Due to some laptop issues, I wasn't able to post the Season 3 recap in a timely manner that I wanted. If you need some catching up to do, read this Season 3 recap that breaks down everything that happened in the first part of Season 3.
The show starts out with an imprisoned Merle and Daryl, with the
Woodbury crowd cheering on for a brutal fight to the death. The Governor walks around the two as the angry
crowd cheers on. Andrea tries running to the Governor but is restrained by the
guards. The Governor is stoic among the chaos. “Don’t do this!” Andrea yells at
the Governor. “It’s not up to me but to the people,” The Governor replies
before turning to Merle: “I asked where your loyalty lies and you said here….prove
it…brother against brother, winner goes free…fight to the death!” Andrea continues
to yell at the Governor. Interestingly enough, the only one that’s not ecstatic
over the fights is Milton, who watches on in dismay.
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| Tag Team, Walker style! |
Merle yells to the crowd that he’ll do what he has to do and takes a
few hard punches and kicks at Daryl. The fight begins as the crowd cheers on. The
guards get out walkers to enclose the two. Merle gets on top of Daryl as Daryl
attempts to strangle Merle. “Just follow my lead, little brother,” Merle
whispers to Daryl. The two scramble up and go back to back to thwart off the
walkers with punches and kicks. Daryl throws the walker into the crowd. To make
the fight more epically awesome, Maggie takes shots at the walkers as Rick
throws a frag grenade, sending the crowd into a full-blown panic mode. The crowd
is now filled with screams, gunfire, and walker snarls. Yet despite all this
chaos, the Governor remains calm, taking out a walker or two in the midst. Daryl
takes his crossbow from a guard and him and Merle run with Rick and Maggie to
the walls of Woodbury. While Rick is apprehensive of Merle joining them, Merle
is determined to leave Woodbury and is faced with walkers. “A little help here,
guys!” Merle yells. “We don’t have time for this!” The crew have no choice but
to leave with Merle. However, a walker sneaks into the opening of the entrance
to Woodbury….
Back in the woods, its daylight as Michonne and Glenn wait near the car
for Rick’s return. Glenn and Michonne are greeted by Rick and the crew but the
reunion is less than heartwarming. Rick warns Glenn to back up but all hell
breaks loose at the sight of Merle. Michonne draws her katana and Glenn is infuriated,
wondering what Merle is doing there. Rick tries to calm the group down with
little success. Merle is antagonizing the group while Daryl is telling him to
shut up. Merle decides to tell Glenn that Andrea was in Woodbury and he also tells
the crew that Andrea and Michonne were surviving in the woods and talks about
two walker friends Michonne had with her. Merle antagonizes the group further
so Rick decides to do what everyone wants to do and knocks Merle out cold.
Back in the prison, we are back into what I call the “newbie cell”, where
the new band of survivors are locked in with supplies. Axel is getting a meal
as Hershel checks out the new stranger and his wounded leg. Beth and baby Judith
come back in and Sasha is curious about the baby; “I never thought we’d see
another baby….she is beautiful…” Sasha asks Beth how she is feeling, assuming
it is hers. “It’s not mine,” Beth replies. “Well, where’s the mother?” Sasha
asks. She looks around the room and sees the sullen faces. “I’m sorry….” She replies.
Tyrese, the leader, then recognizes how
much the crew has been through and says “it’s getting worse out there”. Tyrese
tells about how they survived the outbreak. They had a neighbor who was a
survival fanatic named Jerry. The crew hid in his bunker under his shed until
he ran out of supplies and then they met up with a camp of 25 survivors in
Jacksonville, where they met the other two men, Ben and Alec. “The camp was
overrun 6-7 weeks ago,” Sasha said. They explained how Donna got bit and died
at the prison. “We’ll see she has a proper burial,” Hershel said. Hershel: “We’ll see she has a proper burial.” Tyrese said that for
awhile, “we didn’t know who we were dealing with.” “Neither did we,” Hershel
said. “I must be the first black man to break out of prison then!” Tyrese jokes.
“I must be the first white boy that didn’t want to break out!” Axel replies as
he offers Tyrese a bowl of food. Hershel
warns the new group; “Like I said, we have a much larger group, a close knit, I
wouldn’t get too comfortable here….it’s not up to me to decide.”
Back in the woods, the group are arguing whether to keep Merle or not.
Glenn says he refuses to have Merle sleep in the same cell as Carol and Beth.
Daryl says he’s not a rapist and they need the extra muscle. Rick says Michonne
isn’t coming back but Maggie says she’s not in a state to go out on her own.
Daryl is not having any of it. “Merle is blood!” Daryl argues. “But HE isn’t
mine, my blood and family is standing right here!” Glenn protests. Daryl
resentfully tells the group that Merle and him will fend for themselves: “It’s
always been Merle and I before this…Carol will understand. Say bye to your pop
for me….” As Daryl packs up his things from the trunk, the group tries to talk
him out of leaving. Daryl looks at Rick: “Take care of little asskicker and
Carl,” and goes to join Merle. Rick then turns to Michonne; “we patch you up
and then you’re gone!” They all pack in and drive back to the prison.
Back in the prison, the newbie group of four carry out Donna to go bury
her along with the others. They drop the
body for a second. One of the men looks on and tells the rest it’s a golden
opportunity to take out the “little kid and woman” and for them to get their
weapons to take over the prison. Sasha and Tyrese are outraged at their
suggestion. The two other dingleberries tell Tyrese that there’s only the
woman, a kid, a baby and a one-legged man. “These are good people! This isn’t
what we do and it’s called common decency!” Tyrese objects. Dingleberry #1
tells Tyrese that he’s still stuck in the past; “this is survival of the
fittest!” he yells. “I’m not waiting here to have them throw our asses out!” One
of the prison doors open and Beth and Axel come out and give them shovels and
offer them assistance. They walk away. Tyrese and Sasha thank them and then
glare at the Dingleberries.
Back in the woods, Rick and the crew drive up to the red truck. Glenn
opens up the truck to find a walker in there. He foot stomps the walker
repeatedly. Glenn is heated and pissed off at Rick for leaving Glenn out of the
loop and for putting Maggie in danger. “You didn’t kill him!” Glenn yells. “Daryl
was the main priority,” Rick explains. “And you were in no condition! You could
barely walk!” Glenn is seething at Rick and resenting him for taking so many
risks for only Daryl to leave. “This is the hand we’ve been dealt with!” Rick
concludes. Maggie tells the men that they should get going, get some rest and
then talk it out later. “You guys do the
talking, I’m done” Glenn objects.
 |
| Mercy Kill? |
Back in Woodbury, Andrea tells nine are injured to Milton. Milton tells
Andrea the Governor is stuck in his office and wouldn’t open the door because
he was in “the middle of something”. Meanwhile, cars and crowds are surrounding
the fence, demanding to leave. “It’s not safe here!” they yell. Andrea tries to
convince the crowd that it’s not safe out there. One man climbs up but is kicked
back by one of the guards. The crowds shouts and car horns are honking. The
noise is drawing in walkers outside of Woodbury, which the guards must take
out. One guard tells one man to stop the horn, points a gun at him, opens the
car door and throws him out. Andrea tells him to stop it. “I don’t take orders
from you!” the guard yells. “These people are scared, pointing a gun at them
won’t help!” Andrea objects. Before they can calm the crowd down, a blood-curdling scream is heard from the other
side of town. Andrea runs as a guard follows. Two walkers bite a man while
another chases a woman. Andrea shoots the walkers and Martinez shoots one. The wounded
man is lying down, bleeding profusely and is going into shock. “Help him!” a woman yells at Andrea. “Do
something!” Before Andrea can take a mercy kill, the Governor comes out of his
abode, shoots him in the head and walks back in the apartment. The group is
left stunned and speechless.
Back at the prison, Carol and Carl are on guard outside. Carl mentions
it’s so quiet. “Its so easy to forget how loud the world used to be,” Carol
said. “I used to complain about it all the time! Now what I wouldn’t give to
hear the sweet sound of the jumbo jet!” Carl is still stoic. “Your mom was
proud of you…” she consoles to Carl. The car then pulls up when Carl and Carol
open up the gates. Rick embraces Carl. “Wheres Daryl?” Carol asks. Rick is
somber and tells her “he’s alive…he ran into his brother…they went off…” Carol tries
to sink it all in. “is he coming back?” she asks. Rick consoles Carol and the
two go back to the prison.
Back in the Governor’s headquarters (with an appearance with Rick’s
Sheriff’s bag form Season 1). Andrea storms into the apartment. “What the hell
was that?” She demands. “You put a round to a guy’s head then take off without
explaining? They are panicking, you have to talk to them! Those people won’t
last a day!” The Governor isn’t having it. “They had it good! Barbecues,
picnics…no more of that, we’re at war!” “Don’t take it out on them over the
mess you created!” Andrea said. She then begins to question the Governor. “Why
was Daryl here?” Andrea said. The Governor tells Andrea that Glenn and Maggie
were kidnapped by Merle and turns it onto Andrea. “Your friends killed seven good
people. That’s what your friends did!” The dull light bulb in Andrea’s brain
FINALLY lights up; “Why did you keep that from me when we were…..” Andrea asked.
“You’re a visitor here just passing through so why should I tell you?” Governor
said. Andrea at this point should probably shoot the governor but seethes at him
instead. Milton comes in to tell them the town is getting ugly.
Back in the prison, Maggie embraces her family and Hershel tells the
girls to go inside. Rick and Hershel meet and tell Carol and Carl go back in. “You
came through, like always,” Hershel said, “sounds like we have a new problem on
our hands. Did you get a good look at him?” in reference to the Governor. “He
had Merle and Daryl pitted against each other, wanting to fight to the death as
the crowd cheers on,” Rick explains; “What kind of sick mind does that?”“The
world this kind created,” Hershel replies. Rick asks Hershel what the new
problem was and if it was baby Judith. Hershel says the baby is very healthy. “What
is it then?” Rick asks. Back in the newbie unit, Rick and Hershel come into the
cell where Carl is keeping watch. Rick and the two lock them up and go back to
C Unit. One of the dingleberries mentions that Carl is not a talker. “Give him
some time,” Tyrese advises. Back in C-Unit, Beth gives Rick the baby and the
baby starts crying. The crying begins to affect Rick, knowing he hasn’t had the
time to bond with Judith yet…
Outside in Woodbury, Milton tells the group that fences have been
repaired and tells them that the governor’s condition is unsteady, but the
people of Woodbury aren’t too thrilled. “He shot Richard, we all suffered!”
someone pipes in. Andrea decides to take charge; “Everyone of us has suffered. We
don’t have funerals anymore because the death never stops,” she said, “We’re never
going to be the same….so what do we do? We dig deep and find our strength to
carry on. We work together and we rebuild…not just the fences and gates but
ourselves. Our hearts and minds, and years from now when they read about this
plague in the history books, they’ll write about Woodbury. We persevered!” The
group nods in agreement and finds some renewed hope through Andrea’s speech
(probably much to the Governor’s dismay as he watches on from his room).
Back in the prison, Beth carries Judith. Carol tells her about how
Sophia used to wake up the neighbors at clockwork at 3am. Beth expresses her
want for a child. But then she wonders about Daryl; “I don’t see why he had to
leave. Merle sounds like a jerk!” she said. Carol tries to explain to Beth the
way Daryl is thinking. “He probably felt like he deserved the abuse,” Carol
explains. “If Ed walked through that door, I’d like to think that I would tell
him to go to hell…” Beth said she would. Carol tries to turn the conversation around.
“Tyrese and his group do seem capable.” Carol
takes Judith in her arms and puts her in a bin with blankets labeled “lil
asskicker”.
Back in Unit C, Hershel tries to clean up Glenn’s wounds. Maggie walks
by. The two are giving each other the silent treatment and Maggie walks off to
the cell next door. “Thanks for looking out for her. If anything, I’ll go check
on her,” Hershel said: “same thing goes for you, if anything worse than this
had happened to you, you’re like my own son now,” he tells Glenn as he walks
over the Maggie’s cell. Hershel takes a seat next to a silent Maggie. Hershel
is asking Maggie what had happened. “You two seem to be holding something back.
You want to tell me what happened?” he asks. Maggie remains silent. “I rest
easy knowing you can handle yourself…you got your mother’s spirit and her stubbornness!”
Hershel comforts her. “Don’t disappear on me….” Rick then asks about the state
of Michonne. Michonne is sleeping in one of the cell beds. “She is out like a
light. Must be days since she slept,” Hershel says on Michonne’s condition. Rick
asks Hershel how long she will stay. Hershel estimates a couple of days if she
wakes up. Downstairs, Carol seems to be comforting Axel, who is taking in the
news of Oscar’s death. “Whenever Tomas went off, Oscar always stood up for me. He
was my friend.” Axel reminisces. Rick assures Axel that Oscar went out fighting
and his death wasn’t in vain. “What now?”
Beth asks. “Will the governor retaliate?” “We could use reinforcements,” Hershel
hints to Rick.
 |
| Lori is still haunting Rick.... |
Back in the newbie cell, Rick meets Tyrese and the rest as the crew
looks on. Rick asks Tyrese how they sneaked in. Tyrese explains that there was
fire damage in one part of the prison. They told him that they had to sneak in
because their friend Donna was dying. Rick is furious at Hershel; “You brought
them here?” Hershel told him they had no choice. Tyrese tells Rick; “Hershel
said you could use extra hands. We have no problem getting our own food and
staying out of your hair. You got a problem with another gourp we’ll help you
there too. Anything to contribute…” “NO!” Rick protests. Sasha tries to plead
with Rick. Rick explains to the group how they tried to let in some of the
prisoners. “We’ve been through this with Tomas and Andrew…and where’s Oscar
now?” Rick says. “I can’t be responsible.” “If you turn us out, you are
responsible,” Tyrese warns Rick. Hershel
wants to talk to Rick; “We owe you our lives. We do everything you ask without
question. You have to start giving people a chance,” he advises Rick. Rick is in
deep thought when he looks up and sees a silhouette of a woman in a white dress
stands up on the second story rail of the prison. The woman is Lori. Rick is
having another “spell”. “No…..no….” Rick moans. He begins to walk towards where
Lori is standing and looks up and starts yelling; “WHY are you here? What do
you want from me??” The crews grow very alarmed. “Dad?” Carl whispers. Rick
then turns around and screams at Tyrese and the group to get out. “YOU DON’T
BELONG HERE, GET OUT!!!” The new crew stumbles to grab their things and Glenn
warns them to get out. Tyrese and company scramble out of the cell. The group
looks on, horrified at Ricks’ erratic behavior. Rick looks up…Lori is gone.
Janes Notes: It was nice to know that I could put away my copy of "Boondocks Saints" because I NOW have my Daryl Dixon fix back on...oh wait...I should get to the more important stuff first, right? Sorry, a bit distracted...ANYHOO....
I am SO STOKED to be back on board and covering this show! :D I was watching this opening with some friends and some were "eh" at the episode. I admit, it wasn't as action packed as the last few episodes leading up to the season finale but boy, I think we are just getting warmed up! A couple points/predictions;
- Daryl: oh my sweet husband
to be. Him leaving for Merle wasn't really surprising if you ask me. It seems he and Carol have a much deeper bond this time around too and more of it is exposed. With Daryl hinting that Carol will understand to Carol talking to Beth on what she would do if her husband came back, it seems like there is a slight case of Stockholm Syndrome with Merle and Daryl, the same way with Carol and Ed.
- Milton: In this episode, Milton really stood out to me. It seems like Milton is a genuinely good man but is torn between being the liaison between the Governor, Andrea and Woodbury. I think he is passive towards the Governor but also is growing to dislike him more. See the way he reacted to the Merle and Daryl fight. There's a lot of humanity in Milton and I hope he will help Andrea secure Woodbury. I also hope those guards will start taking Andrea more seriously since the Governor has proven he can't be a good leader amongst chaos.
- Rick: Can we say the man needs a serious break? Between saving the crew, prepping for war against the governor, I think Hershel should step in and be the main head of the crew. Granted, he is disabled but he is the voice of reasoning in the group and always has been, even with Rick leading. I think Rick should've kept the new crew in their own cell. Not sure what the new crew will do but here are my predictions:
- Andrea ends up leading Woodbury with the help of Milton; while they hold down the fort to restore security, the Governor will get all Dirty Harry on Rick and the gang.
- Tyrese and Sasha will try to find a way to stay in the prison while Dingleberry #1 and Dingleberry #2 will try to find a way to compromise Rick's crew and take over the prison. Tyrese will probably try to do what Rick did with Hershel back on the farm in Season 2 and try to reason...while the Dingleberries will pull a Shane and just try to f*$k everything up.
- Merle and Daryl will enjoy each other's teamwork for a bit but I believe Daryl will start to really miss the crew and try to break away from Merle....but knowing how dominant and hostile Merle is, it won't be an easy fleet, resulting in Daryl possibly killing Merle, freeing himself from him and going back to the crew.
- Lori will keep making appearances to haunt Rick. Maybe she will appear to him as an apparition and communicate with him?
- We might tap into more of Axel too. Carol was ready to castrate him last season but maybe we'll learn more about his past, personality, etc.
- Glenn will probably want to try to take over the crew. He's so PO'd at Rick and that anger might cloud his judgement and question Rick's leadership. This causes a rift between Maggie and Glenn as well.
- Hershel will still be Hershel and I will still be envious of Carol getting to ride the back of Daryl's bike.
What are you predictions? Any comments? Follow me on Twitter @janespringfield and let's chit-chat!
Picture Credit: AMC
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