Tag Archives: Woodbury

Philip Waxes Poetic: Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 16 (Welcome to the Tombs)

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Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes in The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 16

Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes in The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 16

Warning: This Walking Dead Season 3 post contains spoilers. Please wait until after watching, before reading further. SERIOUSLY, there are some mega spoilers here, so don’t read ahead unless you’ve seen the episode or you absolutely don’t care about learning major plot points.

Summary: The Governor tortures Andrea and leaves her for dead, so that he can storm the prison with his army. However he quickly discovers that his troops don’t have what it takes to kill the prisonfolk, because they’re chased out. Afterward Rick, Daryl, and Michonne travel to Woodbury to finish the fight, although they’re surprised to find that that the people of Woodbury are anxious to switch allegiances.

Just as Season 3 opens with a closeup on a zombie eyeball, its finale, The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 16 (Welcome to the Tombs) starts by focusing on a human’s. It slowly pulls back to reveal The Governor’s one good eye as he’s face-punching the crap out of…dun…dun….dun…Milton, for torching the walkers! Guess Milton finally grew a conscience (pair). Too bad it wasn’t Morgan who did it like some of us suspected.

Milton tries to reason with his captor, however The Governor is beyond saving. Philip issues Milton a scumbag ultimatum: kill Andrea or die. Milton tries to kill Philip instead, but sadly he gets crazy stabbed and left in the room to become a walker with a chained up Andrea. That’s sadistic Phil! During this scene he delivers a scary insightful comment akin to Jule’s Ezekiel 25:17 from Pulp Fiction, “You kill or you die. Or you die and you kill.” I think Jules would agree; that’s some cold-blooded shit to say.

Back at the prison everyone is making plans seemingly to flee. Carl is acting like a big baby giving Rick the silent treatment while they pack. The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 16, is actually the first episode Carl has annoyed me all season long. Unbelievable after all the “Get Out of Here Carl” memes from Season 2. Michonne and Rick then have a heartwarming moment where she thanks him for taking her in. I really like her now.

Speaking of other characters I love, Tyreese politely declines The Governor’s invitation to fight, while offering to keep guard over the remaining folks. I was shocked The Governor tossed him a gun and said “Thanks.” Once The Woodbury troops arrive at the prison, they’re hooting, hollering, and blowing stuff up like they have unlimited ammo. Kudos to the writers and director for creating a massive amount of escalating tension as the Woodburyians comb the cellblocks looking for trouble. The highlighted bible passage sitting out was brilliant.

I was fairly disappointed however by what I felt like was an anticlimactic end to that fight. A few grenades plus Glenn and Maggie shooting and yelling scatters everyone to the wind. Then the pissed off Governor kills his troops for punking out, while his lackeys Martinez and the other dude just sit there in silence. Plus The Governor lives to see another day. UGH! I was hoping he’d get a huge satisfying death during the prison siege like he did in the comics. I was fascinated though by the whole piece about Carl shooting an innocent kid and trying to deny he did anything wrong.

I dug that Rick, Michonne, and Daryl found the one survivor of The Governor’s wrath and they went to Woodbury together where they got Tyreese and Sasha to switch teams. There was some good suspense leading up to Andrea’s bite. I loved the shot of Milton’s reanimated fingers just before the commercial, as well as the one of a closed door with screaming on the other side. It was touching when everyone came together to wish Andrea goodbye. Michonne even got misty!

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 16 ends on a happy-go-lucky note with the Woodburyians joining Rick’s group. Rick has regains his humanity (which I’m happy about) and he no longer sees Lori (thank god). But it’s not an ending that feels right to me. Not many characters die (at least important ones) and that closing seems uncharacteristically upbeat for the show. I didn’t have any significant attachment to Milton, Andrea, or Allen so none of their deaths got to me. Plus Andrea’s death was completely avoidable if she just tried to escape faster instead of wasting time. I was hoping for a huge throw down with lots of death and drama like in the comic. Sadly I didn’t get it.

Click here to take this week’s poll: Were you satisfied by the Season 3 finale?

Any predictions for what will happen in Season 4?

We Didn’t Start the Fire: Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 14 (Prey)

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Laurie Holden on The Walking Dead

Andrea (Laurie Holden) on The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 14 Copyright 2013 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: Milton tells Andrea about The Governor’s plot to massacre her friends, so she flees Woodbury to warn them. Furious that she’s chosen the prison over him, The Governor leaves to hunt Andrea down personally. Meanwhile, Tyreese and his daughter clash with Alan and his son because they refuse to blindly follow orders and they start to suspect The Governor isn’t actually the man he claims to be.

The pre-credits sequence in The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 14 (Prey) features a flashback to when Andrea and Michonne were traveling together. They’re huddled around the campfire while Michonne’s chained up walkers restlessly moan and groan. As usual, the tactless Andrea prys by asking her who they were, prompting a brilliant response from Michonne, “They deserved what they got. They weren’t human to begin with.”

Speaking of inhuman, shots of the chains morph in a brilliant transition into freaky disturbing images of The Governor creating his own little torture chamber for Michonne. That sick puppy is getting all kinds of twisted pleasure out of the process. The only reasons I see for them showing these moments are to remind us of the bond between Andrea and Michonne, as well as to foreshadow Andrea taking Michonne’s place (at least temporarily) at the end of the episode in The Governor’s chair-o-punishment.

I know I complained about Episode 12 (Clear) because it only focused on one group of people, but I actually didn’t mind the almost exclusive concentration on Woodbury in The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 14 because of how suspenseful the episode is. The majority of the thrilling elements come from The Governor’s chase of Andrea, which feels like a classic slasher film villain stalking his hapless prey (Oh hey, that must be why the episode is called “Prey!” How clever!).

Thankfully Andrea is smarter than the traditional horror movie victim, since she stabs her way out of being pinned down by walkers in the woods and sicks a horde of trapped stairwell zombies on Philip. If I were her though I would have either stayed to make sure the bastard died or stolen his truck. After all she did to escape, I couldn’t believe that The Governor cornered her near the prison and got her all the way back to Woodbury tied up without her putting up enough fight to get away. I did like the moment near the prison where crazy-ole Rick was on watch and thought he saw something in the woods before shaking it off.

I also enjoyed the parts of the The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 14 that follow Tyreese and his daughter. I chuckled when his daughter mocks him for being a terrible shot and desperately hoped when they let Andrea sneak out that they’d go with her. I’m happy that they heeded Andrea’s warning about The Governor not being what he seems., and that we got some hints about some of Tyreese’s backstory with Alan. Their conflict at the biter pit was awesome. It honestly made me think that Tyreese was the one that torched all of the zombies there at first, but then later on when Tyreese apologized to The Governor for running his mouth, I wasn’t so sure and suspected Milton of doing the deed.

That brings us to this week’s poll. Click here to let me know: Who do you think torched the walkers in the pit?

Do you think someone will warn the prison about the impending slaughter? If so, who will it be? Any predictions for the next episode?

 

 

Thoughts on AMC’s Interview with Dallas Roberts (Milton Mamet)

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While I was watching the Liam Neeson film The Grey recently, I knew that I recognized one of the other actors roughing it with him in the Alaskan wilderness, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out where I knew him from. I was 3/4 of the way through the movie when I realized “Ah ha! It’s that nerdy guy from Woodbury on The Walking Dead!”

As it turns out, the actor’s name is Dallas Roberts, and although he’s slightly nerdy in The Grey, he’s less so than his brainy character Milton Mamet on The Walking Dead. Milton is for all intents and purposes The Governor’s right hand man and confidant, although surprisingly he’s not really a tough guy. He’s a thinker, and honestly from what I can tell, a huge coward. He’d rather live in perpetual fear under the rule of a messed up dictator with his creature comforts than stand up to a man like that. Roberts plays him with a constant air of uncertainty which I like though, where you can tell that Milton is constantly at odds with himself about whether he should keep listening to The Governor’s orders.

AMC posted an interview with Dallas Roberts this week which he discusses his character a bit and working on the show. For the most part there’s no earth-shattering revelations here. Roberts admits that playing an egghead came easily since he was one growing up, and that he wasn’t expecting to have a role on the show which interacts very little with zombies. He does throw in a couple of amusing anecdotes however. One is about the playful off-screen rivalry between the Woodbury folks and the prison crew. While the other one references how Roberts initially got into The Walking Dead comics through his character on the show Rubicon, which I’ve never seen. That’s a cool connection to have and it’s nice to hear at least one person acting on the show that legitimately enjoys the comics.

The final question of the interview with Dallas Roberts, poses the issue of whether there’s any danger of Milton turning into a mad scientist. I won’t ruin it, although suffice it to say it’s both humorous and accurate.

What do you think of Milton so far? Is he a coward? Is he evil? Do you think he’ll eventually grow some scruples and sell out The Governor? 

The Governor Strikes Back: Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 10 (Home)

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Merle Dixon in Season 3 of The Walking Dead

Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) in The Walking Dead Copyright 2013 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: Rick leaves the prison to chase ghosts, while members of his group debate whether they should flee or stay. On the road, Daryl and Merle try to survive together, but quickly end up at odds with each other. And back at Woodbury, The Governor questions Andrea’s loyalty before slipping away to retaliate against Rick’s people.

Rick is obviously still living in Crazytown at the beginning of Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 10. The loon runs off to search for the ghost of his wife in the nearby thicket. After Rick finds her and kisses her, I was thinking how funny it would be if he snapped out of his hallucination and realized he was making out with a zombie. I’m still amused by how far off the deep end the writers are taking his character. But I’m going to stop laughing at Rick’s misfortune; I don’t want to be too mean.

Glenn continues to get on my nerves in each passing episode with all his alpha male posturing. I really hope he snaps out of it soon. With Rick out of his gourd and Daryl gone, Glenn feels like putting unnecessary pressure on himself to take charge. As Hershel astutely says later in the episode, Glenn’s heart is in the right place, but he just can’t fill Rick’s boots.

Glenn is blinded by the rage he feels about what happened to both him and Maggie back at Woodbury. Because of this he can’t make up his mind about what to do next. He toys with the idea of going straight back to Woodbury to fight The Governor, before quickly abandoning it to hold steady. The poor sap is so anxious to fortify their position that he runs off and misses all the action. I’d feel bad for him except he’s a total ass to Maggie, forcing her to reveal exactly what happened while she was in custody.

For the most part, Episode 10 is another character-heavy outing. While drama is going down at the prison, Daryl and Merle are traipsing around the woods. As always Merle is in rare form, spewing racial epithets, and engaging in selfish behavior. The scene where Daryl and Merle rescue a family from walkers up on a bridge is a real nail-biter. What I love about the incident is that it just reaffirms for Daryl the type of person that he’s become. He wants to help others even if he’s not necessarily getting something in return. His exchange soon after with Merle is fascinating because you find out new things about the characters, like the abuse Daryl suffered at the hands of their father, and the secret plan they both had to rob the camp blind back near Atlanta. I love the moment where Daryl tells his brother that he’s leaving to go where he feels at home even if it means going somewhere Merle can’t be. You just got served Merle!

Of course we finally get to know Axel (Lew Temple) just a little bit better, as does Carol, and he gets killed by The Governor’s attack. Speaking of Woodbury’s douchey leader, I didn’t buy his turn the other cheek malarkey he was telling Andrea, but I certainly didn’t think he’d strike back against Rick so soon. I was worried for our heroes when The Governor and his men started firing on the prison. That part where the van crashed through the fences had me on the edge of my seat because it sat there idling for so long. I had no clue who was in there, but I flipped when the door opened and out came a pack of zombies. Everything seemed hopeless, especially for Rick, who was pinned by several walkers. When Merle and Daryl arrived for the rescue, I’d never been so happy to see either of them. There was something slightly reassuring, yet also strangely disquieting about Merle’s giddy laughter while he helped Rick.

Which brings us to this week’s poll. Click here to tell me: Who was your favorite badass in Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 10?

Were you surprised Tyreese and his people were gone all episode? Where do you think they went? Do you think Merle is turning over a new leaf? Or will he just cause more trouble for the prison crew?

Do or Dixon: Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 9 (Suicide King)

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Norman Reedus as Daryl in The Walking Dead

Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) in The Walking Dead Copyright 2013 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: Rick rescues Daryl and Merle from the Governor’s clutches, but he’s forced to decide whether to let Merle join the group or to cut both brothers loose. In Woodbury, citizens start panicking in the aftermath of Rick’s attack, so Andrea tries to take charge while The Governor sequesters himself. Meanwhile back at the prison, Tyreese and his friends struggle to find acceptance and trust from the survivors there.

Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 9 is much less action-packed than I expected, although that isn’t a bad thing. Suicide King is a very character-driven episode, which feels appropriate since we have been away from everyone for almost a couple of months. We really get reminder of who all of the people are and how the traumatic events from the previous half of the season changed them.

Picking up immediately where Episode 9 left off, we find ourselves back in Woodbury with an angry mob chanting for blood while they encircle Daryl and Merle. Just enough time elapses where your anticipation and nerves are on the edge before the pair starts fighting. Then Rick and Maggie come to the rescue before the situation gets out of hand.

Based on the trailers for the season, I already knew Daryl and Merle would make it out alive somehow, however I didn’t realize they’d bust out so quickly or that Maggie would be the sharpshooter picking off citizens of Woodbury. Since she annoyingly cracked under torture in episode 7, it was nice to see her redeem herself with a badass moment. Did anyone else chuckle when Daryl grabbed his crossbow back from the Woodbury guy who stole it as he was escaping? I thought that was hilarious.

Then I laughed my ass off again when Rick knocked the wise cracking Merle unconscious with the butt of his gun. I certainly didn’t envy Rick’s subsequent dilemma about what to do with Merle. Daryl wouldn’t go anywhere without his brother, and Rick couldn’t stand the idea of Merle coming back with them to the prison, so it made the most sense to let them go. I wouldn’t have wanted Merle in the group either, but it would have been incredibly tough for me to let a valuable team member like Daryl go.

The following scene where Glenn starts going off on Rick about allowing Maggie participate in the rescue and for letting Daryl go, is so agitating for me. I don’t like Glenn’s sudden alpha male protective b.s. and outrage with Maggie like it’s her fault what happened. I also dislike his whiny attitude. I’m getting the suspicion that this will continue for at least a few more episodes this season. Damn it, I like Glenn because he’s a nice guy and level-headed. I don’t want him to become a jerk.

Back at the prison there were some touching character moments between Carol and Carl, and a number between Hershel and the other characters. Hershel reaffirms his role as the caring, fatherly figure we all know and love. I give him a lot of credit for consoling Maggie AND Glenn. He takes the time to tell Glenn how important he is and how he’s like a son, which he totally doesn’t have to do. Hopefully he doesn’t become the Dale of Season 3.

When it comes to Tyreese and his friends, I’m amused that the show is cherry-picking characters from the comic to introduce like Alan, his deceased wife Donna who died in episode 8, and his son Ben. In the comic Alan, his wife Donna, and young twin sons were part of the original survivors living outside Atlanta. It seems strange to introduce them now and to only have him with one son who’s a teenager. I’m really glad those idiots didn’t convince Tyreese and his daughter to make a play for the weapons while Rick was gone. So far I’m enjoying Tyreese as a character. He’s cool, calm, and a decent guy. He had a great line to Rick toward the end about being willing to pitch in, “You’ve got a problem with other folks, we can help with that too.” What a nice fellow.

Okay, lastly why the heck is with Rick totally losing his marbles? He saw some bizarre spectre in white which we can only assume is Lori, but why are the writers making him way crazier than he gets in the comics? Is it to add a wildcard element to the conflict with Woodbury? I think it’s intense enough on its own. I’m a little nervous to see how they play this out.  

What did you think of Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 9? Are you annoyed with Glenn? Do you think the survivors will learn to trust Tyreese? Do you think Rick has become unfit to lead?

Also, click here to take this week’s poll: If you were Rick would you have let Merle join the group if it meant keeping Daryl?

Prison Crew vs. Woodbury Round 1: Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 8 (Made to Suffer)

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Michonne (Danai Gurira) on The Walking Dead

Michonne (Danai Gurira) on 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: A new group of survivors stumble upon the prison and take shelter there. Back at Woodbury, Rick launches his rescue operation, Michonne finally faces off against The Governor, and Andrea uncovers some of her new boyfriend’s dark secrets.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 8 pulls a Lost with its opening. Remember that exciting moment right before stuff was supposed to down in the last episode? That spot where you were focused on all your favorite characters? We’re not going to pick up there. Instead we’re going to be in a completely different place with brand new characters, and we’ll get back to everyone else later. Normally I would be annoyed by that kind of tactic, except it’s hard to stay mad when an awesome new character from the Walking Dead comics is introduced right in the beginning.

We start out with Tyreese (Chad Coleman) and his daughter, his daughter’s boyfriend, and some other random couple fighting their way through walkers in the woods, until they come upon the broken backside of the prison. Unfortunately the woman is bitten and with zombies hot on their trail, they must make the quick decision to seek shelter there. Luckily for them, Carl hears their screams of terror and tracks them down to help. He escorts them back to safety and even offers to shoot their doomed friend. Already displaying excellent character, Tyreese waives off the assistance with the line “We take care of our own,” as he wields a ball pein hammer. Then his daughter flips out when Carl locks them up together (smart move Carl), but Tyreese continues to be a cool cat with the response “His house (his rules)…” Heck he’s just grateful for a place to sleep.

For those unfamiliar with the comics I’ll briefly explain why Tyreese’s appearance is so great. In the comics, Tyreese and Rick become total besties because they’re both strong, determined guys. They often disagree about how their group should be run and who should be the leader. Sometimes their arguments are so serious that they get physical. One of the most beautiful two-page pieces of art in the comics, involves fists flying between the two. I’m looking forward to fascinating drama and complex dilemmas Rick will have to face with Tyreese around.

Anyway, how could we forget about everyone else at Woodbury? First off, props to Glenn and Maggie for their escape attempt. Glenn’s plan to rip sharp bones out of a dead walker for weaponry is pretty genius. Rick, Daryl, Michonne, and Oscar infiltrate Woodbury and not a moment too soon, considering they save Glenn and Maggie right before execution. The ensuing firefight left me on the edge of my seat constantly wondering who would get killed. I wasn’t surprised that Oscar goes, though I was a bit sad that he gets a throwaway Star Trek red-shirt style demise.

Michonne’s showdown with The Governor is fun, although a bit agitating because she leaves everyone else high and dry just to fight him. She kills The Governor’s walker daughter, smashes his zombie televisions with her head, and shoves a glass shard into his eye. Believe it or not, that’s Michonne being nicer to him than she is in the comics. She brutally mutilates The Governor there, but she has more reasons to.

I love (sarcasm) how Andrea stumbles onto the whole nasty scene and still manages to stay with The Governor, even after he dodges her inquiries about what happened. As a Daryl fan, I was so mad that he stayed behind to find Merle, and that he was taken prisoner. I was legitimately surprised that the scumbag Governor gave that big speech in which he sold out Merle, outing him falsely as a traitor. I’m extremely nervous for Daryl and Merle, since The Governor whipped the crowd into a murderous frenzy. Hopefully Andrea will intervene on their behalf.

Were you surprised that The Governor turned on Merle? Let me know in my poll.

What do you think is in store for the characters when the season resumes in February? Will Daryl and Merle survive? Will Rick and The Governor come directly to blows?

Glenn Goes Beast Mode: Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 7 (When the Dead Come Knocking)

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Michonne (Danai Gurira), Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Oscar (Vincent M. Ward), and Daryl (Norman Reedus) on The Walking Dead

Michonne (Danai Gurira), Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Oscar (Vincent M. Ward), and Daryl (Norman Reedus) on 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: Glenn and Maggie are brutally interrogated in Woodbury, while Andrea helps The Governor with a bizarre experiment. After rescuing Michonne from a pack of walkers, Rick and company learn of Glenn and Maggie’s misfortune. Michonne, Rick, Oscar, and Daryl then set out on a mission to rescue their friends from Woodbury, but hit some snags along the way.

I’m proud of Glenn for taking such a brutal beating in the opening of The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 7. I can’t believe that he manages to take all that abuse and still maintain his wits. It’s a little sad though when he tells Merle about T-Dog being dead, and rather silly when he lies and says Andrea is still with his group. Can’t wait to see the look on Glenn’s face when he finds out Andrea is in Woodbury.

Later on that sicko Merle leaves a tied up Glenn to fend for himself against a zombie. Thankfully Glenn busts out of his chair and goes beast mode on that thing. It is simultaneously awesome and hilarious when he screams like a madman after killing it.

Any ounce of sympathy I might have felt before for Merle or The Governor immediately evaporated once they started abusing Glenn and Maggie. I’m just glad that scumbag The Governor didn’t actually rape Maggie, since he did force himself on another woman in the comics. I was upset that Maggie is the one who finally cracks and reveals the prison considering the show already does such a poor job writing female characters. The writers seemingly throw every opportunity out the window to show women in a positive light. In the comics, Glenn is actually the one who can’t take the interrogation, so why not carry that over to the show? Give Maggie a chance to prove she’s tough.

Andrea does The Governor an interesting favor by helping out the nerdy guy with an idiotic experiment. Obviously The Governor wants to see if his daughter has any of her old memories left, so he has nerdo see if a dying man’s memory stays behind inside the zombie’s brain. No surprise that the experiment is a failure! Andrea has to stab it in the head. No idea why we needed to see this. I don’t remember it from the comics.

Back at the prison, Rick reluctantly rescues Michonne from a pack of walkers with sharpshooting assistance from young Carl. I can’t believe that Rick immediately tries to squeeze information out of her wounded leg. What a bastard! I thought his very tearful, emotional reunion with Carol was rather bizarre. Maybe Carl will get a new mom? That would be weird since Carol clearly has the hots for Daryl.

Rick and Carl decide on a name for the baby: Judith, the same name given to her in the comics. Being the great father that he is, Rick decides to leave Carl and the others at the prison while he gathers a rescue party for Glenn and Maggie. In a completely twisted scene, Rick’s party gets surrounded by walkers and Michonne kills some noisy kook who finds them (thank god she finally became useful). Wisely they feed his corpse to the zombies. Did you agree with that decision? Take my poll and let me know.

Rick’s crew is right outside entrance of Woodbury by the episode’s close which left me totally amped up for the next episode. Shit is clearly going to hit the fan and there will be some serious bloodshed in Woodbury.

Do you think Merle will remain loyal to The Governor? Or will he take Daryl’s side? Will Daryl remain loyal to his friends?