- Air Date: 11/11/2012
- Directed By: Greg Nicotero
- Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Laurie Holden, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Melissa McBride, Scott Wilson, Emily Kinney, David Morrissey, Michael Rooker
- Guest Stars: Dallas Roberts, Jose Pablo Cantillo
- Author: Angela Kang
Let’s take a second to digest what happened last week, a moment of silence for the 2-3 monumental deaths. Or are you already numb from death in THE WALKING DEAD?
Everyone’s reeling after last week’s unexpected massacre, even Glen Mazzara and company, I expect. Yes, Lori, T-Dog and Carol (though we never witnessed her death) are all zombie food, and we have a new member to Rick’s crew, Little Asskicker, the baby that Lori sacrificed herself to save. Rick is off his rocker, devastated, angry, everything. He’s inconsolable and you can’t even talk to him. He grabs an axe and wanders into the prison by himself to exact some revenge. Daryl and the rest of them step up, determined not to lose the baby’s life. Daryl and Maggie go on a run to try and find baby supplies, while the rest of them dig graves for the fallen members of their family.
At Woodbury, Michonne and Andrea continue to bicker about whether to stay in Woodbury or not. The Governor and company are preparing a party, and Andrea relishes the down time, while Michonne doesn’t trust it or the people that are hosting them. At his home, the Governor brushes the hair of his daughter Penny, who just so happens to be a zombie that he keeps under lock and key. Michonne sniffs this out while stealing her katana from his home, while also finding his diary, with a bunch of names and a ton of tally marks inside. With katana in hand, she snoops around the boundaries of Woodbury, and finds a pen filled with zombies. She lets them loose and kills them all in typical Michonne fashion, something we’ll get used to this season, certainly. This act brings her in hot water, because these zombies have some mysterious purpose. The Governor confronts Michonne, who draws her sword on the man, and you can’t help but wonder how much easier everything would’ve been if she would have just slit his throat right then and there. But of course, she doesn’t. The Governor approaches Andrea about the problem, thinking that perhaps she doesn’t fit in. Then Michonne and Andrea have it out, and make a decision about whether to renew their stay at The Governor’s hotel.
We find out what the zombies were for, and how the citizens of Woodbury celebrate, an unsettling moment that portends poorly. This episode is directed by zombie makeup great Greg Nicotero, and after the massacre last week, there are actually a few less zombies than normal to be seen and killed. This episode was definitely the weakest of the season, however, mostly a function of how great this season has been thus far and because it was a bridge from the crazy of last week to the next $#!* storm that Rick and company are going to have to weather. It was great to see Daryl take center stage, fulfilling a leadership role and a more tender side than we had known previously. I can’t wait to see the inevitable Merle and Daryl showdown, and for Woodbury to begin to turn evil.
