It’s time for your weekly dose of Walking Dead goodness, so brace yourself because a lot happened in this 42-minute block of television gold. Rick finally loses his mind, the Dixon brothers break up, Axel bites the big one, the Governor is a prick, and a bread truck loaded with zombies smashes through the prison gates. Needless to say, we have a lot to talk about.
Rick Grimes: Mental Patient
Rick has lost it. When a person busts out of a secure prison, chasing the apparition of his deceased wife through fields of walkers, I think you can count him among the ranks of the clinically insane. Of course, when confronted by Hershel about his very apparent mental decline, Rick responds by saying that he has “stuff” out there. Stuff? Care to expand Rick?
He does admit to Hershel that he knows the things he’s seeing aren’t real, but this clearly isn’t enough to stop him from traipsing around after Lori. It’s too bad there’s a zombie plague going on, because Rick could really use a therapist. It seems the only thing that can snap him out of it is a bullet whizzing by his head.
Pop goes the Axel
Speaking of bullets whizzing by heads, Axel got the same treatment. Except in this case, when I say “by,” I mean “through.” That’s right, courtesy of the Governor, Alex catches a bullet to the dome, showering Carol with blood like she’s in the front row of a Gallagher concert.
This brings to light one inevitable and undeniable truth: If you get close to Carol, you are going to die. Husband? Check. Daughter? Check. Horny mustached inmate? Check. In fact, the only person that has gotten close to Carol and survived is Daryl, who is probably only saved by his shear awesomeness and zombie-exterminating skills. Well, that and his crossbow. Hopefully Daryl can survive the “Carol Curse” and continue to grace our screens for seasons to come.
The Dixon Divide
As for the Dixons, the honeymoon is over and there is trouble in paradise. Since last week’s not-so-tearful reunion, Daryl and Merle have been wandering the woods in search of supplies, trying to figure out their next move. Merle hasn’t changed; if anything, it seems if he’s even more of a prick than ever before, if that’s possible.
The same can’t be said for Daryl though. He has most definitely changed, and his new personality locks horns with Merle’s at every turn. Daryl, finally fed up with his brother’s crap, points his crossbow at his brother’s head after they save a small band of the living from a walker onslaught. This is definitely something that the old Daryl would never have done.
After the showdown, we are given a little insight into how the Dixons became the empathetic, fun-loving bunch that we all know and love. Even though it’s never said directly, we’ve been dancing around the idea that they were severely abused children in a broken home, and that Merle left as soon as possible, abandoning his little brother. During a tussle in the woods, scars on Daryl’s’ back are revealed, which seem to shock even Merle. Apparently, good ol’ Dad was beating Daryl with a hot poker or something.
At this point, Daryl is done with Merle and heads back to the prison. He leaves his big brother with these words: “I might be the one walking away, but you’re the one who’s leaving, again.” Well played, sir. Well played.
The Governator Returns
The Governor may be the most deviously villainous sociopath that we’ve ever seen on television. Just when we think he might turn back toward doing a little good, we get smacked in the face with a heaping dose of villainy. And we keep falling for it. Personally, I’m done with him and his games. He could save twenty kids from a burning building surrounded by walkers, in a hurricane, while simultaneously recovering the zombie cure, and I still wouldn’t trust him. I would be waiting for him to smash the cure on the ground in front of all the children and to then throw all of them into an adjacent building and light it on fire. That’s how messed up he is.
The Governor mounts an assault on the prison with his goon squad and shoots poor Axel in the head (just when he is starting to get somewhere with Carol). And this is after he tells Andrea that he has no plans to attack her friends.
Bread Truck + Prison Fence = Yard Full of Walkers
During the Governor’s assault on the prison, a bread truck comes barreling down the road to the prison, smashes through the front gates, pulls a U-turn, and dumps a truckload full of walkers in the yard. Where the hell did that come from?
To top it off, someone in full body armor hops out of the truck and runs away. Who is it? We can’t be sure, but I do know this: At this point the most epic zombie-killing showdown since the taking of the prison earlier in the season ensues, and it’s spectacular. For some reason, the Governor’s hit squad takes off, and the surviving group members go to town.
Everyone gets their therapeutic zombie target practice on: Michonne goes on a walker decapitation spree, and Rick goes Rambo on a bunch of walkers outside the perimeter. He runs out of bullets and has to fight them off hand to hand, and just when he is about to be overwhelmed by the zombie horde, guess who shows up? The Dixon duo comes out of the woods, kicking zombie butt and saving Rick.
When the dust settles, Rick seems to come to his senses a bit, and he is pissed. I don’t know if it’s because he was being shot at, that he had walkers turned loose on him, or if it’s that he owes Merle his life, but one thing is certain; that is one angry man.
What’s he going to do next? I guess we will have to tune in next week to find out. Be sure to check us out again next week here at cheatcc.com for more Walking Dead goodness.
| By Josh Bruce Freelance Writer Date: February 18, 2013 |