The Walking Dead
Season Three, Episode Eight
"Made to Suffer"
THIS IS IT, BOYS, THIS IS WAR
It’s all fun and games until somebody loses an eye.
That somebody ended up being The Governor, who lost an eye and the apple of his eye at the hands of Michonne. We’re going to see a darker, more bloodthirsty Eff You Mode Governor in the second half of the season come February. Not only did he already want to wipe out the prison for previously stated preservation reasons, now it’s personal. Also, he now gets to dip into the villain costume box and accessorize with an eye patch.
Before we get to more speculating, let’s rewind the tape. Shard of glass pops out of eyeball, katana retracts from zombie daughter, bullets go back into guns, rescue mission backtracks out of Woodbury, Glaggie return to being prisoners and Merle reverts to being in the Governor’s good graces. Let’s start with the new kids on the block.
Obviously this Tyreese fellow, who from what I understand is a popular character from the comics (that’s all I know), is going to become a bigger character. He’s the only one of his group that has a name so far. This does not bode well for the survival of his companions. Tyreese seems to be a gentle, level-headed fellow from his conversations with his group and Carl. He may remind Rick of himself before circumstances changed him. I noticed he made a subtle decision to refer to Carl as a man and show him respect. A respect that was well-deserved, too, as Carl is turning into a miniature Jack Bauer.
Minor character development alert! Axel is established as being horny and creepy.
I was wondering if they were going to include the prison at all this episode, being as all the action was going to be at Woodbury. Being as they did, I’m glad it was for an interesting subplot and not some time-filler like “Beth gets lost in the prison and Carl has to save her” or something like that, only for the sake of giving those characters some screen time. Now, on to Woodbury.
It doesn’t take long for all hell to break loose and impressively, the biggest action sequence the show has ever produced didn’t involve a single zombie.
Gunshots rang out like a bell, I grabbed my nine, all I heard was shells fallin’ on the concrete real fast.
On the Andrea front, I was disappointed that she didn’t find out that it was Rick’s group rescuing Glenn and Maggie. She does find out that Daryl was one of the “terrorists” in the final scene, though, so it wasn’t a total loss. At one point in this episode, I got the feeling Andrea was going to die. She didn’t but I’m thinking now maybe she should have. Maybe defending the Governor from Michonne? At least that would have developed Michonne’s thin character a little more. I guess they need to keep Andrea around a while longer to be the common thread with conflicted loyalties between the two groups.
I identified Oscar as a dead man walking last episode (the rescue group had to have at least one casualty and he was the obvious pick) and it came true (deadpool win!). Glaggie is rescued and Michonne finds her way back to the team after she is finished turning The Governor into a Revenge Monster but Daryl is captured, eventually giving us the brotherly reunion we’ve been waiting two years for. Is it going to be Dixon vs. Dixon in the zombie gladiator ring? How is Daryl going to get out of this pickle? Is it curtains for Merle?
Steve, are you not entertained?
Steve?
Oh, right. Steve is off in the Caribbean getting married so he wasn't able to catch this one on time. Congratulations, Steve! Look for his thoughts on this one coming up on his blog sometime in the next few weeks.
See you in February.
BURNING QUESTIONS
-How long before Rick and The Governor meet face to face? I’m assuming probably not until towards the end of the second half of the season, but man, that is going to be awesome.
-How are Rick and Co. going to defend against The Governor’s superior fire and manpower? At least the prison is ideal for defense.
-What does this POW experience do to Glaggie? I really hope Glenn doesn’t get all weird and suspicious that Maggie is lying about not getting raped.
-What does Rick’s hallucination of Shane mean? Probably that Rick isn’t quite out of Crazytown quite yet.
Blair’s Episode MVP: The Governor
Blair’s Episode Grade: A-
Blair’s Episode Grade: A-
Blair’s Deadpool Pick: Axel
