The Walking Dead Season 3 Review

Alright, I suck, I'll admit it; I've basically stopped reviewing TWD of late. I didn't even review the season finale. But I'm here to make it up to you! Yeah, I know this is like the fourth time I've said I'm back in a big way, but I kinda mean it this time. Anyway...

Spoilers for the season follow.

Okay, so, after a really freaking epic second season finale/cliffhanger, the third season of The Walking Dead began back in October. People were excited from the get-go: the cliffhanger at the end of last season left us begging for more, the trailers looked epic, they announced the arrival of Michonne and the Governor, I couldn't wait.

The season picked up roughly eight and a half months after the end of the last one, and the group has been reduced drastically, but now everyone's a total badass (more on that later). They are a well-oiled machine when it comes to killing walkers and clearing a place out. In the season premier, they find the prison, they take it, they kill a bunch of walkers, and it was awesome. And in the prison they stayed. The prison, in my- and a lot of other people's- opinion was the best part of the season. It was a cool metaphor to begin with, but beyond that, something like 75% of the cool stuff that happened went down at the prison.

Meanwhile, Andrea and her katanna-wielding friend Michonne stumble upon Woodbury after Merle (yeah, that Merle. He has a sword for a hand!) find them. Woodbury is this town that's basically the City of Ember on the surface world (I was like eleven when those books came out, sue me), complete with a creepy leader in the form of the Governor. The Governor's insane. That's the best way to put it. He keeps heads of people he's offed in jars, keeps his zombified daughter chained up in a closet, gets his eye stabbed out by Michonne, and basically goes around being a murderous nutcase while still convincing most people they can trust him. Including Andrea. More on that in a later.

As great- and well acted- of a villain as the Governor was, Woodbury itself was a let down. The people in the town were morons (and really bad actors), the zombie-gladiator fights just looked ridiculous, and it generally hosted the slowest and dullest parts to the season. Including Andrea. Okay, so in seasons 1 and 2, I didn't give a crap about Andrea. I didn't hate her, but I genuinely wouldn't have cared if zombie-Shane had eaten her before Carl gunned him down. This season though, we all learned to despise her. Because she's an idiot. There's no other way to describe it, she was just stupid. She let herself basically get seduced by the Governor, a guy she barely knew, even when her BFF Michonne told her she was being a moron, thought she could somehow be a diplomat between Woodbury and the prison, and just acted stupid. And then she died. And I did a little dance. Again, more on that later.

Actually, more on that now. It was big season for killing characters. The most notable one was Lori, given a c-section with buck-knife to save her baby and then shot in the head by Carl so she wouldn't turn (and those of you who bitched about wanting a zombie baby: no, that would've ruined the moment). I'll be honest, I cried. It was actually a credit to the writers, taking one of the most hated characters in the entire show and make people weep over her death in what was probably the best episode of the series thus far. T-Dog died in the same episode. Yeah. Omar and Axl, a couple of guys they found in the prison, died too, and I actually did care a little bit. Merle's death really managed to get me, though, probably had something to do with his becoming a zombie and Daryl having to ice him. It was sad. Milton's death I actually found myself caring about, just because I liked his character. And he killed Andrea (hooray!). As far as Andrea's death went, it was obvious that the writers were going for the same thing they got with Lori's death, but it just didn't work. And yet, through all this, Maggie's sister Beth, who most people don't even know the name of, somehow survived. Go figure.

All the death aside, this was a great season for character development: Rick went insane after Lori died, and while the hallucinations are over, I really doubt he's out of crazy town yet. Hershel basically became the spiritual adviser the group (makes sense, what with Dale being dead and all), Daryl, now a fan-favorite, became Rick's uber-badass second in command. Yeah, he's awesome. And of course, Carl. In season two, Carl was a brat who wouldn't stay in the damned barn. Now, he's believably become a total BAMF and expert zombie-killer who put his own mother down. Some folks are actually complaining that he's not getting enough screen-time anymore. And then in the season finale he kills a guy in cold blood. Long story short, he's turning into Shane. I can't wait to see where that goes.

Michonne has a bit of a rocky introduction: a lot of people didn't like her at first (she was kind of pouty). I didn't dislike, but I didn't genuinely start to like her character until the second half of the season (when Morgan came back, hell yeah!), which is when most people started warming up to her. Give it another season, everyone'll love her (it's weird, because the first time I ever watched the show, I remember thinking "there should be someone with a sword").

So, season was going well, Andrea aside, all the pieces were falling into place, we were all set up for a big, epic fight in the season finale. And we got it... for exactly three minutes. It was the single most anitclimactic thing I've seen since the eighth season finale of Smallville. I have mixed feelings at best about the final moments of the season. I think everyone just expected the Governor to die this season that we were all put off by it. It was a let down for sure. I just don't know how they'll keep the character as a viable threat for another season. As far as the remnants of Woodbury moving into the prison with the gang and forming the People's Republic of Rick goes: meh. Again, it was underwheliming, and while it could yield some cool stuff next season, it could also suck hard. I won't quit watching, but next season had better have some major payoff.

All in all, great season, disappointing ending.

Final Rating: 85%