I’m so glad that The Walking Dead has morphed into such riveting and gripping television this year. I enjoyed the show’s first two seasons, but this year has been a whole other level of brilliance. The show is brutal and uncompromising, and this mid-season finale was a pretty good attempt at book-ending the first half of the year.
The coolest sequence was undoubtedly the superb fight scene between Michonne and The Governor. Everything from Michonne’s discovery (and subsequent slicing) of Penny to The Governor smashing her through the zombie displays (and losing his eye) had me on the edge of my seat. The sequence was fantastically produced and filmed. And while Andrea had to ruin it and Michonne could have easily explained everything instead of holding her tongue yet again, I was still so very impressed.
Rick’s rescue mission was also expertly handled. I just loved the different worlds colliding and I can’t wait to see where they take things next. I’m annoyed that they dragged out Andrea recognizing Rick and the others but I get that they have to leave material for the second half of the year.
And finally the ending was a good one. While I would have liked a more jaw-dropping sequence, I’m still intrigued by the Governor having the two brothers Merle and Dale face off. The latter has become one of my favorite characters so I’m definitely invested in his plight. The rousing music was also on-point and incredible, making the scene much more epic than it actually was.
Zombie Bites
– Interesting opening: a new band of survivors stumbling onto the prison.
– The Governor and his chained walker daughter continues to be immensely sick and beyond disturbing.
– Glen ripping off the walker’s arm and giving Maggie one of his bones to use as a weapon: amazing.
– The creepy prisoner calling Maggie a lesbian was funny.
– Rick seeing Shane was a very bizarre moment. I guess he’s going to crack soon?
– Carl was extremely impressive saving the new band of survivors.
Conclusion
While not perfect, this was an excellent hour that did a bang-up job of setting up the second half of the year.
Nad Rating
B+