Well that was weird.
I don’t think anyone expected The Walking Dead‘s finale to be this low-key. It’s been such an exhilarating, tension-soaked season that I was sure this finale would be an absolute massacre of carnage and death. That’s not to say this wasn’t a good hour, I think I just wanted more.
My biggest beef with the episode is that we didn’t get an all-out war between The Governor and Rick’s gang. We’d been building towards this epic collision all season long so it feels cheap of the writers to deny us that battle. That’s simply not what satisfying storytelling is all about. You gotta give your viewers something people!
The Governor has been such a polarizing character this year. He’s been an incredibly frightening villain to be sure, but I’m not sure I totally get why he snapped here and killed his entire army. Sure it’s convenient from a storytelling perspective (the numbers aren’t an issue anymore), but it doesn’t make the most sense when you look at the character and his level-headed choices. Nevertheless, it was an admittedly powerful moment that had me suitably shocked. I do wish he was killed off though; I’m not sure my nerves can handle another season of him terrorizing our poor prison folk.
Andrea was undoubtedly the highlight of the hour. Her character had been completely decimated this year thanks to lazy plotting and unconvincing motivations. Thankfully, she got to go out on a high note by blowing her own brains out after getting bit by Milton. The girl’s survived tougher fights unscathed, but I guess it was necessary to kill her off for failing to take out The Governor when she had the chance. I think I’ll miss you Andrea, sort of.
Zombie Bites
– I really loved Milton leaving Andrea a tool for escaping. In fact, their entire experience in the finale was suspenseful and well-executed.
– Carl coldly shooting the kid was fantastic. As brutal as it was, I totally understood his decision and I was fascinated by his rationalization as he scolded his dad for letting dangerous people live and suffering the consequences.
– Supremely creepy moment with the woman hiding under the corpse as The Governor slaughtered everyone.
– Watching Carol and Beth killing Walkers was insanely satisfying. These two should kick ass more often.
– The fact that Andrea died in Michonne’s arms broke my heart. The writers really missed a golden opportunity here by not further developing these two women and their relationship. A pity.
– Is it wrong that my first thought when the Woodbury people arrived to the prison was “how is Rick going to feed them all?”
Conclusion
An entertaining yet somewhat disappointing finale from The Walking Dead.
Nad Rating
B-
I am utterly devastated by Andrea's death 🙁 She was my favorite character (until the writers messed her up this season) and this entire finale was HER hour. Michonne breaking down and crying while she blows her brains out was brutal. I'm also surprised there was no closure to The Governor storyline (really thought we'd see him die in the finale) but other than that I actually loved this episode! He is such a terrifying villain, I love it.
The last shot was really epic with Rick letting all those people in and then looking up at the prison bridge and actually NOT seeing Lori this time. Very satisfying moment. Season 4, here I come!