Powerful Pages - The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman (2003 - 2019)

Powerful Pages - The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman (2003 - 2019)

In a surprise move, writer Robert Kirkman brought his comic book powerhouse The Walking Dead to an end in July without any fanfare.  The end of the line for the written exploits of his beloved hero Rick Grimes came in issue 193.  That's quite a run for a series that truly came from out of nowhere, a title the creator himself acknowledges had little chance of surviving a dozen issues.  Instead, it became a major brand in and of itself, leading to a massive hit for AMC in the form of a television series.  That show has produced one spinoff already with others waiting in the wings, and there are feature films in the production line.  The property has also yielded novels, board games, and video games, as well as collectibles and apparel.  It is undoubtedly one of the most successful and culturally significant comic series of its time, and the franchise lives on despite the abrupt conclusion to the books that launched this phenomenon.

I am a fan of both the comics and the television show, though I have always favored the former--and I have always tried to make that clear.  Fans of the show, which has always had its ups and downs, need to understand that there is a vastly superior undistilled format of this story out there.  Now, I'm not going to argue that the comics haven't seen their fair share of ups and downs, no series can last that long without a few hiccups.  I will state, however, that the peaks have always been far higher while the valleys have rarely cut that deep.  In fact, I will hail Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead as one of the finest stories ever penned, and those who cherish a grand opus in the horror genre will find few alternatives as big, bold, and insightful.  Truthfully, if I am searching for a signature work of similar breadth, only a few candidates come to mind.  While Stephen King's The Stand is a finer offering, I would rank this alongside Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons.  Some might say that's high praise for a comic, but I rate Alan Moore's Watchmen among the best things ever written, and I view the format no differently than I view books, screenplays, essays, songs, or poems.  Okay, that's a lie: poems are always dead last where literature is concerned.

In addition to my love for the written word, I'll claim some expertise here as a horror fanatic who has some serious love for the zombie sub-genre.  And I'll ramp up the praise here by stating that I'm not sure that anyone other than dear departed George Romero himself has done as much for that niche.  Where zombie tales are concerned, I would rank only the original Dawn of the Dead above Kirkman's comics, and I see that as debatable.  It's not just that this series revitalized the zombie craze, it took it to even greater heights.  It did so by presenting an epic journey, the story of one man who forever changed the landscape of a searing apocalyptic vision.  Rick Grimes faced incredible odds.  He encountered devious villains.  He won fierce battles and suffered heartbreaking losses.  Unlike many protagonists, he also made devestating mistakes.  This character's story gave readers so much to enjoy, so much to mourn, so much to debate, and so much to savor.  I don't think the medium had ever seen anything like it, and I'm not sure we'll ever experience anything to rival this gargantuan undertaking again.

In taking us on this journey, Kirkman actually took us on numerous journeys, and many of these episodes would rate as epics on their own.  In the beginning, Rick struggled to find purchase in a terrible new world; zombies were the greatest threat in this grim environment, but there were other threats, to include his best friend.  Then came Hershel's farm, and that gave way to one of the richest and most celebrated arcs, the prison storyline.  Kirkman introduced us to the Governor during this chapter of The Walking Dead, and in facing this vile foe, our hero would lose damn near everything.  Then came Alexandria, and something that genuinely resembled hope.  Later we would meet Negan, one of the most hated baddies ever to grace the printed page.  Negan earned this status by virtue of maybe the biggest shock Kirkman ever assailed his devoted audience with, and major jolts have been one of the staples of The Walking Dead from the very beginning.  The Whisperers would soon join the fray, representing perhaps the creepiest fiends to appear in these pages.  The tale would reach its unexpected end in the Commonwealth, another gripping piece of this unforgettable puzzle.  There were other stories woven into this mammoth tapestry, introducing us to countless characters we would come to love or hate.  AMC has brough most of these players, places, and events to the small screen, often to tremendous effect.  And yet, aside from where Jon Bernthal's work as Shane is concerned, it has repeatedly fallen well short of the mark.

Like most readers, I am sad to see this story come to an end.  However, I cannot find fault with Kirkman's decision, and I found the last beat in this tale to be a powerful one.  The Walking Dead ended in much the same way that it began--the finale was equal parts unforseen and satisfying.  It came as a surprise, and it resonated because it worked on such a personal level.  In telling his tale and establishing Rick Grimes as a legend, I feel that Robert Kirkman has done something truly legendary.  I give this saga my highest recommendation, and I can't thank those involved enough for nearly two decades of stupendous zombie excitement.  Lest I forget, let me note here that while I think Kirkman's vision and talent are the primary ingredients in The Walking Dead's success, the artwork has always been a perfect match to his gruesome musings.  The initial run was brought to life by Tony Moore, who is also credited as the co-creator, and Charlie Adlard took over from there--though Moore still handled the covers until issue #25.  The stability represented therein, which is a true rarity in this industry, is yet another driving force behind the scope and the magnificence of this once-in-a-lifetime venture.  In summary, there are few works of art that have meant so much to me, and I am truly sorry to be writing what I hope is both a rave review and a fond farewell.

Final Grade: A+

The Walking Dead - Season 5

Last night, AMC wrapped up the fifth season of The Walking Dead with a superb 90-minute finale.  In truth, it wasn't just the finale that rocked--this has been one of the best seasons of the smash hit television show yet.  Most importantly, the stage is set for another wild season.

I'm a fan of the comics and I greatly enjoyed the first two seasons, though I thought seasons three and four weren't quite as focused or riveting.  In fact, though the prison storyline is one of my favorite arcs that the comic book series has provided us with, I felt that the television version was fairly lackluster at times.  Heading into Season 5, I was hoping for the best and fearing the worst, and I'm thrilled to say that the optimistic end of that spectrum won out.

The show has a wonderful cast and this last season made great use of many of our favorites.  Rick was a badass who only got more and more badass as we worked our way toward the finale.  Carol was perhaps the biggest star of Season 5 and she had so many cool moments that were awesome to behold.  Daryl showed some range, Abraham finally got to do some cool shit, and Michonne just kept on being Michonne.  Hell, Eugene even found his inner Charlie Bronson at one point.  What's not to love? 

The group's ordeal in Terminus set the stage for a difficult trek to Alexandria, where group dynamics, shady motherfuckers, and power struggles greatly elevated the last few episodes of the season.  There were shocking deaths, there were some of the goriest bits we've seen on the program, and there was an abundance of action in the last few shows.  As much as I loved the first two seasons, it's entirely possible that this fifth season was just as good--if not better. 

Now, all I have to do is wait until October . . .

Has Rick Lost His Damn Mind?

Like many of you (probably all of you--you are reading this blog, after all) I am a big fan of AMC's The Walking Dead.  It's not the best show on television (that honor belongs to Justified), but it's damn close, and I think this has been one of the best seasons yet.  One of the reasons I'm enjoying this arc so much is the way that Rick is behaving, though many seem to think that he has lost his grip on reality.  Well, is that true?  Has Rick lost his damn mind?  Before I answer this question, I should probably note that I think the first two seasons of the show were vastly superior to the next two seasons for a couple of reasons, but mostly because I liked Shane.  Yes, he banged Rick's wife.  Yes, he was a bit of a dick.  Yet he figured out how to live in this sucky new world long before Rick did.  Shane wasn't batshit crasy--not at first, anyhow--he was simply ahead of his time.  Hell, as much as his obsession with Lori wound up pushing him over the brink, his mental collapse was likely also triggered by being the voice of reason that was continually ignored.  His big scene at the barn in Season 2 was one of the best moments the show has produced to date, and I think it was rather similar to Rick's little outburst last night.  The zombie apocalypse isn't a great setting for second chances or any overt acts concerning trust or lenience.  The golden rule doesn't hold the same worth in this environment.  In other words, Rick isn't losing his damn mind, he's looking out for his people, and he's starting to realize that it's better to be sure than to be nice.  Fall in line and you've got no worries.  Present a threat to the safety of the group and your ass is grass.  It's not polite and it's actually a bit ruthless, but considering how things went at the prison and Terminus, that's just the way it has to be.  In closing, I'm not just giving the dude a pass, I'm giving him a high five.  Rock on, Rick, and fuck you, Pete. 

"Crazy?  Don't you dare call me crazy! 
I just figured this shit out three seasons before Rick did."

Short Attention Span Review: Broken Trail (2006)

I'm a big fan of Walter Hill's work--in fact, I think he is one of the most underrated directors of all time.  He's the man responsible for hit movies like 48 Hrs. and The Warriors, as well as unheralded gems like The Long Riders, Southern Comfort, and The Driver.  Most of his pictures (to include those set in modern times) rely on western themes and feature tough heroes and despicable villains at odds over their individual views on justice and the law.  Until recently, I had never viewed Hill's 2006 miniseries Broken Trail, which originally aired on AMC.  I'm glad I finally gave it a look--Broken Trail is an excellent western, and excellent westerns are hard to come by these days.  Robert Duvall stars alongside Thomas Haden Church and it's no surprise that Duvall excels as an ornery cowpoke with a soft and gentle side he works very hard to conceal.  Church is a bit of a revelation here, though, and that did surprise me.  Tough, brooding, and direct, it's his performance as Tom Harte that really steals the show.  The picture is built around an attempt to drive horses across the country that becomes more and more complicated as various twists of fate test our capable leads.  Broken Trail contains a few riveting setpieces, but it relies more on character development and intrigue than shootouts to tell its story, and as such it won't appeal to those who measure a good western by how many shots are fired.  There's as much time devoted to the relationships forged with a handful of Asian women who wind up under the care of our hardened cowboys as there is time devoted to their struggles with the various bad men who they encounter along the way.  Broken Trail may disappoint those looking for an action-packed jaunt through the wild west, but it will greatly please those who want to see a detailed saga about good people faced with difficult choices.  I often put Hill's work on a pedestal, and I feel that Broken Trail ranks among his very best.  In fact, it may be his most thoughtful and moving effort, and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy a rich story with a lot of scope. 

Final Grade: A

The Walking Dead: Season 5, Episode 1 - "No Sanctuary"

I'm not going to do a full-fledged review here because it would be impossible to do so without killing you guys with spoilers, but let's just say that this premiere really tied off a lot of plot lines that were set in motion last year.  Not only that, but the payoffs were delivered in style.  We saw things looking as bad as they possibly could, then we saw a lot of ass-kicking, and finally things got nice and tender in a conclusion that probably had most everyone who follows the show reaching for their Kleenex.  And it was all good.  Sometimes the show falls flat when it's time to deliver a killer action scene, sometimes the gore has looked a bit cheesy in recent seasons, and they've frequently bungled emotional payoffs, but that was never the case with "No Sanctuary."  The tension was incredible, the action was well-choreographed and sufficiently bloody, the gore was impressive, and the heartstring-plucking we were served up this time out was probably the best hearstring-plucking we've seen on the show.
Honestly, I think I'm in love again.  I thought the first two seasons of the show really elevated the material.  I was seriously stoked when they moved toward the prison storyline, which is my favorite arc from the comics to date, and unfortunately seasons three and four left me feeling a little empty deep down inside.  With the onset of season five, AMC has once again elevated the source material, and for the first time since Rick killed his best friend (who was probably the best thing about the show in some strange, twisted way), I am once again fully invested in the television show.  So, yeah, "No Sanctuary" was everything we were hoping for.  If you're a fan and you haven't seen it yet, avoid shit like this.  I'm probably the only person who is going to say much about that premiere without spoiling the whole thing.  I've probably said too much, but it was so awesome that I know many reviewers are going to lay all the cards on the table, face-up, and I assure you that you would rather see it for yourself.

It was grand, it was epic--it was one hell of a premiere.  The Walking Dead is back in a big way, and I'm hoping they can keep things rolling. 

The Walking Dead - My Take on the Season Finale (Hell, Let's Call it My Take on the Whole Damn Series)

Yes, I've been too damn busy to keep the blog up and running, and yes, The Walking Dead was a big part of my blog, and the fact that I fell out of love with the show probably played into my silence here as well.  Fortunately, I'm back in action, and like many of you I watched last night's big season finale.  So, let's talk about the show.

First off, this season was better than last season.  In my humble opinion, last season was a miserable waste of some truly epic material, so that's not exactly lofty praise.  In truth, the finale was a perfect way to punctuate Season 4.  Why?  Because like the season it closed out, there were moments when it was absolutely perfect, and there were also lots of moments where it was clumsy as hell. 

Yes, AMC nearly redeemed itself for bungling the prison storyline last year by closing that portion of the show out in style in the mid-season finale.  Once our cast of characters was split up, I was actually looking forward to seeing how the show handled their efforts to survive and find one another.  And there were times when that really paid off, particularly when the focus was on Rick and Carl.  And there were times when it was nothing short of awful.  That episode with Daryl and Elizabeth where he couldn't hold his liquor was terrible, maybe the worst episode of this show we've seen, and it was better than a lot of the Glenn and Maggie stuff that followed.  There were moments taken straight from the comics (well, for the most part--generally anything that is plucked straight from the source material has to be watered-down sufficiently before it can be aired on television) and (as always) there were moments that had fans of the comic scratching their heads.  Sometimes I think they do silly little tweaks just to piss people off.

In the end, this season was solid television, though the show will probably never reach the heights it soared to in the first two seasons again.  It was a hell of a lot better than last season, and it ends at a point that could result in a very satisfying fifth season.  Of course, the first time I saw the prison, I thought the show was about to pull out all the stops and become an instant classic, and they pissed all over that opportunity.  Regardless, Andrew Lincoln is superb, and it has been a long time since Rick got his Rick on, but the conclusion of last night's season finale has me hopeful that the show will allow him to return to form as the show continues. 

I try to divorce myself from the comics when I watch the program, and I can't do that, and it certainly has an impact on my ability to enjoy the show.  Calling the television series inferior to the comic series is kind of like saying the new Conan the Barbarian movie wasn't quite as good as the old one.  It's not even close, and it never will be, unless maybe AMC sells the rights to HBO at some point, but that ain't happening, folks.  Additionally, I try to distance myself from those first two seasons when the show was white-hot.  They obviously had a bigger budget to work with in those days, and the show hasn't been able to elevate any of the characters they have introduced since in the same way they were able to elevate Shane. 

So, in the end, we've had two amazing seasons, one truly disappointing season, and one mixed bag where there were incredible moments partnered with a lot of drivel.  I realize the show needs the Glenn and Maggie soap opera, but they handle it so poorly, and the further they stray from suspense and terror, the worse the end result typically winds up being.  AMC is adept at generating tension and providing their audience with a rich atmosphere.  The cast for this show is amazing, and the effects team is great at what they do.  Unfortunately, the action is frequently mishandled and the soap opera elements are poorly executed and often feel totally out of place.  The potential is still there, and unlike the conclusion of Season 4, when I truly felt like I was watching this show get flushed down the toilet, I'm actually somewhat excited for Season 5. 

It will never be the comics, and it will never be what it was once, but The Walking Dead is the best thing going on television so far as the horror genre is concerned.  I'm ready for more and the wait for Season 5 will be a long one.

The Walking Dead: Season 4, Episode 2 (Infected)

WARNING: This is as much of a RECAP as it is a REVIEW, so here there be SPOILERS!  You have been warned.

I've been very hard on The Walking Dead at times, but only because I thought the show was truly top-notch during the first two seasons and I positively treasure the source material.  Season 3 was lackluster, and the Season 4 premiere was good but not great.  With that in mind, I'm glad I get to rave about it again, because I thought this week's episode was a fantastic outing that really boosted my expectations for Season 4.  There was suspense, terror, action, and drama, and most importantly, Rick started acting like Rick again.  Praise Jesus!  I know the dude has been through a lot, but he is the centerpiece of the program, and the show faltered when he lost his way.

Early on, we learn that someone is feeding the zombies surrounding the prison rats, and that's definitely not cool.  We get a tender moment with Tyreese and his girl.  Tyreese serenades her with Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin" but that isn't good enough to get her to spend the night with him.  She departs, unknowingly leading zombie Patrick (the kid who died in the shower at the end of the premiere last week) back to her cell block.  We think he's going to make a meal out of her, but he hears a sound and eats this dude in a nearby cell instead.  This was gory, and gory is good. 

Early the next morning, Michonne is getting ready to go out again and Rick and Carl are getting ready to do some farming.  Carl wants his gun back, Rick changes the subject.  Then we hear gunshots and the shit really hits the fan.  Michonne turns back and has some difficulty getting back in the prison.  She winds up twisting her ankle, but Carl snags a rifle and he and Maggie come to the rescue. 

Meanwhile, it's an ugly scene in the prison.  Rick and Daryl lead the charge, taking down walkers and trying to herd survivors to safety.  There's a tough scene with Carol and this dude with two young daughters who was bitten during the attack.  He asks Carol to take care of his daughters and she agrees.  The oldest of the two girls says they should be the ones to finish their father off after he passes, but she can't do it so Carol scrambles dude's brains with a knife.  That's motherhood in the land of The Walking Dead.  There's another tough scene where Rick and Daryl go around finishing off anyone who is set to turn.  It's not an easy job, but someone has to do it.

Rick, Daryl, Hershel, Bob, and some new doc discuss what's going on and decide that everyone who was in the cell block needs to be quarantined.  After examining Patrick's corpse, they believe they're dealing with a deadly flu strain and they don't want it to spread.  Tyrees'es girl is coughing, which worries the team.  They advise her to go with the others who are being quarantined (on death row, no less) and she mentions that David has been coughing too.  So they both get to be quarantined.  Tough times at the prison.  Carol and the girls have a little chat by the fence, with Carol basically telling the older daughter she has to toughen up or she's not going to make it.  The older girl doesn't seem too receptive, mostly because she's upset that a walker named "Nick" has been killed.  She says he was "special" and we have to wonder if she was the one who was feeding the walkers.  Maybe she's just batshit crazy.  Time will tell.

Shortly thereafter, Rick is digging a grave when Daryl thanks him for helping out.  Rick says he wasn't that helpful without his gun.  Daryl disagrees.  "When the shit hits, you're standing there with the shovel," he says.  That's when Maggie hits the scene, screaming that the walkers are taking down the fence.  Sure enough, a growing cluster of walkers is threatening to bring the fence down.  Sasha spies a pile of rats on the ground and realizes that someone has been feeding the walkers at this spot, but there's little time to dwell on that.  The fence is coming down.  Rick tells Daryl to go get the truck.

Back in the prison, there's a tender scene with Beth and Michonne.  Beth asks Michonne to hold baby Judith, and Michonne says "No!" in a sharp tone, yet she relents and takes the crying baby.  She begins to cry too, and though it's never stated, we sense that Michonne was once a mother.

Back at the fence, Rick and Daryl come up behind the cluster of walkers in the truck.  Rick has all the piglets from his little farm.  He takes one, slices it open, and tosses it to the ground.  Walkers converge on the fallen pig.  They repeat this a couple of times, and here's another tough job for Rick and Daryl.  Andrew Lincoln was off the charts in this scene.  While Rick and Daryl draw the walkers away, Glenn and Sasha use beams to reinforce the fence.

We get a scene with Carol and Carl, where she asks him again not to tell his dad about the knife-fighting lessons she's giving the kids during story time.  We get a scene with Carol and the girls she has taken under her wing, Lizzie and Mika.  Carol tells Lizzie, the older of the two, that she's not upset about this walker named Nick, she's really upset about her father.  Carol puts a flower in Lizzie's hair and gives the girl a knife for protection.  This was kind of creepy.  That girl doesn't need a knife, she needs help.  Maybe she'll get it now that Carol is going to be taking care of her, but I've got a bad feeling about that girl.

Carl tells his dad about Carol's knife-fighting class, but encourages his dad not to tell the parents or prevent Carol from continuing with the lessons.  Rick agrees and gives Carl his gun back.  He also puts his gun back on, and that's when we really start to believe that Rick's back.  I guess he needed his little break--it was well-deserved, but it lasted too long and the show really lost some serious momentum as Rick grappled with his situation.  The group needs a leader and the show needs a stronger Rick at the forefront, so this is good news all around.

Tyreese is going to visit his girl in quarantine, but all he finds is a trail of blood.  He follows it outside and finds the remains of both his girl and David.  They have been burnt to death.  Zombies don't kill people like that, so we've got more trouble at the prison.  That's how the episode ends, and as you can tell, a lot transpired in Infected.

It was a strong episode, and it differently raises a number of interesting questions.  It also seems to place Rick back in the driver's seat where he belongs, and that prison is starting to feel more and more like a deathtrap.  For the first time in a while, I'm really excited to see where all of this going.  Maybe I'm overselling, but when you consider the horror and action that we saw in this episode, as well as the drama and character development, I think the end result was a really good episode that generated a lot of intrigue.  The season premiere was pretty good, the second episode was really good, and I'm eager to see what next week's show will bring. 

The Walking Dead: Season 4, Episode 1 (30 Days Without An Accident)

Warning: this is as much of a recap as it is a review, so here there be SPOILERS.  You have been warned.

 The new season of The Walking Dead kicked off last night with a nifty pilot.  Before I get too excited, I'm going to remind myself that Season 3 also got off to a great start and did a wonderful job of building toward a truly lackluster finale that made the entire season seem like a grand waste of time.  Yet there was a lot of promise on display in 30 Days Without An Accident, and there's too much talent involved in this show for another botched season, right?  I think so, though it should be noted that while this was a nice pilot, it didn't have the same magic as the material in the first two seasons.  Maybe I still miss Shane, but I've lamented enough.  Let's recap, folks!

So, the opening served to show us that things are honky-dory at the prison.  Rick's a farmer, the new guests dig Daryl (seriously, who doesn't?--although I can't be the only one wondering how he has managed to stash a stylist away somewhere during the zombie apocalypse), and Beth Greene has a boyfriend!  Unfortunately, said boyfriend's introduction had me thinking he wasn't going to make it long and he didn't even survive the pilot.  Some members of the group were gearing up for a supply run and Glenn didn't want Maggie to go.  It's good to know that the Glen/Maggie soap opera is still in full-swing.

Michonne hit the scene on horseback, bearing comics for Carl and a razor for Rick, who doesn't need a shave any more than I do.  Michonne notes that she didn't find "him" and I imagine that the "him" she's referring to is the lame-ass AMC Governor (who would last about ten seconds in a fight with the comic book version of his character) who will definitely show up at some point this season.  Anyway, Rick heads out to check some traps and Michonne joins up with the group going out for supplies so she can hang with Daryl.  I assume that everyone who signed up for that gig really just wanted to hang with Daryl.

In the woods, Rick meets a creepy girl that we instantly recognize as a threat while checking the traps.  She tells him some sob story about bringing food back to her husband (this sob story raises obvious questions Rick doesn't bother to ask) and asks if he has a group nearby.  He admits that he does and she asks if she and her man could join up.  Rick says that she'll have take him to the dude and he'll ask them three questions (kind of like the guy on the bridge in Monty Python and the Holy Grail) to determine whether or not they're in.

The group looking for supplies hits up some kind of superstore.  Glenn is among their ranks, and we realize he didn't want Maggie along because she may be pregnant.  This new guy on the show, Bob, a former medic who has recently joined the camp, stops to salivate over some booze.  He picks up a bottle, nearly takes it, and then slams it back down.  He does this with enough force to topple the entire shelving unit, which pins him to the ground.  Bob's worth to the group is obviously debatable.  Zombies that are chilling on the rooftop along with a crashed helicopter hear the shelving unit collapse and make their way toward the center of the roof, which is apparently made of paper mache.  Within seconds, it's raining walkers in the superstore and we finally get an action scene.

While the supply run group battle the undead, Rick and the creepy lady continue their trek through the woods.  They talk as they go, and nothing she says makes her seem less creepy or more trustworthy.  This is a situation Shane would have done a much better job with, but I digress.  The supply run group wins the battle, but Beth Greene's boyfriend Bob doesn't make it.  I'm guessing that no one else liked the dude, because no one bothered to put him out of his misery while he suffered a pretty brutal demise.  Anyway, this was a gruesome action scene that was pretty damn exciting, though I didn't like seeing two chicks slice up walkers with swords.  That's Michonne's bag. 

Creepy girl finally leads Rick to her campsite and promptly tries to kill him.  Her husband (what's left of him, at least) has been reduced to the contents of a sack that moves and she reveals that she was going to feed Rick to him before stabbing herself.  As she's dying, she asks Rick what the 3 questions were.  They were: How many walkers have you killed?  How many people have you killed? Why?

Rick makes his way back to the prison.  So do the people who went on the supply run.  As the episode winds down, we see Michonne studying a map, focusing on Macon.  Maybe that's where the lame-ass AMC Governor is.  Rick and Hershel talk about the creepy girl and her woeful demise.  Daryl and Beth share an awkward hug that would probably make Carol jealous.  Newcomer Patrick, a goofy teen, stumbles into the shower and collapses.  The camera pans around a bit and then returns to this unlucky fellow, who has died and re-awakened as a walker. 

That's how the pilot ends.  All things considered, it was entertaining, and there are definitely some new wrinkles.  I liked the action and gore and it will be interesting to see where all of the new developments lead.  I'm really tired of Rick being a dope, but that's apparently his character now.  I don't think the quality of the program is on par with the first two seasons, and it has always been vastly inferior to the comic series, but this could be a strong season.  Surely it will be better than Season 3, and truth be told, we're only one week in.  Maybe AMC will really dazzle me and Season 4 will wind up being just as compelling as either of the first two seasons.

Agree?  Disagree?  Don't be afraid to chime in.

Under the Dome (Quick Take)

I haven't blogged about this yet, but I'm really digging the Under the Dome series airing this summer on CBS.  I was a big fan of the book, so I was excited to hear that the project was being adapted for television.  Additionally, I'm enjoying the way that the show is using the source material as a guide and not a bible--much like AMC's The Walking Dead .  Much of what I read about in the book is represented, yet there are enough critical differences to give it a different trajectory.  Essentially, this means that even though I've read the book, I'm not really sure what's going to happen next at any point on the show.  I know that many King fans are greatly displeased about this, but I think it allows everyone to be surprised anew as the tale unfolds.

I wonder what the next book or comic to take a similar approach will be?

Anyway, if you're a fan of drama or suspense, or if you enjoy stories where people dealing with dire circumstances realize that their peers pose the greatest threat to them, you should be watching Under the Dome too.

The Walking Dead: What Comes After

What a wait!  After the last volume, Something to Fear, I was so eager for the next installment of The Walking Dead that I almost started buying individual issues.  However, I was a late arrival to the party, and since I was on Volume 16 of the trade paperbacks before I caught up, it makes sense to keep scoring these collections.  Anyway, Something to Fear was one of the most difficult reads yet, establishing Negan as perhaps the greatest threat Rick and the gang have yet to face.  Considering that they have already dealt with The Governor, that is quite a compliment.  Of course, when I speak of The Governor, I'm referring to that devilish badass who wreaked havoc in the comics, not that pansy who found time for a little rage every once-in-a-while on the TV show and spent the rest of his time sulking and screwing the mockery of Andrea in the comics that AMC's Andrea became. 
Rant over.

So, after a gut-wrenching read that killed off two of the book's most likable characters, What Comes After changed gears and slowed down enough to let us wallow in the aftermath.  We saw Rick's people losing faith in their dedicated leader, and we saw another side of Negan that makes his character incredibly complex.  He was still depicted as a violent madman and we came to learn that he is nearly as selfish and arrogant as he is vicious.  Yet we also saw that he can be quite reasonable, and at times he was almost likeable.  Not only does this give the character incredible depth, but it makes him wildly unpredictable going forward.  It may even present Rick with some conflict as he preps for war, but I wouldn't expect him to be too forgiving.

Carl also played a major role in this arc, and he remains as entertaining and puzzling as ever.  It's easy to forgive Carl for pretty much anything in this series given what he has been subjected to, and in this storyline we saw him veer from wounded son to absolute badass to scared little boy to level-headed son of the apocalypse.  His presence is a tremendous boost to The Walking Dead, for he is also wildly unpredictable, and he's probably the only good guy that still has the ability to shock us.  We're pretty sure of how everyone else is going to respond to most situations, but Carl is an enigma.  This particular arc gave him a wealth of things to do, and I think much of the material that centered on him was among the staunchest stuff in What Comes After.

There wasn't as much action this time out, but there was enough carnage to satisfy me, and even if this wasn't one of the most groundbreaking or exciting arcs to come down the pike, it was incredibly informative.  Negan continues to dominate the landscape, and Rick and crew have seldom seemed so vulnerable.  This felt like a bridge between Something to Fear and whatever it is that Kirkman has up his sleeve for the next arc, but it was a satisfying read and another stellar installment in an epic series.  You may like the show more than I do, but it suffers greatly when compared to the source material.  If you call yourself a fan of The Walking Dead and you're not reading these books, you're truly missing out.  Additionally, there is so much disparity between the two, it's not going to spoil anything for you.  For every element of the comics that AMC has embraced, there are two to three major plot points they have altered or discarded altogether.  I would encourage you to start at the beginning, but whatever you do, don't read What Comes After without reading Something to Fear first.

Now, I just have to wait for the next one . . .

Read my review of the previous installment, Something to Fear, here.

The Walking Dead: Season 3, Episode 16 (Welcome to the Tombs)

Warning: this is as much of a recap as it is a review, so here there be SPOILERS.

The third season of The Walking Dead is a wrap.  In recent weeks, the show had been on fire, and the momentum and hype this strong run generated served to create lofty expectations for the last episode.  Yes, the big finale sought to place an exclamation point on the season, and in many ways it succeeded.  Yet it must be noted that in many ways it was also very disappointing.  Now, I felt that "Welcome to the Tombs" was a solid episode, and were this week 14 or 15, I think I would be more lenient.  However, I think most everyone was expecting much more from the season finale, and despite several important deaths and some extremely intense material, this one failed to close out Season 3 with a bang.  It didn't really come close, truth be told.

Now, the beginning was great.  In fact, I thought this might have been one of The Walking Dead's strongest opening reels.  The Governor worked Milton over and gave him an ultimatum: kill Andrea or die.  I knew Milton was a goner back in Week 14--and, as I recall, in addition to noting that I didn't see him making it to Season 4, I also noted that I couldn't decide if I liked his odds of seeing Season 4 more than those of that sucker who was traveling with Tyreese--but I didn't expect to see Woodbury's resident scientist/idiot make such a ballsy exit.  Anyway, instead of offing Andrea, Milt made a lunge at The Governor and got stabbed for his efforts.  To make matters worse, The Governor coolly advised Milton that he was going to turn and kill Andrea in spite of his heroics.  This was also some of the best stuff we've seen yet courtesy of David Morrissey as The Governor, and the "Kill or die . . . or . . . die and kill" line was sweet. 

Yes, we were off and running, and I was thinking that we were in for quite a show.  Now, so far as Andrea, Milton, and The Governor were concerned, I was right.  Most everything else seemed to be a bit lacking, especially when you consider that this was the end of the road for what has thus far proven to be a damn good season of a terrific program.  Unfortunately, while a killer episode may have established this as the finest season thus far, the end result was a decisive third-place finish for Season 3.  No doubt about it.

Back at the prison, our merry band of survivors were getting ready to bolt.  Carl was ticked off, Glenn was concerned, and Rick and Michonne had a bizarre "I almost handed you to The Governor on a silver platter, but you're one of us" talk that was more than a little odd.  To their credit, Andrew Lincoln and Danai Guriri somehow managed to get the job done, but it was just a strange little chat that I didn't really dig.

In Woodbury, The Governor rallied his troops and led the charge toward the prison, minus Tyreese.  The big dude who can't shoot for shit spoke up during The Governor's Patton impersonation and declared that he wasn't there to fight other people.  After stating that he was going to sit this one out, he offered to stay behind to protect the women and children.    I liked this development, but I thought this scene was also a bit clumsy.  Much of the finale seemed rushed to me, as though AMC was hastily advancing the plot.  At this point, the episode was clearly losing steam, but a worthy finale was still within reach.  After all, the inevitable confrontation we've been waiting for was on the horizon.  Or was it?

Let's talk about what happened at the prison.  Why?  I guess I have to, that's why.  This review/recap wouldn't be complete without it.  Basically, The Governor's troops (I should probably put an asterisk beside troops, but more on that later) hit the scene and blasted the shit out of the prison and all the walkers gathered around the entrance.  In truth, this assault was fairly badass, aside from the fact that Rick and his people were nowhere to be seen.  Growing more and more agitated with every second that passed, The Governor led his troops deeper and deeper into the prison, chasing shadows and rushing toward the distant moans of the undead.  This is probably the point where most of his troops started to realize that The Governor didn't really know what the fuck he was doing.

This fool's army came across a trap, setting off a couple of flash-bombs and attracting walkers.  They escaped the prison and came under fire from Glenn and Maggie, who were clad in body armor.  They sprayed a hell of a lot of lead, but I'm not sure that they hit anyone.  Regardless, The Governor's troops took off, running toward their vehicles.  It was as if the commanding arsenal that they had attacked the prison with mere moments ago was utterly forgotten, and it was patently obvious that The Governor's attempt to play general was bound to end in failure.  Yes, AMC butchered the big confrontation, totally marring both the finale and the season itself in the process.  The bad guys blew a bunch of walkers up, two of Rick's people took a few shots at them, and the bad guys jumped in their vehicles and drove off.  It was a lesson in how NOT to present a thrilling conclusion to a story.

Rick and the rest of the gang emerged and celebrated.  Yay for them.  Oh, and Carl iced some kid who was trying to surrender, much to Hershel's dismay, and then told his dad he killed a soldier who "drew" on him.  Hershel told Rick otherwise and now we have some drama to carry over into Season 4.  Meanwhile, The Governor made his people stop in the middle of the road.  They tell him it's over, they're not soldiers, and he loses it.  This was a very effective scene, and both the music and Morrissey were excellent here.  He gunned all of the troops down aside from Martinez and that one guy that some people thought was Tyreese back at the beginning of the season.  Oh, and the victims here included that sucker who was traveling with Tyreese.  Milton, we'll miss.  That sucker?  Well, we didn't really give a damn about him, now did we?

The Governor and his remaining troops, both of whom were doing an admirable job of playing it cool, got in a truck and drove off.  I bet no one was telling jokes during that ride.  Where did they go?  Well, I thought they were going back to Woodbury, but either I was wrong or they got lost.  What's next for The Governor?  Who knows?  I don't.  Nor does anyone who was relying on the big season finale for information.  That was the last we would see of David Morrissey in Season 3.

Finally, we made our way back to Andrea and Milton.  He had dropped a pair of pliers behind her when The Governor made him gather up all the instruments of torture just lying around earlier in the show.  Milton told Andrea about the pliers, and told her to hurry.  She told him she was going to get out of the chair and save them both, and he told her she was going to get out of the chair and finish him off.  He knew he wasn't going to make it, and he kept telling Andrea to hurry.  She didn't do a great job of listening to him, and by the time she was finally making some progress, Milton was dead.  Soon he turned and began to make his way toward her.  The camera cut away and we heard Andrea scream.

Rick, Michonne, and Daryl decided to go to Woodbury.  I don't know what they were thinking.  I think the writers of the show were thinking for them at that point, and they had loose ends to tie off and the clock was ticking.  Anyway, they picked up this one chick who survived The Governor's massacre so she could join the crew and tell them what happened.   Later, they reached Woodbury and found Andrea.  We thought she was in the clear, because we weren't going to be fooled by that scream after the cutaway, right?  But we were wrong.  She had freed herself and finished Milton off, but not before he took a little bite out of her chest.  Next, we got some emotional stuff that felt rushed on Rick's behalf, but genuine coming from Michonne.  Andrea shot herself and our trio wound up taking Tyreese and all of Woodbury's remaining residents, namely the women and children, back to the prison.

How do I feel about Andrea's exit?  I'm pretty sure I hate it.  This season now stands as a complete and total waste of one of the better performers on the show and one of the comic's most beloved characters.  Andrea was a solid component of AMC's The Walking Dead in the first two seasons, but Season 3 served as a tremendous disappointment in regards to her character.  Maybe the show will find a way to make this up to me, but that's a tall order.

I guess that just about sums it up.  In truth, this episode probably wasn't as bad as it sounds, and I do believe that it would have been perfectly acceptable if it wasn't the season finale.  Yet there was so much to accomplish and the audience's hopes were so high that it's really hard to give this show a good grade in light of the circumstances.  This season warranted a gripping finale with a big showdown, and in truth it needed such an outcome to warrant all the hype and drama that brought us here.  Yet it was a letdown and it cheapened much of what transpired in Season 3.  As bizarre as it sounds, I would have to close this blog out by saying that I enjoyed the episode, particularly the stuff with Andrea, Milton, and The Governor, but I was very disappointed at the same time.  This was a solid episode, but it wasn't a worthy season finale.  Not by a long shot.

Am I being too hard on "Welcome to the Tombs"?

Am I being too hard on Season 3?

When will Rick and The Governor finally come to blows?

Is Carl fucked up?
I'll answer that one for you: Yes, but it's to be expected.

If I'm right, can AMC's The Walking Dead redeem itself in Season 4?

The Walking Dead: Season 3, Episode 15 (This Sorrowful Life)

Warning: this is as much of a recap as it is a review, so here there be SPOILERS.

With only a pair of episodes remaining in what is shaping up to be an epic season, The Walking Dead put Merle at the center of another solid hour of nerve-wracking horror.  I think last week's episode was a little leaner and the narrow focus produced one of the best entries to date.  "This Sorrowful Life" wasn't quite as polished and it didn't shine quite as brightly as a result, but it was a very good episode that continued to build momentum heading toward this week's big finale.

First off, let's start with the bad, since that's how the show kicked off.  Rick decided to hand Michonne over, and I don't think this worked for anyone.  This felt like a plot device from the very start, and it was a lazy attempt to advance a fine show.  I'm not sure how they could have set this entry up without that development, but leading off on a false note definitely cheapened the episode.  To make matters worse, Rick then approached Merle and told him about his decision while keeping everyone else aside from Hershel and Daryl in the dark. 

Merle knew Rick wouldn't be able to go through with delivering Michonne to The Governor, and he told Rick as much.  Though the scene painted Rick as a buffoon, it was compelling stuff, and little did I know that Michael Rooker was just getting started.  In truth, if you have a guy like him in your cast, you should definitely use him, and "This Sorrowful Life" gave Rooker a wealth of material to play with.  He excelled, which is no surprise to those of us who love his work.  Whenever he was on the screen last night, The Walking Dead was absolutely riveting, and he was the centerpiece of this episode.  If not for Rick's baffling decision at the onset and the latest installment of the Glenn and Maggie soap opera, this would have been an instant classic.

Anyway, recognizing that Rick didn't have the stomach for the job at hand, Merle put his own plan in motion.  He subsequently captured a surprisingly gullible Michonne and set off for the rendezvous with The Governor without Rick or his brother.  Things really picked up from there.  A fantastic scene found Merle trying to boost a ride while Michonne was tethered to a nearby column.  Merle accidentally set the car alarm off, attracting a mob of walkers, and Michonne showed that she doesn't need her hands free to kick some serious ass.  Merle also showed his mettle, and this setpiece continued a recent streak of rousing action scenes.

There has always been a lot of violence on The Walking Dead, and the execution is typically sound, but I feel like the makers of the show are at the top of their game this season.  They've given us a wealth of bloody mayhem that rivals anything you're apt to see on the big screen, and they should be applauded.  It should come as no surprise that horror heavyweight Greg Nicotero was in the director's chair when "This Sorrowful Life" was filmed. 

Back at the prison, Rick (thanks in part to another sighting of Lori's ghost) realized he could no longer stomach the notion of giving Michonne up.  He came clean with the rest of the group and demanded that they become a democracy so he no longer bears the burden of making all of the decisions for them.  Of course, he soon realized that neither Merle or Michonne were on the scene, and it wasn't hard to put two and two together.  He was going to go after them, but Daryl took responsibility and reminded Rick that he needed to be at the prison just in case The Governor moved on them and the shit really hit the fan.  He also noted that Rick had little chance of tracking Merle and Michonne, and we all know that tracking is one of the zombie-killing badass known as Daryl Dixon's specialties. 

Meanwhile, Michonne appeared to be biding her time.  I got the feeling that she was so confident of her ability to turn the tables on Merle that she elected to devote herself to talking him down first, earmarking a struggle for freedom as Plan B.  Maybe that's just me being entirely too enamored with her character, who is one of the best heroines out there in 2013.  I thought it very unlikely that Merle would release her, but the dialogue between these two outsiders was enthralling.  As good as Michael Rooker was in this episode, and he was utterly fantastic, Danai Guriri was nearly his equal despite playing a smaller role.  In the end, Merle shocked me by stopping the car and setting Michonne free.  He made it clear that he wanted to see the group at the prison survive because that's where his brother wanted to be, but he didn't see any way that he could ever become one of them. 

I think he was wrong about Rick and our merry band of survivors; I believe there was a place for Merle at their table.  That's why I'm also willing to recognize that maybe Merle felt that they didn't stand a chance unless someone did something to try and put a dent in the numbers game working against them before all hell broke loose.  Merle did just that, leading a pack of walkers to the rendezvous and unloading on The Governor's troops while they tried to contend with a zombie horde.  I think Merle had a good idea, though getting drunk beforehand wasn't his finest moment, and he did rush things a bit.  Regardless, he took several of The Governor's fighting men out before the bloodthirsty villain Merle once hailed as leader took him down in a vicious fight. 

This was a big moment for The Governor, and it was damn impressive, but I'll admit that it also hit a sour chord with me.  I mean, I know that this character is now a far more frightening rendition of the comic book villain I know and love, and I know that Merle was drunk and winded, but I still think the one-armed man would have won the fight.  I guess that while I'm truly enamored with the direction David Morrissey has taken, particularly in recent weeks, I'm still not completely on board with AMC's version of the character.  Again, I know this was necessary to keep the plot moving, and it was a great way to make The Governor look strong, but I just can't wrap my head around seeing him take Merle out with relative ease.  I think that Merle wins that fight at least seven times out of ten.

Now, to be fair, I was dreading Merle's inevitable exit from The Walking Dead, and I've made my affection for Michael Rooker clear, so maybe that last sentence is just the homer in me talking.  Either way, I'm sad to see Merle go, though I do think the show benefited greatly from bringing him back in Season 3 and devoting so much screen-time to the rowdy rascal.  Merle Dixon, you were an asshole, but you will be missed.  The conclusion of "This Sorrowful Life" found Daryl catching up with his big brother, and we were witness to a gut-wrenching display of emotion as zombie Merle advanced on fan favorite Norman Reedus, forcing Daryl to kill him.  That was almost as powerful as anything we've seen on The Walking Dead, and it was a great way to cap off a nice entry in one of television's most compelling shows.

Yes, there was a fumble on the first snap, and whether you dig the Glenn and Maggie stuff or not, it seemed out of place here, but this was another winner.  Season 3 has produced a lot of those, and as we head toward the finale, many questions loom large, though it is fair to wonder how many of them will be answered.  I think most everyone who follows the program is eager for the big finish, but I also think we all realize that we're approaching a massive cliff-hanger.  I have a feeling the wait for Season 4 is going to be nothing short of agonizing.  I'll be sure to share my thoughts in seven days, but until Episode 16 airs we'll just have to wait and wonder. 

Who will live?

Who will die?

Will the season finale be able to capitalize on all the momentum the show has gained in recent weeks, or will AMC drop the ball?

Will people really riot if Daryl dies?

The Walking Dead: Season 3, Episode 14 (Prey)

Just when you think this season of The Walking Dead may have peaked, it somehow manages to peak again.  It seems natural given the slow burn toward a pending conflict approach AMC has embraced, yet I guess the pessimist in me is just waiting for them to muck it up.  I'll give them credit, they're still building steam, and they're righting wrongs along the way. 

Yes, I'll be the first to admit it: The Governor is actually becoming the monster he should be.  I've questioned David Morrissey's role in the show on numerous occasions, and I was perplexed by both the actor's choices and the subdued version of the comic book titan the people with all the stroke over at AMC chose to depict.  Now I'm really starting to see why they made many of those decisions, and it looks like it's going to pay off.  I think they baited us with a softer version of the character, and now they've almost managed to transform that cat into The Governor that fans of the comic know and fear.

Additionally, Andrea finally pulled her head out of her ass and made some sensible decisions, though she made them just a little too late in the game.  I thought the makers of the show backed down when faced with some of The Governor's most despicable actions earlier in Season 3, but now I'm thinking that Laurie Holden may be subjected to the horror that both the show's loathsome villain's tainted legacy and his brand-spanking-new torture chamber promise to deliver.  Now that Andrea is thinking straight, I'm hoping she manages to endure, but I don't think there's any way that she's going to get out clean.

Anyone who follows my blog probably thinks I hate Andrea given all the flack I've directed at her character this year, but there's a reason for the rants.  I do favor the comics, where Andrea's a more integral part of the story, and Laurie certainly has the potential to make the character equally remarkable.  She's already one of the more popular characters on the show, or at least she was until this season teed off, but the role has the potential to rival any other role in The Walking Dead.  I don't think I'm overselling, and I think Kirkman's legions of followers would agree.  I like Andrea on the show, but Andrea is operating on an entirely different level in the comics. 

Now, in this week's episode, aptly titled "Prey", Andrea finally sought to defect from Woodbury.  Unfortunately, The Governor was all jacked-up after building his torture chamber, and he was hot on her heels.  This chase was at the very core of the episode, and it was a tense and highly-entertaining affair.  Both Morrissey and Holden were given ample opportunities to shine and dispatch walkers, and in an episode that rested almost entirely upon their shoulders, both delivered the goods to terrific effect.

Back in town, Milton behaved like a fool.  Seriously, dude is just smart enough to be incredibly dumb.  Why air your homeboy's dirty laundry if you're down with him?  Why tip Andrea off and then prevent her from doing what needed to be done about it?  Why tell The Governor his daughter's death didn't matter?  I mean, seriously, that was about the stupidest thing his character could have said in that situation.  Later, he all but confessed to burning the walkers.  I don't think we'll be seeing his character in Season 4, but I think he's dumb enough to be shocked by it when his number finally gets punched. 

I liked seeing Tyreese make a moral stand, but I could have done without the "Donna" soap opera he and that sucker that travels with him subjected to us to.  I think that guy's chances of making it to Season 4 are worse than Milton's, and I'm just not that interested in his back-story.  Tyreese on the other hand came off well here, and I definitely liked seeing his shooting prowess on full display.

Our only glimpse of the prison came when Andrea thought she had made it back only to be overcome by The Governor.  Rick was on watch, and he may have caught a glimpse of what was happening, but it was insignificant enough that he couldn't confirm it, and he promptly shrugged it off.  I liked that moment, though I'm definitely not looking forward to seeing what The Governor has in store for Andrea.  Yikes! 

And to think that she would have dropped him if not for Milton . . .

Yes, Season 3 is still firing on all cylinders, and now the stakes are truly high. 

Can AMC continue this epic run? 

Will the struggle to come warrant the hype? 

Who will live and who will die?

Just how far will The Walking Dead go?

The questions are many and the answers are coming.  Stay tuned, fright fans, I'm looking forward to discussing next week's episode with you in seven days.

The Walking Dead: Season 3, Episode 13 (Arrow on the Doorpost)

Warning: this is as much of a recap as it is a review, so here there be SPOILERS.  You have been warned.

The Walking Dead continued to build momentum with another stirring episode.  Yes, I felt the program stumbled upon its return from the midseason break with a couple of the weakest episodes to date.  Yet from that point on, we've been treated to nothing but pure winners, and AMC's big gun is gaining incredible momentum as it hurtles toward the season finale.

There are only three episodes left after "Arrow on the Doorpost", and the palaver between Rick and The Governor that served as the focus for this tense outing clearly signaled the beginning of the end.  This little stalemate is going to end soon, and it will end with either the town of Woodbury or the prison where our merry band of survivors has gathered being annihilated.

I liked the mood of this one, which was grim and yet somewhat subdued.  Subdued for The Walking Dead, at the very least.  There was some action, but for the most part we were studying a discussion between two men who know that there will be no peace between them.  Boundaries were discussed, as were terms, but Rick and The Governor know precisely where this is going.

The Governor is savoring the moment, eager for the looming confrontation, for he feels that his forces are superior enough to be all but invincible.  Rick is thinking more of his people's survival than victory, and the odds aren't in his favor.  Yet The Governor is foolish to believe the gap is so broad.  Most of his people seem like the type who would be more adept at struggling to put up a good fight in a friendly game of badminton.  Rick seems to have more in the way of killers, though the numbers are stacked against him.  Regardless, the way these two men interacted was priceless.  I kept thinking that if this was a televised debate, the polished villain might win in spite of his vicious nature and his eyepatch.  Yet we know who's right, and Rick knows just who he's dealing with.

In other news, Andrea is firmly in no man's land, seemingly electing to remain with a side that places little or no value upon her.  She is being used, she knows she's being used, and she knows she's being used by a deceptive madman.  I just can't explain her actions thus far, and I'm eager for her eventual return to her senses.  I'm assuming the show will do right by her at some point, and I'm not sure why this decision is supposed to be hard for her.  I think she knows precisely who The Governor is, and I think she has an equally sound understanding of Rick.  I have no idea why I'm supposed to see this as a hard choice for her to make.  This remains the biggest flaw of Season 3, and I hope Laurie Holden's agent raises enough hell for AMC to avoid abusing her character for no better reason than to advance the plot in Season 4.  Andrea deserves better.

I liked the man-off between Daryl and Martinez, and I thought the latter's home run strike was probably our zombie kill of the week.  In truth, I liked the macho shit going on between these two, but I liked their dialogue even more.  Imagine two soldiers like that fighting side by side.  Alas, . . .

I liked some of the stuff happening back at the prison, but the "Hey, my name's Merle and I'm 100% asshole 100% of the time" schtick is getting old.  Surely there are some other notes this character can hit.  Also, who decided to let Merle get so close to the guns and ammo?  I thought they were begging for trouble there.  I'm definitely tired of the Glenn and Maggie soap opera and I think we may be back to business as usual on that front.  Good, their little tiff was contrived and mostly meaningless.  The show is better without it.

I loved seeing Scott Wilson being given such an integral role in this episode.  It says a lot about his character's worth, with or without two working legs, and seeing Hershel jacked up and ready for a big shootout during the opening reel of "Arrow on the Doorpost" was extremely cool.  It reminded me a bit of his work for Walter Hill in Johnny Handsome, a vastly underrated noir picture.    I also liked seeing Rick open up to Hershel at the end of the show about The Governor's terms, namely that the group turn over Michonne in exchange for a truce.  Rick seems unsure of how to proceed in spite of his "We're going to war" speech and the fact that he knows The Governor will still try to kill them.  In the end, we know Rick is too good of a man to really hand over Michonne, and he's too shrewd to surrender one of his best pieces on the road to battle.  Make no mistake, fans of The Walking Dead, Rick got it right the first time.  We're going to war.

I can't wait.  The Walking Dead is firing on all cylinders as we enter the home stretch.  I'm expecting a furious finish and I look forward to discussing the next episode of television's bloodiest gem with you in seven days.  

Bonus: I positively loved the use of the music during the end, as both Rick and The Governor returned to their people.  The tone and atmosphere of this show are both remarkably unique, and yet something about the technique utilized here reminded me of Michael Mann at his best.  Much like his more striking efforts, the charged marriage of film and melody created quite a somber mood.  

The Walking Dead: Season 3, Episode 11 (I Ain't a Judas)

This is as much of a recap as a review, so be warned: here there be SPOILERS . . .

After a stellar episode last week, this week we were treated to a solid, plot-driven show that worked really well.  I think The Walking Dead has done a stellar job of positioning themselves for an epic finale this season, and this most recent episode was a huge step forward in that regard.

There wasn't a wealth of action, but a lot happened in "I Ain't a Judas", and the looming struggle between our merry band of survivors at the prison and The Governor's brood in Woodbury is definitely gaining steam.  This episode did a great job of setting the stage for the coming showdown, with an emphasis on Woodbury's considerable might.  We know that The Governor is a cowardly killer, but he's also a hell of a politician, and he has his people wrapped around his little finger.  Their numbers are superior and they are better-armed, and now that they're being trained for combat, things aren't looking good for Rick and the gang.

However, back at the prison, Rick rebounds in style after a few choice words from Carl.  The prison gang may be outnumbered, but they've got their leader back, and their leader is a true badass.  When Rick is at his best, this show is at its best, and I liked seeing Rick push his demons aside and take charge in last night's episode.  Hershel still wants to run, but Rick knows that fleeing with a baby and a cripple in tow is a sure recipe for disaster.  Making a stand at the prison isn't much better, but Rick has a plan.  We don't know exactly what his plan is as of yet, but when Rick isn't seeing ghosts he's remarkably trustworthy.

Andrea actually seemed a bit more like herself for once, and I applauded her determination as she made it clear that she wasn't willing to accept The Governor's terse explanation for last week's shootout.  She wanted to hear from her old friends at the prison, and she did just that.  However, asking Milton to lend her an assist was incredibly foolish.  After all, who didn't see that double-cross coming, and The Governor's instructions for Milton (after Milton revealed Andrea's plot, The Governor told him to help) made it clear that he has a double-cross of his own in store for Andrea.  Of course, we already knew that.  Hell, it only took Michonne about thirty seconds to figure The Governor out, and Andrea remains the only person out there who is completely powerless in the face of his bullshit.  Yet she went back to the prison and had a little reunion of sorts, though she was awful quick to leave after seeing how weak her former allies are at present and how unwelcome she was in their midst.

After Andrea left, Rick put Daryl and Hershel in charge and revealed that he's going off on some sort of mission with Michonne and Carl.  I think he picked a nice squad, and I'm eager to see what they're heading off to do.

Andrea got a choice piece of advice from Carol before leaving the prison.  Carol (in a bit of a surprise given her character's meek nature) told Andrea to give The Governor a five star lay and murder him in his sleep.  The close of "I Ain't no Judas" attempted to tease such an outcome, and even if having Andrea consider such a move is a strong indication that on some level she does see her precious Phillip for what he is, no one really thought she would go through with it.  Her decision to let him sleep peacefully (if he was truly asleep; I'm sure I wasn't the only one expecting him to pop up and break her arm) was expected.  I actually liked seeing her anguish as the show drew to a close; it's as though she realizes that Michonne is right.  She's selling her soul for a warm bed.

This show was a bit light on action, but it was a solid entry that advanced the plot and heightened the tension as Season 3 gains speed.  I'm really starting to believe that we're heading for an epic conclusion.  Also, while I still favor the ultimate villain known as The Governor in the comics, the show's more political, conniving version of the character is finally gaining traction.

Other meaningful bits included Tyreese and company being welcomed into Woodbury and telling The Governor all about their encounter with Rick at the prison.  They did so while making it perfectly clear that they were willing to do anything in exchange for a place in Woodbury.  Also, Merle is now part of our merry band of survivors at the prison, but Rick made it clear that Daryl is responsible for him.  And I think that's about it.  There's a war coming, fans of The Walking Dead, and I think it's going to be quite the spectacle. 

See you next week!

The Walking Dead Recap: Season 3, Episode 9 (The Suicide King)

The Walking Dead returned after 2 months, and the show didn’t waste any time, picking up right where it left off.  Fans have been agonizing over the cliffhanger ending that brought us to the mid-season break, and it didn’t take long to find out how the Dixon Family Reunion was going to proceed.  As you’ll recall, AMC’s ratings blockbuster left us hanging with fan-favorite Daryl squaring off against his big brother Merle with a volatile Governor and his bloodthirsty townsfolk looking on.  The Governor was left stewing after Michonne decided he had one good eye too many, and he was looking to blow off a little steam with a brotherly battle to the death for the good people of Woodbury.

Season 3 resumed with Daryl and Merle throwing down, but neither of the Dixon brothers was ready to leave the show.  Merle wasn’t going to turn on his own flesh and blood, and Rick and Maggie showed up to save the day.  Shots were fired, flash grenades were thrown, and our heroes (with Merle in tow) made their escape while a particularly disgusting walker found his way inside the town of Woodbury.

Soon thereafter, Rick made it clear that he hadn’t forgot about the first time he met Merle (when he left him handcuffed to a rooftop in Atlanta in Season 1) and he had no interest in inviting the elder Dixon back into the fold.  Yet Merle did lead the crew to safety, and Daryl wasn’t willing to part with his big brother.  With an enraged Glenn and Maggie looking on, Rick made it clear that he considered Daryl part of their family, but he made it equally clear that Merle wasn’t welcome back at the prison.  Merle didn’t help his cause any by immediately shifting gears and veering from heroic big brother back to antagonistic jerk in the blink of an eye.  Regardless, blood is thicker than water, and Daryl issued an ultimatum, telling Rick that he wasn’t leaving his brother behind, and that was it.  Rick wasn’t willing to back down, and neither was Daryl. 

Daryl Dixon has left the building, folks.  We wouldn’t get another glimpse of Daryl or Merle in this episode, but the teaser for next week’s episode promises more on that front.

So, then Rick, Glenn, Maggie, and Michonne returned to the prison, but only after Rick made it clear that he doesn’t want Michonne hanging around either.  She’s wounded, and our weary sheriff turned savior of the apocalypse wants Hershel to look her over, but he doesn’t trust her.  Thus far into the episode, I thought the ship was rocking and it appeared that the second portion of the third season was shaping up to be every bit as thrilling as the first half.  However, I must admit that I was more than a little let down as “The Suicide King” bogged down toward the end.

We spent some additional time in Woodbury, where The Governor spent much of his time sulking in his room while his town went to hell.  Andrea learned that Maggie and Glenn were being held in Woodbury, and she seemed pissed at first, but then she kind of shrugged it off.  This was bizarre, and Andrea continues to feel less and less like the character we knew from Seasons 1 and 2, but that isn’t really a new development.  Andrea has shrugged a lot of shit off since she came to Woodbury. 

Anyway, as the people threatened to revolt and The Governor’s henchman threatened to gun them down, the grotesque walker that found a way in earlier showed up and took a bite out of one of the locals.   Things were heating up before, but at that point, all hell broke loose.  The Governor showed up to put a round in the walker’s victim before the poor bastard could turn, and then he left without saying a word.  The people grew even more upset, and then Andrea gave a corny speech about the town’s place in history.  Fortunately, the good people of Woodbury chose that moment to behave less like human beings and more like insignificant characters on a television show, settling down so we could focus on other things.

Back at the prison, Carol struggled to cope with Daryl’s absence and Hershel told Rick about Tyreese and his crew.  Rick tried to take it all in, but the dude is tired.  He’s tired of being responsible for people; he’s tired of wondering who he can trust, and he’s tired of holding other people’s lives in his hands.  Even a tender moment with his baby girl didn’t allow him to ease out from under his many burdens and take a deep breath.  So, it came as no surprise when he decided to send Tyreese and his band away.  Yes, The Governor is probably going to come looking for revenge, and yes, the numbers game was in his favor even before the zombie-slaughtering badass known as Daryl Dixon hit the bricks, but Rick was too tired to care about any of that.  He simply wasn’t willing to add any weight to all those burdens that are slowly but surely wearing him down.

Hershel, who is probably the most likable character on the show at this point, took Rick aside and encouraged him to change his mind.  It looked like he made his point, and it appeared that Rick was going to welcome Tyreese and his crew into the group, but then our weary hero caught sight of a ghastly apparition that appeared to be his dead wife looking down on him and lost it.  “The Suicide King” drew to a close with Rick shouting and waving his gun around while those who see him as their leader scattered.

Now, this was a decent episode, and there were certainly a number of key elements unveiled in Episode 9 that will having lasting implications on the program.  Indeed, a number of plot points that were unveiled in this broadcast could lead to a stellar conclusion to this season, and I’m hoping for just that.  However, while I thought the mid-season finale was a terrific show, I thought the return of The Walking Dead was a little lackluster.  If I had to score it on a scale on of 1 to 10, I would probably give it a 6 or a 7, but I wouldn’t argue with anyone who gave it a 5. 

First off, I feel like Daryl is going to find his way back into the fold, but that needs to happen quickly.  The program is stronger whenever he is on screen.  Norman Reedus has developed a loyal fanbase for a reason, and while I’m open to new developments, The Walking Dead needs Daryl.  Yes, the comics are a better representation of Kirkman’s vision and Daryl was never invited to the party there, but he has been one of the show’s strengths from the very beginning.  

Secondly, I’ve been waiting for The Governor to become the evil badass this show needs for a while now.  When the mid-season finale drew to a close, I thought we were there.  At the onset of Episode 9, when he was strolling casually through the chaos that was enveloping Woodbury, I was convinced.  Then he went and pouted for most of the show.  Now, I realize that we’re waiting again.  Can we speed his arc up?  The Walking Dead deserves a villain with a stronger presence.  The Governor is imposing, but he should be a nightmare wearing an eye-patch right about now. 

Finally, Rick needs to get a grip.  I like seeing Rick on the ropes, and Rick should be on the ropes, but he’s also a fighter and he needs to get his head in the game.  The next time he sees a ghost, I need Rick to close his eyes and count to ten or take some deep breaths or something.  He’s already taken phone calls from beyond the grave and he is clearly operating on a different wavelength these days, but he needs to settle down.  Rick on the ropes is still a good leader, but right now it looks like Rick is down for the count and I’m thinking the group might be a lot safer if they locked him up in one of those cells.  I also wonder if Andrew Lincoln is starting to feel the same way, because we’ve seen him lose his shit a lot on this show, and he rarely fails to impress.  I didn’t think this most recent descent into madness was a shining example of what he’s capable of.

In closing, “The Suicide King” was an okay episode that advanced the plot, but it wasn’t what I’ve come to expect from The Walking Dead.  I was anticipating a terrific episode, and maybe that was part of the problem, but this isn’t a series that has struggled to deliver terrific episodes.  There are still seven episodes left in Season 3, and I’m still hoping that this winds up being the best season yet.  Given the source material they’re using, I strongly believe that they can offer up something truly special as the town of Woodbury and our merry band of survivors at the prison brace for war.

The Walking Dead: Season 3, Episode 8 (Made to Suffer)

 
The Walking Dead delivered a captivating mid-season finale with a cliffhanger ending guaranteed to have fans eagerly awaiting the show's return.  Last week the stage was set for a thrilling conclusion to the first half of Season 3, and last night AMC delivered another gem.  We saw a major character from the comics introduced and we witnessed a fantastic fight scene that will have major ramifications on some of our primary characters.  "Made to Suffer" concluded with the reunion we were all clamoring for, but I don't think any of us were expecting it to happen like that, and now we're left to fret over the pending outcome until The Walking Dead returns.  All told, the first half of this season was a success, and should the show progress and offer up a fitting finale, Season 3 will emerge as the best season yet.

Chad Coleman

 Chad Coleman (The Wire) hit the scene in the role of Tyreese.  For the most part, I've really enjoyed the way AMC uses the source material to guide the show while mixing things up enough to keep everyone guessing.  It's going to be really interesting to see his story unfold, and though I'm not sensing that this Tyreese will be the powerhouse comic fans are accustomed to, I liked the way he was presented.  He definitely had the toughness and the poise required for the role, and I'm anxious to see how he will fit in with the rest of the players we know and love.

As promised, Rick and company took Woodbury by storm, and the highlight of the season thus far was the big fight pitting fan favorites Michonne and The Governor against one another.  This was yet another example of the show favoring the basic framework of Robert Kirkman's comic without rigidly adhering to the material.  While I have been at odds with the some of the choices they've made in this regard as of late, I really enjoyed the direction they took with this battle.  The show has delivered at least one sound fight to date (Rick vs. Shane with a zombie horde in the mix for good measure) and I had high hopes for this scene.  AMC nailed it with a vicious brawl that may indeed be the highlight of the series to date and not just the current season.

We closed out with the Dixon brothers meeting up again in one hell of a jam, an event that will definitely generate a lot of water-cooler chatter today.  It was a great decision and I know people are going to be dying for the show to come back so they can see how this plays out.  I'm there with them, but I have a hard time believing that both of the brothers are getting out alive and I'm reluctant to bid either of them farewell.  I would say "Surely they won't kill both of them" but this is The Walking Dead we're talking about, and anything is fair game.

I think The Governor may finally be on the cusp of morphing into the wretched vessel of hate he should be.  Yes, this could signal the beginning of a major uptick for David Morrissey's deceptively charming villain.  Whether or not the show succeeds in establishing The Governor as the ultimate menace that he became in the comics will play a critical role in determining just how high the ceiling is for Season 3.

This was another rock-solid episode where the tension ran high and the thrills were frequent and rewarding.  There's no doubt that The Walking Dead is the best show on television in 2012, and if the second act of Season 3 can provide a worthy conclusion then I think I'll be saying the same thing in 2013.  I think AMC is game, and I'm certainly looking forward to it.