What happened?
Whilst Rick
is left alone to chase visions of Lori, Glenn takes on the mantle of leader,
deciding to try and fortify the prison in anticipation of an attack from The
Governor. The attack comes much sooner, with The Governor sniping rifle shots
and releasing walkers into the prison grounds. Rick awakens from his insanity
to fight back but it’s only Daryl and Merle arriving that prevents the
situation turning far worse.
Thoughts
It’s been a
long while since a TV show made me punch the air (Battlestar Galactica was
probably the last time that happened) but The Walking Dead provoked such a
response in this episode. I speak of the moment when Daryl returned to camp
just when Rick was in the tightest of spots with the walkers. Those zipping
crossbow arrows hitting their mark – he was back! Yes!
Alas, he had
to bring Merle along with him. At least Merle was making a bid to prove himself
a team player by helping Rick out. Not sure that will ever be enough to win
over the group (Glenn and Maggie are just not going to be accept him, surely)
but maybe they can offer some piece of the prison where Daryl, and Merle
especially, keep to themselves. That’s if the group decides to stay at the
prison at all after the latest incursion.
Rick’s group
have never looked weaker. With Rick off walking in the woods chasing Lori
(surprised to see Sarah Wayne Callies return for a cameo – maybe we’ll see more
of her, which doesn’t exactly bode well for Rick’s road to recovery!) and the
new people having been chased away after his outburst, their numbers are
dwindling. Glenn made the remark about how there wasn’t anyone watching the
fences for walkers; a comment that, subtly, was seeding the plot surprise of
The Governor appearing with his sniper rifle.
It definitely
took me by surprise when the new guy (although he’s not that new but, in all
these past few episodes, I’ve never caught his name) got shot down in front of
Carol. The episode played it beautifully in having him begin what looked to be
the foundations of a friendship, possibly more, between he and Carol only for
that to get snuffed out in an instant. The final indignity was in having Carol
use his body as a shield against the hails of bullets before she could get out
of there.
It seemed
strange that The Governor left when he did, actually. After the ‘zombie van
bomb’ got rolled into the prison compound and walkers were released he, to me,
seemed to decide he had done enough and left. Had he stayed he would have then
had a free hand to shoot at Rick’s group like fish in a barrel whilst they
either tried to stay in cover and fend off the walkers or came out in the open
to deal with the threat directly. I’m glad he didn’t, of course, but in terms
of having the upper hand The Governor definitely yielded the opportunity to decimate
his enemy.
Maybe (and I
don’t really believe this) The Governor was simply seeking to address the
attack Rick made on his group. An eye for an eye mentality. Rick showed up and
shot at innocent people unannounced in Woodbury, and so The Governor has done
the same at the prison. As I say, I don’t really believe that. Maybe he just
thought the walkers being released would be enough to finish them off and see
to it that any survivors scarpered before he came back. Maybe he just wanted to
conserve ammo.
As for what
happens next, well, Rick’s group are definitely between a rock and a hard
place. Rick is evidently not just going to snap out of his mental wonderland
and become the leader he once was – something far more drastic has to happen
before that. He needs to forgive himself, to be able to relieve himself of the
burden of guilt over Lori, Shane and all the rest of the flock he has lost.
Luckily Daryl has returned, and Michonne seems to be making herself a useful
addition to the group. And like him or love to hate him, there’s no question
Merle is good in a fight. It’s just tricky to ever trust who he is fighting
for. . .
I do love to
hate Merle, he is an eminently reprehensible human being and I can only trust
that The Walking Dead won’t go soft and try and clip his wings and allow him
to undergo a character change that sees him get along with the group. He can
just about play nice with others if it suits his situation, but it’s only ever
a temporary reprieve.
The option to
hit the road again just isn’t readily available. Rick’s half mad and his baby
daughter needs better security – out there in the world she could cry and alert
walkers wherever they are. Without a definite place to go then they have to
make do with where they are. A genuine truce would be the best result all
round, but the trouble is The Governor’s word isn’t worth a great deal.
The
Governor’s speech to Andrea about letting her take charge for a while painted
him as a cowering animal, licking his wounds. Again, this was all nice work from
the writers springing the trap for the surprise of him going into sniper rifle
murdering mode later on. Andrea, I suspect, certainly is keen on getting back
in touch with her old gang. I imagine The Governor won’t be telling her about
his little jaunt to the prison but there’s every chance she’ll work it out for
herself since she knows he went missing. Given the level of treachery and
deceit he’s shown her so far even she won’t be stupid enough to take him at
face value again, right?
I certainly
enjoyed this episode for its fist-punching return of Daryl to the fray, though
overall the show does feel very much like it’s sagging in a mid-section,
working itself out (which, in terms of the season, is precisely where it’s
at!). A bit like Rick left wandering in the woods, there’s a sense of things
going wrong and a dire need for resolution of sorts (or the prospect of one) to
present itself. I suppose the situation with the warring factions of Prison and
Woodbury is now geared up and in play and this may inform the next few episodes
but I’m not sure how much more of it the show can crank up before it becomes
untenable. I also feel like it needs something to freshen things up. Characters
are dying left, right and centre which, at least, is thinning out the core cast
– something that always provides better focus. I suspect the show may have an
episode or two of this similar friction before it starts honing in on the
endgame for this season and gives us an indication about where it goes next.
What was the
best part?
Up until the
end, the scene where Daryl and a reluctant Merle stepped in to help the people
on the bridge was the standout. I particularly enjoyed the walker getting its
head mashed in by the boot (or, for Americans, trunk) lid of the car. And
Merle’s initial reluctance turning to mercenary robbery betrayed him for the
man he truly is. However, all of that brilliance was upstaged by the final
scene which, with the surprise sniper bullet of The Governor, raised the stakes
for our heroes and culminated in the awfully cool van bomb of zombies ploughing
through the prison gates. Harrowing moments but ace entertainment.
What do I
think will happen next?
The prison
gang are going to have to seriously revise their plans for survival. If they do
intend to stay there then they are going to have to up their security and,
potentially, make plans to thwart their enemy more offensively. There’s the
chance that Daryl and Merle may be sent out on a mission against their enemy,
as a means of Merle proving himself and also keeping him out of their way.
I don’t
foresee Rick snapping out of it his mental unrest all of a sudden – there’s
unresolved business there with phantom Lori that will surely have some big
scenes to trawl through. I don’t see him staying permanently out of it for more
than a few episodes and I wouldn’t be surprised if a soul-searching encounter
with ‘head Lori’ occurs in the very next episode to put Rick back on track.
At Woodbury I
predict that Andrea will tackle The Governor about where he has been and what
he has done and, if he confesses honestly, she may decide to try and broker a
truce for herself to stop further bloodshed. She’s just about the only person
that either side could possibly trust enough but, even if a truce is formed, it
will be a distinctly uneasy one.
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