This was a great episode. One of the best of any season. I appreciate the writer (who was apparently new to the show) for perfectly balancing heart and action.
Hershel is a good man. Probably the kindest man we've ever seen on this show. The question asked in the episode was - is that good enough? And the answer was, sometimes yes, sometimes no. The Greene family miraculously survived, again, but you could see how hurt Hershel was by Caleb's death, because he'd put so much faith in Caleb making it. I do wonder how Hershel will be affected by all of this, if he will be. I can't praise Scott Wilson enough, especially for his one-on-one scenes with Caleb, Sasha, Glenn. I was very touched by his conversation with Sasha. I wasn't sure if they were just doing this because she was going to die. We need these moments to build new characters. Sasha is so tough, she has to be tough, but seeing her weak in those moments, and being so vulnerable with Hershel - this whole scene meant a lot to me. It was my favorite part of the episode, along with sharpshooter Maggie.
I can't believe Scott Wilson did his own stunts.
I don't know what the show will do without Hershel. I guess I will just enjoy him while he's with us. Even if it was likely some type of Darabont fallout, trading Dale for Hershel was one of the best decisions the show ever made.
Maggie sometimes feels like a series of tropes, instead of a character, but Lauren Cohan plays all those tropes so damn well. I was really waiting to see her back in action, and I got that and more. Even better, we got to see her torn between Glenn and Hershel, a horrible choice. Ultimately she chose not to make the choice. She took a risk and trusted herself and her aim, and it worked. I applauded her and the show letting her have that moment.
I'm glad they've stopped having all the tension between Carl and Rick and instead are having them work together. Rick is still trying to shelter Carl but is increasingly realizing that can't happen. The big shootout was bad-ass (and Andrew Lincoln probably loved it). Breckin Meyer comparing this to the Andy Griffith Show amused me.