Only two more episodes left. The Governor’s still preparing a major assualt on the prison, but his attack zombies were torched. Oh, and he has Andrea tied to a chair in his torture dungeon.
Part Nick Cave song, part zombie show. Sounds exciting. Looking forward to it.
Glen proposed to Maggie and Merle died & became a zombie (& was promptly put down by Daryl). I figured we’d have to wait until next week to see zombie Merle.
Holy shit.
What DigitalC said.
Norman Reedus had me tearing up.
On the Gov/Milton ‘spark’ theory - Merle at least still walked like Merle.
And letting Merle rise was possibly one the Gov’s most dickish moves.
This. I almost felt more sympathy in this moment than I did when Carl had to dispatch his mother.
Well, at least they didn’t Soprano’s us on Merle’s demise.
And I could almost swear I could see the tiniest “spark” of release/calm/peace/when Daryl was stabbing Zombie!Merle, releasing him from the tormented existence as a walker
Will someone please change the title of this to “This Sorrowful LIFE”?
As pissed off as I was over last week’s episode, that’s how much I liked, no, LOVED this episode. Wasn’t perfect, some parts might have been better perhaps, but they aimed high, they had a plan, and it worked. Instead of having long stretches where character development was supposed to go, IT WAS THERE. They TALKED to each other, their motivations made sense within the story, nothing was dragged out unnecessarily, and no one popped up out of the bushes like the killer from an 80’s teen slasher flick. I appreciated the acting tonight as well. Michael Rooker was excellent, and Norman Reedus continues to be one of the major reasons to watch the show. I was going to list others, but there wasn’t anyone who didn’t turn in a great performance tonight, which shows what can happen when the writers give them something to work with.
That was some damn good television.
Also, this was episode 3.15, not 3.14.
I’m glad to see it again came from the new show runner. I think it’s the first time he’s written for the large groups, having previously written 18 Miles Out and Clear. He’s good. I like that he can not lose his characterization ability among multiple characters. I know the plots are laid out before he gets to write, but I am starting to get a similar feeling as I did to Moffat under RTD on Doctor Who. I can’t wait for the next Gimple episode.
I’d had the Merle --> Walker thing spoiled for me, and the screenshot I saw clearly had Daryl there, but even so, I have to say it again, Norman Reedus knocked it out of the park. The pain and sadness that he can so clearly portray on his face broke my heart.
And now the 'Guvna has three members of the Rictatorsh…Ricmocracy? Gunning for him…
Glenn, Maggie, and Daryl…
All with perfectly valid reasons to want him dead (or undead), of the three, I think that Daryl has the most compelling reason to off the Guvna, yes it’s horrible what both Glenn and Maggie went through, but killing someone for the sole purpose of letting them rise as a walker is beyond the pale…
And since Daryl is the group’s best tracker (closely followed by Michonne in skill level it seems) he stands the best chance of tracking and eliminating the Guvna, maybe he could kill him, let him turn, then give the walker-Guvna the “Michonne Pet” treatment, poetic justice, perhaps, but is Daryl dark enough to do that?
One of the stronger episodes the show has done, in that no one was required to act like a moron to advance the plot, and what the characters were up to made logical sense, was consistent with the characters, and wasn’t motivated by insanity, a writing crutch.
Speaking of consistency, Rick continues to be a terrible, terrible leader, by making the wrong call, then waffling on it. When he’s decisive he’s almost always wrong, and he’s seldom decisive. Thus, he combines the two worst attributes a bad leader possesses, poor judgement and indecisiveness. It was an incredible display of restraint on the group’s behalf (save for Carl) to never ask Rick to step down as leader.
Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker got to show off their chops, and demonstrate how much more compelling their characters are/were than our leads. Carol didn’t get much to do, but was impactful nonetheless.
The continuity department had a gaffe, there’s a shot of the driver’s side of the car Merle took in which it has the stock wheels instead of the fancy chrome ones.
There’s also a shot when Merle is on the ground taking a beating when his knife-hand wobbles like the rubber prop that it is. The production design is usually pretty solid to great on this show, surprised to have two goofs like that in one episode.
Michonne? Rick has pretty good reasons to gun for him also. Hell, they all do really.
Also, and this kinda bothered me for some reason, i can buy that an old ass car like that had an alarm because of the rims but it most certainly would not have a beeping door.
It also had a fancy-looking aftermarket stereo Merle was playing Motorhead on (great choice by the show, there…the name Motorhead is slang for meth addict, which Merle is, and it’s something he’d probably listen to), further justifying having an alarm.
Well, it’s official - zombies in this zombie apocalypse do indeed have skulls made of foam rubber. 
This is my biggest beef with the show. How many more times do we have to watch the same Rick move, head down, blank stare, before glancing up and looking around him like he is waking up and then making the worst possible choice from the menu in front of him. Then the same sequence a little later as he changes his mind. It ruins the plot that they need Rick’s poor leadership to create tension.
Can anyone explain what was going on when Merle led the walkers to the Woodbery crowd? Clearly the Guv and company was waiting for Rick at their former meeting place and clearly they were prepared to kill Rick and anyone else who showed up but I don’t remember anyone talking about a meeting specifically. Nobody at the prison went to the meeting except for Merle. So I guess when Rick changed his mind (again) the decision was to just blow off the meeting altogether?
Anyway, great end for Merle. He redeems himself and goes out fighting, the way he lived. I do have to wonder if everyone is doomed to killed the zombie of one they are closest to in live.