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Guts (The Walking Dead)

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"Guts"
The Walking Dead episode
While the rain washes away the camouflage of human blood and guts, Rick dispatches an attacking walker as Glenn Rhee watches.
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 2
Directed byMichelle MacLaren
Written byFrank Darabont
Featured music"I'm a Man" by Black Strobe
Original air dateNovember 7, 2010 (2010-11-07)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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The Walking Dead season 1
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"Guts" is the second episode of the first season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on November 7, 2010. The episode was written by Frank Darabont, the creator of the series, and directed by Michelle MacLaren. In the episode, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) joins a small group of survivors in an attempt to escape from Atlanta.

Plot

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Sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is able to escape the tank and the swarm of walkers with help from Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun), who leads the two to safety in a department store. There Rick meets the other members of Glenn's scavenging group, including Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker), a virulent racist, and T-Dog (IronE Singleton), a black man dismayed by Merle's attitude. When Merle beats up T-Dog and asserts control over the group, Rick subdues Merle and handcuffs him to a pipe on the store's roof. Glenn makes radio contact with the survivors' camp outside the city, where, unknown to Rick, his friend Shane Walsh and his wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and son Carl (Chandler Riggs) are safe. Shane and Lori believe Rick is dead and have begun a sexual relationship.

As walkers surround the building, the group finds its escape route through a sewer cut off. Rick then spots a box truck nearby that they could use to escape, so Rick and Glenn cover themselves in the blood and viscera of a dispatched walker to mask their scent from other walkers. They exit the store and begin shambling through the horde toward the truck, but a rainstorm begins to wash away the walker scent, soon forcing Rick and Glenn to make a break for the truck. Glenn uses the car alarm on a Dodge Challenger to draw the walkers away, while Rick drives the box truck to the department store's cargo doors. In the rush to escape, T-Dog accidentally drops the handcuff key for Merle down a storm drain, and they are forced to abandon him; however, T-Dog secures the roof access door with a heavy chain to give Merle some protection. The remaining group travel with Rick back to the survivors' camp, with Glenn following close behind.

Production

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Filming for the episode commenced in several places throughout Atlanta, including the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center.

"Guts" was written by Frank Darabont and directed by Michelle MacLaren. The episode contains a sequence in which the survivors kill and dissect a walker. Rick Grimes and Glenn Rhee agree to find a vehicle to escape from downtown Atlanta and, to avoid attracting the attention of hordes of walkers, wrap entrails around themselves. Filming for the scene commenced at the non-skyscraper part of the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, depicted as an abandoned Macy's location.[1] (It is in fact the historic former flagship store of Atlanta-based Rich's, closed by Macy's parent company; the actual downtown Macy's was the Davison's store.) Writer Robert Kirkman felt that it "very much makes sense in the context of the story", and added that the graphic violence had its place within the show.[2] In his interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kirkman explained why the characters covered themselves in the blood and entrails of a walker:

It's not that they can smell better, it's just that they're used to a general smell of deadness, as they're moving around in groups. And the only way that they can possibly differentiate between living people and dead people, is kind of an absence of that smell. It's really just a difference in how they smell, not 'Hey, we can seek out living flesh like a bloodhound!' It occurred to me that every now and then there are zombies that don’t really look that much more dead than an alive person. It can't really be from a visual perspective that they’re attacking human beings. And they don't attack each other, ever. So there has to be a reason for that. So maybe it's some kind of a smell thing.[2]

Steven Yeun (Glenn Rhee) (left), Laurie Holden (Andrea) (center), and Michael Rooker (Merle Dixon) (right) made their debut in this episode.

Alongside the main cast (IronE Singleton as T-Dog,[3] Jeryl Prescott as Jacqui,[4] Juan Pareja as Morales),[5] "Guts" features guest appearances from several actors and actresses, including Emma Bell as Amy and Michael Rooker as Merle Dixon.[6][7] The following month after Sarah Wayne Callies was announced to play the role of Rick's wife Lori Grimes,[8] Laurie Holden claimed the role of Andrea;[9] Holden had previously worked with Darabont in the science-fiction horror film The Mist (2007).[10] Andrew Rothenberg played Jim.[11] Sam Witwer, who had collaborated with Darabont in The Mist,[12][13] appeared as a dying soldier.[14] Frances Cobb played a camp survivor.[15] Chance Bartels played the walker shot by Merle.[16] Kirkman stated that he was thrilled upon hearing of the actor's appearance, and added that he had known of Rooker since the comedy film Mallrats (1995).[2] He was pleased with Rooker's performance, quipping that it was "'The Michael Rooker Show' for one solid episode."[2]

I actually got a chance to hang out with him and he's a totally awesome guy. He always plays bad guys and psychos and it's weird, because he's this really boisterous, friendly guy. But yeah, his character is very important to the life of the show. He's a completely original character that was never in the comic. He's kind of the first human that they come across where it's like, 'Hey, this guy's really dangerous.' Also Michael Rooker likes to ad-lib. He got us over our cursing limit a couple of times. I think it was a bit of a pain in the a—for the post production people.[2]

The sign on the white box truck Rick and Glenn requisition to rescue their supplies from the Atlanta department store reads "Ferenc Builders". Ferenc is the given name of series developer-writer Frank Darabont.[17]

Reception

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Critical response

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Leonard Pierce of The A.V. Club gave it a grade of B− on a F to A scale, commenting it was a step down in quality from the pilot, but said it "had many good qualities" and "the show still looks fantastic, and the choice to use 16mm film pays off time after time, giving everything a stark, bright quality that fits the mood perfectly."[18] Eric Goldman of IGN rated the episode 7 out of 10, and also noted how it was a weaker episode than the pilot. Goldman disliked the introduction of Merle, calling him "ridiculous", but enjoyed the sequence in which Rick and Glenn cover themselves in guts to disguise them from the zombies. He commented, "Overall, this episode had its fun moments, feeling more like an adrenalin-filled straight up horror movie than the more slow-paced pilot. But it also lacked the pilot's emotion and depth."[19]

Ratings

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Upon its initial broadcast on November 7, 2010, "Guts" was watched by 4.7 million viewers, which was slightly down from its pilot episode.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Christenson, Kurt (November 8, 2010). "'Walking Dead' episode 2 recap: No 'Guts,' no glory on AMC's zombie series". New York Daily News. Mortimer Zuckerman. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e Collis, Clark (November 8, 2010). "'The Walking Dead': Comic book series creator Robert Kirkman talks about last night's 'Guts'-y episode". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  3. ^ Gooden, Tai (13 December 2017). "Six characters on The Walking Dead who deserved better". Syfy Wire. Syfy. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  4. ^ Amaya, Erik (11 May 2010). "The CBR Review: "The Walking Dead: Guts"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  5. ^ Tassi, Paul (30 October 2017). "Who Exactly Is Morales, The Walking Dead's Weirdest Throwback Cameo So Far?". Forbes. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  6. ^ Venable, Nick (2011). "The Walking Dead Watch: Episode 2, Guts". CinemaBlend. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  7. ^ Brown, Alex (9 November 2010). "The Walking Dead S1, E2: "Guts"". Tor.com. Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  8. ^ Patrick, Andy (April 30, 2010). "Exclusive: Sarah Wayne Callies Joins 'Walking Dead'". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  9. ^ Meslow, Scott (8 November 2010). "'The Walking Dead': Did the Second Episode Live Up to the Premiere?". The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  10. ^ Hibberd, James (May 4, 2010). "AMC adds actor, producer to 'Walking Dead'". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  11. ^ "Q&A – Andrew Rothenberg (Jim)". AMC Network Entertainment LLC. AMC. 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  12. ^ Vespe, Eric (7 January 2012). "What Could Have Been: Frank Darabont Speaks About His Original Walking Dead Season 2 Opener!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  13. ^ Marnell, Blair (5 January 2012). "'Being Human' Star Slams AMC Over Aborted 'Walking Dead' Web Series". Evolve Media, LLC. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  14. ^ Sagers, Aaron (January 2012). "Sam Witwer on 'Being Human,' a vampire - and 'Walking Dead' zombie?". Paranormal Pop Culture. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  15. ^ Wilkerson, Mike (28 February 2013). "Interview With Frances Cobb (Atlanta Camp Survivor) From The Walking Dead TV Series On AMC". Blastzone Online. WordPress. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  16. ^ Wilkerson, Mike (12 November 2012). "Interview with Chance Bartels (1st. Walker Shot By Merle Dixon) From The Walking Dead TV Series On AMC". Blastzone Online. WordPress. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Post Mortem with Mick Garris": Episode 1 -- Frank Darabont http://www.imdb./video/imdb/vi2088081689/[permanent dead link‍]
  18. ^ Pierce, Leonard (November 7, 2010). "Guts". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  19. ^ Goldman, Eric (November 7, 2010). "The Walking Dead: "Guts" Review". IGN. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  20. ^ Gorman, Bill (November 9, 2010). "Sunday Cable Ratings: The Walking Dead Lives!; Boardwalk Empire Up; + Real Housewives, Hannah Montana, Kendra & Much More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 14, 2010. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
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