room mate...
), already struggling with being the only one to know about Lori's pregnancy, to keep secret the presence of walkers in the barn. Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn
Jeffrey DeMunn
Jeffrey DeMunn is an American theatre, film and television actor.-Life and career:DeMunn was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Violet and James DeMunn. Stepson of noted actress Betty Lutes DeMunn...
) quickly notices Glenn's nervousness and after being questioned Glenn blurts out both secrets. Dale goes to Lori and promises her that he will not tell anyone about her pregnancy. Dale also confronts Hershel about the walkers in the barn. Hershel asserts that all walkers are still people, and that they are just "sick." He explains that among the walkers in the barn are his wife and stepson. Dale argues that they are not human beings, and explains that they are too dangerous to be kept alive based on what he has seen in them. Hershel however considers killing the walkers to be 'an atrocity.'
Glenn and Maggie go off to the pharmacy to pick up additional medical supplies for Lori. Glenn, like Dale, expresses his opinion that the walkers need to be killed. Maggie is annoyed at his use of the word 'walker', saying that she knows those in the barn by their real names, as they were her friends and family. In the pharmacy, Maggie is attacked and nearly bitten while retrieving the supplies - she narrowly escapes after Glenn kills the walker. Returning to the farm with the supplies, Maggie angrily confronts Lori about her lies, saying that they almost got her and Glenn killed. After Glenn intervenes, Maggie tells him that she cares about him but that the rest of the group do not respect him and that they use him as 'walker bait.' Glenn however tells Lori that he is her friend, and again urges her to tell Rick about the pregnancy. Unwilling to bring a child into a world that she sees as without joy, Lori takes the Morning After pills Glenn gave her, but immediately throws them up. She ultimately confesses both her pregnancy and her previous affair with Shane (Jon Bernthal
Jon Bernthal
Jonathan E. "Jon" Bernthal is an American actor, best known for his role on the AMC television series The Walking Dead.-Early life:...
) to her husband, who reveals that he had already known about both.
Meanwhile Rick, Shane and T-Dog (IronE Singleton) give gun training to Jimmy, Carl and the women on the farm - after Andrea impresses Shane with her shooting skill, he takes her for advanced training. The two then go off to town after Shane finds a lead on the missing Sofia, but find it overrun by walkers. After escaping, the two begin an affair. Upon returning however, Dale quickly guesses that something has happened between them. Feeling protective, he warns Shane to stay away from her, and tells him that he witnessed Shane aim his shotgun at Rick in the woods near their old camp outside Atlanta, as well as raising suspicions as to what happened to Otis while he and Shane went searching for medical supplies. Shane denies ever intending to kill his best friend, but threatens Dale, hinting he would kill him should he make any more 'wild accusations.'
Reception
Compared to the previous episode of the show, "Chupacabra"Chupacabra (The Walking Dead)
"Chupacabra" is the fifth episode of the second season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on November 13, 2011.-Plot:The episode begins with a flashback...
, the ratings "Secrets" received with adults 18–49 were down one tenth of a point. It was still the highest rated cable show that Sunday, with a rating of 3.1 in that group. It was also the most watched non-sporting cable show of the week, with 6.8 million viewers. While viewership was still high, TV by the Numbers
TV by the Numbers
TV by the Numbers is a website devoted to collecting and analyzing television ratings data in the United States. It is run by Bill Gorman and Robert Seidman, both of whom founded the website in 2007.-History:...
commented that the continuing ratings slide of the show – along with that of AMC's other Sunday show, Hell on Wheels
Hell on Wheels (TV series)
Hell on Wheels is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Joe and Tony Gayton. Set in 1865, the series centers on the settlement that accompanied the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, referred to as "Hell on Wheels" by the company men, surveyors, support...
– was cause for concern for the channel.
Scott Meslow of The Atlantic described the episode as one focused on love and relationships. He considered it wise to underplay the tryst between Shane and Andrea, which he predicted would not lead to anything serious. Starlee Kine of New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine's Vulture blog complained that, even though she had high expectations about story lines that could emerge from the zombies in the barn, these were not met. She was disappointed about the amount of time instead spent on watching characters go through gun training. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
Several commentators criticized the episode for being potentially misleading about emergency contraception
Emergency contraception
Emergency contraception , or emergency postcoital contraception, refers to birth control measures that, if taken after sexual intercourse, may prevent pregnancy.Forms of EC include:...
. Erin Gloria Ryan on the website Jezebel
Jezebel (website)
Jezebel is a blog aimed at women's interests, under the tagline "Celebrity, Sex, Fashion. Without Airbrushing". It is one of several blogs owned by Gawker Media.Jezebel was launched on May 21, 2007, as the 14th Gawker blog...
pointed out that morning-after pills do not cause abortion, as the episode seemed to imply. An actual abortion pill, the so-called RU-486, "is administered by medical professionals and wouldn't be available in a pharmacy", she wrote. This criticism was echoed by Amanda Marcotte, writing for Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
Glen Mazzara
Glen Mazzara is an American television producer and writer.-Biography:Mazzara was born in Manhattan and grew up in Queens, New York. He attended NYU and earned a masters in English...
, the show's showrunner, responded to this criticism with the following statement:
External links
- "Secrets" at AMC