# The Walking Dead; 3.15 "This Sorrowful Life" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864 "2013-03-25T00:10:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/21 "2013-03-25T13:23:20Z")
Rick was supposed to show up with Michonne if he decided to take the governors offer. There was no point in going just to tell him to fuck off obviously. Governor had a trap set up to slaughter everyone. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/22 "2013-03-25T13:39:33Z")
> [@misstee](#): > > This. I almost felt more sympathy in this moment than I did when Carl had to dispatch his mother. I was touched, as well. Great scene! ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/23 "2013-03-25T13:41:09Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Well, it’s official - zombies in this zombie apocalypse do indeed have skulls made of foam rubber. 🙂 Oh, yeah, forgot about that, another bad prop shot. This episode was notable in that the writing was stronger than usual, and the production design was worse than usual. > [@shiftless](#): > > 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. It’s fine that Rick is a bad leader, lots of people would be if pressed into a leadership role by circumstance. What irks me to no end is that the people Rick is leading don’t call him out on his incredibly poor judgement, which puts them all in danger. Even worse, they know he’s cracking up mentally and hallucinating; any sensible person would stage an intervention of sorts and put Daryl in charge for a while. > [@shiftless](#): > > 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? That was my impression, that their not showing up would convey the “no deal” idea without putting them in danger. > [@shiftless](#): > > Anyway, great end for Merle. He redeems himself and goes out fighting, the way he lived. Yep, Merle’s a belligerent, asshole, outsider until the end. Killing for other people was all he was good for, so he went out a-killin’. > [@shiftless](#): > > I do have to wonder if everyone is doomed to killed the zombie of one they are closest to in live. It is a staple of the genre. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/24 "2013-03-25T13:46:24Z")
I’m really going to miss Merle. He was a great character! In my opinion, there’s no way the Governor could beat Merle in a straight-up fight. (Merle had been worked over a bit by a couple of minions before going head-to-head with the big Kahuna.) Then again, straight-up fights aren’t the Governor’s style! By the way, how many people did Merle and his merry band of walkers dispatch? ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/25 "2013-03-25T13:54:52Z")
Really solid & intense episode. It was long in the making but it paid off. It does appear that for someone to do a right thing people need to talk. To try and convince the other no matter how, at moments, it all sounded cliché. There were several dialog exchanges but the most impressive one was the last (human) exchange between Merle and Daryl about what it means to have balls and where individuality ends and concern for group overrides it. I think Merle realized at one point what a waste of life is his idea of living especially when he heard it from Michonne. > [@shiftless](#): > > 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? When Rick and Gov met 1st time it was agreed same place two days later. I think… ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/26 "2013-03-25T14:07:36Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > By the way, how many people did Merle and his merry band of walkers dispatch? Eight. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/27 "2013-03-25T14:41:36Z")
This was a much better episode than the last few. I didn’t especially buy Merle’s attempted redemption - his character was bitter and racist and out of control right from the beginning. His self-reflection and thoughtfulness seemed pretty out of the blue and out of character. But even that was not beyond being tolerable, since they were at least doing something. And Michonne got more lines. Lines that made some sense! Hooray! I thought of the posters on the SDMB during the scene of Merle hotwiring the car. They are right - the zombies in Walking Dead are nothing more than nuisances. Dispatching them is trivial, and people can do it with their hands bound and tied to a post, or when the zombies jump on them while they are laying under the dashboard of a car. A little thing that seemed unnecessary was bringing up Daryl’s “tracking” ability. Either he knew that Merle would go to the meeting spot or he never would have found him. How would he “track” all the miles Merle covered in the car otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/28 "2013-03-25T15:10:38Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > This was a much better episode than the last few. I didn’t especially buy Merle’s attempted redemption - his character was bitter and racist and out of control right from the beginning. His self-reflection and thoughtfulness seemed pretty out of the blue and out of character. The key to the redemption, if that’s what it was, is Daryl. It’s fine to be a bitter, racist, violent, macho loon when that’s what a man _should_ be, but not when the other guy you grew up with an raised hell with has straightened up and now looks at you like a wild animal. I think Merle’s observing (and remarking on) Daryl’s abandonment of the crazy, redneck, hedonistic, egoist outlook makes Merle’s decisions in the episode plausible, IMHO. > [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > But even that was not beyond being tolerable, since they were at least doing something. Bingo, by the standards of this show, this was masterful writing. > [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > And Michonne got more lines. Lines that made some sense! Hooray! Pretty sure she’s had more lines the last two episodes than the 12 before that combined. > [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > I thought of the posters on the SDMB during the scene of Merle hotwiring the car. They are right - the zombies in Walking Dead are nothing more than nuisances. Dispatching them is trivial, and people can do it with their hands bound and tied to a post, or when the zombies jump on them while they are laying under the dashboard of a car. This is becoming a real problem. If the zombies are not dangerous, then the show is saying that almost all humans are monsters restrained only by government from murdering each over for no reason. > [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > A little thing that seemed unnecessary was bringing up Daryl’s “tracking” ability. Either he knew that Merle would go to the meeting spot or he never would have found him. How would he “track” all the miles Merle covered in the car otherwise? This is part of the DNA the show shares with _Lost_, fanciful tracking abilities used to facilitate plot conveniences. Daryl knowing that Rick was supposed to take Michonne to the same meeting place, so Merle would do the same, makes much more sense than him tracking Merle there. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/29 "2013-03-25T15:26:18Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > A little thing that seemed unnecessary was bringing up Daryl’s “tracking” ability. Either he knew that Merle would go to the meeting spot or he never would have found him. How would he “track” all the miles Merle covered in the car otherwise? Yeah, they knew exactly where he was going but they ideally had to get to him before that. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/30 "2013-03-25T15:39:56Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > almost all humans are monsters restrained only by government from murdering each over for no reason. I wouldn’t go so far as to say for no reason, but I have a little list, and I’m sure that I am on other folk’s. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/31 "2013-03-25T15:59:30Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Yeah, they knew exactly where he was going but they ideally had to get to him before that. Still doesn’t explain how you track someone who has been driving along roads (let alone walking along pavement). What, does Daryl have superhuman smell powers like Burton Guster? Besides which, the show proved that if you know where someone is going, you can automatically know how to catch them between here and there (see the Governor and Andrea, last week). There is only one path people can take to cover two relatively distant points on this show. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/32 "2013-03-25T16:40:13Z")
Really liked this ep. Merle was awesome and I was really sad to see him go. Did anyone else noticed that he got Ben in the shoot out? Wonder how that’s gonna work out with the kid’s dad. My only issue with the ep was, how in the world could the guy with a knife for a hand lose in a fist fight? ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/33 "2013-03-25T16:42:04Z")
Love the show… but can we all agree that Rick (Lincoln) is a VERY sub par actor? Reedus acts circles around him. Lets kill off Rick and make Daryl (or Rick’s son depending on time acceleration) the leader please. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/34 "2013-03-25T16:51:27Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I wouldn’t go so far as to say for no reason, but I have a little list, and I’m sure that I am on other folk’s. 🙂 Uh oh…better hope there’s not a mild nuisance that somehow destroys civilization, then, they might get to you before you get to them. > [@chargerrich](#): > > Love the show… but can we all agree that Rick (Lincoln) is a VERY sub par actor? He’s certainly sub-par in this particular role. “Stiff” is the word that comes to mind for me; some of that might be having to affect an American accent. Robert Taylor on Longmire (an Aussie) shows the same approach; a slow and flat delivery. I haven’t seen Andrew Lincoln in anything else, he may be better when using his natural accent. Then again, the way the character is written does him no favors. Rick is basically a dullard, his role is to take 40 minutes of agonizing to reach a decision that anyone watching the show has been yelling at him to reach since the cold open. His love for the awful, awful Lori makes him unsympathetic, his fathering skills are questionable at best; at bottom he’s just a bland, dumb, white guy, who’s the lead character because for some reason we need a white guy to be the lead. I’m sure Bryan Cranston or Jon Hamm could make the role come alive, but it’d be an uphill climb. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/35 "2013-03-25T17:02:02Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > Really liked this ep. Merle was awesome and I was really sad to see him go. Did anyone else noticed that he got Ben in the shoot out? Wonder how that’s gonna work out with the kid’s dad. My only issue with the ep was, how in the world could the guy with a knife for a hand lose in a fist fight? Was it that guy? I thought it was the kid who’s mom didn’t want him to train with guns because he had asthma. And Merle got the shit kicked out of him before the Governor did anything, plus the guy is actually like a head taller than everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/36 "2013-03-25T17:17:13Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Was it that guy? I thought it was the kid who’s mom didn’t want him to train with guns because he had asthma. And Merle got the shit kicked out of him before the Governor did anything, plus the guy is actually like a head taller than everyone else. Pretty sure it was Ben. It was the person who go in front of the shot when Merle was aiming at the Guv. A quick Google search seems to support this. I didn’t watch The Talking Dead last night but people are saying that they confirmed he was dead on it? Edit: And apparently people are saying that’s who Merle was eating? I don’t know about that and unfortunately I deleted it from DVR so I can’t go back and look ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/37 "2013-03-25T17:31:48Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > Pretty sure it was Ben. It was the person who go in front of the shot when Merle was aiming at the Guv. A quick Google search seems to support this. I didn’t watch The Talking Dead last night but people are saying that they confirmed he was dead on it? > > Edit: And apparently people are saying that’s who Merle was eating? I don’t know about that and unfortunately I deleted it from DVR so I can’t go back and look The Talking Dead listed “Ben” as one of the departed in last night’s episode. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/38 "2013-03-25T17:32:08Z")
I’d forgotten who Ben was, but he was identified by name in the _In Memoriam_ section of Talking Dead, along with a slow motion replay of a bullet hitting him. We never really see who Merle was eating, although I suppose someone could sort of identify him by his clothes. ---
**Author:** ![EMCEE\_98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@EMCEE\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EMCEE_98)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/39 "2013-03-25T18:04:45Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > Uh oh…better hope there’s not a mild nuisance that somehow destroys civilization, then, they might get to you before you get to them. > > He’s certainly sub-par in this particular role. “Stiff” is the word that comes to mind for me; some of that might be having to affect an American accent. Robert Taylor on Longmire (an Aussie) shows the same approach; a slow and flat delivery. I haven’t seen Andrew Lincoln in anything else, he may be better when using his natural accent. > > Then again, the way the character is written does him no favors. Rick is basically a dullard, his role is to take 40 minutes of agonizing to reach a decision that anyone watching the show has been yelling at him to reach since the cold open. His love for the awful, awful Lori makes him unsympathetic, his fathering skills are questionable at best; at bottom he’s just a bland, dumb, white guy, who’s the lead character because for some reason we need a white guy to be the lead. I’m sure Bryan Cranston or Jon Hamm could make the role come alive, but it’d be an uphill climb. IMHO, Taylor pulls off the “tortured tough guy” role MUCH better than Lincoln. The writing is much better on Longmire than TWD though, by far. As an aside, Motorhead and Ted Nugent in one episode? SA-WEEET. _Turn It Up_ fit that situation soooo well. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864/40 "2013-03-25T18:16:08Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > Pretty sure it was Ben. It was the person who go in front of the shot when Merle was aiming at the Guv. A quick Google search seems to support this. I didn’t watch The Talking Dead last night but people are saying that they confirmed he was dead on it? Wow, I totally missed that. That should set up some tough decisions for Tyreese to make, because naturally Ben’s dad will be screaming for vengeance. > [@EMCEE\_98](#): > > IMHO, Taylor pulls off the “tortured tough guy” role MUCH better than Lincoln. Agreed; Taylor’s slow, flat delivery reads as “laconic”, Lincoln’s as “kinda stupid”. > [@EMCEE\_98](#): > > The writing is much better on Longmire than TWD though, by far. Overall, I think they’re about the same, but Longmire gives its lead character much better material to worth with than TWD does. > [@EMCEE\_98](#): > > As an aside, Motorhead and Ted Nugent in one episode? SA-WEEET. _Turn It Up_ fit that situation soooo well. 🆒 Hell yeah! In a perfect world, though, the Motorhead track would have been “Overkill”. That drum track alone would have pulled in every zombie in a three-mile radius. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-3-15-this-sorrowful-life-open-spoilers/653864.md?page=3)