Season 3 Episode Guide

Episode 16- Welcome to the Tombs

Woodbury vs. the Prison is finally going down. The result ends up being a pretty huge shocker. The war has loads of action and violence, but the most exciting parts are the transformations of several characters. "Welcome to the Tombs" reveals who really is the better leader between Rick and the Governor.
For part of the season, it appeared Rick and the Governor were equally crazy. The big difference is we got to see Rick at the start of the zombie apocalypse, and we knew he was once a good man. It did appear that this new world was waging a war on both men's sanity.

It is a war that Rick has a chance to win, and last week, he showed glimmers of his former self when he stepped down as dictator and decided against turning on Michonne. It is now very clear that Rick never really deserved to be compared to the Governor. Sure, poor Rick kept seeing images of his dead wife and would occasionally have shouting matches with himself, but he was able to avoid gunning down his own people. [Full Summary]

Episode 15- This Sorrowful Life

The Walking Dead delivered a cliffhanger two episode ago regarding if Rick would turn Michonne over to the Governor. It felt more like the last step on a flight of stairs rather than a giant cliff. The end game has always appeared to be Rick's crew vs. the Governor's crew. The "Will Rick betray Michonne?" question seemed to have the obvious answer of "No" and to be a plot element to just drag things out to the finale.

I was right about Rick's decision, but "This Sorrowful Life" offers up some huge plot and character developments.Halfway through the episode, I remark to my wife that there have been a lot of scenes with Merle. She then responded that this will follow my theory that a character who suddenly gets a lot more screen time is making a bloody exit from the show. Even though it was my theory, I didn't think this could be Merle's swan song quite yet. An arrow to his zombie head says it is, unless he joins the Lori ghost crew. But I'm getting ahead of myself here. [Full Summary]

Episode 14- Prey

Prior to this episode, I tried to defend Andrea by claiming her nonsensical decision to stick in Woodbury was her attempt to protect and look after the innocent citizens. Once again, I'm completely wrong. Her real reason for returning to Woodbury is so she can spend an entire episode running away from the Governor.Milton reveals Governor's real plans with Michonne and Rick to Andrea. After being one of the most gullible TV characters ever, she now decides the Governor is crazy and it is time to return to her original group. This leads to Andrea playing a show-long game of hide and seek with the Governor. The first time she goes to the prison, it feels like a 10-minute leisurely jog. The prison must have moved because now it takes her over a day and seems like a massive trek through the wilderness. [Full Summary]

Episode 13- Arrows on the Doorpost

Rick and Governor have themselves a "crazy man" summit. There are pretty intense moments during the discussion, but after killing each other's people and damaging each other's security, it may be way past the moment for tea time. Though I get a kick out of "I see dead people" Rick coming back to his crew and declaring that the Governor is crazy. When the man receiving phone calls from beyond thinks you're off your rocker, then you've got some serious issues to work through. 

Governor spends most of the discussion trying to make himself look like a poor man just trying to protect his people. He even conjurs up a nice sob story about his dead wife, losing a loved one is about as common as blowing your nose during flu season. It is hard to garner any more sympathy than every other person around. Of course, Governor gets bored of playing that game and jumps over into threat territory. He seems to not be that fond of his pirate look and wants revenge on Michonne. He promises Rick there will be peace if he surrenders her over. [Full Summary]

Episode 12- Clear

Rick returns to his hometown, and it looks very different than we remember from the series premiere. But I want to know how they're even anywhere close to where Rick started three seasons ago. During the excursion over the entire series, were they content with covering a little less than a quarter of a mile a day? Or was their goal to travel in a circle because, hey, who doesn't love circles, since they resemble doughnuts? Rick obviously misses doughnuts. If you ever have to move across the country, it appears it would be best to not ask for assistance from Rick's crew.

It doesn't really make sense that Rick would be anywhere near his hometown, but it does end up becoming important. Like many long-time Walking Deadviewers, I've been wondering what ever happened to Morgan and Duane from the first-ever episode. It appears poor Duane became dinner for his zombie mom, and Morgan has become about 50 more kinds of crazy than Rick. [Full Summary]

Episode 11- I Ain't A Judas

The Governor begins drafting an army for his assault. Woodbury's leader is really into youth involvement, recruiting kids young as 13 years old. Great idea, Governor! No one makes better soldiers than pubescent bundles of hormones and angst. Andrea balks at this idea, but her concerns fall on deaf ears. Come on, when queen of terrible decisions Andrea acts as your voice of reason, something's terribly wrong. Rick's also getting his leadership questioned, as Hershel unceremoniously tells him to get it together. Even Carl suggests his dad take a breather from being dictator for a while. That definitely sounds like a great idea; Daryl and Glenn seem much more put together currently. At this point, really anyone who's not hallucinating that their dead wife's walking around could be an ideal candidate. [Full Summary]

Episode 10- Home

Governor shocks absolutely no viewers by lying to Andrea and deciding to assault the prison. Remember when people wondered where the prison was and it appeared this mammoth structure was hidden? Now, it seems like everyone stumbles upon it within seconds, and makes you kind of wonder why it took so long for it to be inhabited.

The Woodbury army of five does a rather fine job of making life hell for the prison crew. Things may have gone better for our heroes if they didn't take target practice lessons from stormtroopers. All the good guys are cowering for cover from the bullets, but the Governor calmly stands out in the open, not afraid that any bullet will come near him. The bullets hit everything but what should be their targets, until Maggie finally takes out the Woodbury baddie on the guard tower. Now we know why they like to use knives instead when battling zombies. [Full Summary]

Episode 9- The Suicide King

Speaking of fools, Andrea discovers her friends are still alive and that the Governor is unhinged, but she sticks around in Woodbury? I'm hoping she is done playing Funky Town with the Governor, but she still seems intent on defending him. Her speech in defense of the Governor is after he admitted he had Glenn and Maggie held captive and is now ready to declare war on her friends. Andrea has been a little unstable ever since losing her sister at the start of The Walking Dead series, but now she has slid into unsympathetic territory. How clueless is she to not realize Woodbury is an insane asylum destined for doom?  Instead, she is promising the citizens they'll make it in the history books, because obviously there will be lots of time to write those while fending off zombies.

There were a lot of doubters when I claimed Rick was waving goodbye to his sanity at the start of season 3. Now that he is waving his gun at innocent people because he saw his dead wife, I'd say his sanity is chilling out with the Governor's.  It looks like Rick's recent theatrics may be a sign that a new person will be stepping up as leader. I'm sure Rick will remain the main character, but it would be hard to empathize with his groups if they still trust Rick after he treats his gun like a baton. [Full Summary]