The Walking Dead: “Save The Last One” (Episode 2.3)

We used to be barbarians. Whether you believe the first humans evolved from apes, inventing clubs to bash in rivals’ heads, or that one of Adam and Eve’s sons killed his own brother, our past is filled with a brutality seldom seen in America’s decent neighborhoods. We’re cultured, and our baser instincts are kept mostly in check by social pressures, legal consequences, and religious and humanistic beliefs.
But post-apocalyptic stories quickly tear through that thin veil of civilization. Amidst the devastated landscape is the breakdown of society, and it’s a fascinating way to explore the true nature of man in both its sinfulness and self-sacrifice. Moral choices become more honest in the vacuum of Armageddon, and the danger posed by other survivors is as often as big a threat as the zombies, aliens, robots or disease that’s wiped out most the population.
One of the best things about the first season of The Walking Dead was the space Frank Darabont had to explore the moral choices Robert Kirkman’s characters had to make instead of focusing solely on the zombie chase scenes and headshots of a two-hour film. But evil reared its head largest through the most two-dimensional character, Merle—a racist, backwoods redneck who never fit into society in the first place.
The moral choices were mostly heroic: Morgan and Duane nurse Rick back to health. Glenn risks his life to rescue Rick when he’s trapped in the tank. Rick and several others try to rescue Merle from the rooftop. Even the Latino gang who kidnapped Glenn turns out to be protecting a nursing home full of elderly residents. Really only the wife-beater Ed reveals moral shortcomings that were probably already on display before the plague began.