Bloodletting

"" is the second episode of Season 2 of the TV series. It originally aired on AMC on October 23, 2011 at 9/8c.

Synopsis
On the day her husband was shot, Lori and a friend talk about a recent fight the two had while waiting outside of Carl’s school. Shane pulls up in his cruiser to tell Lori about Rick’s accident and the two wonder how they’ll tell Carl about his father.

Today, Shane, Rick, and a hunter named Otis are struggling to keep Carl alive after he was shot in the chest while admiring a deer. The three are running to the farm of Hershel Greene for help in saving Carl’s life. The men arrive and Hershel quickly gets to work, Rick giving blood in an effort to help his son. Meanwhile, Lori heard the shot and is concerned but is reassured by Daryl Dixon.

Back at camp, Dale and T-Dog are trying to salvage what they can to survive when Dale notices T-Dog’s arm and begins looking for antibiotics. At the farm Rick blames himself for what happened to his son as Hershel works to save the boy’s life. Hershel tells Rick that Carl will need major surgery to remove the last fragments and that they need equipment from the FEMA command post to do it as they are not equipped at the farm for such a process. Otis volunteers to go to right his mistake and Shane agrees to go with him. Maggie, Hershel’s daughter, agrees to find Lori and the rest of the survivors to tell them what has happened.

In the forest Andrea is attacked by a walker, but is saved by Maggie on horseback. Lori leaves with her while T-Dog tries to convince Dale that the two of them should take the RV and run. Dale ignores him and continues looking for antibiotics. At the farm Hershel tries to reassure Rick that this is a temporary thing and that a cure will be made, Rick takes the opposite stance as Lori arrives to be with her son. Hershel assures her that he’ll be able to do the surgery, but informs them that he is a veterinarian and not a doctor.

At camp, Glenn is asked to take T-Dog to Hershel’s farm for medical treatment while the others remain behind to wait for Sophia. Daryl gives T-Dog a selection of antibiotics from Merle Dixon’s stash. While this is happening Carl’s pressure bottoms out as Shane and Otis are at the FEMA command post. They find the equipment that Hershel needs for the surgery, but they are quickly overrun by walkers and are trapped in the school.

Co-Stars

 * Kelley Davis as Paula
 * Emily Kinney as Beth Greene
 * James Allen McCune as Jimmy
 * Deja Dee as Mom #1
 * Amy Cain as Mom #2

Uncredited

 * Scottie Knollin as Walker
 * Regan Riley as School Girl
 * Ylian Alfaro Snyder as Walker
 * Steve Warren as Walker

Trivia

 * Bloodletting (or blood-letting) is the withdrawal of often little quantities of blood from a patient to cure or prevent illness and disease.The title is both a physical and metaphorical term for this episode.
 * The crystal meth found in Merle's stash of drugs is the same color as the meth produced by Walter White in the AMC series Breaking Bad