I thought you almost had to watch Talking Dead this time to make sure you got everything...
As has been noted, the show's honchoes mentioned that Lori's mad at herself, at least as much as Rick I guess, over what happened to Shane... She maybe didn't expect murder to be the answer, but more for Rick to put him in his place and keep him there. How do you get mad though, considering what Shane did to Rick to get him out alone like that? She's probably equally mad/upset that now Carl's involved heavily, and that's going to be a scarring thing and all.
I liked Rick's flip-out though... long overdue with this bunch of roaming appetizers. They're a bunch of dickheads, and spineless. People like T-Dawg, Carol, Lori, Glenn/Maggie... They don't have my respect. Not one of them. The world is a world of "Rick's, Shane's, & Dale's". The first two are independant, and capable. The last is not. The first two will come to disagreement... The last will bitch, but couldn't survive on its own.
The Vato's are a group of Rick's... or at least they seemed to have some level of solidarity behind what they were doing. Trying to do a moral thing in a world of chaos.
On other points... I totally agree with Greg about Carol's behavior... Justified when you look at it from her POV, but her POV is admittedly warped. She blames Rick, and loves Darryl, so she sees Darryl as pandering to Rick... Likewise Maggie feels/felt the same about Glenn. Stop being their slave, doign the dirty work, and be more of a Rick/Shane type!
Well, that's much easier said than done, isn't it? It's the guy with the pistol permit, maybe even willing to draw it, but does he have the courage to use it? Fight or flight is a hard thing to control, and Rick has the ability to do that when others do not. Shane did too, for better or worse. Andrea's getting there. Michonne looks to have it and then some.
As far as the timeline goes, and the copter, IIRC the zombies eating the dog were there, no? I recall that somewhere.... The herd thing is something Darryl touched on too. Staying off broader highways is a good idea because big open space like that leads instinctively to migration. That's kind of neat to see it hinted at a little bit... The herds move in bulk, and prefer moving where it's easier to move... I liked how they hit that fence and just stood there. Good to think they're that dumb at least, and probably aren't able to climb ladders.
The prison was hard to make out what it was when I was watching. I didn't find out till, again, Talking Dead that it was that... I'd considered prisons as a place to maybe go and even said that, if you were on the West Coast, that you may try to get to Alcatraz... But on the East Coast a lot of prisons are like fortresses equally good at keeping people out as they are keeping them in. Problem is, who's left inside, if anyone, that's alive?
You think 30 guys from Philly and whoever they picked up on the way down are bad, then think about who's in the prison... People who society basically exiled long ago, and who themselves largely abandoned society. It's a fort, but be careful who you're playing cowboys and undeadindians with.
And I totally figured Patricia and Jimmy were done for... I really thought T-Dawg's time is up. A little shocked someone like him is stilling hangin' in there.
Great season finale, best show on TV, and outstanding all around. I'm floored by it every week.
Oh, and one more thing... Who cares if you turn into a zombie regardless? Unless you turn into one spontaneously... like you die because of the illness and just boom at osme point zombie-out, then who cares? If it's just whenever you die from whatever kills you, be it a bite, a gun shot, a knife to the gut, a muscle-head breaking your neck, falling off a ladder, or a heartattack from old age, then who cares? Isn't it just another part of life at that point? You're just going to have to make sure when grandpa dies in the night from old age, that you pop him one in the head to make sure he doesn't wake up when you're doing the eulogy right? I don't see the big deal there, assuming that it's not possible for the disease itself to kill you and reanimate you.