Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 307: When the Dead Come Walking

   The worst is when you've found a great place to hole up and ride out the Zombie Apocalypse - just you and the carcass of your late little dog - but then a gang of maniacs come tearing into your cabin, stab you through the shoulder and chuck you out your front door to be consumed by the Zombies that are pursuing them. I ask you, is nothing sacred these days?!?

Oh the humanity. I've said it once and I'll say it again, if we're going to overcome Zombies and survive as a species we gotta work TOGETHER people. Merle is a dirty rotten punk, the Governor is just evil and Daryl is never going to be able to found the Republic of Awesome with Michonne if he keeps pointing his crossbow in her face. But let's begin at the beginning.

We finally get to see the Woodbury interrogation chambers and I was scared out of my mind for Glen and Maggie. They don't get enough props from me because their storyline tends to be sweeter and milder than the survival stuff we so often focus on but they are 2 of my favorite characters and I would be very, very bummed out if anything bad happened to them. Merle is 100% pure distilled 8th grade bully. He reacts more than he thinks and he lets his emotions run totally away with him. I mean throwing a zombie into the room with Glen tied up inside was BOGUS by any standard. Even if you're on the side of the bad guys what's gonna happen with Glen dead? Now you have nothing to hold over Maggie because he's the only thing she cares about and Zombified Glen is certainly not going to spill any secrets so you've totally lost your upper hand. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!
Can we pause for a moment and talk about stark, raving, zombie defense talent? Glen is duck-taped to a chair and he defends himself, fights against and neutralizes a zombie using tactics that can only be described as Daryl-worthy. Glen just went up about 20 places in the Billboard Hot 100 and I was a little blindsided. I may have underestimated our mild-mannered Korean friend. His scream of aggression at the end of the fight was pure visceral emotion. Go on with your bad self, Glen.... we're lovin' it.
The scene with the Governor and Maggie was so awful that I actually got cold watching it and had to go grab a sweater. That dude is EVIL and >spoiler alert< he's a brutal rapist in the comic so I was petrified that Maggie was going to be his first victim and they had switched things all around for the show. Thank goodness this did not happen but I'm not ruling it out for the future. Wish Andrea could see THAT side of him in action. She'd never get to re-join the crew at the prison having willingly shagged one of their attackers. But it may be too late for Andrea. The Dark Side is strong in her.
       Sooooo utterly disappointed in the quality of experiments being conducted in the Zombie Research Laboratory. Really dude? I'm all about science and innovation but by the end of it I was really hoping for nerdy lab tech guy to get chomped. That would have made things so much more interesting. I have so many great experiments that I want to conduct on Zombies. Can we please throw one in a freezer and see what happens? Maybe the act of freezing bursts cells in the brain and once they thaw they can't reanimate. Useful things to know because we've already gone through one winter so Canada could be a Zombie Free Zone. Imagine that! But instead we're seeing if they have residual memory. What a waste. Who cares if they do? They can't be turned back into people no matter what and you'll still have to kill 'em so this knowledge helps no one. I need to run the ZRL, that's all there is to it.
       So finally on to our prison posse. For one horrible moment I thought Rick was going to let Michonne die on the wrong side of the fence. I was screaming "Rick - she's got FORMULA man...why? how? Don't you want to know?!?" But it was Carl who saw the light and saved the day. Right on little guy. They drag Michonne inside and are very mean to her right from the get-go. Hard to watch because we know how much this group needs her and how much she needs the group, but ironically this is a response that Michonne is comfortable with. You show her an apparent Utopia where everything is hunky dory and she can't leave fast enough. Tell her that after you help her with her leg she'd best be on her way and she's OK with that. Good instincts to have for the Z.A. people... take note.
    They may have gotten vital info from her a little quicker if they had been nicer, but finally they find out about Glen and Maggie and they all start working together. I had a horrible moment when I thought moustache guy and Beth were going to be on the away team (bloodbath!) but cool heads prevailed and a hard-core squad set out to raid Woodbury. Seeing Daryl and Michonne working together in the same little squad made me so happy I was jumping up and down on the couch and that's when the show came to an abrupt end and I fell to the ground with a scream of rage. As usual I totally lost track of time and got blindsided by the cliffhanger. Curse you Walking Dead!!!
2 questions:
1.) Is it me or did Michonne have new clothes when they set out for Woodbury and why are all her duds so utterly cool? Can we get a "Michonne" line at Target or something? Maybe the tag line could be "You can move comfortably while killing the undead without sacrificing your style." I would totally buy that.
2.) Does anyone else watch the little iTunes extra "Inside the Walking Dead" where it turns out that like all of the cast including most of the Zombies are all British? What on EARTH is up with that? Are we so hard up for good American actors that we now have to train Brits to pull off a southern accent (they do a really good job BTW). But how weird is it to watch the episode and then hear the cast being all "Just chuffed to bits to be making this show. Quite smashing.... Jolly good old chap.." and on and on. FREAKY.

Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 2: Sick

Does this show make anyone else exhausted? I watched 2 episodes back to back last night and at the end of it I was pooped! I can understand why the characters are at the end of their tethers... I only live in the zombie world for 2 hours and I feel like I could sleep for days. Last night's episode (2 nights ago for you lucky viewers in the States) was epic and awesome. I was quite sure when I saw the title that the episode would be mostly about Andrea and Michonne, but they never even showed up! I loved the final shot of the opening sequence.... the prisoners are left standing alone in the room with Hershel's severed leg like "Dude, did that just happen?"
      This episode was all about exploring the human threat. Zombie's will eat you, but at least they're predictable. Other humans are competing with you for a limited food supply at best and looking to take your whole group hostage for a multitude of nefarious purposes at worst. The thing is, if people are going to re-claim the world and rebuild society they are going to need each other. Cue music... "people - people who need people". Ok, ok, I'll stop singing. But they are going to have to embrace each other at some point.
   This is one of those episodes where I'm not going to give you a re-cap. The plot was very straight forward. But the acting and nuances of the characters' relationships made it sooo interesting. Let's look at the prisoner thread first. As with any new group there are going to be keepers and chaucy ones. It's not unlike buying a pint of supermarket blueberries. Even if it looks like a good batch there's bound to be at least a few rotten ones in the middle layer no matter how hard you looked at the container from the outside. If you're really unlucky there's a nasty one all covered in fuzz that's contaminated all the ones around it. People are just the same. The dance between Rick and the prisoner leader was so subtle. I taught high school for 8 years and they just nailed the way the guy tested the boundary with Rick. He never overtly challenged him. For any thing he did he could have claimed it was accidental or misunderstood. But after a while you and the kid both know that it's all on purpose and it's escalating. And this isn't high school math class. After flinging a few Zombies at Rick by "accident" Rick looks him in the eye and sinks a machete into the guy's skull. Had to be done. After cleaning up the other tainted blueberries there's only 2 guys left. Hey more food for our guys right?
    The Hershel thread was intense. I was excited and curious to see if he would turn or be OK with the tainted limb taken off. They didn't get that leg off super-fast if you ask me so I was thinking he would turn. And when Lori gave him CPR and he grabbed her and rose up I jumped off the couch! Great moment. Hot Tip Lori: don't give CPR to people who are on reanimation watch.  It's right up there with "Continue to breathe as you go through your day". Really? Of course I wasn't that scared for her because there's no way the writers are going to give up birthing drama and take her out now. Carl comes through big-time in this episode. Goes off and finds the infirmary by himself and brings back supplies?!? Go kid! Lori freaks out on him and to be honest I would probably have done the same. Can someone tell me where the break happened between Carl and Lori? They always got along relatively well and now he hates her. Not sure when that started....
   The thing that bugged me the most about this episode was people walking around up to their elbows in blood and gore and NOBODY washing their hands!! Arrggh! I just want to take a face cloth to Rick more than half the time. There's got to be water somewhere... put Carl in charge of hauling it to a washing station for the love of God. I'd be driving everyone crazy if I was there with enforced wash-up time. Oh well. The episode ended with no foreshadowing and no indicators of what is to come except for someone watching Carol through the bushes so I have no idea what's going to happen next. Predictions for next week?

Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 1: Seed.

I'm back!! And my internet is upgraded and fast. You'll get 2 in a row from me since I've been slackin'; one tonight and one tomorrow. So excited... let's do this!
     4 of our heroes start the episode out right by barreling into an old farmhouse and getting the job done. I think T-Bone's wielding a fireplace poker. That's kind of a weird and desperate weapon to be using this far into the game but he brandishes it with such gusto that I'm giving him a pass. And Carl! Does he get an Emmy for "youngest actor to kick ass and take down names" or WHAT? I don't even know what kind of gun he's using but the kid's rockin' it. They clear the farmhouse efficiently and well but with all that enthusiasm and adrenaline it's a wonder they don't shoot each other in the face when they surprise each other around blind corners. If it were us we'd have a post-raid circle-ups and come up with better safely policies am I right? Big shout-out to my boy Daryl for helping clear the place of the un-dead AND rustle up some dinner at the same time.
        The rest of the crew comes in and the baby bump is effectively used as an indicator that we have fast forwarded a few months ahead. First observations are that 1.) The group hasn't lost any more members and 2.) They have become much more battle-hardened and weary since we last saw them. The pet-food scene is able to portray SO MUCH with no dialogue at all that it's worth watching twice. They see more walkers approaching and bail out the back door and it was then that I turned to my Husband and said "you think Lori's going to hold onto her belly at all times until she gives birth or what?" I've been preggers twice folks and there's really no need to hold onto the thing. Yes Lori, we know it's there... congrats on finding new ways of being annoying. And then we got A NEW TITLE SEQUENCE! It's so 3rd season right? Not so much 'this is happening' as 'this is the new reality'. I loved it.
    It seems like the herding that we saw in the season finale has really become a problem. That should be interesting. They finally spot the prison and Rick immediately sees it's potential. Lots of really great Zombie moments. There were so many walkers in this episode.... kudos to the make-up people. Rick decides to run for the gate and everyone else either goes out as a distraction or gets on sniper duty. When Lori grabbed the gate I thought she was going to block him from going but instead she opened it for him. That's a huge indicator of how much their relationship has changed. Rick charges across the yard, secures the fence and then all they have to do is shoot fish in a barrel.
    They have a nice evening in the prison yard and even though they are very secure they have people on sentry duty. This is a first and again it shows how much they have changed and how savvy they have become. Even on the farm which was pretty unsecured they didn't have formal sentries. Daryl and Carol have a little something brewing (rawr!)
  Then Lori and Rick have their little interaction. Both characters are shadows of their formal selves. Lori puts up no fight at all and tiptoes around Rick like he's a bomb about to go off and Rick is so hardened that he's almost a different person.
    The next morning Rick, T-bone, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl and Hershel storm into the main prison yard. No, No, no. Why take a chance on getting surrounded? I would go in as a tight bunch, kill a few and then retreat. Repeat until the yard is clear. In the meantime you may have attracted many of them to the fences where they can be killed with no risk. The Zombies in body armor we HARD CORE! They push on into a cell block. I would have stopped for a drink and a granola bar but you know me... and are able to clear it out very quickly. Every body picks their cells. Maggie and Glenn are so sweet with each other. Such a contrast to Rick and Lori's relationship. Those 2 are not even sharing a cell! It would seem like a good place to stop and chill out before pushing farther but I guess lack of food keeps them from doing that.
    We check in with Michonne and Andrea. Not much happens with them. Andrea is sick and their segments seem to be there just to introduce the Michonne character. Love her pet Zombies with no lower jaws and no arms. That chick is awesome. Hope we get a little more story on these 2 in the next episode.
     Next we had a really good scene with Hershel and Lori where he tries to calm her down as she goes through a typical case of pre-birth jitters. Hey, not even I can blame her on this one, especially since she's considered the Zombie-fetus scenario. Yikes! Then the main squad gets back in action but this time they're in a basement labyrinth in the DARK. Soooo creepy. They try to mark their way out with spray-paint but then it all goes south very quickly. Tough to critique them on this one. They clearly have to push on or starve and I'm not sure their problems are their fault EXCEPT for Hershel basically rubbing his lower legs against this one Zombie's lips. Have we never as a group discussed giving them a wide-berth? Not rubbing up against them unless we are SURE they're dead... especially if they have no obvious head-wounds? Geepers you guys. Of course he gets bit but it does give us our first opportunity to see if immediate limb amputation makes a difference in survival. Worth trying at least once right? They hack off his foot and meet a whole new crew of guys that are human and appear to be well-fed. Hooray!
   It's worth noting that the Zombies are deteriorating. The ones at the farm-house were looking kind of dried out and sinewy and the suckers in the combat gear were practically composting inside their armor. So if they can last a little longer the undead may fall to pieces and our little band of heroes may be able to re-claim the world. Hope for the future. And hope for season 3! I thought it was an excellent first episode, you?