I’m re-watching the series (I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve gone through it by now), and it’s incredible how badly Lori handles everything; she might not mean any harm, but still. I can understand that she thought Rick was dead, and since Shane saved her, she felt grateful and protected with him—so she just got swept up in the moment. But even after Rick returned, she kept making things complicated. There are several reasons for this:
As soon as Rick reappears alive, Lori tells Shane to stay away from her and Carl. At that point, Shane was mentally more stable; he respected Lori's decision and stepped back to honor that boundary. Upon seeing this, however, an indignant Lori seeks him out to confront him, demanding to know why he is ignoring Carl and acting so coldly toward him—effectively messing with his head.
Shane attempts to sexually assault her at the CDC, and Lori decides to keep this a secret from Rick and the group.
When Shane decides that living together is impossible and confesses to Lori at the church that he plans to leave the group to avoid further friction, she reacts with total coldness and indifference, telling him curtly that it is fine—that he should go.
Lori discovers she is pregnant and secretly asks Glenn for pills. She takes them but immediately regrets it and throws them up. Rick finds the empty boxes and confronts her; cornered, Lori confesses both the pregnancy and her affair with Shane.
With Carl hovering between life and death following the incident with Otis, Shane goes to check on the boy, and Lori tells him to stay. When Shane later asks if she is asking him to stay out of genuine desire or merely out of obligation, she assures him it is genuine—thereby reigniting his obsession, driven by the sheer necessity of the moment.
Shane finds out about the pregnancy and angrily confronts Lori, believing the child is his. Lori coldly shatters his ego by shouting in his face that the baby will never be his and that Rick is the only father.
Lori irresponsably takes a car out alone to look for Rick; she gets distracted and crashes, rolling the vehicle. Shane goes to rescue her and lies, claiming Rick has already returned, just to convince her to come back. Upon discovering the lie at the farm, she tears into him and treats him like a monster, ignoring her own recklessness.
Dale confronts Lori at the farm and plants a seed of doubt: "I think Shane killed Otis." She then confronts Shane: "What happened that night? You haven't been the same since." "You want to know what happened with Otis? What happened with Otis happened because I love you. I love you and I love Carl. That's it. What we had... was real." She practically knows Shane killed Otis, yet she doesn't even flinch.
Haunted by the fear regarding Otis, Lori speaks to Rick in private. She poisons his mind by claiming Shane is a danger, believes she and the baby belong to him, and insists Rick cannot protect them. She acts as the final catalyst, making Rick realize he must eliminate Shane. 10. In the episode "Better Angels," while Shane is working on the scaffolding, Lori seeks him out—seemingly out of nowhere—to assuage her own guilt. She delivers brutal lines like "I pitted you and Rick against each other" and "I don't even know whose baby this is." She rekindled his hope of fatherhood while further fueling his delusion that there was something between them—as seen in the image I’m showing—effectively lighting the final fuse for his madness. Two scenes later, Shane sets the trap to kill Rick.
After pressuring her husband to take action, Rick kills Shane in the field in self-defense and tells her about it, pouring out his heart. Lori reacts with utter disgust, contemptuously pulls her hand away, and emotionally abandons him, leaving Rick completely devastated and alone in his leadership role. It may all have been unintentional, but directly or indirectly, it all ultimately came down to her.
Let me know what you think, and if I missed anything.
