It’s betrayal, blood and even more biters in the third episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead, which started off with Shane and Otis still trapped at the FEMA camp, running through the halls weighed down by the medical supplies needed by a wounded Carl.
Ending up trapped atop a set of gymnasium bleachers, they try to shoot their way out, which ends up with Otis hiding in the locker room, while Shane escapes by jumping through a window and badly injuring an ankle from the drop.
Outside the FEMA camp fence though, Otis and Shane manage to find each other and struggle to get away from the walkers, even though Shane is injured and only able to limp. Shane tells Otis to take the supplies and leave him behind, but Otis insists they go on together.
Back at the RV, Daryl continues to show that’s he’s a big softie on the inside when he leaves the safety of camp with Andrea to continue to look for Sophia.
Wandering through the woods, they stumble upon a gruesome sight when they find a man who had hung himself and turned into a zombie afterward, with all the flesh from his legs stripped off after other walkers got to him. Over deep talks about whether life is worth living, Daryl shoots the poor guy in the head, prompting them to move on and continue their search; though Andrea is obviously disturbed over the fact that she’s not sure whether she really wants to live or not. The two scouts never end up finding Sophia though, leaving Carol disappointed and wrought with worry.
Meanwhile, Glenn and T-Dog finally make it to Herschel’s farm and they all go in to see Carl, who doesn’t have much time left if Shane and Otis don’t return soon.
Lori, who is understandably stressed and on the verge of hysterics, says that it may be better if Carl doesn’t have to live in this world, leading to an intensely emotional argument with Rick, who is obviously upset at the very idea of this notion, creating a rift between the two.
Things get a whole lot more tense though after Carl finally comes to consciousness, only to suddenly go into a seizure, meaning that he needs another blood transfusion from an already severely weakened Rick.
Even with the transfusion though, Herschel says they can’t put of operating any longer, meaning that they need to do the surgery without the necessary anesthesia and a very likely possibility that Carl may die from the risky procedure.
Just in the nick of time though, Shane gets back to the farm with the supplies, but without Otis, who apparently told him to go back with the supplies and “make things right” for him.
Maggie, who is visibly upset, is comforted by Glenn and she tells him about her family, paving the way for their future romance, as depicted in the graphic novel series.
Meanwhile, thanks to Shane’s timely appearance, Herschel announces that Carl has stabilized, prompting a relieved Lori to run to his bedside, where she later implores Shane to stay in a show of immense gratitude for saving her son’s life.
However, in one final twist, the episode flashes back to Shane and Otis trying to escape from the FEMA camp. What we soon realize, though, is that Otis never willingly stayed behind, but that Shane actually shoots Otis and leaves him there to be eaten by walkers so he can escape with the supplies.
Shane doesn’t escape before Otis rips out a chunk of his hair though, prompting him to shave his head back at the farm and ending the episode on a very dark, sinister note, hinting at the distinct possibility that the rest of the group in being threatened, not by walkers, but by one of their very own.