On Season 4 Episode 3 of The Walking Dead, titled Isolation, we learn who the murderer at the prison is, and it is a bit of a shocker! Daryl, Michonne and a few others go for antibiotics, and Hershel tries to help with what he can. Josh provides this week’s summary for The Walking Dead, and as usual Josh and Violet both provide their thoughts after!
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The Walking Dead, Season 4 Episode 3: Isolation Recap Overview
Need a quick The Walking Dead episode recap of Season 4 Episode 3 titled Isolation? Here is a summary of events for the episode. Each event is linked to the more detailed The Walking Dead episode recap for Isolation if you need more information!
- Glen and Maggie dig graves, as Tyreese and Rick have a fist fight, arguing about the investigation of Karen‘s death.
- Rick talks with Hershel while his hand is fixed, and he still refuses to attend Council meetings. Glen also freaks out about the flu epidemic
- Sasha and many others are sick, quarantine goes into effect for kids and older people. Rick and Tyreese seem to calm down
- Daryl and Michonne prepare for a run for medicine. Glen gets sick, Hershel and Carl go for herbal remedies to help
- Tyreese joins the party going for meds after realizing he needs to help save Sasha. Hershel and Carl have a heart to heart, Carol shows frustration.
- After a debate with Maggie and Rick, Hershel heads into the sick area to give his herbal tea. Carol tries to fix the water by herself, Rick has to save her though.
- On the road, Daryl, Bob, Michonne and Tyreese hear possible voices on the radio but they are cut short when they run into a massive horde of zombies. Meanwhile, Carol admits to killing Karen and David.
The Walking Dead Episode Recap: Isolation, the Details
Do we still have a little bit of Crazy Rick?
The Walking Dead opens with Glen and Maggie digging graves–more people are dying. The scene pans out, and there are at least 8 recent graves. The doctor is examining another person–he has died as well. Meanwhile, we return to the scene with Tyreese talking to Rick about the burnt bodies. Tyreese demands that Rick figures out who did this, as Daryl tries to calm him down. Tyreese decides to get really loud and violent though, and shoves Daryl to the wall. Daryl continues to talk to him, as does Rick, trying to calm him. Tyreese turns back on Rick, and punches him twice. Daryl pulls Tyreese off Rick, and Rick then lays into Tyreese, nearly breaking Tyreese’s face and his own hand. Rick calms some, and realizes what he has done.
Rick fixes his hand, Glen Freaks Out Some.
Hershel doctors up Rick’s hand, and his hand has a sprain in it. Hershel asks how he is feeling. Hershel says that “everything they have fought so hard to keep out has found its way in”, however Rick disagrees saying, “No, it’s always there”, as he glances back at his revolver. Hershel tells Rick about the council meeting, and Rick doesn’t seem interested in going. Hershel tries to convince Rick to get “back on the wagon”.
Bob pays a visit to Tyreese, who is vigorously digging Karen’s grave. Bob tells him to visit the doctor, but Tyreese refuses until the burial is complete. Bob grabs a shovel and helps out. Glen talks with Hershel in the yard, and Glen is concerned about the outbreak, and is hoping they are all okay. Glen makes a comment how people or walkers are easy to combat, but this is just “digging graves”. Sasha then walks up, and she is sick. She is heading to Doctor S.
Epidemic Spreads, Quarantine in Effect
She walks into the quarantine which seems like an area out of a 1920s asylum. People are sick everywhere, and even some walkers are locked up due to dying from the sickness. Sasha finds the doctor, and he is sick too.
At the council meeting, they discuss the outbreak. They come up with a quarantine method. Hershel says that the people who get it have to ride through it, and if they find antibiotics it would help. Hershel says there is a vet clinic 50 miles away that may have suitable meds. Hershel volunteers to go, but Daryl says that no matter what happens when they go out, they have to run. Hershel opts to draw a map instead. Meanwhile, Glen is looking a bit clammy–he likely is sick now too. Hershel also wants to separate the most vulnerable–moving the old and young to separate areas.
Outside, Carol and Rick are trying to get water from the well, and Carol wants to fix the lines, which are outside the gate. Rick says to hold off for a day. Carol disagrees, but finally concedes. Carol then asks Rick about Carl going into quarantine, and Carol makes a remark, “It’s always better to be safe”. They then see Tyreese digging, and Rick goes to make amends. He apologizes for Karen’s death, and fighting. Tyreese calms down, but still asks Rick to figure out what happened. Rick asks questions about who would want to do this, but Tyreese says she got along with everyone. Rick deduces the person must have been trying to stop the disease. Rick says he will figure out who did the killing, but he has to keep the rest of the people alive. Meanwhile, more people are sick, and Tyreese sees them heading to quarantine as well.
Glen Has It. Hershel Just Wants to Help!
Carl packs for quarantine, but doesn’t want to go. Rick tells him he has to protect the kids. Rick re-warns Carl to not fire his weapon unless he is certain he has to. Moving back to Glen, he has shown more symptoms in his cell–and Maggie walks in.
Daryl is fixing the car to get ready for their adventure. Daryl makes a remark that Michonne could have been “running off”. Seems like Daryl and Michonne were doing some work together in the past, and we learn that Bob is going as well. Daryl then pays a visit to Tyreese, who is guarding the quarantine area. Tyreese says he isn’t going anywhere, leaving the area unguarded, and Daryl gives up trying to convince him.
Hershel sitting in an office, seems to get antsy with an idea. He heads out, and Carl stops him, asking where is going. Hershel avoids the question. Carl presses, and Hershel says he is going to the woods. Carl refuses to let him go, and then says he is going to tell his dad. Carl then makes a new plan–he is going with him. Hershel concedes.
Many More Sick. Carol Frustrated, Tyreese Joins the Medicine Retrieval Group
Meanwhile, Carol is handling the admittance of quarantine, and Lizzie walks up…now sick too. Carol tries to reassure her, and has her go inside to lie down. Lizzie asks for her to tuck her in, but Carol says she should ask Glen, because, “he is the best tucker in there is”. Carol has a minor breakdown after Lizzy goes in.
With Maggie, she is talking to Beth through the door as Beth watches Judith. Beth tries to tell Maggie that they can’t let their emotions take over. Meanwhile, Hershel has gone to the woods, and he is gathering a plant. Hershel asks when Carl got his gun back, and Carl tells him the night before. Hershel compliments Carl’s mental growth. Carl spots a camp, and then a walker that is unable to walk. Another approaches from behind, with a bear trap on its leg. Carl takes aim, but Hershel says to not shoot, because he, “doesn’t need to”. Carl and Hershel head back with no further incident.
Tyreese talks with Sasha through the glass, and tears up. Sasha tells him stop, and apologizes for Karen’s death. Sasha breaks down, and Tyreese tries to give her hope with the antibiotics that Daryl is going for. Tyreese then decides to go it seems.
Bob comes with some extra gas for their trip with Daryl, and we learn the car they’re using was Zack’s. Bob asks if Daryl is sure he is needed, and it’s confirmed when he is able to pronounce some of the antibiotics they are looking for. Tyreese walks up and joins the team. Tyreese goes to grab his gear, but winds up talking to Carol, who is trying to get some water out of barrels, which are seemingly empty. He startles Carol, and Tyreese asks Carol to keep an eye on Sasha. He tells her that he knows she cares about these people. She says she is sorry for what happened to Karen and that she will keep an eye on Sasha. Tyreese walks away, and Carol has another breakdown, kicking barrels, wasting the remaining water the barrels had inside.
Hershel Wants to Help Out
Hershel comes back in, and is heading to the sick patients. Maggie storms up to him, refusing to let him go in. He says he can help make a tea to reduce their fever, hopefully extending their lives long enough for Daryl and company to get back. Rick walks up, and he makes a big speech how people should risk their lives for the right reasons in a world where it is so easy to risk it. Rick and Maggie both give in, and let him pass.
Maggie has returned to the door, and she and Beth talk about Hershel going in risking his life. Beth tries to remain strong, but her voice waivers more now. She begins to break down some. Outside, Rick has begun looking for clues on the murder of Karen. He examines the door, and finds a hand print…smaller than his own, but not a child’s. Moving to Carol, she has gone outside the gate to fix the well. She has rigged a device at the fence, which is distracting the zombies so far. Some of them begin to turn on her though, as Rick comes out and sees her working. Rick sees the problem going down, and rushes to help her. Carol continues working, even with the walkers approaching. She finally finishes, and Rick makes it out. Carol begins fighting, but Rick has to shoot a few, and they make a run back to the gate.
Who dun it? Carol dun it
On the road, Daryl, Michonne, Bob and Tyreese are in the car, and Daryl talks to Michonne about her hunt for the Governor. Daryl messes with the radio, and they think they hear a voice. Distracted, Daryl looks at the road, and suddenly breaks, smacking into a few walkers. Daryl brings the car to a halt, and suddenly the car is swarmed with walkers. He tries to back out of the horde, but they get stuck on a pile of zombies. Daryl decides it is time to leave the car, and tells them to get out. They move out, and Tyreese seems to freeze up, not leaving the car. The group calls to him, but eventually begin to move without him. Finally he gets up, and goes on a rage, beating zombies. He gets swarmed and seemingly is not going to make it. The other three continue moving forward. They make a short pause in a clearing, when suddenly a worn out Tyreese shows up, and bashes a couple more zombies. They move on, trying to stay ahead of the massive horde.
Back in quarantine, Hershel provides medicine to Doctor S. The doctor says he shouldn’t be in there, and Hershel says that if he were him, he would be in there too. The doctor then proceeds to cough all over Hershel’s face. Hershel then removes his face mask to wipe the blood. Hershel then talks with Glen who is sad about this sickness being the thing taking them out. Hershel tells Glen his job is to hang on.
Back with Carol and Rick, they talk a bit more. He tells her that she did a stupid thing trying to fix the water alone. Rick asks if there is anything she wouldn’t do for the people there. She says simply, ” No.” Rick then asks one final question: “Did you kill Karen and David?” Again she answers simply, but the opposite answer, “Yes”. She then walks away.
Josh’s Thoughts: The Walking Dead, Season 4 Episode 3: Isolation
So far I am really enjoying this season of The Walking Dead. It certainly is making up for the lackluster ending to season 3. This epidemic outbreak has certainly put much more emotional feeling into he season so far.
Many people will probably find Hershel’s speech a little cheesy, and his act of walking into where the sick were being held could have probably been executed in a safer way (at least leave the mask on, geez!), I really liked the sentiment Hershel was discussing. In a world where life is risked every second of the day, it makes sense that you need to pick and choose the days you’re willing to put that extra risk. Life almost seems like a roll of the dice with “Powers That Be” who or whatever they may be. Hershel seems to think he might has well go all in when he has the biggest potential to help.
As for Rick and Tyreese, it was crazy seeing Rick go off the rails again. When Rick talks to Hershel, I like his line he says when Hershel tries to say that they let the violence in. Rick says that it is always there, which I think he is right. In this zombie world, it will never be gone, as the show has shown, people are as bad as the walkers.
Now for the big deal: Carol. My feeling as for this being a part of the show, I feel from the writing perspective, I think it is a little forced. This side of Carol didn’t show up until episode 2 of this season. I guess we can assume this developed during the 6 months we haven’t seen, but it feels a bit forced. But now that it has happened, how will Rick handle it? I have a feeling he will keep it under wraps for the sake of keeping the group undivided, as I bet there would be supporters on both sides. What I think would be interesting is a sort of tribunal, or trial for Carol, where her guilt is determined by a sort of court. I think this would be interesting, if the news comes out. Overall, I am happy with this episode though. The Walking Dead has certainly improved from last season I think.
Violet’s Thoughts on Season 4 Episode 3 of The Walking Dead: Isolation
My first thought when the fight scene broke out with Rick was, is Crazy Rick back?? Seriously, that outburst seemed to come out of nowhere! I guess he’s still not completely well, and maybe he never will be, but he seemed to go back to relatively “normal” after the fight was over.
As for Hershel, some people may have thought it was stupid of him to go in there to care for the infected, but I think it was a noble thing, and I admire him for it. I’m not sure that there was anyone else that would be willing to do what he did, nor any of the sick that would be well enough to depend on to distribute the tea to everyone. I also think that Hershel felt a little useless, considering he was unable to accompany Daryl’s crew on the trip to the vet clinic due to his leg, so he is using his abilities to help in a way that he is physically capable of, and which actually makes him useful.
As for the identity of the murderer, I had ruled out Carol because I didn’t think she was strong enough to drag the two dead bodies, but I guess she’s gotten buff. Now that we know Carol was the one who killed and burned Karen and David, her odd behavior last week makes more sense. They just wanted to show you her opinions on being weak and hesitating, and apparently she took her own advice and did not hesitate to kill those that she thought threatened not only her own survival, but the lives of everyone else at the prison as well. Still seems kind of weird and out of the blue for her to do all that stuff though. However, it became obvious that it was her upon her pushing over the water barrels and breaking down. Very dumb of her to go off on her own to try to fix the water hose without telling anyone, though. I can understand that she felt guilty for wasting what little water remained when she knocked over the barrels, in addition to her guilt over killing Karen and David, so she wanted to secretly replenish the water before it became an issue. But she could have easily been swarmed and killed. Even when Rick noticed her out there, she was still reluctant and slow to leave. It was like, worry about the hose later, get out of there before you get killed! So, what’s Rick going to do about Carol? Is he just going to let it slide?
Regarding Daryl’s medicine run, that was crazy to see the sea of walkers! Are they headed toward the prison? Will we see a huge surge of walkers swarm the prison in the near future? What was that radio broadcast about? And how did Tyreese manage to survive that attack? It looked like he was a goner for sure! But knowing how important of a character he is in the comics, I knew they couldn’t get rid of him at this point, so I wasn’t too surprised when he came running up to rejoin the rest of them.
Overall, this has been a great season of The Walking Dead so far, and it looks like we’ll be getting even more walker action next episode! Can’t wait!
Scenes from The Walking Dead, Season 4 Episode 4, Indifference
Here are scenes from next week’s The Walking Dead episode titled Indifference:
Scenes from The Walking Dead, Season 4 Episode 4: Indifference
What did you think of The Walking Dead, Season 4 Episode 3: Isolation? Let us know in the comments below!
quite a shock seeing carol admit to killing them so nonchalantly. i think she just really doesn’t want to see anymore children die so shes trying to get them ready to kill if they need to.