So it’s the mid-season finale. Something I have disliked about AMC since they started making great shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men and The Walking Dead! But I’ll let it go seeing as these shows are worth the wait. The episode begins with some new characters being introduced. A desperate group of people looking for shelter from the rain…..and the Zombies of course. One of the characters may look familiar to “The Wire” fans. That’s right, Cutty is back to wreak havoc on the living dead. And he does it in style! They stumble across an abandoned prison (sound familiar?) but more on that later.

Glenn is building up a serious reputation for being the new bad ass. Over the three seasons, he has;

• Went into the zombie infested city, alone, to gather supplies for the group

• Dangled into a well were a zombie is stuck on a teensy tiny rope

• Got the shit beaten out of him by Merle to protect his group

• Kills a zombie whilst tied to a chair

• RIPS A ZOMBIE’S ARM OFF, TAKES OUT SOME BONES AND HANDS IT TO HIS WOMEN LIKE “ain’t no thang”

The Ricktator and his group are preparing to break into Woodbury and save Glenn and Maggie. One thing that bothered me was how easy they managed to get in. For a place that was supposed to have tighter security than Alcatraz, they managed to get in a little too simple. I would have preferred a good old fashioned “CHARGE!!!” moment myself.

Back at the prison, Axle finds himself with the sudden urge to flirt with everything within a 5 mile radius. First he pulls the moves on young Beth, which I find a bit creepy. Carol, who spots this, asks to talk to him. They get in a heated discussion about repopulating the earth or something but then Axle spurts out possibly the best line of the season so far. “I mean Maggie, she’s with Glenn, and you’re a lesbian” …….let’s face it; he said what we were all thinking! What’s funnier is the way he tries to justify it, “You got the …… short hair”. Classic Axle.

So the fighting begins in Woodbury when Maggie stabs a man with a zombie bone. Before Merle can open a can of whoop ass on them, the Ricktator opens a can of smoke and scurries Glenn and Maggie off before the evils can react. The group scurry into an abandoned shop to try and figure out how they are going to get out. Glenn mentions to Daryl that Merle was involved in all this. Daryl actually shows signs of weakness for the first time. The news that his brother is still alive and is involved clearly hits him hard. It takes a motivational speech from the Ricktator to calm him down. The character keeps growing and growing.

During the fighting on the main street, the Ricktator begins to see visions of Shane. Obviously all the loopy hasn’t left him yet. I wonder will this continue in the second half of the season. Still, it’s nice to see Shane again though! He manages to take Oscar out which is suspicious. Tyreesse is only in the door and Oscar is taken out. I don’t think Tyreese will be looking forward to the return of Morgan Jones (the guy from the first season).

Back at the prison, Carl shows some of his developing leadership qualities as he checks out a scream he heard from within the prison. I’m beginning to like Carl now. He’s starting to mimic his dad in being a good leader, a great headshot and a bad ass. He drops down to the boiler room, saves Cutty and his group and brings them safely back to the prison cells. In true Ricktator style, he locks them in the room next to his group. I think I’ll need to create a new persona for Carl. I was thinking something like Don Carleone maybe?

Michonne’s was quiet for most of the episode. Once in Woodbury, she decided to abandon the group and wait for the Governor inside his office. Before he comes back, she hears a noise. Being the woman that she is, she inspects it, only to find the Governors fish tank of heads and his daughter locked up in a cage. How did she not know that she was a zombie?! I mean the thing was groaning and growling when it came out. Is she deaf?!

The Governor stumbles across her and his dead daughter having a giggle and shows his first sign of emotion / desperation. Wrong thing to show to a woman holding a katana and a grudge. She proceeds to kill the girl which sparks off an epic wrestle between the two of them. I’ll not give too much away but it ends with an awkward “your mum walked in on you masturbating” moment with Andrea. There is a little standoff between her and Michonne before she scarpers. I genuinely felt sorry for the Gov. He may be a psychotic weirdo who likes the company of zombie heads and dead little girls but he’s our psychotic weirdo who likes the company of zombie heads and dead little girls.

The final scene is one of epic proportions. The Governor is on the rampage after the attack and fingers Merle to be an informer for the other group. Shocking stuff! What’s more shocking is that he has captured poor Daryl and more than likely will make them fight to the death. Hamo804 pointed out via reddit that it’s the first time Merle and Daryl come face to face (in real life) over the 3 seasons. Absolute madness when you think about it! And now they’ll have to fight to the death in a mortal kombat styled venue (Paulie Sheer). That idea reminds of the Cable Guy!

So that’s the end of The Walking Dead until February! Not sure if I can wait that long to be honest! At least there will be another 8 episodes. I better go catch up on some other shows before it starts back. Top of my list is Boardwalk Empire season 3!

I’m sure I’ll have some other posts about random zombie related news so keep checking back!

A Real Review