Today is one of the greatest days in recent geek history. The return of Game of Thrones, the finale of Walking Dead, and, as promised, Cartoon Network began flooding Netflix Instant Watch with more content than you could ever possibly watch. And after last week’s amazing episode, Walking Dead returns with a huge confrontation between The Governor and Milton and Andrea. We finally get to see him reveal his most sadistic of true colors as he voices his rationalization for the evil he has become. And that’s just a preview as the invasion of the prison begins.
What’s Good:
Oh, Tyreese. You are always our moral compass, aren’t you?
Rick and Michonne talk out why he didn’t turn her over.
The initial assault into the prison by the Woodbury army. OMG, the firepower. Ok, so The Governor doesn’t come in astride a tank, but it’s still pretty amazing.
Hershel leaving the Bible open to the Gospel of John 5:29 for the Governor to find.
Carl. Oh, wow. Carl. He’s showing a little Shane in him.
What’s Bad:
Nothing with the show.
But. Oh. my. Blog. TimeWarner Cable. I am done with you. You made me miss 5 minutes in the middle as you screwed up my DVR. And I just flat missed almost all of the Iron Man commercial. You bastards. This is the second week in a row where you messed something up. You’re cancelled. Good thing Walking Dead is over this week. Mad Men– you will be downloaded via iTunes.
The Ugly:
The depths of the sadism and sociopathic leadership of the Governor. I’m reminded of the Battle of Stalingrad where the Soviet troops were so demoralized that they would set up machine guns to shoot the deserters. We see some of that same barabarism, but even worse, with this episode.
Andrea’s struggle. And my internal struggle of whether I wanted to see her live or die. Spoiler: She has a fitting end. One that fits her character arc of the show.
But here is my biggest complaint, which I won’t call bad, as it makes sense, but also a huge spoiler: What the HELL happened to the Governor? Where did he go? Kinda big plot thread to leave out there.
Zombie Kill of the Week:
Lots more people kills this week than zombie kills, so the kill of the week probably goes to all of the exploding zombies as Woodbury invades the prison with all that firepower. BUT I have to give an honorable mention to Carol for a nice machete-to-the-face– and Beth uses a crowbar to take out her first zombie. Go Beth and Carol!
The Final Judgment:
What a great end to a great season. Not quite as good as the last episode or Clear, but still great. We’ll see you in October, Walking Dead.
3 1/2 stars