In Season 2 Episode 3 of the Walking Dead, Shane and Otis are still trying to get medical equipment for Rick's son Carl. Otis is responsible for shooting Rick's son in Episode 1 of the Walking Dead, however, it was an accident. Since Otis felt guilt for accidentally shooting Rick's son, he decides that he will help Shane recover the medical equipment needed to save Rick's son Carl.
Rick is with his wife Lori at the farmhouse watching over their son Carl. The doctor says they will need to make a decision to either operate on their son, or wait for Shane and Otis to return with a respirator. The doctor says he will likely not survive without a respirator.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6jv0FD8KsM
On the other hand, maybe Shane just wanted to ensure that he would return with the medical equipment for Rick's son Carl. Hence the reason why he would shoot Otis - he would create a small diversion so the zombies would eat Otis.
It does not seem that Shane was planning to kill Otis, however. There was one scene in the Walking Dead where Shane told Otis to go on without him. At least in that regard, we can infer that Shane did not previously contemplate to kill Otis and leave him on the ground to get eaten by the walkers.
Why did Shane not just shoot Otis in the head, instead of having him suffer?
Let's say Shane did not contemplate to kill Otis. Perhaps he wanted to just stay alive and return with the medical equipment for Carl. Would'nt he just have shot Otis in the head, saving him the torture of getting eaten by the horde of zombies?
At the end of the Walking Dead, Shane cuts off his hair and looks at himself in the mirror. When Shane was beating on Otis, Otis grabbed a piece of his hair. Shane probably cut his hair because he did not want the others gaining suspicion that he may have left Otis for dead. Shane of course, lied to Rick about Otis. Shane told Rick that he got killed when firing at the zombies.
Is Shane going crazy in the Walking Dead?
Could all the stress be causing Shane to be going crazy? Or will he just simply do what he needs to do to ensure the survival of the entire group?
There is a scene where Shane is looking at Lori and Carl with concern on his face. In season 1, there was some bonding with Shane and Carl. Lori, however, did not want Shane seeing Carl all the time because Shane told her that Rick was dead, when he actually survived. And Shane and Lori has sex with each other after the outbreak. Lori basically thought that Shane just said Rick died as an excuse to have sex with her, then it would not be cheating because Rick is dead. This, however, is not true because Shane thought Rick really did die in the hospital even though he did not.
There is a possibility that Shane thinks that he could be a "better father figure" for Carl, than Rick is. For example, would Rick have shot Otis to ensure that he returns to his son with the medical equipment? Rick's morals are not quite the same as Shane. Maybe Shane thinks that Rick does not have it in him to do what is needed to survive, even if it means killing someone. This is just a thought, however. It's hard to say what Shane is thinking. Is he a hero, villain, both, or neither?
