The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 7: When The Dead Come Knocking

May I come in?  I brought baby formula

From the preview they showed last week we knew that Rick was going to let Michonne into the prison.  But it was still great to see him delay the rescue.  I thought it was interesting that Carl shot first.  I think he forced his father into action.  It wasn't until Carl killed two zombies that Rick came out and started shooting. 

Once they got Michonne inside Rick took her katana away.  She was not happy about that (I think it makes her feel safe to be armed, especially when surrounded by strangers that could pose a threat).  It was reminiscent of the Governor.  Rick promises not to hurt her unless she causes trouble.  Michonne gives them enough information to satisfy the group on how she found them.  She tells them about Woodbury, the Governor (Jim Jones wannabe is the perfect way to describe him) and that someone working for him kidnapped the Asian guy and the girl he was with.  She tells them they can sneak into Woodbury.  Hershel patches her up and Rick along with Daryl and Oscar join Michonne for the rescue mission. 

Some thoughts on Michonne: How did she find the prison?  I don't think Maggie or Glenn said anything, unless that scene was cut out of the last episode. 

She didn't mention Merle or Andrea.  My guess is she knows this is Andrea's group.  Andrea mentioned that she had told Michonne everything about herself.  This makes me think she went into detail about the group.  I think Michonne is a very cautious person.  Her experience in Woodbury would just be proof that other survivors are not to be easily trusted.  I hope they let Michonne join their group.  She is brave, resourceful, smart, and has amazing sword skills. I understand why both groups seem hesitant to trust each other, but she did seek them out and bring the baby formula.  That should show some level of trust.


The return of Carol.  Carl wept again for his mother.  The first time we have seen him show emotion over her death since she died.  Michonne sees how this group is a family.  As Rick is preparing to leave he takes Carl aside and they talk about how Carl had to shoot Lori.  The kid seems to be holding up well.  He even gives baby girl a name, Judith (after his 3rd grade teacher).



Who likes science?

We finally found out what was Milton's experiment.  He is trying to see if any memory is left in a person after they become a zombie.  Is there really a point?  Zombies are technically dead.  It's a little weird that Milton never saw a transformation.  He must really enjoy living in Woodbury and being important since it sounds like he didn't have friends or family before the zombiepocalypse.  No wonder he is willing to follow the Governor.  I wonder how much experience he has had with zombies if he thinks they won't attack just because you show them a picture of their family.  Experiment failed.



It's torture time with Merle Dixon

Merle has Glenn with his arms duct taped to a chair in one room and Maggie in another. Merle mentions that he remembers Glenn as sneaky and unafraid of the zombies. 

This is the first time anyone other than Maggie has alluded to Glenn's bravery.  He is always putting himself in dangerous situations for the group.  It's interesting that Merle seems to notice that more than anybody from the original group. He gets mad at Glenn for leaving him behind in Atlanta (dude can really hold a grudge).  When Merle asks Glenn who is in his group Glenn mentions all the people from season one. 
This includes those who died (Amy, Jim, and Jackie) and Andrea.  At the mention of Andrea's name Merle knows that Glenn is lying.  So he beats him up.  Maggie is hearing all of this from the next room.

When he can't get an answer from Glenn he threatens him with a zombie.  When Glenn still won't give up his friends he lets the zombie go. 

Glenn pushes the zombie with his feet then breaks his chair by slamming it into the wall.  The zombie tries to bite Glenn's arm but gets a mouthful of duct tape.  Glenn brakes the arm of the chair and stabs the zombie with it.  Why Glenn is awesome: He is resourceful.  He can take a beating from a racist redneck.  He can kill a zombie while tied to a chair.  Boy has got some skills.

Looks like Woodbury is playing good cop/bad cop with the captives.  Of course the Governor is talking to Maggie.  He likes the ladies and likes to play the charming politician.  Good thing Maggie is nothing like Andrea or she would have given in a few seconds into the conversation.  When the charm doesn't work he forces Maggie to take her top and bra off or he'll cut off Glenn's hand.  If the Governor told me to take my clothes off I would refuse.  I think Maggie should choke him with her bra.  The Governor has crossed so many lines I shouldn't be surprised that sexual assault would be part of his torture game but I was still a little surprised and incredibly repulsed.  I would rather be shot in the head than be touched by the Governor.  Maggie doesn't brake so easily; this is why she is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters.

When the Governor sees that neither interrogation is working he takes Maggie (still topless) into Glenn's room. He points a gun at Maggie but Glenn won't budge.  He points the gun at Glenn and Maggie tells him that their group is in the prison.  I hated how he tried to soothe Maggie.  It was sickening.  If you didn't think the Governor was crazy and sick before you definitely know for certain now.

Grimes gang to the rescue

The rescue party must be in the "red zone."  They brake into a crazy hermit's house who doesn't seem to be aware that there are zombies in the world.

How did he not run into zombies around his house?  Or was he just plain crazy?  It seems hard to believe he lasted that long without any zombie encounters.  The crazy hermit starts yelling and tries to run for his front door where all the zombies are waiting.  Michonne stabs him with her katana.  She just proved that she will do anything to survive, that includes killing anyone that gets in her way.  The group then throws the hermit's body out the front door to distract the zombies while they escape out the back.


Final thoughts

The Governor seems surprised to find that Rick and the gang were able to clear the prison out.  Apparently Merle told him it couldn't be done.  This does not bode well for the Grimes gang.  This makes them seem like an even bigger threat to the Governor.  He took out those military guys because he saw them as a threat.  I get the feeling most of the people in Woodbury don't have experience killing walkers.  Now he comes to find out about a group that cleared out an entire prison filled with walkers.  The Governor no likey.


Where do Merle's loyalties lie?  He seems to shift between Woodbury and Daryl. He seems completely loyal to the Governor.  But when any information on Daryl comes his way he changes into this man obsessed with finding his brother.  The question is how will he feel about Daryl once he sees him again.  Daryl has changes a lot in the 11 months or so that they have been apart.  He is confident and a part of the group.  He's also Rick's second in command.  We know Merle does not like Rick since Rick is the one who handcuffed him in the first place.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 6: Hounded

Look out below! 

Merle goes out with three other guys to look for Michonne. They stumble upon a message from her "Go Back" spelled out in zombie pieces.  A guy named Neil figures it out.  Merle can't pronounce Neil's last name so he just calls him Neil.  Ah, those rednecks can't pronounce foreign sounding names.  They hear a rustling and Merle taunts Michonne by saying she can't take all four of them on. Then she jumps down from a tree chops off one of the guy's head and stabs evil Glenn then runs off when Merle shoots at her.

They start to go after her when she comes back for a second go. She slices at Neil and fights Merle and both fall to the ground. Then a few zombies join the party. Neil kills two, Merle stabs one with his bayonet arm, and Michonne slices open a zombie and gets zombie guts all over her. By the time Merle and Neil have regrouped she's gone. Neil wants to keep going after her but Merle says she is as good as dead since she is injured and going into the dangerous "red zone." Neil says he won't lie to the Governor so Merle shoots him in the head. You think Neil would have known by now how Merle would react.

Michonne grabs her stuff and heads out when she comes upon a group of zombies. She's about to pull out her sword when they just pass by her. She looks down at her top covered in zombie guts. The smell of dead guts has masked her own smell.

Andrea decides that she likes Woodbury and wants to be a part of it.  She even admits that she liked zombie gladiators.  She volunteers to keep watch on the wall.  The Governor okays it and wants her to learn to use a bow and arrow.  Andrea is teamed up with a teenage girl that had to kill her dad and brother.  They bond over having to kill relatives that have turned into zombies.  A walker approaches the wall and the girl shoots and misses twice.  Andrea jumps down and stabs the zombie in the head with her knife.  The girl yells at her that going over the wall is against the rules.  Andrea is no longer going to be working security on the wall.  And then she hops into bed with the Governor.


Bad connection

Rick answers the phone and we hear a woman's voice. She tells him that they have been calling that number since the zombiepocalypse started. She is somewhere safe but won't tell Rick where that is. He wants to go to there. He begs for her to let his group join them. He has a son and a new born. She doesn't trust him but says she will call back in two hours after she has spoken to her group. Rick just wants to plead his case. Rick cleans himself up and checks in on the group. He gives orders and leaves without looking at the baby. He goes back to the phone and waits the two hours there. The phone rings and a man is on the other end. He wants to know more about Rick. Has he killed anyone? Yes, four. But they were all in self defense. How did your wife die? I don't want to talk about it. Click.

Hershel hobbles down to Rick's new room and tells him he is a good listener and is there for Rick. Rick doesn't want to talk about Lori but he does tell Hershel about the woman on the phone. Hershel picks up the phone and listens for a dial tone. Nothing. He asks Rick some more questions and he seems to think Rick has lost it. But Rick wants to go to this safe haven where the lady on the phone lives. He won't listen to reason.

Daryl shares a moment with Carl. He tells Carl about how his own mother died. She smoked in bed and it caught on fire and she was burnt down to nothing. 

Carl tells Daryl that he had to shoot his own mother.  Daryl and Carl both tell each other how sorry they are that they lost their mothers.  Daryl loves to pull on viewers heartstrings.  While Daryl, Carl, and Oscar where clearing out the rest of the cell block they kill a zombie that had Carol's knife in its neck.

Is Rick really talking to someone or is his brain giving him what he wants the most at the moment. My suspicions seemed to be confirmed when another woman calls back and calls Rick by his name and tells him he needs to talk about his wife's death. It is Rick's brain telling him what he needs to do so he can heal. When the phone rings for a third time another woman's voice is on the line. This time Rick recognizes the voice. It is Lori. She tells him he spoke to Amy, Jim and Jackie earlier. Rick realizes it is all in his head. But he finally gets to have the conversation with Lori that he wanted. He tells her he loves her and that all he wanted was to find someplace safe for her and Carl.


Let's go shopping

Maggie and Glenn go on a run into a nearby town for some ammo and more baby formula. Michonne spots them and hides behind a car. As they are packing up to go Merle shows up.

I'm not crazy, really I'm not.

He wants them to take him to see Daryl. Glenn says he will go back and tell Daryl to come back for Merle. He doesn't trust Merle and I don't blame him. Merle shoots at them and grabs Maggie at gunpoint. He forces Glenn to drive them back to Woodbury. Merle knocks on the door and interrupts the Governor and Andrea in bed. Oh Andrea, why oh why do you have the worst taste in men?

Daryl is angrily playing with Carol's knife.  He is still processing her death.  He decides to kill the zombies that have been pushing against a door in the hallway. 

Reunited and it feels so good.

He swings the door open and is ready to attack when he finds Carol.  I was hoping it would be her.  We never did see a body so I thought there would be a good possibility of finding her alive.  Carol and Daryl reunited!

Rick goes back out into the light and joins Carl, Beth, Hershel and baby girl in their living quarters. He holds his baby girl for the first time. They walk out into the courtyard when Rick notices something by the gate. He walks to the gate and we see a line of zombies pushing against the fence and in the middle we see Michonne with a shopping basket filled with baby formula (the basket that Glenn and Maggie left behind). She and Rick just stare at each other.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 5: Say the Word

Dads gone wild (with creepy zombie activity)

Two episodes back we learned that the Governor has a daughter.  He spoke of her in the present tense so we were left to assume that she is alive.  This week we got to meet her, sort of.  The show began with the Governor brushing his daughter's hair.  A nice little father/daughter bonding moment.  But all was not well.   We hear the all too familiar sound of hungry growls and then a chunk of the little girl's skull comes off as the brush moves down her scalp.  That's right ladies and gentlemen, the Governor's daughter is a zombie.  Looks like he took a page out of Hershel's book.  Nothing says crazy love like keeping around your undead relatives.  These men really need to learn to let go.  Zombie Penny starts to get bitey so the Governor ties up her straight jacket and puts a bag over her head (cooing softly to her all the time just like a crazy person would).  In she goes to a closet or Harry Potter's cupboard.

Back at the prison yard Rick is still reeling from the death of Lori.  He doesn't respond to anyone or anything.  We hear baby girl's cry but they sound muffled.  Daryl tries to talk to him but Rick doesn't respond.  Rick stumbles back into the prison, picks up an axe and goes on a zombie killing spree.  There's no better way to deal with your grief during a zombiepocalypse than killing some zombies.  And so Rick does so in a feral way.  From this moment on he is not the Rick Grimes of before.  He is a crazed zombie killer in a prison filled with zombies.


Daryl takes the reigns

Noticing that Rick is in no position to lead at the moment, second in command Daryl Dixon steps up.  Hershel tells the group that the baby needs food soon or she will die.  Daryl decides to go on a scavenging trip for baby formula. 

Glenn and Maggie volunteer to go with him.  He leaves instructions with Beth to take care of Carl since he lost his mother and his father is unavailable at the moment.  The three are getting ready to go when they realize they can't get through to the next town in the car.  Daryl can only take one person with him on his bike so Maggie goes.

Glenn stays behind and starts digging graves for Lori, T-Dog, and Carol.  As he is finishing up with one grave the two prisoners walk up and ask what they can do.  He tells them that he is digging graves for family not friends.  He leaves them to finish digging the graves.  He runs into Hershel on his way back to the yard and they have a little chat about T-Dog.  We learn that T-Dog went around offering rides to the elderly when all hell broke loose.  Aw T-Dog, a friend to the elderly.  Glenn then goes inside the prison in search of Rick.  He carefully walks through the halls stepping over the walkers that Rick has killed on his rampage.  He finds Rick with bloody axe in hand still in a daze.  Glenn walks up to him and tries to snap him out of it.  Rick still doesn't see him.  Glenn reaches a hand out to him and Rick attacks.  He doesn't see Glenn, just another threat.  Yet some part of Rick's brain recognizes Glenn because he doesn't kill him.  Glenn realizes he can't get through to Rick and leaves him.

Maggie and Daryl find a daycare/preschool and scavenge for supplies.  Daryl notices a wall with paper hand prints on the wall.  One of them said Sofie, a reminder of Sophia.  They hear a noise coming from one of the rooms.  The sound is coming from behind a set of doors in a kitchen.  I was bracing myself for a zombie baby or zombie toddler and hoping the show would not cross that line.  I was never so glad to see a possum in all of my life.  As soon as Daryl shot it I said dinner about two seconds before the character did.  Aw, Daryl and I think alike.

When Daryl and Maggie arrive and prepare a baby bottle.  Carl is holding the crying baby.  Daryl swoops in and grabs baby girl. She automatically calms down (what girl wouldn't) and he gives her the bottle.  Daryl, you big softy.  I think ovaries around the world just skipped a beat.  Daryl asks Carl what they should name the baby.  The kid rattles off all of the names of the deceased female characters.  It was sad and morbid.  And I just kept thinking those are the worst names ever.  No one should have the weight of all those dead people on them.  They should call her Hope since she is the hope for the future.  Later on we see Daryl leave a Cherokee Rose on Carol's grave.  The flower that was supposed to mean hope for the return of Sophia now adorns her mother's grave.


Michonne looks at the man behind the curtain

Woodbury is getting ready for a celebration.  They seem to be celebrating the establishment of Woodbury.  The Governor gives a speech where he mentions that this all began with a few people in an apartment.  This is very similar to Rick and the gang.  They were just a small group of people coming together to survive this terrible ordeal.  The Governor has succeeded in building a community (something that Rick keeps trying to do but has not quite been able to achieve).  While everyone else is drinking and playing, Michonne is investigating.  She sneaks into the Governor's house and grabs her sword.  Then she tries to find out what is really going on in creepyville.  She finds what looks like a journal.  In it are plans for creating a society.  One of the last pages has a list of names ending with Penny.  The rest of the journal is just a bunch of slash marks.  This is yet more proof of the craziness in the Governor's head.  He must have snapped shortly after his daughter became a zombie.   She hears a sound behind a door and tries to pry open the lock.  She is interrupted by the Governor, Milton, and Merle.  They have come in to grab some more drinks.  Michonne overhears Milton complaining that the celebration is using up all the power from the generators that he needs for his experiment.  We aren't told what the experiment is, only that it will take him ten days.  I'm a little worried about this experiment.  We know Milton likes to mess with the walkers.  The last thing they need is for the walkers to become sentient.

Michonne continues her investigation outside.  She stumbles upon a gated area that is holding back a few zombies.  She unlocks the door and lets them out.  Then she uses her katana to slice through those zombies.  She smiles the entire time.  It appears that the only time that Michonne is happy is when she is killing zombies. 

This is kind of creepy but I can see that she might have turned her fear of death by walker into a sort of game.  It's still disturbing but I think everyone living through a zombiepocalypse would be disturbed.  The Governor finds out about the slaughter and sits Michonne down for a little chat.  He puts on his best politician smile and tries to convince her to stay.  He even asks her to join the research team.  Michonne grabs her sword and holds its tip against his throat.  The answer is no.  The Governor then tries to get Andrea's help.  She's disturbed by the fact that they were keeping walkers in town but she really wants to stay in Woodbury so she agrees to talk to Michonne.  Michonne has had enough and is packing up when Andrea finds her.  Andrea tries to convince her to stay but Michonne is having none of it.  She sees Woodbury for what it is and wants to leave with Andrea.  Andrea wants to stay.  She likes having food, and showers, and a bed.  She likes how safe she feels in Woodbury.  In the next scene we see Michonne and Andrea packed and ready to go walking towards the gate out of Woodbury.  Merle stops them and starts making excuses for them to stay.  They need an escort and it's too close to curfew.  Michonne uses this as evidence that all is not right in Woodbury.  Andrea starts to think Michonne has gone a little conspiracy crazy when all of a sudden Merle opens the door.  Andrea gives Michonne an "I told you so" look and tries to convince Michonne to stay.  Michonne tells her, "You'd just slow me down, anyways." and walks out the door back into zombie land all alone.


Zombie Gladiators!

Andrea joins the Governor for the night's final festivities.  Some bleachers are set up and Andrea and the Governor join the rest of Woodbury that is waiting in anticipation while loud music plays.  Andrea is concerned about the blaring music and how it will attract walkers.  Then Merle and another member of the posse step into the arena.  They are surrounded by walkers on chains.  It's Woodbury's version of UFC but with zombies. 

The two men begin to fight as the zombies snarl and grab at them from the outskirts.  As the fight progresses the chains are loosened and the zombies get closer.  Andrea is horrified by all of this.  The Governor thinks this is great.  He tells her it is just a way for everyone to blow off some steam.  The whole thing is rigged.  The zombies have their teeth pulled out.  It is just a game.  Andrea thinks it's barbaric.  It teaches people that zombies aren't dangerous.  The Governor tells her it teaches them not to be afraid.  But they should be afraid.  Andrea is finally starting to see through the facade but it is too late.  Michonne is gone and she is now a permanent resident in crazy town.


Hello?

We now rejoin Rick in the basement of doom.  He finds the spot where Lori died but no Lori.  There is a puddle of her blood and chunks of human flesh.  He bends down and finds the bullet that Carl put in dead Lori's brain.  He follows a trail of blood around the corner and finds a zombie sitting against the wall with a bloated belly.  It has long, brown hair coming out of his mouth.  I yelled out, "He ate Lori!".  (My suspicions were confirmed when Greg Nicotero mentioned the same thing when he was on Talking Dead) Rick walks up to the zombie, sticks his gun in its mouth, and pulls the trigger while releasing an anguished cry.  He then proceeds to stab the zombie's belly repeatedly.  Brrrring.  A phone starts ringing.  There's a phone in there?  Apparently prison boiler rooms have early 20th century phones in them.  Rick walks over to the phone, picks it up, and says hello.  Who is on the other end?  Is it coming from another part of the building?  Is some government entity calling?  Give your suggestions in the the comments section.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 4: Killer Within

So much happened in this episode.  It was intense and amazing.  It was The Walking Dead at its best.  There were unexpected zombie attacks, and the death of two main characters.  I feel like I am still processing everything that happened.


Doing some yard work

This episode began in a vary eerie way.  We see someone drag a half eaten deer carcass from the woods into the prison. Then half of the carcass was placed in the yard and the other half was hung in a doorway to the prison.  Then the heart (and I assume a few other organs) were left as a trail from the doorway to a gated area that Rick and the gang had locked to keep zombies out.  We do not see the face of the person doing this but they are wearing a prison uniform.

Out by the grassy knoll Rick, Daryl, T-Dog and Carol are organizing the clean up of dead, rotting walkers.  They have to yell for Glenn and Maggie to leave the little love nest they've created for themselves in a guard tower (Maggie better be careful or she'll end up pregnant soon).  The two surviving prisoners approach the group.  They want to join them.  They can't handle living in that cell block full of the dead bodies of their old friends.  Rick says no.  Then he has a little group meeting to see if anyone opposes the Ricktator.  T-Dog is the only one that seems sympathetic.  No one else trusts them.  Because of their experience with other survivors I understand their hesitancy (add on top of that the fact that they are convicts).  Rick repeats no and locks them up.  He tells them they can either live in their assigned cell block or leave.  If they choose to leave he will give them some food and a car.  T-Dog sees it as sentencing them to death by zombie.  It is not that different to what Rick did to the other convict, Andrew, in an earlier episode.

Back in the prison Lori has found some crutches.  She and Hershel's daughter whose name I can never remember help Hershel to his feet.  Lori wants him to practice a little and then lie back down.  Hershel is not a man to sit around.  He goes out into the yard.  The rest of the gang see him moving about and everyone has a happy moment.  And then the zombies started pouring into the yard like ants to a picnic.

Rick, Daryl, and Glenn were the furthest away.  Glenn went to close the hole in the fence they had been using while Rick, Daryl, and the others ran to help their friends.  Hershel and his daughter got behind a door and closed it.  T-Dog, Carol, Carl, Lori, and Maggie started shooting up the zombies in the yard.   T-Dog noticed the zombies were coming through a gate that had been locked before so he went to close it.  As he was finishing that a zombie came up behind him and bit him on the shoulder.  He and Carol ran into the prison.  They stumble down a hallway shooting all the walkers they encounter.  When they turn the corner they see their only way out is blocked by two walkers.  Carol no longer has any bullets.  T-Dog in his final moments becomes the hero that was always waiting to come out.  He runs at the walkers and yells at Carol to run.  He gets eaten by them and Carol goes out a door.  RIP Theodore Douglas aka T-Dog.  We wish we had gotten to know your character a bit better.  At least you died a hero.

Carl, Lori and Maggie ran back into the prison through another door.  They tried to go back to their cell block but there were zombies everywhere they went.  Carl opened a door and they went down into what looked like a boiler room.  Then Lori started to go into labor.  Maggie wanted to go back to Hershel but Lori knew there was no time.  Maggie was going to have to deliver the baby.  Lori started to push and could feel that something was wrong.  Maggie's hand was covered in blood.  Lori lay down and told Maggie to cut the baby out.  She told her to use Carl's knife and cut along her old C-sections scar.  Lori shared some last words with Carl. 

She was proud of him and he was going to survive this world.  He needed to follow his instincts to choose the right.  If something felt wrong then don't do it.  It seemed as she was warning him to avoid the kind of mistakes she had made.  She told him she loved him and their relationship was repaired.  As Carl cried Maggie cut into Lori.  Lori stopped moving and Maggie and Carl pulled the baby out.  At first it seemed as if the baby was dead.  But Maggie did a little baby CPR and the baby began to cry.  Maggie went to check the hall for walkers and while she did that Carl shot Lori.  He said he needed to be the one to do it.  Lori gave her life for her baby and Carl had to kill her to give her peace.

Rick, Daryl, and Glenn make it to the yard and finish off the zombies there.  Out of nowhere the prison alarm starts blaring.  This attracts walkers from outside the prison.  Rick shoots out the speakers.  He then accuses the prisoners, who followed them up to the yard, of setting off the alarm.  They swear it wasn't them.  They volunteer to show him how to turn off the alarm.  They find the room but a group of zombies follow them.  Daryl and Oscar (the super tall black prisoner) hold the door shut while Rick runs around the room trying to find the alarm and shut it off.  That's when they encounter Andrew.  He had survived being shut out by Rick and had planned a little vengeance to take back the prison.  He and Rick fight.  Rick drops his gun and Oscar picks it up.  Andrew yells at Oscar to shoot Rick.  Oscar shoots Andrew instead.  For a moment there it looks like he is going to shoot Rick.  Daryl comes up behind Oscar with his knife ready to attack.  But before anymore blood is spilled Oscar gives Rick his gun back.  He has chosen whose side he is on.  He wants to be a part of Rick's gang. 

Rick, Daryl, and Oscar make their way back through the prison.  They stumble upon T-Dog's half eaten body and find Carol's scarf lying on the floor by the door.  As they emerge out to the yard they meet up with Glenn, Alex, Hershel, and Beth.  Rick asks Hershel if he has seen Lori and Hershel says no.  From behind him emerge Maggie and Carl.  Maggie is covered in blood, carrying the baby, and shaking due to shock and grief.  Rick doesn't see Lori and asks Maggie.  She simply replies no.  Rick looks at Carl and starts crying and wailing uncontrollably.  He never got to fix his relationship with Lori and now he never will.  He is also partly to blame for the massacre.  Instead of killing Andrew himself he left him for the zombies.  Anger and hatred grew so much in him that he retaliated.  Now Rick is a broken man crying on the floor of a prison yard.


Michonne vs. the Governor

Back in Woodbury Michonne is investigating the military vehicles that the Governor and his posse brought back with them after attempting to "rescue" the helicopter pilot's military buddies.  She notices bullet holes and blood in the vehicles.  The Governor apparates out of nowhere and Michonne starts asking him about what happened.  He has an answer for everything.  It's all a little too neat and tidy.  Michonne is having none of it.  She does not trust the Governor and he can see as much.  So he then tries flattery.  He says that she has skills (yes she does, awesome katana wielding skills) and that she could be very useful.  I think he sees her as a threat because of her skills and questioning.  I'm glad that Michonne sees through his charming politician facade and wants to leave.  However, she is having a hard time convincing Andrea to leave.  Michonne tells Andrea her plan: find an island and live out the rest of their lives in peace.  

Andrea doesn't sound too happy with the plan.  Andrea seems to like Woodbury and the Governor.  She feels safe there.  She also has men there.  She's very flirty with the Governor.  He asks her to stay.  He tells her that his wife died before the zombiepocalypse and he was left with his daughter.  (He uses the present tense when discussing his daughter so I think it is safe to consider she is alive and living in Woodbury).  He tells her his name, Phillip (if you can believe anything he says).  Apparently Andrea has terrible taste in men.  First Shane, then Merle, and now the Governor. Andrea convinces Michonne to stay for one more day.  I think Michonne should ditch Andrea, make herself some new zombie pets, and find herself an island.


Merle vs. the Governor

Andrea gives Merle a map with Hershel's farm marked on it.  They flirt a little (Andrea will flirt with any bad boy that comes her way, it will not end well for her) and Merle mentions that were both left behind by the same people and saved by the Governor.  He then shows the Governor the map and asks for permission to go look for Daryl.  The Governor says no, it is too risky.  But then seeing that Merle is not backing down he says that if Merle can find some evidence that Daryl is alive he will go with Merle.  This is the first time we have seen Merle stand up to the Governor.  Old angry, racist Merle seems to have been tamed by the Governor.  But the mention of Daryl seems to bring back some of the old Merle.  I get the feeling the Governor senses the danger in Merle finding Daryl and will try to stop it by any means necessary.  He relies on Merle and has found it easy to control Merle.  Old Merle could be quite a threat to the Governor.  And we know what the Governor does to people who threaten his power.


Final Thoughts

- Lori made some major mistakes and she was the most irrational female character I have ever seen on television but I was still sad to see her go.  This season began with a very penitent Lori trying to fix her broken family. 
Neither her son nor her husband made it easy on her.  So she turned to helping Hershel. She saved his life and helped him walk.  She also gave her life so her child could live.  She realized the mistakes she made and imparted some last words of wisdom to her son (the son she always worried would be ruined in this new world).

- T-Dog, I wish we could have known you better.  He was an underused character and I always felt bad when an episode passed without a line from T-Dog.  The token black guy in the group is dead.  I guess Oscar will have to take that role now.

- Is Carol dead?  We saw her go out the door but didn't see her die or her dead body.  They only found a scarf.  She could be running down the halls of another section of the prison with walkers on her heel.

- This episode proved that no one is safe.  They just better not kill of Daryl Dixon.  I feel the show should end with Carl and Daryl among the survivors.  The strong, quiet ones.

- Was the purpose of this episode to kill some of the lesser developed and more hated characters?  If so, why didn't they kill Beth?

RIP Lori Grimes

RIP T-Dog

RIP Carol Peletier?