Blogging Dead: The Walking Dead, Episode 308 ‘Made to Suffer’

Episode 308 of the Walking Dead proved to be a very gripping ride, even if it didn’t have the amount of main characters dying as I had originally predicted.  Of course, it’s simply a calm before a brutal storm as the war between Woodbury and the Ricktatorship commences.  And we didn’t escape completely unharmed, either, as our beloved Oscar perished in the wake of a massive gunfight.  I just still know the worst is yet to come.

Leaving on a nailbiting cliffhanger with Merle and Daryl pitted off against each other in the arena.  Not counting Daryl’s hallucination in the second season, this was actually the first time the brothers had seen each other in the entire series.  The wait is killing me as I metaphorically have been holding my breath since the episode’s conclusion.  I know Merle wants to prove his allegiance to the Governor, but as much of an asshole as Merle is, I am confident he will not want to kill Daryl.  If Andrea can’t interfere, I can see Merle trying to help Daryl escape, maybe even sacrificing himself in the process.

I am thrilled to see Tyreese make his debut on the show.  In the graphic novel series, Tyreese is one of the most badass characters, and he always looked intimidating as hell with his imposing figure and trademark hammer.  My initial impression of the TV version of the character is that he is not as physically scary as he is in the books, but has more of a friendly, approachable vibe.  That’s not to say I don’t like him, and it’s way too early to know how the character will be.  Friendly or scary, though, I love Tyreese, and I’m so glad he’s made his way to the show (complete with his signature claw hammer!).

Ever since reading the Rise of the Governor novel, which explores the backstory of the Governor and his daughter, I’ve developed a soft spot for Penny.  Such a likeable little girl in the book, her inevitable death was heart-wrenching.  It was great seeing her on the show, and I’m happy Michonne put her down.  I also applauded Michonne’s version of eye-removal surgery with a glass shard through the Governor’s socket, as the new eyepatch does paint him to look a lot more like the true villain he is.

It was also cool to see Shane again, even if he wasn’t as recognizable with Wolverine’s facial hair.  Axel calling Carol a lesbian was another high point of the show.  And how gnarly was that to see Maggie commit her first murder (of a human)?  Basically, it was an all-around kickass episode, but I’m on the edge of my seat waiting to see the next one!

Blogging Dead: The Walking Dead, Episode 307 ‘When the Dead Come Knocking’

I’m surprised how well the direction of the series has been here in Season 3.  The conclusion of episode 307 left me salivating for the midseason finale, and I am oh so excited.  Before watching what will probably be the most chaotic episode of the series thus far, let’s take a look back at 307 and talk about the parts which stuck out for me.

First of all, Glenn has shown himself to be a far bigger badass than I had ever realized.  No matter how badly he took his beatings from Merle, Glenn never showed any fear and didn’t betray the group’s location.  He kept his lips shut, even after an intense walker brawl, and Merle’s threats towards Maggie.

I honestly thought the interrogation scene between Maggie and the Governor was a lot tamer than I thought it was going to be, but it’s only because I’ve read the books.  Michonne’s comic book counterpart can tell you how Maggie’s treatment seemed like peaches and cream, in comparison.  Let’s just say there were rape scenes which were more brutal than those seen on Oz.  But, I am happy Maggie didn’t actually end up raped and beaten, the poor girl.

Michonne has been as quiet as ever since finding the prison, but who can blame her after her Woodbury suspicions proved to be accurate?  I think she definitely realizes that this is Andrea’s group, and probably that Daryl is Merle’s brother, but she is keeping everything to herself, going moment to moment.  It is actually a very smart strategy, letting them know only as much as they need to until she can figure these new people out.  For all she knows, Daryl will shoot her himself if he finds out his brother was after her.

Concerning the group of four travelling to Woodbury, doesn’t Oscar kind of seem like a Star Trek redshirt, beaming down to a dangerous planet with Picard, Riker and Data?  His chances of survival are slim is all I’m saying.  A lot has been building up towards this midseason finale which will need to be explosive to top the episodes before it, and I predict we will see a lot of death.  Daryl, Rick and Michonne will most likely be alright, but, of course, you never know.

It looks like some hell is about to break loose back at the prison while the main eventers are absent, and I am sure things will be even more brutal here than in Woodbury.  I think we will end up saying goodbye to more than one of our beloved crew, which is particularly sad for me since I like everybody.

Axel’s days are probably numbered, as he seems pretty expendable, givenxd his lack of airtime.  I sure do hope he can say his catchphrase again before he goes, if he does.  I even think some of the bigger characters, such as Hershel and Andrea, are also in danger. 

I really hope Glenn and Maggie can both make it out of Woodbury alive as well, but I really just don’t know for sure.  You know what, though?  That unpredictability is what I love so much about the Walking Dead.

Blogging Dead: The Walking Dead, Episode 305 ‘Say the Word’

This blog contains MAJOR SPOILERS.

When this episode first started, I thought it was a flashback.  There were children playing with a dog at some sort of backyard party, and the woman handing out drinks looked like Lori (at first).  When I saw Milton come into frame and walk up to Andrea, I realized that we were merely back in Woodbury.

I think it goes to show how crazy this place really is.  You almost wouldn’t even know you were in a zombie apocalypse.  It helped me realize that I can’t really blame Andrea for wanting to stay.  The place is a paradise compared to everywhere else she’s been, and walking away from that would be a difficult choice.  On the other hand, I am still glad Michonne isn’t falling for the Governor’s lies and is moving on, as sad as it was to see the two of them break up.

It was good to see Penny, the Governor’s daughter, make her appearance on the show.  It was a very disturbing but memorable scene, watching him wrap her up in a makeshift straightjacket.  It did a great job conveying how disturbed the Governor really is on the inside, and how well he does concealing that part of himself.

Speaking of crazy, Rick Grimes is now officially off his rocker.  His mind has completely collapsed, and his scenes on this episode really added strong elements of psychological horror.  Rick may be the protagonist of the series, but damn is he scary now. 

He definitely wasn’t in the right frame of mind when he found that walker with a belly-full in the boiler room.  If he had any shred of sanity left, that would have been completely demolished once he saw what was left of his wife.  That phone call at the end, I predict, will give us further insight into Rick’s mind in the next episode.  In any case, he will have to cope however he can to move forward, although now I will see him as a lot more scary and dangerous from this point on.

It was heartbreaking to see that poor baby crying for her mother, leaving the group to try and figure something out.  I shouldn’t be surprised that Daryl was the first to jump at the opportunity.  Daryl’s got a heart of gold underneath that badass exterior, as we saw with his desperate search for Sophia last season.  I grew to really appreciate his character a whole lot more, and it was honestly heartwarming to see him feed that hungry baby in his arms.

Despite everything going on and how bleak the future appears, that moment made me feel like there was hope for this baby.  With the world the way it is, raising a child will of course be very challenging.  But between Daryl, Carl and Rick (once he comes to his senses), I think this baby’s really got a good shot at survival.

But, then again, this is the Walking Dead.

Blogging Dead: The Walking Dead, Sick (Season 3, Episode 2) Review/Thoughts

These are my thoughts on The Walking Dead episode, Sick.  This blog contains MAJOR SPOILERS, so don’t read any further until you’ve seen the episode!

Sunday night’s new episode of the Walking Dead, Sick, was one hell of a show!  Keeping up the pace of the premiere, the mass-slaughter of the undead continued into the depths of the dark prison.  It picked up right where it left off with Hershel’s new leg amputation, leaving a group of confused prisoners to try and make sense of the situation.  Despite some initial trust problems between Rick and the inmates, the group overall decides to work together to clear out some more of the walker-filled prison, upping the bodycount to nearly astronomical numbers.

I didn’t hear if they actually spoke his name, but it seems Axel indeed made it as a character on the show.  I’m assuming it is him as he does have a beard and long hair, but I was very disappointed not to hear him say his catch phrase (that’s, “You follow me?” for those who haven’t read the comics).  Still, other than Andrew (the little guy who Rick left for dead outside with the walkers), all of the other prisoners were completely new characters, so I should still be happy Axel made it onto the show.  I don’t know why I enjoyed that character so much in the books.  Overall, he was pretty insignificant and probably forgettable for many other readers.  For some reason, though, he just had a charismatic vibe, and I’d get a kick out of him ending every sentence with, “You follow me?”  My hope is that now that things have calmed down a little bit, Axel will be more relaxed and may have more dialogue, so there will still be plenty of opportunities for him to say it.  I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Rick’s rivalry with the leader of the prisoners, Tomas, ended just as quickly as it began with a machete to the skull, Jason Voorhees-style.  I knew that guy was going to be a problem and it looks like Rick Grimes did, too.  After Big Tiny took a zombie wrist-bone to the back, and Tomas eagerly bashed the big guys head into a million pieces, I thought, “You know, he seemed to enjoy that a little more than he should have.  Better watch that one.”  Not too long after, when he shoved that zombie at Rick, that pretty much confirmed all suspicions.  Thankfully, Rick survived, but I knew there was going to be hell to pay.  Next thing you know, Tomas gets his brain split in half.

When Tomas’ right hand man, Andrew, took off outside the prison, Rick gave chase.  Again, I was reminded of Jason Voorhees, stalking his prey.  I thought it was a little cold, though, how Rick slammed the barred-door shut in Andrew’s face, preventing reentry into the prison.  I definitely supported the decision to plant that blade into the skull of Tomas, but I wasn’t sure if Andrew swung at Rick because he had planned an attack against the group with Tomas, or if he was instinctively scared after seeing Tomas’ body drop.  I didn’t know, but I thought Rick was going to capture him and maybe throw him in a cell while they figured out what to do with him.  Then again, last season, Rick tried the whole, “Let’s keep somebody prisoner until we figure something out,” thing and it didn’t exactly work out so well.

I think that maybe by killing Shane, the reality of the horrendous world they all now live in had sunk in Rick’s mind.  Once he had to kill his own best friend, I think he figured out how important it was for them to survive at any cost.  Leaving Andrew outside to die is definitely not something Rick would have ever done before the end of the second season, and while it was a bit cold, it was good for showing us the rapid evolution of Rick’s mindset.  At heart, he’s always wanted to be the good guy, but you just can’t do that anymore in this world if you expect to survive.  Tough choices must be made and terrible things must be done, and since Rick is not an evil person, I think these things are starting to eat away at him inside.  We saw from the end of this episode that he can’t even have an intimate conversation with his own wife anymore.  Maybe Rick is slowly losing his mind as he becomes this completely different person than he was before.

I was saddened not to see the continuation of the story arc with Michonne and Andrea in this episode, but there was a hell of a lot of stuff going on.  It seems they’re going to get quite a bit of screen time if next week’s preview is any indication.  I’m really excited to see them meet with the Governor in Woodbury.  And I almost forgot, it showed none other than MERLE DIXON in the preview, which means in the next episode, he will be back!  With Merle’s return, I’m very scared for T-Dog’s life, as well as Rick’s right hand.  I’ve got a funny feeling that Merle is going to off them both.

Blogging Dead: The Walking Dead – Season 3 Episode 1 Review

This review contains SPOILERS, so it’s recommended you read AFTER you have watched the episode.

After many painful months of a hiatus from television, Rick Grimes and friends have finally returned in the season 3 premiere episode of The Walking Dead.  I know I’m not alone when I say that I was ecstatic to watch it.  The show has surprisingly become very popular within the past couple years, firmly rooting the phenomenon of zombie horror into pop culture.  A few years ago, I never would have believed a show about zombies would become so popular, but because of its highly suspenseful nature and incredible source material, I guess I really shouldn’t be so surprised.

The season 3 premiere episode, Seed, picks up a short while from where we left off with our favorite band of human survivors.  We can see that some time has passed with Lori now carrying a basketball-sized stomach as well has Hershel growing out his hair, complete with a wicked beard.  The group has been struggling to survive, taking what they can from any empty houses they encounter, but they are still seeking that safe haven.  It seems Carl has came a long way, too, as he’s now taking down the undead just as good as the grown-ups.

Being such a longtime, huge fan of the comics, I was overjoyed to see our group of survivors finally arrive at a massive prison.  In the books, things start getting much crazier after Rick and the others hole up in the place.  The television, it seems, is going to be just as intense, if this premiere episode is any indication.  As soon as the crew goes through the gates, they kick things off with a complete zombie massacre.  Walkers were everywhere, but our group has become very good at disposing of them and takes over the courtyard flawlessly.  It was pretty action-packed and kept my eyes glued to the screen.

As crazy as it was clearing out all of the exterior zombies, I feel the suspense heightened when the group entered and began to explore the dark hallways of the prison.  Around every corner is a possible threat and my heart starts to pound as they peek around each area, inevitably coming across groups of hungry walkers.  Even when the group eventually clears out and takes over the place, it’d still serve as a dark, gloomy, depressing place to live, a contrast from their previous station at Hershel’s farm.  But, the exterior, barbed-wire fences of the prison certainly help keep the geeks out, so I bet I’d come to appreciate it real quick.

Going back to my appreciation of the comics, I must also say that I absolutely love seeing Michonne on the screen.  She is possibly the most badass character from the graphic novels and I’d been waiting for the last two seasons for her to show up.  Danai Gurira portrays a perfect adaptation of the katana-wielding zombie slayer, decapitating walkers effortlessly.  She has apparently been caring for Andrea all this time, while she has been assumed dead by the rest of the group.  I’ve gotta admit, I really enjoy the storyline between these two characters, and since this wasn’t what happened in the books, I’m very excited to see where they go with it.  I know from the season 3 previews that the two wind up in Woodbury, face to face with the Governor himself, and I just can’t wait to see what happens there.  I’m also curious as to what will happen when Rick’s group eventually meets back up with Andrea, who may hold animosity against them for leaving her behind (or for Rick killing Shane).

As Daryl, Rick and the others continued to clear out the prison towards the end of the episode, Hershel, a character I very much like, took a bite to the leg.  While I realize that this is the nature of the beast with this franchise, my heart stopped, as when you’re bitten, that’s pretty much it.  The crew manages to get him into a safer room where I think they are going to put him down, but when I see Rick removing his belt, I understand what is happening.  In the comic books, two different characters are bitten on the ankle, causing Rick to hack the whole damn limb off in an attempt to stop the infection.  One character survives and gets a pegleg while the other simply passes away from his wounds.  So, I’d say Hershel’s chances of survival are about 50/50 going into the next episode.  I, for one, am hoping he survives and limps away from this one.  I grew to enjoy the character by the end of the previous season, but the badass beard he now sports really solidified my being a fan of his.

Before going off the air, we see a group of living inmates who had apparently been watching this crazy scene of leg dismemberment unfold right in front of them.  We will probably get to meet these guys in the next episode and new characters are always interesting.  I don’t know if they are going to use some, all or none of the inmate characters from the books, but I am hoping they will have Axel in there.  In the comics, Axel was a tattooed biker who looked like Santa Claus, constantly spewing his catch phrase, “You follow me?”  He was never all that important to the group, but he just had a certain charisma to him making him very likeable.  He really does say, “You follow me?” an awful lot though, and if they are going to use the character for the show, it’d be a travesty if he doesn’t say that at least a few times.

The Walking Dead has definitely done it again, ending their episode in a way that leaves me highly anticipating the next one.  Watching multiple marathons of the previous seasons leading up to the premiere may have spoiled me a little bit.  It’s certainly going to be on my mind all week until the next episode, when the process will undoubtedly repeat.