"The Walking Dead" Wrap-up

So in terms of "The Walking Dead", I have sat here multiple times wondering how to approach the season finale...another recap? Recap and commentary? All of this playing back and forth in my head like a tennis match all while trying to deal with a nasty fever and juggling work. So I decided to throw away the traditional recapping for this one and get straight down to the nitty-gritty of the finale. Yeah, I may be a little tardy for the party. I have legit excuses...anyways...

Where to flippin' begin....

A new sanctuary

The season started out with promise. The group FINALLY found a safe haven, Lori was about to pop out a baby, Michonne and Andrea were taken to what seemed to be like a safe haven and there was no Shane to be a pouting ninny to ruin the fun for everyone. All was well (well, as well as it could be in a post-zombie apocalypse).

But alas, all must things in such a world must turn into a major clusterflip of epic porportions and there's always gotta be that someone to cause it. First season was Merle. Second was Shane. This time, it was the Governor. But before I get to him, lets get to the major deaths of the story: T-Dog and Lori, especially when Carl took Lori's own life and it seemed as if Rick was about to lose his marbles for good....fortunately, his crew gave him space, he earned a trusty companion in Michonne who was sympathetic to Rick's plight and eventually, helped pulled him out of his slump to where he could function as a leader again.

An emotional mid-season blow

There were new friends made, new rivals and new reunions. There was first the prisoners; while Tomas and Andrew turned no pun intended against Rick, Axel and Oscar decided to help within the ranks of the group as much as possible; unfortunately, the new allies's deaths came much too soon. Daryl blindly went off with Merle but not for long before Daryl...with Merle following...returned to his new family to rescue Rick and the others. Andrea and Michonne's friendship of survival and trust turned sour when Michonne left Woodbury but Andrea "chose a warm bed" over friendship. The decision meant that in the end, Michonne was alive and "on the good side" while a blindsided Andrea was stepping closer to her death by, interestingly enough, someone she considered a friend. Lesson learned, ladies...chicks over dicks! But the deaths kept continuing as the troublemaker that survived a walkerfest in Atlanta (I'm talking Merle) did one decent thing in his life and the end result was getting shot and turning, much to his brother's grim discovery.

A tragic end... 

But the Governor's reign of terror made the deaths of Lori and T-Dog seem like a side story after awhile, from his random mafia-style hits, to the walker fights, invading the prison and then going off the deep end and slaughtering his own townspeople. Rick was still lost, searching for Lori and was disappointed to know that when he reunited with his personal savior Morgan, that Morgan seemed to have lost his own set of marbles for good and refused to join the crew back at the prison. At that same time, Rick neglected a hitchiker that screamed for help, only to be fallen prey to walkers. This inhumanity was beginning to rub off on a growing Carl at an alarming rate. Rick was ready to turn in Michonne to the Governor. A MUCH different tune than the way Rick led the group in the beginning. It made me very anxious as a fan to see how the show would end. But once again, the show never fails to disappoint when it comes to season finales. The show leaves behind a glimmer of hope in a world that seemed to get more gruesome, darker and bloodier; Rick's humanity is slowly being restored (maybe perhaps partially influenced by guilt for his recent actions and behavior and how it's rubbing off on Carl) when he and the crew bring in the survivors of Woodbury. While Woodbury and the prison have their comparisons as far as security goes, the people of Woodbury are much better off under Rick than the Governor's facade.

As season 3 has been at an end for awhile now, I know a lot of my fellow TWD fans are suffering from withdrawls and rewatching the Boondock Saints. There's been lots of questions and even spoilers as to what the next season will bring. I'm not going to make any predictions now nor will I read any spoilers. All I know is that TWD continues to be a huge success and I've been a fan of ALL three seasons so I'm stoked to see what Season 4 will bring and how the creators will up the ante!

Any newsletters/updates I get will be posted here. I will close with this;

Picture Credit: AMC, The Walking Dead Official Facebook

Follow me @janespringfield

Amazing Race 22: Finale Recap "Belfast, Beacon of Hope" Ep 11 &12

Get Ready, Get Set, …Go…This is the Amazing Race 22 featuring 11 teams with pre-existing relationships who race around the world and compete for a chance to win one million dollars.

The cast includes the following teams:

Team                               Relationship
                           
Idries & Jamil                Twin Doctors                
Max & Katie                  Newlyweds          
Mona & Beth                 Roller Derby Moms              
Bates & Anthony           Hockey Brothers          
Chuck & Wynona          Married               
David & Connor             Father/Son Cancer Survivors          
Caroline & Jennifer        Friends/Country Singers                  
Joey & Meghan             Friends/YouTube Hosts          
Pamela & Winnie          Best Friends                   
Jessica & John              Dating                  
Matthew & Daniel          Best Friends/Firefighters

*Eliminated

This week Max and Katie were the first to arrive, so they will be the first to depart. The Battaglia brothers are the 2nd team to depart.

Leg 11 (Edinburgh, Scotland → Belfast, Northern Ireland )

Everyone catches up at the ferry terminal.
They have to take a ferry to Belfast, Northern Ireland.

They will get their clue at Peatlands park.
The country singers and soccer moms make a wrong turn and are way behind the other teams.

ROADBLOCK: Go bog snorkeling in a wet suit in cold weather, in the mud.

At this point the Battaglia brothers are in the lead with Katie and Max right behind them. The country singers are having the hardest time with this challenge.

Next task: ‘Find the thing with the ring’.

DETOUR A: Tray it - Serve a 5 course meal from the final Titanic meal menu.
(Max and Katie and Battaglia Brothers). Max and Katie are in the lead and the soccer moms start to catch up but can’t figure out the menu. Bates is about to lose it and starts to blame all their bad luck on Anthony. 'madone'

DETOUR B: Spray it - Create a graffiti mural at a sports center. (Caroline and Jennifer).

Max and Katie are in the lead. Ulster Hall is the Pit Stop for this leg of the race and the last team to check in will be eliminated.

Max and Katie are team number one by a hair.
Bates and Anthony are team number two.

The soccer moms are team number three and they will continue with the race in the final three.

Caroline and Jennifer are team number four and have been eliminated from the race.

Leg 12 (Belfast, Northern Ireland → Washington, D.C, USA )

Max and Katie will depart first. They are on their way to London.
They all catch up at the ferry which is an 8 commute.

They get a pint of beer and head to Washington DC.
They all catch up at the airport.

They have to go to the Lincoln Memorial where Martin L King gave his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech.
Next they to go to the Tidal Basin and find a marked car to get their next clue.

Max and Katie are in the lead.

ROADBLOCK: Involves finding a particular spy out of many and obtaining a briefcase. It looks like a scene out of the Matrix.

(Side note: Guess who one of the spies were??? It was none other than Michael Bell, the artist, who we have written about in our blogs! Check out this link at the 7 second mark Michael Bell the spy

Bates and Anthony get their clue and have a slight lead.

Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
Clue: Involves ascending the stadium and zip across the stadium while throwing a ball to the team member in the field.

Bates and Anthony are currently in the lead followed by Max and Katie with the soccer moms right behind them.

Final challenge – one team member must search globes and find the ones with the countries that they went to and then the other team member must put them in the order that they arrived in.

They now have to race to Mt. Vernon, the home of the first president.

Bates and Anthony, grandsons of Sam Battaglia the mobster,  win the race and one million dollars : TEAM NUMBER ONE!!!  Tutto e’ bene quel che finisce bene.

Max and Katie are team number two.

Mona and Beth are team number three.

Written By: Cousin Vinny