It was the first time the show genuinely surprised me since the midseason break in season 2.
The Governor (Morrissey) has the firepower advantage in this war.
I was mere minutes away from writing the latest episode of The Walking Dead, titled "Home," off as a big time-waster. For forty minutes it felt like all of the characters were jogging in place; the writers too scared to make any big moves this far from the end of the season. Then, they made that big move, and it was the first time the show genuinely surprised me since the midseason break in season 2. Let's take a look at how this week's episode played out.
Things didn't start off on the right foot, as we had to continue to deal with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his bout with insanity. I don't think the writers are willing to accept that the viewers just didn't like Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), and we'd all much rather never see her again than have her continue to muddle Rick's life. This is most likely what a good deal of the eye rolling can be attributed to as we watch Rick go completely crazy this week and abandon the group for most of the episode trying to find an apparition of his dead wife. I just don't buy this arc, and it's effectively sidelined the best character on the show, as we saw during this episode when he wasn't present for a large chunk.
In his absence, though, we got to see Glenn (Steven Yeun) step up, or attempt to do so. It was refreshing to see someone want to push the group into action, even if it was a little over-aggressive. At first, Glen wants to attack the prison again, then he wants to fortify the prison. Right next to him the whole time is Hershel (Scott Wilson), who provided the voice of reason. Hershel has become the character that Dale should have been last season. He is the moral compass of the group, but he isn't obnoxious about it. Most of the time he's right, which is important. It was clear in this episode that these are two characters that are very important to the show, and seeing either one die would be a big blow.
Woodbury provided more disappointment this week, as Andrea (Laurie Holden) continued to act irrationally. I don't understand how she hasn't left The Governor (David Morrissey) yet. He has his own personal stash of walkers, holds gladiator fights, and tried to shoot her friends, yet there she is, still at his side. While the show has deviated almost completely from the comics at this point, Andrea is perhaps the biggest disappointment. As one of the best characters in the source material, I can't believe that the writers continue to leave her as this insufferable character who has no real identity. I'm looking for this to change by the end of the season, or else she may have to go the way of Lori.
My biggest worries about the Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Merle (Michael Rooker) diversion came true this week, as well, as the two rejoined the main group by the end of the episode. We got a little insight into their dynamic and history as a family, but overall it was a pretty grand waste of time. We all knew Daryl would return, likely with Merle at his side, and now we've had one episode less to delve into how Merle will interact with the group this time around.
So, it seems like it was a pretty bland episode, right? It was, until the final few minutes when poor Axel (Lew Temple) got shot in the face by The Governor, who took it upon himself to lie to Andrea and mount a brief assault on the prison. Axel had been getting more lines lately, and I was fully prepared to accept him as a new member of the main cast this week, and then BAM. It's moments like this the the show is in desperate need of on a more regular basis. It seems like the writers are finally learning how to manipulate the audience to make these deaths more effective. Not only that, but the subsequent battle has gotten the ball rolling on the all-out-war we've been promised for a while now.
The end of this week's episode of The Walking Dead certainly got me excited for the rest of the season. Hopefully, all of the momentum gained in the final moments will carry over to the next episode. As it stands now, this episode proved that the second half of this season will be just as good as, if not better than, the first half.