‘The Walking Dead’ recap: Hey, remember Beth?

This week’s episode of “The Walking Dead” reacquaints us with Beth last seen all the way back in “Alone,” which aired in March. If it wasn’t for Daryl’s constant concern, we might have forgotten about her by now.

It’s not that Beth is a bad character, she’s just been surpassed by so many others in terms of intrigue and sympathy. She doesn’t have the weapons skills of Michonne, nor does she have the inspirational love story of Maggie. She’s Beth! Everyone likes Beth! But did anyone miss Beth? It appears this episode is looking to rectify that situation.

In her last appearance, Beth and Daryl were camped out in a funeral home that became overrun with walkers. When Daryl sent her outside, she somehow ended up in the back of a car with unknown occupants and sped off into the night to destinations unknown.

Who were those people and what happened to Beth after that? “Slabtown” doesn’t give us those answers, but at least we do know what Beth is up to now.

Like Rick in the first episode of the series, Beth wakes up in a hospital in Atlanta, disoriented and unsure of where’s she’s been. Unlike Rick, this hospital is not filled with walkers but a new group of survivors with their own peculiarities. Luckily, the dark side of this group comes to the fore sooner rather than later. Faithful “Walking Dead” viewers have come to accept that any time there’s a new settlement of people, things are never as they appear at first.

The dark side of the hospital group is Dawn, a former cop and leader of the group. Dawn certainly knows how to get things done, but she’s got an ongoing cost-benefit analysis spreadsheet going in her head. It definitely helps with making logical choices, but it’s drained her of empathy. Like Gareth from Terminus and the Governor before him, Dawn is the latest cautionary example of what the stress of unsought responsibility can wreak on a human being.

While Rick isn’t present at the hospital, we can only hope that Beth will take notes on what not to do when she finally reunites with her group.

Dawn, who is responsible for a small group of people with a limited number of supplies, does not believe in charity cases. If someone is to receive her help (asked for or not) they will be made to pay, to work off their debt through forced service at the hospital.

That hard-nosed concern for the bottom line would probably be something Rick admires, but Dawn’s flaw is her blindness for the actions of her underlings, particularly her smarmy second-in-command Michael, who embodies the term abuse of power.

Things would probably have gone along in this manner if it wasn’t for Beth’s arrival. There’s just something about anyone who has spent time with Rick that makes them an agent for chaos. Even the most watertight process will spring a few leaks when a member of his crew arrives.

But Dawn’s ruthlessness puts us in a very similar mind-set. How much are we really ready to invest any of these new characters? We all know the real story is headed down the road to Washington, so Beth and her hospital buddies seem like little more than a distraction. And whether it’s the hard-nosed Dawn or the weaselly Dr. Edwards, all of them seem more like walker chow than important additions to a cast that’s already bursting at the seams.

Lucky for the fans, Carol appeared at the hospital at the end of the episode. And we all know Carol won’t take any guff from Dawn or get manipulated by Edwards. Things are about to get interesting.

But all those answers may have to wait. It appears next week will bring us back to Abraham and Eugene. Stick with the guy who says he has all the answers, even if it always seems like this guy is totally lying.

Even lying Eugene is more compelling than a bunch of newbies. Don’t get too distracted “Walking Dead,” things are going great so far this season.

Follow me on Twitter: @patrickkevinday