Written By: Evan Reilly
Directed By: Guy Ferland
The Story: Andrea and Michonne encounter the Governer of Woodbury (David Morrissey), as well as Merle, Daryl’s long thought dead brother.
The Verdict: After two weeks or so of hardcore zombie action, the series takes a bit of a pit stop this week, focusing entirely on Andrea, Michonne, and the Governor. Whilst not necessarily a bad thing, WALK WITH ME does suffer from a lack of major action or big revelations, the result being an episode that feels a bit too safe.
The main problem here is the Governor. Not because actor David Morrissey gives a bad performance (if anything, his performance is the highlight of the entire episode), but because the character has been toned down so much for television. Fans of the comic-book will tell you just how much of a bastard the guy is and what twisted things he’s capable of, but what we get here not only suggests that that’s been toned down massively, but that the show is going to play it safe with his character for a majority of the season.
I may be wrong. I hope I’m wrong. If anything, it’s an episode that could just well be designed to lure us into a false sense of security. The closing moments offer a dark hint at where this storyline may well be going, and the return of Merle Dixon, played with relish by Michael Rooker, hints at even more darker things to come. But as a standalone episode, WALK WITH ME plays it too safe by THE WALKING DEAD’s standards.
Best Bit: The massacre of the military troops by the Governor and his cronies is a well shot little setpiece, made all the more chilling by Morrissey’s ‘nice guy’ portrayal.
Great Gore: The Soldier cut in half by helicopter blades in the episode’s beginning is a spectacular display of make-up designer Greg Nicotero’s sublime work on the show.
Join us next week for part four of THN’s THE WALKING DEAD Season 3 Blog!
