Tag: the prison

Walking Dead, Season 3 Episode 4

Welcome back to the Walking Dead! Today’s review, episode four entitled “Killer Within”, which as you may notice is a double-entendre. After last weeks introduction of the Governor and his walled town, things are once again shifting back towards the main group in the story, focusing on events in the prison and their ongoing struggle to build a safe haven.

Attention is still given the growing mistrust Michonne feels towards the governor, and the conflict between her and Andrea over the issue of trust. But by far, the biggest events took place within the prison complex, and I mean biggest! Some seriously big curveballs were hurled in this episode, which included the birth of Rick and Lori’s child, the death of T-Dog, and the death of Lori herself.

Killer Within:
Things open up on the prison, where we see someone opening the gates and laying bait for the Walkers to come. The identity is left a mystery for the time being, all we know is they are intent on sacrificing everyone within. Shortly thereafter, we see Rick, Glenn, Maggie and Daryl in the yard where they are moving their vehicles and discussing clean-up. They intend to plant crops in the field soon, and don’t want the litters of Walker bodies contaminating the soil.

Hershel comes out to see them on crutches, accompanied by the other members of their group. They are joined by the two prisoners, Axel and Oscar, confront them and ask to be allowed to join them in their side of the prison. They decide to give them supplies and send them on their way, but the send-off is cut short when Walkers show up in the yard and begin attacking them.

A fight ensues, and things are made worse when the prison sirens go off, attracting more Walkers. The group must split up, with Rick, Glenn, and Daryl fighting to clear the yard and get inside to shut off the sirens. Oscar, who used to work in the power room, escorts them to it after Glenn shuts the gate to keep more from coming in. Hershel and Beth manage to get to safety, but T-Dog is bitten while trying to protect Carol and get her inside. Maggie escorts Lori and Carl inside but they find Walkers have infiltrated the prison interior and flee to the basement.

Over in the town, Andrea continues to get to know the Governor while Michonne pursues her suspicion that there’s something “off” about him. Andrea learns that his true name is Philip, and that he had a wife who is now dead. Michonne inspects the army trucks they procured and notices traces of blood and bullet holes and suspects the Governor’s cover story was false.

At the same time, Merle learns of the location of the farmhouse where Andrea was staying, and asks the Governor for permission to go there and begin searching for his brother Daryl. The Governor believes its a wild goose chase, but agrees to go with him if he finds more concrete evidence that his brother could still be alive. Andrea and Michonne are set to leave and Andrea says goodbye, but is told she and Michonne are always welcome back.

Back at the prison, things are going from bad to worse. When they reach the power room, Rick discovers the identity of their betrayer. Turns out it’s Andrew, one of the prisoners who was believed to have died at the hands of the Walkers, is alive. After Rick is knocked down, Oscar grabs his gun and points it at the two of them. He then shoots Andrew and gives the gun back to Rick. Apparently, trust has now been established between their two groups, and the sirens are shut down.

Elsewhere, T-Dog and Carol are rushing through the tunnels and are cut off by a group of Walkers. T-Dog makes his final stand by rushing the group, and dies screaming while Carol makes it back to the yard. In another room, Carol begins to go into labor and experiences serious bleeding. She asks Maggie to perform a C-section and tells Carl she loves him, and does not appear to make it through the process. However, the baby is alive and well, and Carl tells her to leave so he can shoot Lori before she becomes a Walker. A gunshot is heard and he joins Maggie, and the two go back to the yard. There, they meet up with the rest, and Rick is broken when he sees the baby and realizes Lori is dead.

Summary:
Needless to say, this episode was a real nail biter. Granted, it wasn’t too much of a mystery who the saboteur was, though I did suspect it might have been Oscar for a short while. His knowledge of the power room seemed to me to be an indication that he might be the one behind the whole thing. But at the same time, we never really saw Andrew die so… yeah, not a big mystery!

No, the real tension here came in the form of the split which took place inside the prison. Thanks to the arrival of the Walkers, the group was split three ways, with each one facing its own particular crises. For Rick and his group, there was the task of shutting down the sirens and finding out who betrayed them. But Lori, Maggie and Carl, there was the challenge presented by her imminent delivery. For the rest, it was all about staying alive and getting back to the others. Between all of these perspectives, the full range of the show was displayed. You had betrayal and desperation, life in the midst of death, and terrible sacrifice. All of it was poignant and effective.

Also, the slow build-up of tension over in the town thread is something I really approve of. It’s pretty clear at this point that Michonne’s distrust  of the Governor will bear fruit in time, and that the Governor is likely to take her and Andrea prisoner once the cat’s out of the bag. What’s more, they are letting on that Merle’s efforts to find his brother are likely to lead the Governor to the prison. And we all saw what he did with those army men. Clearly, he believes anyone who doesn’t reside within his walls is a threat that must be dealt with. Clearly, these two threads are destined to collide, and sooner other than later.

But above all, the biggest thing in this episode was the deaths of T-Dog and Lori. In the former case, I wasn’t particularly surprised. As a friend of mine recently pointed out (hi Khaalidah!) T-Dog has remained an underdeveloped character in the series. Since we know nothing about his past and he’s got no one he’s particularly attached to in the group, his loss could not be considered a terrible tragedy. Lori, on the other hand is an essential character, the wife and mother of two other main characters.

Personally, I am entertaining the notion that she is not really dead, mainly because her death at this point in the show goes against material from the comics. However, there have been plenty of diversions from that material already, and who’s to say what the writer’s have planned. Perhaps I’m in denial…

Oh yeah, and there is the matter of the title itself, which as I said earlier I believe I to be a double-entrendre. On the one hand, you have Andrew who is busy at work plotting the demise of the group. He is the literal killer within the walls of the prison. However, the other meaning I believe lies within the Governor himself. Whereas he seems like a stable and caring fellow on the outside, the kind of man who projects a positive image to Andrea and the townspeople, we know him to be a cold-blooded murderer and insane man. This side, however, he keeps tucked away from prying eyes. Make sense? Just one man’s interpretation.

More to follow from this series soon enough. Don’t venture too far…

Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 3

My goodness, how I’ve fallen behind with my reviews of the Walking Dead lately! And there’s really no excuse, not with everything that’s been happening in the series lately. With the third episodes in the series, an all-important element has been introduced into the story arc – that being the dubious man known as “The Governor” and his little fortress town.

As anyone familiar with the comic knows, this is an extremely important development to the evolving story. Whereas it represents a separate plot thread in the story, it merges with that of Rick and the others who are trying to make a life inside the prison facility down the road. But I shant spoil any of that, mainly I want to talk about this episode!

Episode 3: Walk With Me
The episode opens with a helicopter crashing in the forest, and with Andrea and Michonne arriving on scene to witness what happened. They are forced to take cover as a series of vehicles pull up and men jump out, dispatching the Walkers who have been attracted to the scene. After killing them all, one man inspects the dead aboard the chopper who have begun to turn and shoots them all in the head.They then take the pilot, who is wounded but alive, into their custody.

Shortly thereafter, the group of armed men begin to inch closer to the forest where Michonne and Andrea are hiding. In order to stay hidden, Michonne kills her captive zombies by slicing their heads off. They think they are in the clear, but the moment they try to leave, a one armed man gets to them from behind and takes them both prisoner. The one armed man is none other than Merle Dixon, the brother of Daryle Dixon who was lost from the group in the first season.

They have a brief reunion as Merle explains to Michonne that he and Andrea are acquainted. Andrea then passes out from her sickness, and wakes up to find that she and Michonne had been taken to a small town nearby. After Merle explains to them how he survived after cutting off his own hand to free himself of Rick’s cuffs, a man referred to as “The Governor” walks in. He explains to them that they are not prisoners and are free to leave.

However, after seeing the town on the following day, Andrea believes they should stay. In addition to its walls, armed guards, and well-disciplined people, the town appears to be well stocked and peaceful. Michonne does not trust the Governor, but Andrea begins to take an obvious shine to him. One day quickly turns into two, and a rift begins to appear between Andrea and Michonne as the one wants to stay and the other wants to leave.

Meanwhile, the Governor speaks to the lone survivor of the chopper crash and learns where his comrades are waiting for them. He then takes an armed group to ambush them and steal their weapons and supplies. Upon his return, he lies to the townspeople and tells them that the chopper pilot died of natural causes and the entire squad of soldiers were killed by Walkers, and begins distributing all their supplies amongst the people.

Andrea then asks the Governor what his real name is, but doesn’t get an answer. Clearly, there is something of a spark between the two of them, and Andrea seems intent on pursuing it. At the same time, Michonne has clearly caught the eye of one of the Governor’s men, and it seems that whether she likes it or not, they will be staying for the time being. While Michonne remains suspicious, Andrea has been taken in by the town’s happy facade and the Governor’s outward charm.

The episode then ends with the Governor in his private apartment, his bed occupied with the town’s woman who was speaking to Andrea and Michonne from earlier. He then returns to a private den with a glass of whiskey where he sits in front of a row of aquariums which contain the heads of several living Walkers. Amongst them is the head of Welles, the helicopter pilot, and the heads of Michonnes own walkers.

Summary:
Personally, I felt that this was the best episode of the show thus far, with the possible exception of the one where the group finds their way to the CDC. In addition to being central to the overall plot of the show, it was also extremely poignant and entertaining. It begins with the reintroduction of Merle, a solid but unsympathetic character from the first season; the introduction of the Governor and his town, and ends with the revelation that he is far from an endearing character himself.

What’s more, Michonne, who has had very little exposure thus far in the series, really killed it in this episode. All throughout, she maintains her tough, frowny exterior, demanding their weapons and insisting to Andrea that they move on. However, she also shows genuine apprehension as its becoming clear that Andrea wants to stay and that there are some who would like her to stick around too. Though it is only conveyed in a few passing glances between her and one of the Governor’s men, it’s apparent that she will find her own reasons for sticking around soon too!

At the same time, the metaphor of the town couldn’t be more clear. At first, it appears like a happy, secure place, the kind of place a person who is used to scrounging and fighting for every inch would see as an instant paradise. But of course, the terrible truth is soon revealed to us, the audience, with the expectation that it will also become clear to Andrea and Michonne before long. As is intimated several times, it seems unlikely that such a place could exist, or that there is another shoe waiting to drop.

And of course, there is! In addition to being a driven by the desire to protect his people from the Walkers, the Governor is also obsessed with eliminating anyone and everyone he sees as a threat to his community and its way of life. And his arrival could not be more timely now that Shane is dead and the series has lost its main blocking character. All throughout the series, the point has been made that in the face of annihilation, mankind’s darker nature is it’s greatest threat to survival. Because in the end, it’s not simply a matter of staying alive but of preserving humanity’s basic dignity and morality.

So far, this paradox of battling death while simultaneously trying to stay sane and decent was personified in the conflict between Shane and Rick. But from this point onward, it will be represented by the contrast between the Governor’s community and Rick’s people. After all, it’s pretty clear point at this point that the Governor will be looking for them now that he knows that Andrea had companions who might still be alive somewhere. And given what he did to the squad of military personnel, he’s not likely to take to their existence too nicely!

Now on to episode four, which is downloading, err, playing right now! I shall return with more on season three just as soon as I’ve watched it!