The Walking Dead: “Killer Within”

“Can’t we have one good day?”

Oh, Glenn. You’ll never risk the Fates by uttering a line like that again, will you? Especially since Maggie’s not Pinlikely to ever let you have sex with her again after what she just went through.

Man, they’re really not fucking around this season, are they? That was the bloodiest, goriest episode of this show yet. And thank god for that, we say. Not that we want to see that much gore and death every episode, but after the slow crawl of season 2, it’s exhilarating (from a story perspective) to see such a commitment from the writers to go balls to the wall.

By the way, we would be remiss if we didn’t point out that the bloodiest, hardest-to-watch scene in the episode – and possibly the series – was not a death scene or a zombie put-down, but a woman giving birth in the worst possible situation. That’s some dramatic irony for you right there – and a very good illustration of just how screwed these people are.

Once again, the point is driven home (like a spike through a zombie’s head) that there is no room for compassion in this world. If you have an enemy, then that enemy must die. The whole prison attack and subsequent massacre Pincame down to Rick pissing off one person – and then letting them go instead of killing them outright. Rick started off the season hardened to the point of insanity. We have no idea how fucked up he’s going to be after this, but we’re willing to go out on a limb and offer the highly technical prediction of: Pretty Damn Fucked Up.

And speaking of fucked up, let’s hear it for Carl, folks. The little kid with the gun, the view of his mama’s bloody vagina and gutted stomach, and the bullet he put through her brain. They’re all working so hard to carve out a life for themselves in this new world, but ten years from now, should any of them survive, they’re going to be faced with the most fucked up generation of young adults the world has ever seen.

And speaking even further of fucked up, let’s hear it for Andrea, folks. The lady who never met a psychopath she couldn’t bat her eyes at. What the hell is WRONG with that chick? There’s “bad taste in men” and then there’s the Eva Braun School of Dating Advice. We’re thinking the only reason Michonne is staying in Woodbury is out of deep concern for her friend; possibly even a romantic inclination. But even she doesn’t come off too bright in this scenario. Sure, her instincts are serving her well in that she’s highly suspicious, but the blood on that truck bed Pinshould’ve been enough for her to say “We’re getting out of here. RIGHT NOW.”

So Rest in Peace, Lori. The writers screwed your character up so badly that they had to diverge from the books once again and just get you good and killed off. Rest in Peace, T-Dog. There’s a new black guy in the cast and he’s already had more lines than you ever got, so out you go. We can’t say either of these deaths were a bad idea. Of course we think it’s possible to have more than one black guy in the cast, but the simple fact is, the writers screwed T-Dog almost as bad as they screwed Lori and if we had to pick two cast members to go, it would have been those two. Lori couldn’t really be rehabilitated as a character and T-Dog had turned into something of a joke. Even when they did give him lines, the audience’s reaction was always, “Hey! T-Dog got a line!” We’re pretty sure Carol’s not dead, but we’d be kind of upset if she was. Her character was almost as badly defined as Lori and T-Dog, but the writers did a pretty good job of turning her around this season, and we’re interested to see more of her, especially since Darryl clearly has a soft spot for her.Pin

And speaking of Darryl, a showdown with Merle (and by extension, the Governor) is surely coming and we wonder whether he’ll have the balls to stand up to him and protect his friends.

But isn’t that great? Isn’t it a marked improvement over last season that there’s real dramatic conflict in the offing? What will happen to Rick now? Or Carl? How will Darryl deal if Carol dies or he’s forced to face off against his brother? Is Michonne going to leave Andrea in the clutches of her latest ill-advised crush or will she stay in Woodbury and risk decapitation for pissing off the Governor? Will the two remaining prisoners be integrated into Rick’s group, and if so, can they be trusted? Can Maggie sustain a relationship with Glenn after what she’s just been through?

Isn’t this all so much better than “Hey, you guys. Where’s Carl and Sophia?”

[Photo Credit: AMC]

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