The Walking Dead Season 2: Story Notes from Episode 2

Every Friday, encore showings of The Walking Dead Season 2 on AMC feature “Story Notes”, which include trivia and behind-the-scenes information related to the episode. If you missed out on last week’s story notes from episode 2, we have the full list of trivia items, fun facts, and quotes from the cast and crew.

Casting Notes
Pruitt Taylor Vince (Otis) was on The Mentalist, Deadwood, and won an Emmy for Murder One.

You may also know Lauren Cohan (Maggie) from The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural.

Scott Wilson (Hershel) was in the 1967 movie In Cold Blood and had a recurring role on CSI.

Character Notes
Jon Bernthal sees Shane and Rick as childhood pals that have been close their whole lives.

Health Notes
A-positive is the second most common blood type after O-positive.

Ampicillin is a type of penicillin that has been used to treat bacterial infections since 1961.

Director Ernest Dickerson got his start photographing medical procedures in college.

If left untreated, internal bleeding can cause organ failure, shock, or even death.

A vet school grad is likely to have more surgery training than a med school grad.

An endotracheal intubator can maintain an open airway and ventilate the lungs.

History Notes
The Black Plague took over 75 million lives from 1340 - 1771. Smallpox killed almost 300 million.

Plot Notes
Dale is killing time, pretending his RV is still not working so the group won't abandon Sophia.

Pop Culture
The producers say Hershel's farmhouse reminded them of the houses from The Amityville Horror and Carrie. Night of the Living Dead, the modern zombie classic, was also set at a farmhouse.

Prop Notes
That's a Colt Python 47 revolver that Rick hands to Otis this episode.

Quote Notes
Co-Executive Producer Greg Nicotero says flashbacks are a "reminder of what the world used to be. What their lives were like before. It makes their current predicament even more sad."

Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori) says this episode "underscores how deeply Lori and Shane love Carl."

Andrew Lincoln (Rick): "[The show] is about what happens... when everything is stripped away."

IronE Singleton (T-Dog) has compared the zombie apocalypse to growing up in the projects of Atlanta: "My life is the foundation of my portrayal of T-Dog."

Jon Bernthal (Shane): "Shane is Rick's #2 guy. He's very comfortable being Rick's pit bull."

Creator Robert Kirkman says the show is "exactly what you get out of the comic book, but it's so different that you can enjoy them both separately."

IronE Singleton (T-Dog): "When all Hades breaks loose...[T-Dog's] the voice of reason."

Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori): "It's all about protecting Carl. There's a clarity and a simplicity to that."

Sarah Wayne Callies says Lori "oscillates between...vengeance and...forgiveness."

Norman Reedus (Daryl): "I was looking... to get to where... I become somebody that they can trust."

Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori) "There are moments when Lori looks at Rick as a phenomenal...leader...and moments where she thinks that he's lost sight of everything that could possibly matter."

Showrunner Glen Mazzara: "Anything could go wrong at any minute... For the show to be scary, we need to be convinced that the zombies are winning."

Recap Notes
Rick's vest saved him from one bullet, but he was shot in his side when he turned towards Shane.

The group has been searching for the young girl Sophia for two days now.

Andrea had to shoot her sister Amy in the head because she was bitten by a zombie.

T-Dog sliced his arm on a car door while hiding from a herd of zombies.

Shane was wrong when he thought Rick was dead in the hospital.

Daryl's brother Merle was handcuffed to a pipe by Rick and cut off his own hand to escape.

Shane and Andrea also considered splitting off from the group in the last episode.

Merle's heavy drug use was hinted at when Rick found a vial of cocaine in his vest.

Last season Rick promised his son: "I won't leave again...not for anything."

Set Notes
Director Ernest Dickerson was influenced by Westerns like The Searchers and The Wild Bunch.

Source Notes
Hershel Greene is a fanboy favorite from the The Walking Dead graphic novels. Robert Kirkman, who wrote the novels, said he couldn't wait "for everyone to meet Hershel."

When he needs intense emotion in a scene, Chandler Riggs (Carl) thinks of his dog dying.

Survival Notes
Zombies are attracted to light as well as sound.

Trivia Notes
Hunters accidentally shoot more than 1,000 people in the U.S. and Canada every year.

FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They respond to earthquakes, hurricanes...and zombie apocalypses.

"As the crow flies" was first used in the 1800s to refer to the shortest distance between 2 points.