Walking Dead Debrief 3x03 "Walk With Me"...

See the debrief for the previous episode here.

See memes for this episode here.




WARNING: EPISODE 3x03 SPOILERS AHEAD!



WHAT WE LEARNED:

* As I'd thought, 3x03 focused purely on Andrea, Michonne, The Governor, Merle, and Woodbury. Back at the prison they have safety, shelter, food, medical supplies, and have dealt with the other survivors - they now have time to take a breather - so when you've got a whole bunch of new people and situations to introduce, you're going to require an entire episode to do so. The next episode will feature both the Prison and Woodbury though, so it seems.

* The people of Woodbury refer to walkers as "creepers", "biters" and "lurkers".

* Andrea and Michonne didn't know that anyone who dies becomes a walker - Rick only admitted the truth (as told to him by Dr Edwin Jenner in 1x06 "TS-19") after the herd of walkers had besieged the Greene farm, at which point Andrea had been left behind (apparently taken down by walkers as far as Rick & Co are concerned).

* Milton is the town's very own Dr Logan (Day of the Dead). Seeking to find reason amidst the chaos of the zombie apocalypse, he proffers his thesis regarding Michonne's undead bodyguards. Removed of the ability to eat the flesh of the living (arms and lower jaw severed), walkers will become docile and act as repellent to other geeks.

Click "READ MORE" below to continue the 3x03 debrief...

* Merle seems to be The Governor's head of security, or at least high in those ranks. Losing a hand hasn't stopped him from becoming a sharp shooter with a silenced rifle either. It seems that, near death, he was picked up by their crew in the early days and has been with them since. Maybe he has developed a softer side (Merle seems genuine enough in his condolences to Andrea for the loss of her sister Amy back in the first season), only time will tell. He does seem to have a fractious relationship with Milton, in a set-up that could be referencing the antagonism between Captain Rhodes and Doc Logan in George A. Romero's Day of the Dead - even Milton's lab is reminiscent of the 1985 film.

* Michonne keeps herself to herself, even Andrea - who has been with the katana-wielding icon of the comics for seven-or-eight months now - doesn't know who the two undead bodyguards were to Michonne.

* Information is key - The Governor uses it to brutal ends, all as a means to scavenge and continue to protect the walls that keep Woodbury locked away from the threat of walkers.

* There's 73 (soon to be 74) official residents of Woodbury.

* Milton is a softly spoken and kind-natured man, a man of ideas rather than action. He's also pretty good at making a pot of tea. Judging by the look on his face after The Governor and his security team return with military vehicles and equipment (but no soldiers), Milton has seen this all before, and doesn't agree with it at all - but from a position of relative weakness, he has been forced to accept the situation in exchange for relative safety.

* David Morrissey is going to make for an excellent Governor. The actor was able to bring a richly textured performance - his Governor was charming, pleasant, suspicious, two-faced, talented at lying and disarming performances of politics, brutally ruthless, and - behind those wounded eyes - a tortured soul who was once a decent family man. It's a testament to Morrissey's performance that even with everything you've seen, there's a hint of sympathy for the man who has clearly gone through horrendous experiences (prior to our meeting him) that have created the man before us now. In that final scene there is a sense of hurt and extreme depression, of a man who has tumbled down a rabbit hole and discovered only viciousness at the bottom after a bumpy ride on the way down.

BEST GORE MOMENT:

* Examining the decapitated bodies of Michonne's bodyguards, The Governor boldly inserts his fingers into the half-maw of one of them as its eyes continue to look around. The cliffhanger was also a stunning moment for gore fiends, and the helicopter crash included a bi-sected solider. There was even a shredded-looking walker hung from a tree near the entrance.

BEST TWIST ON THE COMICS:

* The Governor was extremely ruthless and fear-inducing in the comics, his nasty ways seeming more open and on display. However, what we have here is somewhat of a politician - capable of standing before his townsfolk seemingly with his heart on his sleeve and his head bowed in solemnity and easily lying about the true fate of the soldiers he encountered with his security team (all of whom are clearly entrusted with their silence). The Governor's charm is tempting if you're only getting half the story though - clearly Andrea has found a little slice of heaven and is perhaps falling for the man's easy surface charms (he likewise appears to have an interest in Andrea - might we see a key plot element from the comics change hands?)

THE CLIFFHANGER:

The Governor - whose real name is never revealed - has already been revealed to be ruthless and charming in equal measure, but there is something darker still lurking behind his eyes which hint at a ravaged soul. A naked woman sleeps in his bed, but judging by the picture on his mantle, she's not his wife - and where is the kid in the picture too? Behind a locked door (the key to which is around the man's neck at all times) lies a generator, a lounger chair, and a novel new use for fish tanks. Fans of the comic would have already guessed this shocking reveal was coming (it was one of the most memorable images from the early volumes of Kirkman's comic), but even still, it teases the viewer with dangerous and dark possibilities of what is to come.