Monday, December 3, 2012

Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 308: Made to Suffer

Well they gone and done it. They messed with Daryl and I'm smokin' mad. There were so many bad choices made in this episode that I don't know where to begin so I'll start with the 2 most obvious questions:
1.) In all the time they've been there has NO ONE thought to do a re-con around the perimeter of the prison to check out the defenses? I mean they have plenty of vehicles and most prisons have a track around them so you wouldn't even have to endanger anyone by doing it on foot. You could drive around the backside and then wire up that little gap in the fence and voila! No more Zombie intruders. They did notice that the prison had civilians in it so they know that they're getting in somewhere. I can believe no one wanted to know.
2.) If I keep doing push-ups can I have arms like Michonne?

The group at the beginning of the episode has no business being outside anywhere. I wouldn't trust that group with a potato peeler. They've been at it for over a year, surviving the ZA and they barely have weapons, they have no organization and no Zombie-killing skills to speak of and I saw one guy try to take out a Zombie by punching it in the mouth. Dude! It doesn't matter if it brings the teeth to you or you bring your gentle flesh to the teeth, the end result is the same. Plus they scream waaay too much. And what were they living on? They didn't have so much as a purse or backpack between the lot of them. Sheer foolishness people.
So when we see this cluster of brilliance entering the back side of the prison we know that no good can come from it. Bad things didn't really pan out in this episode but we're sooo set up for EPIC things to happen in the second half of season 3. Especially since everyone wants to have tea, crumpets, and meaningful conversations while they wait for bitten-arm girl to reanimate. Who in OUR group would support a policy of "headshots for the bitten FIRST, conversations later"?
   Carl has turned into quite the little stud-muffin. So much so that sketchy moustache man better step off. Beth is saving herself for Carl, never mind the 6-7 year age gap. When someone is awesome you gotta snatch them up right? So the kid is volunteering for formula scouting missions, going into the cellar with Rick's patented flashlight/gun stance, greeting newcomers with much more grace than the adults did last week (did you see Carl grab someone in their wounded area to make them answer a question faster? I think not). And then he quietly created a diversion and locked them all up. Nice job C-man. And he did it all rockin' his black hat and looking cool as a cucumber. I'm burly folks but you would NOT see me volunteering to go check out screams in the cellar alone. Ever.

So all we have left to talk about is prison gang vs Woodbury. What is up with Glen? He rips open a Zombie and extracts splintered arm-bone to use as a weapon. Does it get any more hard-core than that? Please tell me that Glen is just awesome now and that's the end of it. He's so burly that I am really worried that they're going to replace Daryl with Glen as the toughest character in the show. FYI, I'm thinking that splintered Zombie bone penetration has the exact same end result as a Zombie bite, making this spur of the moment weapon even more interesting.
OK so we all know what happened so instead of blow by blow let's discuss person by person.
Glenn as discussed is hard-core and holds up well considering. I love how polite he always is to everyone. First chance he gets he's briefing Rick that they told about the prison and telling Daryl about Merle.
Maggie is a tough little character. For all that she's been through she rallies when it's time to fight and becomes an excellent delta-force member during the extraction.
Merle is just a sad little dude right now. He is so desperate to win favor with the Gov and when the tables turn and he gets used as a pawn it's pathetic and sad. That's what happens when you hitch your wagon to the wrong star Merle baby. Now put on your thinking cap and save your baby bro. Bonus points if you take yourself out while you're doin' it.
Token black guy is down. Easy come, easy go. Should have seen this coming when the new token black guy walked in the back of the prison. Something tells me THAT guy isn't going to be around all that long though since he can't seem to follow through on taking out the bitten. It's 2013 people. Can't really believe the writers are doing this. At least we have a quality well-developed character in Michonne....
Rick is doing great during his moments of lucidity. If he can steer clear of talking to Lori on the phone and re-killing Shane there is hope. If one more bad thing happens to the guy then all bets are off though. And it IS the ZA, not a trip to Walt Disney World so bad things are almost guaranteed. If you ask me Rick is half way down the diving board on his way to the deep end. And Daryl has been the little voice that seems to call him back to the land of reality so now that he's in enemy hands I think Rick is going to continue his downward mental spiral. He did a good job with the mission though when he wasn't taking cover behind a solar panel (!?!).
Last season I used to like Andrea. I really did. In this episode there wasn't a single scene where I didn't want someone to bitch slap her or samurai sword her head off. Maybe both. She's just annoying. With more crying and whining about what job she gets to do than my 6 year old. She can only redeem herself if she figures out a way to save my favorite red-neck. And she's in a good position to do just that. C'mon Andrea, we have FAITH!
You all know what I'm going to say about Daryl. The man was made for the ZA and he rocks every scene he's in. When he found out about Merle and Rick told him he had to stay with the group he had a small moment of conflict but then he shook it off and rallied. He HAS to make it through this. Who wants to see Daryl hold the baby again? I do!
I don't really know what to say about Michonne.... she's so epic that she freaks me out sometimes but she's got really good intentions. This is clear as day when she thinks she is freeing a small girl from the closet in the Governor's rooms. What's so hard to understand about her is how fast she can process information and change her course. So she can go from nurturing a small child to stabbing it through the head in an instant when the situation changes. And that kind of just sums her up. She is intense and takes things to the extreme in every situation and it's her ability to adapt quickly and think on her feet that makes her such an interesting character and a survivor.
The Gov. is just so wrong. I think there are a lot of parallels between the Governor and OUR government. They way he spins things and makes people afraid of situations that he has created seems mighty familiar. And his followers are taking it hook line and sinker. His fight with Michonne was intense - made more so by the snapping Zombie heads landing all around them. And now he's sporting an eye-patch. Makes him ever so much more villainous don't you agree?

  So that's it. It was a great final episode but now I have to wait 2 whole months not knowing the fate of my favorite character. I asked for a Daryl T-shirt for Christmas. Let's hope it's not obsolete by February eh?