The Walking Dead - recaperific

Is anyone else still reeling from last week?  It doesn’t help that I tuned in a bit early and caught the end of last week’s show.  I’m still impressed by Andrew Lincoln’s bit at the end where he breaks down.  You see him achieve full realization of what transpired.  It’s written all over his face.  Ok, onto this week.

“Say the Word”

The show opens in Woodbury where life is terribly pleasant.  They even have pets there.  There’s a celebration going on and Andrea is incredibly impressed with the cold drinks.  Milton the science guy isn’t thrilled with using the generators to chill beverages but the Governor sees it as a morale booster.  Speaking of the dear Governor, he’s brushing the hair of a young girl when the brush snags and scalps her a bit.  Oy, it’s his walker daughter.  Yikes.  She struggles and he tries to calm her down by putting a cloth bag over her head.  He’s over by a window and notices that Michonne is down below but there’s no telling what she could see from down there.

At the prison, Rick, unsurprisingly, is not totally with it.  Daryl is determined to keep the baby alive and offers to find some formula.  Maggie and Glenn both offer to join him but in the end it’s just Maggie who climbs on the back of his motorcycle to help find some store that’s not been totally picked over.  Rick’s got the machete and goes on a walker rampage inside the prison.  It’s effective but not going to bring Lori back.  However, it probably let off a little steam.  I hope.

In Woodbury, the Governor is reminding the townsfolk what they’re celebrating (the beginning of their town) and how far they’ve come from those first few days together.  Michonne takes this opportunity to snoop around the Governor’s place and get her katana back.  She finds a ledger, with the name, Penny, underlined and then what seems to be the scribbling of a madman.  Michonne almost gets caught by the Governor, Merle and some other dude but escapes and finds a plant/warehouse place and some penned up walkers.  She unlocks the walkers and uses them as a refresher for how her katana works.  It’s pretty gory so I rewind the scene to watch it again. I do not slow it down to watch her stomp the head in slow motion.  Michonne is delightfully lethal and that katana of hers is pretty damn sharp.  Behind her someone with a bucket full of guts and goo exits the building.  Ooopsie.

Michonne is sitting like a schoolgirl in trouble at the principal’s office, er, Governor’s place.  He’s got her katana again and scolds her for snooping around.  She name drops Penny and gets his attention.  He tries, unsuccessfully, to bargain with her to stay but she gets her katana back from him and uses it to make a…point…on his neck.  Heh.  She leaves and Merle enters.  The Governor tells his to take the ‘research team’ to get more grist for the mill.  I assume it’s for Milty the science guy and his experiments.  I’m wrong but we’ll get to that.

Glenn is busy digging some graves just outside the prison’s inner gate when Oscar and Axel are making small talk about the loss of T-Dog, Lori and Carol.  Glenn leaves them to dig two more, in addition to the one he’s just finished, and they get to work with no complaint.  Wow are they trying to fit in or what?!?!  Glenn goes up the hill towards a waiting Hershel.  They have a sweet conversation about family and loss and whether or not they should have just shot the prisoners on site.  Of course the only reason they found the prisoners was because they were hacking off Hershel’s leg and we all know Hershel shouldn’t have even been with them.  So really, is there any point in dwelling on past choices? 

The Governor tells Andrea about the morning’s news regarding Michonne.  She’s a problem and is upsetting the townsfolk.  Of course we’ve not seen any of this complaining since the townsfolk, aside from the Governor, Milty the science guy and Merle, don’t actually talk.  So we (and I’m including Andrea) just get to take the Governor’s word for it.  Andrea returns to their room and finds Michonne packing to leave.  She’s desperate to go but has this sneaking suspicion that people can’t just up and leave Woodbury whenever they want.  Andrea is happy drinking the chilled Woodbury Kool Aid so she wants to stay. 

Glenn finds Rick’s trail of (twice) dead and then a completely unhinged Rick.  Did you notice that Rick hasn’t uttered a word yet this episode?  This scene is about halfway through and Rick has been silent except for a few grunts and yells here and there.  Creepy.

Merle, Milty the science guy and two dudes from the silent Woodbury ‘research team’ are out rounding up more biters.  They check a trap and it’s got some biters in it.  They’re acting like they’re fishing or pulling a trap up off the side of a crabbing boat.  It’s funny and disturbing…just the way I like my zombie entertainment.  They kill the female walker and then start pulling out the teeth of a male walker.  Odd.

 

Daryl, his poncho, and Maggie find a daycare and I’m suddenly desperate for toddler walkers.  WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!?  Of course parents would have picked up their kids and not let them die at daycare but the thought of 20 2-3 year old zombies is hilarious.  Fanfic writers should get on that.  Anywhoodle, they’re searching the place for supplies and hear something in a closet.  It’s a hissing possum.  Says Daryl, “Hello, dinner.”  LOVE HIM!!!  Maggie finds formula (Jackpot!) so this trip was totally worth it.  I hope formula has a good shelf life.

Michonne and Andrea are heading to the gate and Merle wants them to stay.  He does stop them to talk to the gate guard and Andrea almost thinks Michonne is right about this being the Hotel California of towns.  Then Merle opens the gate for them.  They argue a bit more, Michonne grasps at some conspiracy theory straws and forces Andrea to choose.  In the end, Michonne leaves and Andrea stays.  The Governor consoles Andrea and offers her a drink and some company.  She accepts because the Governor has the good scotch and the silver tongue.  They might actually make a cute couple if he didn’t come with so much weird baggage.

Daryl, his poncho, and Maggie return to the prison with their haul.  Daryl takes the crying baby girl from her brother and calms her down with some formula and southern charm.  He asks Carl what he wants to name her.  Adorably, Carl wants to name her after every female they’ve lost.  It’s a mouthful so Daryl shortens it to “Little Ass-Kicker.”  Heh.  Rick finds the boiler room and a very full walker with a big old belly.  Rick, still wordless, shoot the walker in the head and then stabs the hell out of his belly.  It’s, well, I don’t know what word I’d use to describe it.

It’s night in Woodbury and the celebration has moved to the plant.  Um, I’m getting a Roman Colosseum vibe.  And yes, Merle and some buddies are fighting each other in a ring, surrounded by chained up walkers.  Andrea is freaked out.  So am I.  After the first round they loose the chains and let the walkers even closer to our gladiators.  Andrea is unhappy with the situation and can’t understand why this town finds sport in this kind of event.  The Governor explains that it’s all for show and the “biters” have no bite at all (the tooth removing from earlier).  Andrea sees it as a way to teach folks to not fear the biters, which is a bad idea.  The Governor sees it as a way to encourage them to fight back.

It’s early morning at the prison and Daryl is laying a white flower, that harkens back to an episode from season 2, on Carol’s grave.  Um, what’s buried there?  Her headscarf?  Aren’t they at all interested in finding actual remains.  Rick is still in the boiler room looking pretty dazed.  He hears a baby crying and then a mother-effing phone rings.  He says his first and only word of the episode as he picks up the handle, “Hello?” 

WTF?!?!? This show is so bizarre.