Welcome to Walking Dead Weekly! As the title implies, each week (bearing a new episode of course), we’ll be taking a look at the latest episode of the AMC series. I’ll let you know how I felt about each weekly offering, and will also compare it to what Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard were doing with the comic at the same time.

 

Last week December, Made to Suffer gave us a fantastic midseason finale that left us wishing (and begging) for more; it’s certainly been a long two months, but the world didn’t end (remember that whole snafu?), and now we’re back in action!

 

Made to Suffer introduced us to Tyreese (after what seemed like months and months of rumors that he’d be appearing), who along with his small group, discovers a back entrance to the prison while attempting to escape from a rogue band of walkers. Rick, Daryll, Oscar, and Michonne make their way to Woodbury in an attempt to free Glenn and Maggie, but of course it isn’t long before the community is made aware of their presence (possibly due in part to the multitude of gunfire). Michonne has some unfinished business with the Governor (and his zombie daughter), and after (re)killing Penny, she’s forced to take out the Governor’s eye to defend herself. The end of the episode sees the battle’s blame put on Merle, who after months of loyal service has become the Governor’s scapegoat. Daryl has also been captured, and the episode cuts to black as the crowd chants and calls for the death of the ‘terrorist’ brothers. What a way to leave us…

 

Let’s get to it! As alway’s there are plenty of spoilers below, so don’t read on until you’ve seen the episode!

 

Episode Thoughts – ‘The Suicide King’

 

Well, it’s good to be back (for the most part). How did you deal with your two-month break from the series? Pick up a few volumes of the comic? Play Telltale’s phenomenal game? Work on your pecs? After that climactic midseason finale, it’s great to finally see what Rick and the gang are up to.

 

The Suicide King opens just where Made to Suffer left off; Woodbury calling for the deaths of the captured ‘terrorists’, with Merle and Daryl locking eyes for the first time in months just moments before they’re told to kill each other.

 

 

Naturally (being brothers and all), the two aren’t really into a fight to the death; after a few choice blows and a moment of planning to escape, Rick and Maggie show up just in time to save the day. A few of the Woodbury folk fall as the battle takes place, but our group escapes with barely a scratch. But that’s not all (of course); before the opening credits roll, a walker discovers a hole in Woodbury’s walls; it looks as though things are set to get worse for the townsfolk before they get better.

 

 

The rescue team returns to Glenn and Michonne who are not happy to see Merle; after what he did to Maggie and Michonne, what could they really expect? In an unexpected turn, as Merle isn’t welcome in the group, Daryl decides to leave too, because after all, Merle is blood (and Carol will understand). Who knows how long this one will last, with Daryl being nearly everyone’s favourite character, he better be rejoining our group at some point.

 

After disappearing during the raid on Woodbury, it seems as though Michonne is no longer welcome in the group either (couldn’t she just have explained what she was doing); that means in just one trip out of the prison, the group has lost three of its most able members (Oscar falling victim to a gunshot during the last episode).

 

 

Back at the prison, Hershel tends to Tyreese and his group. Two of the (likely more expendable) members later decide they’d like to take over the prison, but Tyreese (being the good guy that he is) quickly puts a stop to the idea. Hershel tells them that it’s not his decision whether they stay or go, but Rick’s. Hmm… I wonder what Rick will say.

 

As Glenn, Maggie, and Rick head back to the prison, Glenn has a moment of temporary insanity; he viciously destroys a walker with nothing but his boot before reaming Rick out for letting Maggie go to Daryl instead of him (and for not killing Merle or the Governor for what they’ve done).

 

 

Things are not going well in Woodbury. After the events of the previous night, much of the town feels unsafe and wants to leave. Just as Andrea speaks up in an attempt to calm the townspeople, walkers appear to scare everyone even further. Another civilian is taken down before the zombies are taken out. The Governor (who we haven’t seen since the previous evening) makes an appearance, shoots the suffering victim, and swiftly goes back indoors.

 

 

Rick, Maggie, and Glenn return to the prison, and as Rick tells Carol that Daryl is not coming back, we get to witness her heart break once again. How much hurt can one woman take before she snaps?

 

Things get a little weird at this point. Rick needs to decide whether Tyreese and his group get to stay. Hershel steps in after Ricks initial (expected) no, and states that as many times as Rick has been right, this time he’s dead wrong. Just as it looks like Rick is about to change his mind, he spots a silhouetted Lori standing on the prison balcony. At this point he goes batshit crazy, and Tyreese and his group make a swift exit as they think that Rick’s anger is directed at them. The episode cuts to black with Rick still screaming and everyone else (including the audience), looking rather confused; why is she in a dress? Why is she so dark looking when it’s clearly still daytime? What is she even doing there!?

 

 

Hopefully next week brings some answers! Getting any Walking Dead after a two month break is very welcome, and this season 3.5 opener was a very decent offering (aside from a few odd moments and a fairly anticlimactic opening). Seeing the group so split up should lead to some interesting events in the future; it looks as though Daryl and Merle get into trouble as soon as the next episode begins, and who knows where Michonne will head next! It’s a mystery right now of course, but I thought that the whole ghost Lori thing was pretty lame; Rick just spent an entire episode talking to her on that broken telephone, so I really hope that this strange idea goes somewhere new.

 

What did you think of the episode? Was it as revealing as you’d hoped after this long wait, or were you left simply wishing for more (and not in the good way)? Check out the preview for next week’s episode below, and be sure to let us know what you thought of this week!

 

 

Comic Comparison

 

As with Made to Suffer, The Suicide King is a tough episode to directly compare to the comic.

 

Nearly every moment that we’ve spent in the town of Woodbury (which has become an excellent contrast to the drab grey of the prison) has been a television only affair. The comic seemed to feature the town only as a place where we could witness the evils of the Governor, while on AMC series it has become a character in itself (and an infinitely intriguing one at that). I’m always happy when we get to spend a few minutes in the town, and it’s an extremely effective way to get us invested in characters that we never really got to know in the comic book.

 

 

Merle and Daryl fall front and centre for the beginning portion of this episode… which was never necessary in the comic because on paper the two never existed. This also means that Glenn didn’t really have anyone to be mad at on paper (furthered by the fact that Michonne was the one held captive in the comic and NOT Maggie), and that this rescue effort was never even necessary! As I mentioned in the last edition, Tyreese was brought into the group long before they ever came across the prison… Rick wasn’t as much of a dick back then, and if I remember correctly, welcomed his newfound allies with open arms.

 

 

After Daryl left with Merle, stating simply that “Carol will understand”, I’m wondering if we’re set to soon see the death of her character. She went a little crazy after losing absolutely everything in the comic, and things are certainly seeming that way for her now. I’d be sad to see her go, as she’s a great member of the group, but I could definitely see this outcome before the season ends.

 

 

What else does the future hold? Only time will tell, but with just seven episodes left this season, shit must be hitting the fan soon; I just hope that the attack on the prison happens before episode sixteen, or it will be a very, very long wait for season four (and things may start to drag on before then)!

 

As always, thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next week!

Welcome to Walking Dead Weekly! As the title implies, each week (bearing a new episode of course), we’ll be taking a look at the latest episode of the AMC series. I’ll let you know how I felt about each weekly offering, and will also compare it to what Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard were doing with the comic at the same time.

 

Last week’s When The Dead Come Knocking was an awesome return to form after the lacking (in my opinion) Hounded. Merle started things off by giving Glenn a nice beating in an attempt to learn the location of the camp, and subsequently, his brother. Glenn is tough as nails, so The Governor takes to Maggie in an attempt to do the same. Back in prison, an injured Michonne is brought inside and quickly reveals that Maggie and Glenn have been taken. Before the episode closed, both parties would know the location of the other. In other words, this is what we’ve all been waiting for all this time, and shit is about to hit the fan.

Tonight’s episode of course, serves as the midseason finale. After this evening, we won’t see a new The Walking Dead until February 10th. After how fantastic this season has turned out so far, it’s going to be a long wait.

Let’s get to it! As always, there are plenty of spoilers below, so don’t read until you’ve watched!

Episode Thoughts – ‘Made To Suffer’

February can’t come soon enough.

Made To Suffer opens with an awesome moment that we’ve all been waiting for since The Walking Dead premiered: Tyreese. It was first revealed just a few weeks ago that the character would be making his way into the AMC series, and Chad Coleman does not disappoint. Based on the source material, Tyreese is bound to introduce plenty of intriguing twists and turns. Let’s just hope he fares better than his paper counterpart!

Tyreese and his group look like they’re in some big trouble. They’re tired, and there are walkers everywhere. One of their own is bitten just a few minutes into the chapter, and we know then that these folks know even less about what’s going on than Rick and the gang: their group member is bitten on the arm, yet no effort is made to remove said arm, which could have easily saved her life!

Tyreese and friends turn out to be faster than the walkers, and just before the opening credits roll they make their way into the back entrance of the prison. YES!

Back in Woodbury, The Governor is as creepy and misrepresented as always. He begins with a quick romantic exchange with the unknowing Andrea, but once she leaves it’s time to give Penny a visit. Remember Penny? That’s his zombie daughter that he heartbreakingly keeps alive undead incase things start looking up in the future (whether the walkers begin to remember their old selves, or a cure for the infection is found). When Penny doesn’t reciprocate Governor’s loving gestures, he puts her back in her cage without feeding her. That’ll teach her.

Everyone’s favourite couple, Glenn and Maggie, are still (unsurprisingly) being held captive somewhere in Woodbury. Understandably, they’re not happy about it: Glenn decides that it’s time to do something about it, and in a short, but gag worthy scene he rips off a walkers arm (the same one he had to kill last episode), and fashions it into a shank. Sick, yet effective.

Just outside the Woodbury walls, Rick, Daryl, Oscar, and Michonne make a plan to get inside. Michonne is more familiar with the layout of the town, and as Rick and Daryl plan an all out assault, she instead leads them through a back entrance: much sneakier, much quieter.

As this conspires outside, Merle and Governor plan to take the prison: they’ll surrender, and as Rick and friends lower their guns, all of them will be killed (rehashing the same tactic they used on the National Guard). I’m sure they know full well too that the prison camp is full of children, they just don’t care.

Back at the Prison camp, Axel (who it turns out didn’t go on the rescue mission) reveals that he’s just a little bit creepy (or maybe just really lonely): when Beth reveals her age (17), he seems just a little too interested. Carol pulls him aside and he explains that the only reason he didn’t hit on her, was because he thought she was a lesbian! I chuckled here, it was a hilarious anomaly in an otherwise very extreme episode.

Just as Glenn and Maggie are about to be executed, our rescue team bursts in with smoke grenades and guns blazing. Woodbury is sent into a panic, as they’re used to only peace and tranquility in the town, and most have no clue what Governor Phillip is actually like. He spins the rescue mission into being an attack by terrorists, who simply want the peace and happiness that the townspeople have. What a dick.

The last half of the episode spends its majority following the rescue team on their attempt to escape the now-aware town. Everyone wants these ‘terrorists’ dead, and they’re going to do whatever they can to make it a reality. Of course, these are townspeople and not trained militants, and as we witnessed a few episodes ago, can’t aim worth shit. We end up spending a rather large chunk of the episode watching people not shoot anyone. It seems as though our lovable Oscar is one of the very few who actually took a bullet, and as I predicted last week, instantly succumbed to the injury.

Michonne breaks herself off from the group to go confront the Governor (remember, she had to leave Woodbury because she learned too much about the man and his true nature). She arrives at his home, and while waiting for him to return finds his zombified daughter. Just as she’s about to put an end to Penny’s suffering, Governor arrives and the two duke it out in the midst of Phillip’s walker-head fishtanks (after Michonne puts a sword through Penny’s head of course). Phillip ends the encounter with the brunt of the injury, as he takes a rather large shard of glass to the eye (cue eypatch!). Andrea hears the commotion, and is the only reason that Michonne didn’t kill The Governor then and there. Michonne leaves and eventually rejoins the others (who unusually, don’t really ask about her obvious injuries).

Back at the prison Carl takes charge, and runs to the aid of Tyreese’s group upon hearing them calling for help. He leads them to a separate block, where he intelligently locks them in, not ready to immediately trust these unknown survivors. I wonder how long it’ll be before they merge? Rick’s gang is beginning to get rather sparse!

The final scene of the episode reveals a very neat twist, and shows just how quickly someone like the Governor will turn on one of his own. The battle is over, and Woodbury needs someone to blame it on. Turns out that Merle will be our fall guy. The governor spins a tale of betrayal to the angry crowd: Merle was working with the terrorists all along, he let them in, and one of them is his own brother! A hooded Daryl is then brought out and revealed. When the Governor asks what should be done with the traitor and his terrorist sibling, the most extreme answer is also the only answer heard from the crowd: kill them. Cut to black.

How did you feel about Made to Suffer? I’ve read some mixed reports on twitter: people saying that it was a mediocre end to an otherwise great half-season, to people stating that it was the best ~42 minutes of television ever produced. I’m obviously not on either side of those extremes, but I’m interested in hearing what people thought of the finale.

The episode was intense and extreme, just as we’ve come to expect this season, and just as we anticipated for the episode. The introduction of Tyreese was borderline perfect. As I mentioned above, Chad Coleman looks fantastic in the part, and seeing him swinging that hammer within seconds of the episode opening was both a great first impression, and an awesome beginning to this midseason finale.

I was impressed with most of what the episode offered: things like Michonne’s battle with Governor and Carol telling off Axel were great, but there were a few scenes that felt as though they dragged on simply too long. A good few of the scenes in Woodbury felt like this, specifically the battle in the town: smoke grenades meant that we were essentially watching people yelling at fog, and though I heard lots (and lots) of shooting, none of it really went anywhere!

Just a few shortfalls however, doesn’t really do much to detriment the episode. From the moment it opened to the second it closed, it was an intense, extreme and surprising romp through the town of Woodbury (with some brief and affective moments inside our favourite prison). The cliffhanger at the end was a fantastic one, and it’s going to be a long 2 months before we finally get to see what pans out!

Of course, AMC didn’t leave us completely hanging. As always, the episode ended with a short peek at what comes next. It’s just too bad that what comes next isn’t until February. Here’s a preview of Season 3, Episode 9 – The Suicide King.

 

 Comic Comparison

Overall, Made to Suffer is a tough episode to compare to Kirman/Adlard’s work. As I’ve mentioned before, we’ve seen substantially more of Woodbury here than we ever did on paper, and this is a good thing. I’ve been loving the town and almost every second that we’ve been able to spend there: Woodbury could honestly get its own spinoff, and it would be more popular than a lot of other currently airing shows!

However, there are a few key scenes that we can directly compare. First would be the very opening scene of the episode, the much anticipated introduction of Tyreese. AMC had his group running through the forest in search of shelter before finally stumbling upon the inhabited prison. On paper things went much differently: Tyreese, his daughter, and her boyfriend were all introduced way back on the snowy pages of issue 7. The two groups simply came across each other on the road, and almost instantaneously merged together. Tyreese was already a well established member of the group when the prison was discovered, and would be there until the day Rick and friends were forced to leave. In the show, Rick of course has just left Woodbury, so it will be interesting to see how he reacts to Tyreese’s group upon returning to the prison.

Another big difference between each version is the loss of the Governor’s eye. Both media have the event take place in an interaction with Michonne, but the context and reasoning for each is much different. On paper, it’s revenge. As I’ve mentioned in previous iterations, The Governor spent nearly a week brutally raping and torturing Michonne in an attempt to learn the location of the prison. Upon escaping, she (understandably) feels the need to teach him a lesson. She goes to his home and knocks him out, and when he wakes up, she begins the fun. First, she nails his genitals to a board, ensuring that he won’t be quick to move. She then proceeds to drill into his arm. Just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, she uses pliers to rip multiple fingernails out before slicing off his arm and digging his eye out with a spoon. Sick.

Of course, the TV version was much more tame. Michonne received no torture, so there was not really any basis for revenge. She simply stabbed him in the eye with glass as a means to escape the situation (in which she may have otherwise ended up dead). The scene was still intense on TV, but there was no doubt in my mind that it wouldn’t have been able to top the comic book.

Those were the only really comparable sequences here. The comic has an escape happen from within Woodbury (which turns out to be staged), while the show had a group come to the rescue (which of course was the basis for this episode). Each was unique, and each was uniquely good in its own way.

For those of you that have been following this past eight weeks, thanks! I’d love to hear any feedback you may come up with during this long Winter break. Of course when the show returns, so will I for eight more iterations of Walking Dead Weekly! If the zombie apocalypse happens while I’m gone, remember to double tap!

Happy holidays!

Welcome to Walking Dead Weekly! As the title implies, each week (bearing a new episode of course), we’ll be taking a look at the latest episode of the AMC series. I’ll let you know how I felt about each weekly offering, and will also compare it to what Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard were doing with the comic at the same time.

Last week saw Merle and company on the hunt for Michonne. Things didn’t quite work out how Merle would have wanted (with Michonne dead), but he did end up with something even better: Glenn and Maggie. After the couple wouldn’t take Merle to see his brother, he took them hostage and brought them to Woodbury. An injured Michonne found our prison just as the episode came to a close, meaning that 6 episodes in we finally got our first connections between Woodbury and the West Georgia Correctional Facility. Now that the two locales will soon know about each other, I can confidently say that shit is about to hit the fan. Of course that isn’t all that happened – Rick answered that damned phone and half an episode later realized that he was talking to his dead wife, Andrea continued her string of bad relationships by hooking up with the Governor, and we also found Carol, alive and hungry after being all but forgotten by the rest of the group. In my opinion, Hounded was the weakest episode we’ve seen this season. That being said, it wasn’t bad by any means. It simply wasn’t up to par with previous weeks!

Let’s head right into When the Dead Come Knocking! As always, there are spoilers below, so don’t read until you’ve watched!

Episode Thoughts – ‘When the Dead Come Knocking’

The Walking Dead and I had a fantastic day today. First, I finally had a chance to sit down and play through the fifth and final episode of Telltale’s adventure game version of The Walking Dead. It was an incredible climax to what is by far the most enjoyable and memorable gaming experience that I’ve had all year. Second, after last week’s just okay episode of the AMC series, we got an awesome return to form with this week’s offering. When the Dead Come Knocking was simply much more of what we’ve come to expect this season: awesome.

The episode opens with a very impressive standoff between Merle and Glenn, all while Maggie listens from the next room. Merle wants the location of the camp (and subsequently, his brother), and Glenn won’t give it to him. Merle has many tactics at his disposal while attempting to obtain the information he’s looking for, from the knife that is now permanently attached to his arm, all the way to bringing in a walker to finish Glenn off. Of course, Glenn’s tough, and throughout the course of the interrogation, Merle won’t learn a single thing. Nice work!

We then head back to the big house just seconds after Hounded came to a close: Michonne is still on the outside of the fence, though now walkers are starting to notice her. She tries to make her way to the gate but quickly succumbs to her injuries and faints. Rick and friends are nice enough to carry her in, where she quickly divulges all that she knows: Glenn & Maggie have been taken to Woodbury, and that place is misleading as hell. She was also nice enough to bring the baby formula that Maggie and Glenn had been collecting before they were kidnapped! Now baby can eat!

We’re then treated to a touching reunion between Carol and the rest of the gang: it was a great scene, and really almost makes you forgive the fact that they forgot all about her… almost.

After some heavy petting (whatever that means), Governor asks Andrea for a favour: Milton is testing whether walkers retain any of their memory when they turn, and Phillip wants Andrea there to take the walker out if need be. I really enjoyed this scene: we of course know that a walker is a walker, and once they turn all they want to do is eat you. Andrea knows this too after having her sister turn all the way back in season one. It’s really neat to see her go with it even though she knows full well what’s going to happen. Milton nearly turns into zombie food, and would not be alive if it hadn’t been for Andrea’s quick reflexes.

Two important group members are being held hostage, so it isn’t long before Rick arranges a party to go get them back. Michonne (as she’s the only one who knows where Woodbury is) and some of the more able-bodied group members load up their weapons and head out. They also take the two remaining inmates (Axel and Oscar) with them: I’m a little worried about this, as the two haven’t really had any character development yet, and at this point are still highly expendable. I hope this doesn’t end up the case, as Axel became an extremely interesting character in the comic (while Oscar never existed in the paper version).

Before the group leaves, Rick pulls carl aside for a chat which amounts to: sorry you had to shoot your mom, and the baby needs a name. The two settle on (drumroll) Judith before Rick runs off to play hero. FINALLY this baby has a name!

Back at Woodbury, after Merle is unsuccessful in getting anything out of Glenn, Governor decides that he’ll test his luck with Maggie. I was scared here: in the comic, Governor spends almost a week brutally beating and raping Michonne. It was tough enough to read that, and I’d guess it would be even tougher to watch it play out. After forcing Maggie to strip and alluding to the fact that he could do much worse, Governor thankfully doesn’t. Instead, he puts a gun to Glenn’s head in front of Maggie, which in turn makes her reveal everything.

As When the Dead Come Knocking closes, Rick, Daryl, Axel, Oscar, and Michonne are about to launch an attack on the town, while the Governor has sent a recon team to the prison. Whether or not you’ve read The Walking Dead, you know that shit is about to get violent. Of course, next week is the midseason finale, so what better time for it to happen!

As I mentioned above, When the Dead Come Knocking was a fantastic return to form after (in my opinion) the show lost a bit steam with last week’s Hounded. I can’t wait until next week, but I’m certainly not looking forward to the two month break afterwards.

As usual, the episode closed with a preview for next week! Again, next episode is the mid-season finale, meaning after it airs we won’t see another new chapter until February! Check out the preview for Made to Suffer below, and let us know what you thought of When the Dead Come Knocking!

Comic Comparison

Poor Glenn. No matter how you like your Walking Dead, whether on paper or on TV, he’s going to have some tough times in Woodbury. AMC sees him brutally beaten as a means to (unsuccessfully) learn the location of their camp, while on paper they keep him captive while Rick unknowingly gives the Governor exactly what they’re looking for. Fans definitely seem to love Glenn, so I’m sure it was a tough night for them not knowing whether or not he would make it through the episode!

As I mentioned in past columns, in Robert Kirkman’s stories, it’s Michonne that gets the brunt of the punishment. Governor Phil is a real jerk to her, and appears to take a sick pleasure in the emotional and physical torture he doles out. It appears as though on TV the Governor, while still a sick bastard, isn’t (yet) as disgusting as he is in the comic book. He mainly takes to scaring Maggie instead of brutally traumatizing her. What a gentleman.

The way that Rick and friends are introduced to Woodbury is also much different. The comic has them looking for a settlement after tracks lead away from the helicopter crash (as we saw in episode 3 of this season). They (being Rick, Glenn, Michonne, and Tyreese) find the town, and quickly wish they hadn’t, as Robert Kirkman leaves no guesswork to the Governor’s intentions.

AMC’s version introduced us to the town weeks ago (while following the adventures of Andrea and Michonne), while Rick’s group learned of it in this very episode. Just as in the comic, the introduction does not have a happy ending: the only reason Rick is taking a group there is to get back their kidnapped friends.

On screen, Michonne was just now introduced to the group, while when Woodbury became a plot point of the comic, she had already been a member for some time. AMC also had her arrive in a very dire state, and had it not been for Hershel’s medical knowledge, she likely wouldn’t have made it. On paper, she’s quickly accepted into the party after saving Otis from certain death.

I can’t wait to see what happens next. Could it be as surprising as the prison finale of the comic? Will the ordeal end as quickly as the comic did? Woodbury and the prison seem much to interesting to be done with at the end of just one season. Then again, though I’ve read way beyond what the show has covered, I still find myself surprised every week. After a rocky season two, we’re now halfway through season 3 and it still rocks.

Of course, If I could only experience The Walking Dead in one way, I certainly wouldn’t be watching the show OR reading the comic. Neither media has managed to carry the same sense of hopelessness, sheer terror, and surprise like Telltale has with their just concluded adventure game. Play it!

See you next week!

Welcome to Walking Dead Weekly! As the title implies, each week (bearing a new episode of course), we’ll be taking a look at the latest episode of the AMC series. I’ll let you know how I felt about each weekly offering, and will also compare it to what Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard were doing with the comic at the same time.

Last week we saw Rick deal with the death of his beloved (though not lately) Lori: he did what anyone would do in that situation and went INSANE. Rick spent the episode chopping up walkers, kicking Glenn’s ass, and having about as many lines as T-Dog on a good day. We also learned that even in this world, babies need to eat! Luckily enough, formula is apparently in abundance as Maggie and Daryl didn’t have to look very hard to find it. Things got way more interesting in Woodbury, as Michonne decided to leave (though Andrea chose the opposite), and we saw a sickeningly sweet side to Governor Phillip. The episode closed with a serious “what the?” moment, as Rick heard a phone ring for the first time since he woke up in this hell.

You know the drill. There are spoilers below, so don’t read until you’ve watched! Let’s jump right into Hounded.

Episode Thoughts – ‘Hounded’

I hate Merle. I just hate him. I hated him as the racist, ignorant asshole in season one, and I hated him the moment I saw his face again in the current season. I was relieved that Rick locked him up on that roof, as I never wanted to see his annoying face again. Of course, that isn’t the way things would work out.

Does everyone else love this guy? Am I just crazy? He rubs me the wrong way, and I seem to have a really hard time enjoying any moment he’s in. I didn’t love Hounded, and I’m not really sure if it’s because it wasn’t as strong an episode as we’ve been getting, or because Merle falls front and center for a lot of it.

Hounded opens with Merle and his team on the hunt for Michonne, who left the community after learning a little too much about it. Michonne has spent most of the zombie apocalypse alone, so she proves to be a very formidable opponent. She ends the interaction severely injured, but alive, as Merle returns to the Governor (minus the rest of his group) to tell him that she’s dead. This whole sequence is split throughout the course of the episode, and is just nowhere near as intriguing as anything else that’s going on. The only real interesting thing here is that Michonne learns that walkers are attracted by smell, so after being covered in undead guts they simply pass right by her. We of course already knew this, as we saw it way back in season one.

Remember that CRAZY moment at the end of Say the Word when a freaking phone started ringing? We return to the prison just seconds after the end of the last episode, just in time to hear what pans out. The woman on the other end is apparently from another, safer group of survivors. After what just happened with Rick’s gang, he of course wants to join up, but the woman isn’t quite ready to trust him yet. She promises to call again in just a few hours, as Rick begs her to reconsider.

Rick very briefly meets with the rest of the group to learn what they’ve been up to: everyone’s running low on ammo, Axel is trying to fix the generator, Carl’s okay (yeah right), and Maggie and Glenn are set to make a supply run later that day. Satisfied, Rick returns to whatever the hell he’s been doing since Lori died.

Back at Woodbury, Andrea decides she should earn her keep if she’ll be staying in the town. She asks to be put on the wall to keep her skills up, and just moments after starting her first shift she breaks the rules, jumps over, and knifes a walker up close. Then, after even more innuendo than usual between her and Governor Phil, the pair finally decide that it’s time to hit the sheets. I think this must have been the most drawn out hookup ever seen on television, but it will be awesome to see how she reacts when she learns who the Governor really is.

Rick receives another call, this time from a male that sounds strangely similar to Dale. The two go back and forth before coming to the touchy subject of Lori’s death. When Rick won’t share how she passed, the man hangs up, and Rick understandably flips out. He receives another call shortly afterwards and things begin to get even weirder: he never mentioned his name, yet the woman ends up calling him by it. What the hell?

Carl, Oscar, and Daryl decide to head deeper into the cell block to clear out any stragglers. Here we get a touching interaction between Carl and Daryl, who share the tale of their mother’s deaths, and genuinely look to bond before the conversation is through.

Hounded is over half finished before things get really interesting. Maggie and Glenn stop on their supply run, and who else but Merle comes across them (small world huh). He starts off cheery, seemingly glad to see his old “friend” Glenn. Merle of course asks the status of his brother, and freaks out when Glenn tells him that Daryl is alive, but won’t reveal his whereabouts.

Merle takes the pair hostage and brings them back to Woodbury. He tells the Governor that they look like they’re doing pretty well for themselves. SHIT.

Does anyone remember Carol? The group spent about 100 episodes looking for her lost daughter in season two, but when she disappears amidst all the shit in Killer Within, nobody says a freaking word, let alone tries to find her. That being said, in Hounded Daryl finds her, holed up and hungry after being missing for days. It’s fitting that Daryl is the one to finally locate Carol (still alive), as after everyone had given up hope on Sophia, he didn’t and continued hunting for clues (though admittedly, for much too long).

Rick receives another call, and here we get another big reveal: he’s just crazy. The phone didn’t ring, there’s nobody on the other end. He’s been talking to dead people for the whole episode. While I thought this was an amazing twist in the comics, because the phone is introduced and concluded so quickly here, I feel it didn’t really have the same effect. Once Rick realizes that he’s crazy however, the crazy seems to go away. He finally heads back to the group and holds his new, nameless baby for the first time.

This touching moment doesn’t last long however. As the group heads outside, Rick sees something way off in the distance. He heads down to the walker infested fence, where he lays his eyes on Michonne for the first time. Six episodes in, we get our first bridge between the prison and Woodbury.

I feel as though Hounded was likely the weak point in season 3 so far (though the weak point of something as awesome as The Walking Dead has been lately, is still pretty damn good). It was necessary in order to set things in motion (Michonne FINALLY at the prison, Glenn and Maggie headed to Woodbury), but much of the episode felt like filler to me. While I liked the telephone in the comic, the whole thing came and went too quickly to be really effective here, and Merle hunting Michonne for such a large chunk of the episode felt largely unnecessary. Don’t get me started on Carol. If there’s been one poor choice made in crafting the story for season three, it’s the fact that she was simply forgotten (and once she finally was remembered, the situation concluded almost instantaneously). I loved how remorseful Daryl appeared after finding her knife, I just wish that someone had cared at least enough to mention her before this scene.

The season has been pretty phenomenal so far, so I can’t really complain about anything I may not have loved here. Of course we were also treated to a sneak peek of next week’s offering, so be sure to check out the trailer for episode seven, When the Dead Come Knocking. I can’t wait to see what happens now that Woodbury and the prison gang will know of each others existence.

Of course, let us know what you thought of the episode below!

Comic Comparison

Shit’s getting pretty different, both for better and for worse!

On the awesome side: Woodbury. We’re getting much deeper into the community than we ever did in the comic. The place is interesting as hell, and its leader, Phillip ‘Governor’ Blake is wildly intriguing too. It’s too bad that Andrea, who has had a string of bad relationships in the show, is falling for this bad dude so shortly after things with Shane came to an end. On paper of course, Andrea has fallen for the still alive version of Dale, and the two have found themselves a family after multiple parents are killed.

Woodbury’s has its baggage in the AMC version of course. The man with one hand, Merle Dixon. Seriously, fuck that guy. I’d rather spend an evening with the Governor than have to see him again. This is just my opinion of course, but everyone I’ve spoken to said they could do without this Dixon too.

Not so awesome: that damn phone. I loved the storyline in the comic. Rick had hope, there were more survivors, people that could help the tired, lonely duo of he and Carl. After days and days of talking to these mysterious voices, he realizes the truth. It’s revealed that he’s simply been talking to his dead wife, and that the phone hasn’t even been plugged in. He doesn’t care: Rick packs the phone, so where ever he ends up, no matter what, he can talk to his beloved Lori (who he had a much better relationship with in Kirkman’s version).

The phone didn’t work that way in the show. Rick gets the first call at the beginning of the episode, and before the 42 minutes are up, he realizes that he’s just crazy. It just wasn’t as effective. It didn’t last long enough for me to get that hope that maybe, just maybe, there were people out there willing to help them.

Hounded finally began to bridge the gap between the prison and Woodbury. The comic found Rick, Glenn, and Michonne (who had been with the survivors for some time, while in the AMC version she literally just met them as this episode closed) looking for more survivors after the helicopter crash. As I’ve mentioned before, this didn’t go well. Within moments of meeting Governor, the trio realized that this was not a nice place, and Rick’s hand was hastily removed after he resisted what they had planned for him. Michonne then spent the better part of the week being brutally raped and tortured for information before finally escaping. It looks like that may fall to Maggie in the AMC version, as she and Glenn are now captives of the Governor.

It’ll be extremely interesting to see what happens here. I can only hope that the Governor is more kind to Maggie than he was to the paper version’s Michonne. Not because I like Maggie more, but because that shit was hard enough to read, and I can’t imagine seeing it acted out! Glenn is of course captive too, and it would be tough to watch Glenn react if he has to listen to the love of his life in a situation like that.

With a title like When the Dead Come Knocking, it looks like next week we’ll finally be introduced to the series’ infamous knockers. These fleshy tricksters are bound to cause quite a problem with our gang of survivors (that was a joke, a horrible, horrible joke).

I can’t wait to see what happens next week! Though I have to admit that I’m even more excited for tomorrow, when Telltale’s incredible version of The Walking Dead will close its first storyline! Buy the game immediately.

Thanks for reading!

 

Welcome to Walking Dead Weekly! As the title implies, each week (bearing a new episode of course), we’ll be taking a look at the latest episode of the AMC series. I’ll let you know how I felt about each weekly offering, and will also compare it to what Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard were doing with the comic at the same time.

It’s been seven days now and I’m still thinking about what we witnessed last week. Killer Within offered a nice mix of the West Georgia Correctional Facility and apparent safe haven of Woodbury (though honestly the time we spent in the town was nowhere near as interesting as the events at the prison). Absolutely everything went to shit for Rick and the gang thanks to the reappearance of the much-less-dead-than-expected Andrew. We lost two (or possibly more) core characters during the incredibly intense 42 minutes, and the episode closed with Rick’s heartbreaking reaction to the death of his estranged wife.

Killer Within was my favourite episode of the series, bar none. How did this week stack up? You’ll have to read on to find out! As always, there are plenty of spoilers below! You’ve been warned!

Episode Thoughts – ‘Say The Word’

Killer Within’s intense, heartbreaking conclusion left me absolutely pining to get back in this world. The death of Lori Grimes was an insane event that I’m sure few saw coming (I know I didn’t), and that few are likely to forget. For possibly the first time since the series began, my jaw literally dropped as I watched what unfolded, and season 3 of The Walking Dead solidified its place as by far the most memorable season yet.

Say The Word began on a completely different note than I’d expected. Rather than the deep melancholy of our survivors after the deaths of some of their best friends, the episode faded in to a celebration (for reasons unknown) in the town of Woodbury. The scene was akin to the opening of season 3 of Lost (our first look at the Others in their very own society), confusing and completely opposite of what you had prepared yourself for. This was an awesome feeling, and one that subtly let you know that before Say The Word would come to a close, even more strange events would unravel before your eyes.

During the gathering Andrea asks the purpose of the celebration, and the answer she receives is an absolutely perfect response: “Mere words cannot adequately describe the festivities ahead”. This again foreshadows the fact that you’ll be asking yourself what the hell is going on before the episode comes to a close (and believe me, you will).

Before we head back to the prison, we’re treated to a side of Governor Phillip that we haven’t yet seen: loving father. After a long day of governing, he tells his daughter about his day while brushing her long brown hair. Oh yeah, she’s a fucking zombie. Didn’t I say AGES ago that this guy was sick?

The opening credits roll, and we’re brought back to the prison just moments after Killer Within came to a close. Rick is in shock, and seems unable to see or hear anything that is happening around him. The rest of the survivors are trying to calm the crying newborn, and quickly realize that the child will starve unless they can locate some formula. Without saying a word, Rick grabs an axe and heads into the prison determined to split some walker skulls.

In Woodbury, Michonne is sick of living without her sword, so she heads into the Governor’s office to take it back. She hops out a window before she’s seen, where she finds a rather horrific sight: caged walkers. Why would the town be holding walkers? She takes care of the group rather quickly, but not before someone spots her.

Things in Woodbury get interesting quickly past this point. After a quick altercation with Phillip, Michonne determines that it’s time for her to leave the town. She gives Andrea an ultimatum: she either leaves with Michonne (the woman who saved her from certain death, and cared for her for months upon end), or she can stay in the town that isn’t what it seems to be, the town that Michonne has been warning her about since their arrival. Andrea of course chooses to stay in Woodbury, for the Governor is a seductive gentleman (if only she knew).

Glenn is busy digging graves at the farm. The really interesting thing here is that he tells Oscar and Axel (who the group seems to be treating a bit better now) that they need three of them. There’s T-Dog and Lori of course, but who is the third? Did Carol fall victim after T-Dog sacrificed himself to save her? Glenn passes digging duty on to the two remaining inmates and decides to go console Rick. Rick is fucking crazy and has none of it: he looks at Glenn as though he’s about to kill him before throwing him out of the cell block. All without saying a word.

Apparently baby formula isn’t too hard to find, as one of the first houses that Maggie and Daryl enter seems to have an abundance of it (though I’m not complaining, the last thing I wanted was a Sofia length search for some freaking baby food). The pair returns to the prison to feed the hungry newborn, and it already seems as though a third of the group didn’t just die.

Back in Woodbury, the Governor accompanies Andrea to the much anticipated festivities of the evening. She’s disgusted, and rightfully so: think of a gladiator battle, but with less weapons, and chained zombies around the outside of the ring. The governor assures her that the event is staged, that nobody will be hurt, and that this simply helps the town to blow off steam.

The Woodbury reveal shows just how sick people can get for a little entertainment, but the scene that closed the episode is sure to draw even more questions. A tired, suicidal looking Rick, covered in blood and zombie parts after the hellish day he just had, hears a phone ring. He stands, approaches it, and puts it to the ear. As he says “hello”, the episode cuts to black, leaving us wondering for another week, WHO IS ON THE OTHER END?

As is typical with this season, Say The Word was entertaining as hell. That being said, I’d probably also note that this fifth episode (in my opinion) is the weak point of the season so far. Sure there were a some interesting reveals, but few important events or realizations occurred, and I had a few other issues that remained with me through the duration of the chapter. First, CG effects were noticeably worse in this episode than they’ve been in the past, just watch Rick axing up those walkers if you need an example. Second, DID CAROL EVER EXIST? How does the entire group get through the day without ever asking “hey guys, has anyone seen Carol?” Is that who the third grave was for? You’d think someone would at least mention something.

That being said, seeing a new side to the Governor was an interesting twist that I’m sure people weren’t expecting. Why is he keeping his daughter there? Why does he act as though she’s still human? Why does the town of Woodbury love watching people fight so much? Who the hell was on the phone?

I’m sure we’ll be getting at least a few answers when the next episode hits. As always, We left the show with a preview for next week’s chapter, Hounded.

Comic Comparison

As the third season of AMC’s version of The Walking Dead continues to progress, the fork between the screen and paper versions of the media continues to spread.

As I mentioned last week, the death of Lori Grimes was exponentially different between the two versions. In Robert Kirkman’s edition, Lori (and not-so-newborn) baby Judith fell victim to the Governor’s minions. They literally took a shotgun blast right in front of Rick and Carl, an event that was sure to haunt the father and son for the rest of their lives. Most of the other survivors also perish in the comic at around the same time. Of course, the show had Lori die giving birth to the child, who at this point still remains unnamed. For these reasons, the quest for baby formula is one that was never necessary on paper, but takes up a healthy piece of Say The Word.

Rick’s handling of Lori’s death is also extremely different between versions. AMC depicts him going on a silent, zombie slaughtering rampage, while on paper his reaction is much less kinetic. Kirkman has the man get sick (whether simply physical, or sick with guilt and remorse I’m not certain), almost to the point of death.

While still on the subject of death, if AMC has really killed Carol off (which I doubt at this point), it was a very different death from the one she would suffer on paper. Kirkman has the character go batshit crazy after she finds her partner cheating. She willingly lets a zombie bite her, which obviously leads her to die and turn into a walker herself. Again, I doubt that AMC has killed her off at this point: I can’t see them spending an entire season searching for her dead daughter, only to not even give her a mention when she disappears from the group.

Say The Word finally introduces us to the zombie gladiator battles that we saw much earlier in the comics, though the show has them introduced to us in a friendly manner, with a character we know simply watching. In the paper version, our survivors were to be part of the games.

The character of The Governor is one that (at this point anyways) appears to be vastly different between media. As in the comics, Say The Word introduced us to the man’s daughter, but his relationship with her in the AMC series seems much, much more innocent. David Morrissey’s portrayal of the character (even though he does bad shit) is one that has you constantly questioning the true nature of the character, while in the comic, there was nothing at all to question, the guy was disgusting 100% of the time.

Another positive change that’s hard to put into a picture: we’re seeing way more of Woodbury than we ever got to in the comics. This is fantastic! The place is interesting as hell, and I’m always happy to get a glimpse into what weird shit is going on there.

As you can see, things are moving along quite differently between the two versions. In saying that, I should also say (if it hasn’t come across as obvious) that I’ve been thoroughly impressed with season 3 of the show. By far it’s been the most enjoyable season, and while not every episode can be on par with last week’s wonderful Killer Within, we’re still lucky to be getting TV this good every week.

As always, thanks for reading! I’ll be back next week to cover Hounded.