Written by: Scott M. Gimple & Glenn Mazzara Directed by: Ernest Dickerson Season two may be the most divisive season among fans of this show. At least half of them (though depending on who you talk to there could be more) will tell you that it was a boring waste of time between moments of good character development. Yet others fall in the other camp that really appreciates the slow pace of Season 2 for allowing its characters to breathe and settle into this disillusioned post-apocalypse world. However, episodes like this are always a breath of fresh air in a world of slow-burn drama. 18 Miles Out is one of a couple bottle episodes in season 2, and it is one that takes what could be just a filler plot (Rick & Shane decide what to do with a prisoner) and use it to unleash the pent-up aggression between the two former Sheriff's deputies. What makes this episode great though, is how it justifies Rick saving Shane's life even after the two of them are at each other's throats. The choice he makes to go back is wordless, but couldn't be more clear - he still sees Shane as a brother, no matter how far gone he is. This decision reinforces Rick's humanity, despite it ultimately being for naught at the end.
Self-evidently a man who writes for the Internet, Robert also writes films, plays, teleplays, and short stories when he's not working on a movie set somewhere. He lives somewhere behind the Hollywood sign.
