Walking Dead S4E8
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
Spaghetti Tuesdays on Wednesdays will be cancelled until further notice.
The mid-season finale has come and gone, and fans around the world are all asking the same question today: "Did a dingo eat the baby?" This episode both stumbled and shined, and we have to wait a couple of months to see where it all goes from here.
Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. After two consecutive episodes of the unraveling of Governor Brian's Redemption Tour, the first half of this mid-season finale faltered. And faltered badly. Speechifying was front and center, as Cotton-Eyed Joe somehow convinced his new band of survivors to join with him on an attack on the prison. The same band of survivors from Camp Martinez that would not let good-guy Pete lead their group without a vote first. So what did this band of diehard democratists do when given an unilateral order to attack the prison? After Cyclops had captured two of the Prison-ers and told his band of Jeffersonians that the prison was inhabited by murderers? They complied, of course. Herschel and Michonne were the captives, and Herschel tried to reason with Gov, but the Man Who Has Been on This Show For a Half-Season Too Long only sees one way to do this, and that way is to tear down the prison's fence with the tank, because ... that does not make one iota of sense.
So the stage is set for Rick Vs. Governor Brian II. The two adversaries meet at the fence, since the #fencezombies are enjoying a rare day off. The two leaders talk for what seems like an eternity, with the Gov always getting the last word, with "Yeah, but I have a tank." Rick channels his inner Herschel and offers Camp MartinezGov safety and security. All they have to do is put down their weapons (and tank) and walk through the gates. But the Man With 20/0 Vision does not give his acolytes the opportunity to join Team Rick. Instead, Winky/Blinky takes a hack at Herschel's neck with Michonne's katana. Then, in a scene where Satan himself gasped "WTF?", the Gov decapitated Herschel.
Meanwhile, Lilly is lounging in a chair down by the river, practicing her "Mother of the Year" acceptance speech when young Megan becomes #ZombieChow. Then she carries the dead child to the prison, where Patch Adams caps the dead adoptive daughter in the head.
Now for the good stuff. Darryl uses a walker as an inhuman shield during the shootout that occurs after Herschel's death. Carl and Lizzy each get the opportunity to show off their shooting skills, as they individually save Prison-ers from becoming #ZombieChow. A busload of Prison-ers make an escape. Darryl and Beth make a run for it. Tyrese grabs the kids and gets away. Michonne, after running the Gov through with her katana, leaves him to a fate of providing nourishment for the #zombs, but Lilly puts him down with a gunshot to the head. Bob gets shot, but he looks to be OK. Rick and Carl get away after finding a bloodstained baby carrier. The Prison-ers are displaced, but we will have to wait a couple of months to see where everyone ends up.
The final 15 minutes of the show pulled this pedestrian episode out of the doldrums for me. I seriously dreaded watching this mid-season finale, knowing it would be a rehash of the Rick/Gov conflict, and for the most part, it was. But the set piece of the prison attack almost made the past 2 1/2 episodes worthwhile, as we are now finally rid of the Governor.
Unfortunately, we are rid of Herschel and possibly Lil Asskicker as well.
David Morrissey did a great job with a poorly-developed character. The "Governor" character was around for about a half of a season too long. Glad to see Morrissey land on his feet. And glad to see Governor Heriot's term come to an end.
Random Thoughts:
- Who is feeding the #zombs rats, and why is Tyrese lurking through the darkest hallways in the prison? Check out this theory from Reddit.
- If a bullet went completely through Bob's shoulder, why don't the bullets go through the #zomb that Darryl is using as a shield?
- Darryl took the Carol news from Rick really well. And Tyrese didn't care, he found a dead squirrel! Or something.
- I know its a show about zombies, so we should suspend logic, but how do you convince an average group of people to commit crimes against humanity?
- I stated it last week, but let me state it again. A one-eyed, eyepatch-wearing stranger shows up to your post-apocalyptic camp, two of your leaders disappear or die mysteriously, and the unknown guy takes charge. Makes perfect sense. If you are Mike Leach.
- Nice callback to the episode earlier this season when Rick came across the crazy Irish woman who wanted to feed the Ricktator to her zombie significant other. She was one of the #zombs that flooded into the prison yard after the fence was breached.
What did you think?
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