she became romantically linked to Shane. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Robert Kirkman asserted that it "speaks to Shane and his relationship to Lori and Rick in the early days." He continued: "A lot of people think of Shane as a clear villain and that he did a bad thing. But if you really analyze that situation, he’s a good guy and has done the right thing at every turn. Because he's done that, and it’s not working out for him, it’s driving him crazy. So we really wanted to show that he’s a tragic figure much more than a villainous figure. It’s just a series of unfortunate situations that have led to him slowly losing himself in this world. Popping back in time and showing his concern for Rick and how he cares for Lori and Carl, I thought that would be a good thing to do." During a scene on the road, Daryl reveals a plastic bag of Merle's drug stash he originally kept in hiding from the crew, only bringing it out to aid T-Dog's rising fever. In the bag are doxycyclin (because, Daryl explains, Merle occasionally catches the clap), painkillers, ecstasy, and methamphetamine. The meth is blue, leading to speculations that it was a reference to the famous blue meth prepared by Walter White in the television series, Breaking Bad. In his interview in the after-show Talking Dead, Kirkman stated that the scene was "a little Easter egg we were doing for AMC fans." Reception Ratings "Bloodletting" was first broadcast on October 23, 2011, in the United States on AMC. The episode received 6.70 million viewers and attained a 3.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen ratings. An encore presentation gained an additional 2.077 million viewers and garnered a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Along with becoming the highest-rated program on basic cable for the night, "Bloodletting" became the second highest-rated program of the week on basic cable, scoring higher than the season finale of Jersey Shore, but garnering less than a game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets as part of the 2011 NFL season. Total viewership and ratings for the episode were moderately down from the previous episode, "What Lies Ahead", which was watched by 7.26 million viewers and attained a 3.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to the Nielsen ratings. Critical response The episode was