I'm particularly frustrated by the Governor because it's so easy to imagine how much more compelling his character could have been. If he'd been a little less crazy--no heads in aquariums would have been a nice start--The Walking Dead could have positioned him as an intriguing, plausible alternative to Rick, instead of a mustache-twirling villain. I'm intrigued by the episode's other major development, which saw Carl needlessly shoot a surrendering enemy because of the potential threat that he posed--but if the show is positioning Carl as a proto-Governor, it should have made the Governor a little less cartoonish in the first place.

I once made the case that The Walking Dead would be better off without series creator Frank Darabont as showrunner, and once again, I think new blood might not be the worst thing for this show. Glen Mazzara deserves ample credit for guiding this show through its best era (the latter half of Season Two and the first half of Season Three), but this final run of episodes has been an absolute mess—and "Clear," the only real standout, was written by The Walking Dead's new showrunner, Scott M. Gimple.

But as I think about where The Walking Dead can go from here, I having a hard time imagining—and, honestly, a hard time caring. The Governor is now some kind of Merle-esque boogeyman, ready to drop back in whenever the series needs an overwrought, overacted villain again. Rick and company are turning the prison into some kind post-apocalyptic Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. If I had it my way, I'd use this (presumably temporary) happy ending to leave our heroes altogether, and pick up the fourth season with an entirely different group of survivors in an entirely different part of the country--but going on the fairly safe assumption that a full-on Walking Dead reboot is out of the question, I'll settle for hoping that Scott M. Gimple has a plan to turn this uneven zombie TV show into the incredible zombie TV show that it's always threatened to be.

John?

Gould:

Here, as before, Scott carries the burden of fair-mindedness for the Walking Dead Roundtable. I know that the three of us here—Scott, Jeff, and me—brought a common spirit of generosity to the show from he outset and through much of Season 3. But I think Scott has done the best job of maintaining it. Well, Jeff's given him a run for his money. Maybe they tied. I just know that, despite intentions, I've come in by the end of the season dead last.

The Walking Dead just drives me nuts now. I still love its premise; I still love the way the creators established its story; I still love its look and feel; and I still respect a lot of the storytelling it's done from the beginning of Season 1. But I've lost all real confidence in the creative team behind it. Or maybe not all confidence. There's been a flash or two of inspiration lately; and as Scott has pointed out a few times now since the very strong episode "Clear," the fact that it's writer, Gimple, is going to be showrunner next season is an encouraging sign.