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The Walking Dead: I Ain't a Judas

Daryl: “I ain’t scared of that prick.”
Merle: “You all should be. That truck through the fence thing, that’s just him ringing the door bell.”

This was not my favourite episode. It was another lull, setting things up for the season finale. I'm just wondering what the body count in the next two weeks is going to be.

The survival thing to do would be to merge, to figure out how to survive together but adversity doesn't always bring out the best in people. The Governor is hell bent on destroying our little group and he's willing to destroy his dream to do it because even if Woodbury wins this fight the townspeople will not be able to pretend that it is all okay. They will be going to gun down children and that certainly isn't a civilized thing to do. The chances are that many of them won't come back even if they do win. I couldn't help thinking that this situation isn't much different than most wars. Two crazy men (or more) going at each other while everyone around them dies. Although I'm not too happy with Milton right now, I did love when he said that he wouldn't have done what the Governor did at the prison because it was just posturing. It seems that a lot of what was happening in this episode was posturing.

Milton is an interesting character. He is obviously bright and must know that the Governor is messing up pretty badly but he is either too frightened or too blindly loyal to say or do anything. He went straight to the Governor with Andrea's plan but I wonder how far he is willing to go? The allusion to the Gestapo was interesting as many supposedly good people did awful things under orders during the rule of the Nazis. Will Milton continue to do things he finds stupid and immoral or will he finally grow a spine? We certainly don't seem to be able to count on Andrea to take on the Governor.

Andrea reports that our little group is broken which is ironic because if anything is broken, it's Woodbury, she just can't or won't see it. I find myself getting more annoyed with Andrea each week. I didn't even like the way she was walking around the town in this episode. She seems to think that she is the key to saving everyone but when she had her chance to end things by killing the Governor she walked away. I'm not sure that I could kill someone in cold blood like that but I am pretty sure that Andrea is going to deeply regret that decision. It was interesting that Andrea thought she would come back to open arms. It just shows the depth of her denial. She is clearly "with" the Governor and she hasn't been through many of the losses they've suffered. Axel was more a part of the group than she would be. But Andrea seems to want to hold on to her skewed version of reality. Even Michonne telling her that the Governor had sent Merle to kill her didn't seem to change things.

My favourite part of the episode was Hershel taking on Rick. It is about time that Hershel said something. He is a smart man and someone should listen to him. Even Carl asked his dad to step down. Rick didn't seem too pleased about it but it is obvious to everyone that he needs a rest, that he's unstable. Rick is going to take Michonne and Carl out on a run when he's not sure he can trust her and it will be Carl's first. Of course if I was going anywhere I would take Michonne. She can take care of herself and anyone around her. What will be left at the prison, though, is a volatile mix of Daryl, Merle and Glenn. I'm pretty sure that Maggie isn't too fond of Merle either, so things could get really interesting and that's without the Governor showing up.

I can't decide if I am looking forward to next week or dreading it.

Bits and Pieces

The Governor does have men surrounding the place. They really are in a jam-again.

The town has several people with chronic conditions. As much as I dislike Woodbury, if not for the Governor, these people would probably be dead. It would be difficult for anyone who wasn't fit/healthy/fast to survive without help.

I'm not sure what was more surprising, the fact that Merle could quote the Bible or that he missed the library more than anything else at Woodbury.

Tyreese and his group are now with the Governor. What a lost opportunity.

So Noah's mom took his BB gun away. I bet she regretting that decision now.

Things I could live without - the Governor’s eye, although kudos on the special effects. The zombie dismemberment and stomping. The singing. I really dislike the singing.

Quotes

Hershel: “You once said this wasn’t a democracy, now you have to live up to that.”

Carl: “If I say something will you promise not to be mad.” (Every parent knows that this means bad news.)

The Governor: “Adolescence, it’s a twentieth century invention.”

Glenn: “I wouldn’t ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you.”

Merle: “You’re the farmer, Hershel.”
Hershel: “And you’re the black sheep, Merle.”

Carol: “This is our home.”
Daryl: “This is a tomb.”

Milton: “Do you really want me to do that or is this some kind of test?”

Merle: “This whole hunting you down thing, that was just business, carrying out orders.”
Michonne: “Like the Gestapo.”
Merle: “Ya, exactly.” (Only Merle would not get that this was a bad thing to agree with.)

Michonne: “You chose a warm bed over a friend.”

Daryl: “I’ll tell you what, next time you see Philip tell him I’m going to take his other eye.”

5 comments:

  1. And again they play sitting ducks at the prison. What do they do all day long (except singing)? What`s their plan for the future?

    Finally Hershel talked some sense into Rick. I couldn`t take it anymore. He visits crazytown and doesn`t think once about his children. Does he even care/know that his son had to shoot his mother?

    Merle merged with the group quite quickly and Andrea is just pathetic and annoying.

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  2. The writers really annoyed me in this one. I enjoyed the episode but it made me SO mad that neither Glen nor Maggie didn't just tell Andrea that The Governor almost RAPED her. I'm sure had that been revealed, she wouldn't have gone back to Woodbury. It felt too much like the writers were stretching out the drama just for the sake of things. Really the torture and almost-rape would have been the first thing out of normal people's mouths!

    And the final Andrea scene should have been MUCH more impactful. Instead, it felt muddled (because that's how unclear her motivations are) and not the turning point moment the writers would have liked.

    I'm disappointed because this has been a stunning and harrowing season as far as I'm concerned. But they've been ruining things since they came back from hiatus. Now I'm afraid the finale will be anticlimactic and messy. Please be epic again next week show!

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  3. This season has 16 episodes, so there are still 5 left.

    Had to laugh at Michionne telling Andrea that she told the group "nothing". It's really true - she responds to even the simplest questions with a grumpy face. At least she's finally starting to be of some use....leaving Andrea behind as the worst character in the show (and, possibly, on any TV show).

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  4. There's no question that Andrea has done a number of things I haven't liked, but she could very well be the one that saves the group this time. And her grief over her sister got to me.

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  5. Doc, you summed up my thoughts perfectly. Especially regarding "crazy men starting wars" and the Andrea business. I find her actions frustrating, but still somewhat understandable. She just wants to carve out some kind of sustainable existence in this nightmare landscape and doesn't want innocent people to die, but she isn't quite ready to kill the living to keep everyone safe. It fits with her previous decision to side with Dale in the great Randall debate back on the farm. I think she's going to have a change of heart before all is said and done. Maybe once she finally gets the full scope of information, she'll be ready to act. (I, too, was irritated that no one disclosed the threatened rape.)

    Gross bit I couldn't even watch: the curb stomping. I know it was just a walker, but as soon as I saw Andrea with the rock, American History X sprang into my brain and I had to look away. That movie scarred me. I barely remember the movie as a whole, but that one scene and the memory of my very visceral horror has been seared into my brain.

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