Tag Archives: David Morrissey

Thoughts on AMC’s Interview with Laurie Holden (Andrea)

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Warning: This Walking Dead Season 3 post contains spoilers. Please wait until after watching the season finale, before reading further.

Laurie Holden as Andrea on The Walking Dead

Laurie Holden as Andrea on The Walking Dead

I’m still working on my recap post about The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 16, so I thought I’d put something quick up about this week’s Dead Alert newsletter which has AMC’s interview with Laurie Holden who played Andrea on the show. Unfortunately for Holden, but perhaps fortunately for viewers, Andrea met her demise in the season finale.

I for one was relieved, since her character had taken over Lori’s spot on the show as most annoying female character. Although her intentions were good Andrea was prone to the same irrational, irritating behavior that got Lori under my skin. I’m hoping that the show’s writers start creating better characters and that another female personality like Michonne, Maggie, or Beth doesn’t get sucked into this vortex of unlikable behavior.

Even if I didn’t care for Andrea, I do agree with Holden that Andrea’s final moments felt true to the character and organic. Although I don’t really support her following statement about Andrea not being a victim. I think that Andrea became a martyr and helped prevent deaths, so in that way her demise was positive, but she didn’t need to die. If she hadn’t wasted so much time talking to Milton, she could have easily escaped and figured out a way not to get bitten. Also she had plenty of chances to kill The Governor which she didn’t take or follow through on.

I do like Holden’s comments about Andrea’s character arc because she did travel through some serious emotional highs and lows over the course of her time on the show. And I dig the advice she would have given Andrea at the beginning of the season if she could. She should have pressed Michonne more about The Governor’s suspected misdeeds. On the flip side however, Andrea should have been willing to trust her friend over a stranger.

The interviewer’s questions about love scenes and the Woodbury prison rivalry aren’t very interesting since they’re similar to ones we’ve read in other interviews. Though the final inquiry about the Twitter photo of Holden playfully strangling David Morrissey who plays The Governor was a good one. Now that’s an ending I would have liked to see.

Did you like Andrea as a character? Were you sad about her demise?

Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 3 (Walk with Me) Recap

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Andrea and Michonne in Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 3

The Walking Dead Copyright 2012 AMC TV

Warning: This Walking Dead Season 3 post contains spoilers. Please wait until after watching, before reading further. Similarities and differences between the show and the comic are also discussed, but whenever possible, details of the comic are left ambiguous in case you decide to start it later on.

Summary: Andrea and Michonne search for survivors to a mysterious helicopter crash, but in the process, they’re apprehended by Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) and a band of strangers. The pair is taken to a heavily guarded settlement ruled by a seemingly benevolent leader called The Governor (David Morrissey). Can he be trusted though?

If you’re like me, and you’ve been anxious for more focus on Andrea and Michonne, The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 3 (Walk with Me) doesn’t disappoint. In fact, Walk with Me is all about Michonne and Andrea.

For a scene that should be full of intrigue, the helicopter crash during the opening, surprisingly lacks punch. That’s mostly because you don’t find out much about the military men in the chopper or where they’re coming from. However, there’s plenty of gripping tension in the moments when Andrea and Michonne are hiding outside the crash site, looking for survivors. Director Guy Ferland uses some wicked cool camera angles to build suspense, like an over the shoulder shot from behind Michonne where the samurai sword on her back diagonally crosses the frame.

Ferland also expertly emphasizes their fear when Michonne’s walkers start growing loud and ornery, nearly giving away their position. The finest part of that whole sequence though, is the reveal where we find out that Merle Dixon is not only alive, but he’s in league with the men searching the crash site. Best of all, he and Andrea instantly recognize one another when Merle delivers the famous line you’ve seen to death in Season 3 trailers.

I like that this Merle is very different from the one we encountered in the early episodes of Season 1. It’s obvious that he’s a changed man, less gruff and offensive, with enough humility to make him a more sympathetic character. There’s still something not quite on the level about him though, and Rooker does a fantastic job of disguising that fact to the other characters.

The Governor is an even greater master of deception, a real wolf in sheep’s clothing. He oozes charisma, Southern charm, and conviction. He acts benevolent, but he’s definitely got darker motives as witnessed by his massacre of the military men and his weird zombie-head fish tanks. I appreciate that the TV show doesn’t set him up as a cartoony villain. He’s a layered character who’s not purely evil and nihilistic like he is in the comics. I’m looking forward to learning more about him.

As a huge fan of Michonne from the Walking Dead comics, I’m thrilled to see her getting more attention in this episode. Just like in the comics, she is a woman of few words, although in the show her character gains much more depth because Dana Guirira, the actor portraying her, uses her face to say all kinds of things her mouth doesn’t. Michonne’s expressions at Andrea, reveal just how much she likes being cooped in Woodbury and how little she trusts The Governor. If she’s even a quarter as deadly as she is in the comics, I can’t wait to see her unleash rage on anyone/anything who crosses her.

And now, on to discussion questions:

Did you trust The Governor when he said that he wants to rebuild society? Did you believe him when he said Andrea and Michonne could come and go as they please?  Merle is clearly not the same, but do you think he’s as bad as he used to be? Do you think the next episode will just be about Michonne and Andrea again? Or will the show return to the prison?