Monday, November 26, 2012

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


Hello fellow Walkers and welcome back!  Whew this show started the season at a 9 intensity and has been cranking way past 10 ever since.  Even with this episode being a setup for next week's "Winter Finale" it still was packed with some crazy scenes and character moments.  By the way, if anyone has Verizon Fios, you better do your part to contact Verizon and tell them to keep the damn channel on the air (of course non-Verizon subscribers can contact them too if you want this recap to keep happening on a timely basis!)  We've already seen DirecTV and Dish lose the channel for a few weeks during negotiations.  We don't want to be missing any episodes of Walking Dead, Mad Men or Breaking Bad whenever we might lose the channel.

Anyway, enough complaining about corporate suits and their silly games.  Let's talk about the Zombie Apocalypse!

I'm a little short on time this morning so each of the below sections may be a little brief!

Team Rick
So we finally had Michonne clashing with Rick and crew.  It took some warming up but they seemed to genuinely hit it off.  The basket of baby goods probably was a good peace offering. Long story short, Rick and Crew were debriefed on the Woodbury crew and the Governor (no mention of Merle being with that crew yet) and that they have Glenn and Maggie.  Rick assembled a team of him, Daryl, Oscar and Michonne (maybe the other inmate guy too?) and shipped off to infiltrate the town.


  • Rick and Carl finally had a moment to reflect on how Lori was put down.  Carl said he did what needed to be done.  Rick apologized for him having to go through it.  He also entrusted Carl in charge of the group.  He told him to lock everyone in their cells if anything goes down.  I sense a bit of foreshadowing!

  • Rick and crew all find out that Carol is still alive and there is lots of emotional looks passed along with no need for words on what has gone down.  (i.e. Lori's death.  Poor T-Dog.  He only gets mentioned in a hate speech by Merle later on)  


  • Rick and Daryl have their 1 sentence moment too. Rick basically thanks Daryl for taking care of the baby when he was "sorting through stuff". 
  • They drive to about a mile out from Woodbury and Michonne recommends to go on foot from ther.e  They encounter a group of Walkers and Michonne basically looks on scoping out Rick's tactical approach to taking them down.  That is until they make a run for a cabin not too far away. 
  • They find a smelly dead dog and a very alive nutcase in the cabin looking for the police.  Loved Rick pretending to reach for his badge to trick him and get his shotgun.  Of course, the guy was still too loud so Michonne stabbed him to death.   And if that wasn't enough, they threw him out there as bait to feed the walkers and snuck out the back door!  OUCH!





  • The last we see or Rick and crew is right outside the gates of Woodbury.  Basically just an appetizer to the main course to come next week!


Woodbury - Milton's ExperimentAs suspected, we got a further look into Milton trying to find the humanity in these reanimated beings.  Andrea was brought in as the muscle to take down their volunteer patient once the experiment was done.  Mr. Coleman had terminal cancer, and the only reason it was terminal was because they didn't have the equipment to treat him.  So, he volunteered to be their guinea pig.  Milton kept asking the same questions over and over again and looked for a raised hand as acknowledgement that they were correct.  He would ring the same weird music bowl and ask the same questions when Coleman reanimated.  Andrea tried to convince Milton he was wasting his time.  But, having never seen a person die and come back as Andrea has, he still believed something could be done.  (We learn that Milton is an only child who didn't get out much, as he even telecommuted to work.)  When Coleman did die and reanimate, Milton could have sworn he saw his braced hand move.  So, they unbound him and the first thing he did was reach for Milton to bite him.  Andrea took him out in time.  So, you can either take that as a "RAISED HAND" or just a Walker being a Walker!  I'm going with the latter until told otherwise!  




Woodbury - InterrogationThis was some creepy stuff!  First we have Merle interrogating Glenn.  He brought in all of the guilt trip stuff we expected ever since he was left on the roof in season 1.  Glenn retorted with the fact that they went back for him.  But, that wasn't enough.  Merle wanted his information.  He wanted to know where his brother and "the sheriff" were.  Glenn didn't spill the beans.  But, he did spill that they think Andrea is dead.  He also had to take out a walker while being roped to a chair. Pretty badass, Glenn!




Governeor Phillip decides to bring his creepiness to the interrogation of Maggie.  He threatens to bring her Glenn's hand if she didn't take off her shirt and everything underneath it.  Then he threatened to have his way with her but never acted on it.  But, this was all a manner of breaking her down and then putting a gun to Glenn's head to have her spill the beans on the prison.  How creepy was him "consoling" still topless Maggie in front of Glenn after this informations spillage? 




The Governor seems a little intimated by the fact that this band of 10 people took over an un-"takeoverable" location in the Red Zone.  (This is the first time we learned that the prison was in the red zone)   These are some seasoned "biter" killers they're dealing with.  And Merle's brother is part of the crew.  He is starting to wonder where Merle's loyalty will lie when the fight gets on.  Maybe it was just me, but I did sense some hesitation before Merle said he was with the Governor.  Of course, things may not be as cut and dry for Daryl on the other side either.  He definitely is part of the family Rick put together, but if his real family shows up things could get messy!


At the end of the episode, we have Andrea returning for some Governor Lovin and for some comfort from the big strong man in charge.  Seeing Milton fail to find the humanity in the walker must have hit her hard.  And, while Phillip probably already knew that Milton failed, he asked her about it anyway and then consoled her all the while giving his most sinister expression. 



So, that's it for this week!  As I mentioned, basically a setup episode.  We'll be back next week to cover the mid-season finale.  Not sure how many episodes are in the "2nd half" and when they're airing.  I had heard rumors it might be a 16 episode season, but I can't confirm that.  Anyway, tune in tomorrow for a Revolution Recap.  Fringe gets the week off and will be back next week.  And, as always, we have our weekly sections to discuss all other television.  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week!

19 comments:

Mike V. said...

MJ's comment from another posting. lol

"Is this where we are doing TWD this week ? A good ep - nicely putting things in place for the mid-season finale next week. Governor played Glen and Maggie well. I knew he would not rape her, but he humiliated her and then played the fear for eachother against themselves to get his info. Would be kinda funny if a bunch of them go the the prison while Team Rick is coming into Woodbury. LOL But not really since Carl is practically alone - only the girl and Hershel with him I think - oh and Carol too.

Cool scene when they fed that crazy guy to the walkers.

Did you see the 'next week' on Talking Dead ? I normally don't but I did this time! OMG

But - I was not happy to see that Verizon is threatening to drop AMC ! They better fix that situation"

Mike V. said...

@MJ - You got the same impression that I did from the ep. A "setup" ep but a good one at that! That would be my guess on some of Gov's crew going to the prison. I love how Beth volunteered to go take down the governor. Yeah...like that would happen! lol

That Carl dude is crazy. I wouldn't put it past him to take down the Governor's crew single-handedly!

Didn't see Talking Dead yet. But, Maybe I'll get to it. It's been tough this year!

I put a plea for everyone to email verizon at the beginning of this recap! I'm not thrilled either. Not sure what I'll do if I lose AMC. Might have to go back to Comcast which I would dread! lol

Mike V. said...

Kirkman Interview - http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/11/25/walking-dead-robert-kirkman-9/

Leslie said...

I was kinda surprised to see Rick just watching Michonne as she started having to kill walkers outside the prison gates, and Carl was the one to ask if they were gonna help her and then take action.

Glenn sure held his own with Merle and then killing that walker! Definitely bad ass! The Governor’s creep factor was at an all time high with Maggie! But, she even kept her cool until Glenn was at risk.

I think there will be some problems with loyalties in the showdown next week. The lines are blurred with Daryl, Merle and Andrea now, but it’s only because Andrea has been blinded by the Governor’s “charm”, such as it is. But, in reality, even though the group in Woodbury is big, they aren’t all experienced fighters like Rick’s group. I think even Michonne was impressed with them.

Mike – Since you haven’t watched Talking Dead yet, have to be the one to tell you that your idol, Damon Lindelof, will be on next week with Robert Kirkman.

Mike V. said...

Agreed on the Rick/Carl stuff at the beginning of the ep. Carl just went shooting and attracting more walkers. lol

Agreed also with Rick and crew. They are strategic and seasoned and Michonne was definitely impressed. I think she sees she'll fit in well here. lol

Thanks for the heads up. Lindelof AND Kirkman? That'll be a hoot of a half hour! I'll definitely watch it! lol (can't believe I just said HOOT lol)

MJ said...

Loved Glen taking out that walker while in the chair ! Found it very interesting the Gov looking less trusting of Merle - wait til he finds out Mishonne is alive ! Didn't take Merle long to go back to his old self though with those comments he was making. yeah - Beth offering to go was kinda funny - but it was her sister so I guess so.

I already went to the website where you can email Verizon. They better not mess around with this - TWD has been too good and BB is coming to an end. AMC must really have raised it rates that all the cable companies are saying NO though. I swear - I'll go back to Comcast if I have to.

How long do we have to wait for TWD to come back after next week? And isn't tonight the mid-finale for Revolution ?

I'm behind on every other show now. LOL Spent part of the weekend doing our annual Rings watch - we o wn the extended editions so each one is over 3 hrs, Return of the King is 4 hours.

Mike V. said...

@MJ

No idea when the shows are coming back, but excited for the break! lol I heard March for Revolution though. May be a big mistake on NBC's part even if it makes for a non-stop run to May. I also heard a rumor that TWD has 16 episodes this season so they may get another run of 8 in the winter/spring. We'll see! I'm sure IMDB gives some clue to when they're returning but I did see a January airing of Revolution, so it might not be entirely accurate. lol

I was thinking the same thing about AMC charging higher rates. Makes sense since they're getting some massive critical praise and emmy recognition for shows and also the big ratings with TWD. I really don't want to go back to Comcast! But, I might end up with a cheaper rate for a couple years. lol Maybe by then Google Fiber will have come to the area! lol (if you haven't heard about it..."google" it. lol)

LOTR - I have the extended Blu-rays and just can't find the time to watch it all, but I'd love to! I have my 12/14 IMAX tix reserved for Hobbit. We're getting a screening of the first 9 minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness too! woo hoo! lol a little nervous about the high frame rate though. (Jackson thinks it's the bees nees so we'll see!)

BTW - good point with Merle and Michonne being alive. I thought of that last week but didn't piece it together with this week's progression. lol

heri said...

I have not blogged since LOST.

I had heard of TWD but never got into it.
3-4 months ago AMC had a TWD marathon and I recorded seasons 1 and 2.
Well…………… I saw both seasons in 1 ½ weeks and could sleep at night!!!!!

Season 3 has been awesome so far and I can’t wait till next Sunday.

Not sure if you guys have talked about this, when Michonne gutted the walker while fighting Merle and crew she was wounded by a gun shot.
Wouldn’t the guts/blood of the walker on the wound infect her?

heri said...

maybe infected was not the rgt word since they are all infected.

but wouldnt she have turned jst as if she was bitten?

Mike V. said...

Hi Heri! Welcome to the TV Addicts Blog! Glad to see you caught up on TWD. It's a pretty awesome show.

I think that we learned that the infection spreads quicker only via bite or scratch from a walker. Yeah, you'd think the guts seeping into an open wound might do the trick, but I guess not! lol Plus, I guess we could also make the assumption/guess that maybe the guts somehow miraculously didn't get into the wound! lol

MJ said...

Or that her pants magically blocked the walker guts from touching the open wound. LOL

Merle showed that he's not as changed this week as we'd been thinking.

I def don't think he belongs in our group - too much has changed and happened. I think Daryl will feel like he wants to stay but that his brother can't/won't go with him, and Merle will feel divided between Daryl and the Gov. Daryl might even have to kill Merle to protect the group.

Mike V. said...

Yeah, I can't see Merle being a mainstay. Michael Rooker doesn't seem like the "Series Regular" TV type. But, who knows? lol Your scenario is probably pretty close to being right!

Nice on the magic pants!

Mike V. said...

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8670609/alan-sepinwall-origins-lost

Gonna post this everywhere. This is chapter about LOST from the book I'm reading right now. It's good stuff!

Mike V. said...

Correction. Just an excerpt of the chapter in that link. I do recommend the book though!

MJ said...

This was funny !
http://social.entertainment.msn.com/tv/blogs/tv-buzz-blogpost.aspx?post=0c1e43b4-c75c-4bb9-b844-cf33f5f70e1d#scpted

Mike V. said...

Nice lol...didn't even notice that when I was watching. Of course, I fastforward through commericals so once I saw the TWD logo, I was probably already fast forwarding! lol

MJ said...

Me too !

MJ said...

Fall finale tonight !! Then no new eps til February.

Mike V. said...

I got so confused by your comments on both posts. I thought either I missed two days or you traveled to the future. You mentioned that walking dead and boardwalk were airing "tonight" yesterday!! Lol good times. But but both accurate statements for Sunday! :)