Why 'The Grove' Is the Darkest Episode of TWD

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Among the many dark and depressing episodes of The Walking Dead, there’s one that stands out to me as the darkest. A lot of people might think of The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be, and that’s a pretty fair take, I think that after all this time of talking about it and rewatching it I’ve become a bit desensitized to it, but even after all these years, the season 4 episode “The Grove” still stands out as the definitive darkest episode of The Walking Dead.

0:00 - 2:48 - Intro/Episode Info
2:49 - 10:00 - The Grove
10:01 - 17:11 - Lizzie & Mika

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Outro:
Late Night Driving - Broke In Summer

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Isaiah Saunders:

[saturn]

The way Carol says “she can’t even walk yet” gave me chills

[KaIyptos]

The moment when Carol shoots Lizzie was soul-crushing. Then afterward when she confesses to Tyrese, I wonder if she may have wanted him to kill her and put her out of her misery.

[whatlikeitshardd]

It's so sad to think Carol basically lost four kids in the apocalypse. Sophia, then Lizzie and Mika (remember she said "one of *my girls* is sick" at the hospital) then Henry. I can't even imagine how it would feel to go through that much heartbreak

[ChrisReitersEDPillsElBey]

Lizzy seems to have had issues before the apocalypse.
That whole look at the flowers thing Mika told her to do seems like a coping mechanism given to her from a doctor.

[efnfen]

If you don't think this episode is one of the best in the series then you need to look at the flowers.

[whatlikeitshardd]

I definitely don't think Mika was 'born with a bad brain' or even developed one over the course of the apocalypse. I think she was just a normal kid who was probably taught to be overly-compassionate at an early age because of her older sister's mental health. I imagine she was probably somewhat neglected, as a lot of siblings tend to feel when the parents need to focus on another kid's health.

[mindset]

Lizzie's acting was brilliant in this episode. A lot of people think she was a psychopath, but I think she was actually mentally ill. She didn't know what she was doing and what she did wrong and was generally delusional.

[bumblefilm]

I think what a lot of people forgot was that hershel saw the walkers the same way lizzie did back in season 2. and ultimately, it brought carol her worst trauma of losing sophia.

[nachgeben]

Lizzie was fundamentally dangerous. She wasn't bad. She wasn't evil. But her twisted dysphoria about her reality made her dangerous, so Carol was justified in removing that danger. It was that, or sending her out on her own, letting her die horribly either by walkers or bad people. Or, she's found by people who keep her and twist her derangement, and she becomes even more dangerous with allies and age. Ending her then and there was a mercy. They didn't have access to comprehensive mental care. There was no choice.

[davidcook]

By far Tyrese was my favorite character. His death killed me. He is the only person in all of the walking dead. Who didn't allow the world to corrupt his soul and mind. He was just a good and kind person.

[kingfuruke]

The clip of Carol telling Lizzie to look at the flowers is actually what convinced me to watch the show. I was so curious about what happened to cause those events and how good the show as a whole was. I don’t regret it at all.

[DinosaurClubTV]

I think Mika had a chance, but not Lizzie. She's a danger to others and, in reality, a danger to herself too - she plays with walkers, thinks they talk to her, thinks they're people who are just different. She would get eaten so fast on her own yet she can't be with others so... what can you even do for her? In their world, you can't help her. You can't take her to the psychiatrist and get her on medication or anything. There's just no hope for her.

[cielthefangirl]

The fact you get to rescue these kids only for them to lose their minds in front of you is what so heartbreaking.

[gabriellelytle]

I think Mika also not killing the deer and then Lizzie killing her is symbolic. She couldn’t kill a deer. She told carol to her face she couldn’t kill living things… and she couldn’t defend herself (and Judith even though nothing happened) from her sister. And the realization of what her sister was doing to her and how carol was right? Also. The way they kept Judith from being immediately next by saying ‘she can’t walk yet’ was so brilliant. This episode hurts so much to watch lol.

[sebwilson]

The way Carol had to deal with Lizzie reminded me a lot of the ending of Of Mice and Men

[regent]

There is an incomplete puzzle on the dining room table during Carol’s confession to Tyreese. According to the director, Michael E. Satrazemis, when completed, the puzzle forms a photograph of Carol’s long dead daughter Sophia who died years prior.

[chuuwars]

Carol expected Tyreese to just kill her and takes her out of her misery, but what he did was actually save her. By forgiving Carol, he gave her a motivation to live.

[KaIyptos]

Melissa McBride and Chad L. Coleman were amazing in this episode. Great chemistry together. This episode really nailed the insurmountable hopelessness that was starting to drain on the people in the apocalypse.

Side note: Would have been cool to have Carol tell an older Judith about once upon a time when they were both in the woods together.

[tiffanysullivan]

Judith is still a baby here, probably almost a year old, so they're only about 2-3 years into the apocalypse at this point so both Lizzie and Mika were alive before the fall, they weren't strictly raised in it like Judith was. Mika might not remember the time before but Lizzie would, that's what makes it more unsettling. One of the best episodes, it's a masterpiece!

[skylarmercykilled]

Well the writers confirmed that Lizzie had schizophrenia, which explains a couple of things. Aside from that, the thing with Judith and the animals, I think in some way, Lizzie didn't realize that she was doing something wrong. She was definitely not a psychopath, she did show care and compassion for others.