Was the season 3 finale of ‘The Walking Dead’ really that lackluster? Did it not live up to the hype and expectations?

And there you go. The season ender of The Walking Dead, in the books.

The build up to the finale was, by many accounts, too prolonged with not enough meat to sink one’s teeth into before reaching fruition. (“Prey,” of a few weeks ago, in particular was one of my least liked episodes.) And when the season ender finally came around? It seemed not to deliver the goods. It was a let down as far as a season capper goes. I said that about the finale on my initial viewing because that’s exactly how I felt after having watched it. It wasn’t really that bad, but it was far from great. And, in fact, there were some excellent aspects to it.

Without a doubt, an accusatory finger was pointed directly at the writer of “Welcome To The Tombs” — none other than season 3 show runner Glen Mazzara himself — with a lot of “no-pulled-punches” talk complaining, it contained enough suckiness to fill a sack. The question is: Was there? Was there that much lackluster resulting in a finale of substandard quality failing to satisfy?

And then I watched it again and picked up on subtleties I’d missed the first time around. The reality is, whether you liked this episode or not, it all came down to a matter of perspective. …

The Good

Rick’s Turn About / Change Of Heart: I’m a character guy. I love the interaction between players. It’s a main reason I enjoy The Walking Dead. I loved Dale and Shane for who they were, but not necessarily what they stood for. I even got off on the ever-changing monkey business Lori perpetrated during season 2. But they’re gone. Now? We have Rick and Carl and Daryl filling their voids and taking up some of the slack. And, yes, they’ve always been present, but now they’re all the more prominent. Regarding Rick, he had me thinking. I tried figuring out what he was doing and where he was going mentally — not an easy task: the pressure he was under as the leader, the decisions he needed to make, the responsibility he shouldered, Carl in the back of his mind … even a new baby in the fold. Concerning Shane’s death, dealing / not dealing with Lori and, subsequently, contending with her death, there was (and always has been) more to Rick’s “going off the deep end” than what appeared on the surface. Deep down, he’s a rock. But being continually on the go both of mind and body, heading down a path of incomprehensibility and mental unhingedness seemed inevitable. Sure enough, it manifested itself with flair. But, for who he is at the core, Rick’s change of heart regarding Michonne (in not turning her over to The Governor) as well as his realization and comfort toward Andrea knowing her eventual demise, didn’t we know that compassion was always inside him? Getting his common sense back and not letting knee-jerk reactions get the better of him where outsiders are concerned had to be in the end what won the day. So letting the remaining Woodbury denizens into the fold wasn’t a stretch. That wrapped up a nice little arc for me where Rick’s fragile mind was concerned.

“I’m telling you: He gunned that kid down …” — Hershel telling Rick about Carl

Carl’s Degradation: Wow. You could easily — and wrongly — state “like father, like son” when it came to Carl and his explanation why he shot the Woodbury kid. At the start of the episode, when we saw Carl packing his things in his prison cell, he took out and contemplated the picture of he, his mother and father. I found that rather telling in light of the shooting death, especially when taken in context with his conversations with Rick. Do I need to get into his attitude in demanding he go with his father to Woodbury post “war” aftermath? Carl is definitely traipsing down a dark road, one spurning decency and replacing it with a single mindedness sans compromise. Come next season, I’m curious to see if they expound on his condition.

“She’d be afraid of me … but she’d be alive today.” — The Governor responding to Milton’s question about what his daughter Penny would think of him

The Governor’s Further Depravity: As if The Governor’s conversation with Milton about Penny at the start of the episode wasn’t proof enough, we got further evidence via the throng of Woodburyans he cold-bloodedly gunned down after the attempted prison seige. I’m pleased he gallivanted off into the sunset and the door for the character is left open. He’s pretty sick and twisted and, more than the anticipation of the confrontation between the two groups, I want to be witness to The Governor’s ultimate fate. Before that happens, however, you can bet there will be a no-pussyfooting-around, grand reappearance from him.

“You know … Merle never did nothing like that his whole life.” — Daryl to Carol

“He gave us a chance …” — responded Carol

Daryl Post-Merle: There was only a quick exchange between Daryl and Carol about Merle, but it spoke volumes about how he felt about his older brother. In Daryl’s eyes, maybe there was some redemption there after all … given the added boost of Carol’s reassuring hand squeeze.

The Bad

Andrea Dragging Her Feet (Literally): This was the worst part of the episode. Holy Pick Up The Pace, Batman: Could she have dawdled and wasted any more time while Milton was stewing in his own juices getting ready to turn? Because, you know, she had all the time in the world to cut herself loose from her confines before he reanimated and began munching on her …

On the flip side, her demise was one of the better, more emotional moments of the finale. If you’re in the camp that thought Andrea had turned into “annoying Lori of season 2,” you loved the fact she died. If you liked her fence-sitting wishy-washyness this season, you grieved over her death. She made you care, if just a little bit … no doubt spurred by Michonne’s water works.

Photo Credit: AMC