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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Episode 4 of "Walking Dead" Season 3

Walking Dead
Walking Dead

There always seems to be trouble lurking around the corner. The fourth episode this season of the Walking Dead may have had just as much suspense and twists as the first three episodes combined. Just when things seemed to be on solid ground with Rick and the crew, everything went horribly wrong.

***SPOILER ALERT***

As the episode begins, there’s a man creepily walking around. He places meat all around the jail to distract some of the walkers. He sneaks across the courtyard and cuts the fence, the only thing keeping the massive amount of stray walkers out. All you see is his bloody hand as he drops a fresh heart by the entrance, presumably to attract more walkers. Then the show cuts away to the normally scheduled eerie opening credits. This episode is already sure to be different from the last one because both groups will be included this time around. After the credits, it shows Micchone inspecting one of the Army tanks and noticing that wet blood is still on the top. The Governor is quick to show up and try to persuade Micchone to join his army, but she stands true to her values and doesn’t fall under his mysterious spell.

The hopes of the character soon take a dramatic turn within a few minutes of the show starting. After confronting the two other man stranded in the other cell block, an alarm goes off — a very, very loud alarm. And as we’ve quickly learned, sound attracts walkers better than anything in the world. Soon the prison is totally overrun. Rick and the group are stranded a good half mile away though and have no way of reaching the rest of the group. The only characters left to defend everyone are T-Dog and Hershel. Rick, Glenn, and Daryl take too long to reach the rest of them. Soon everyone has run for safety in splintered groups.

T-Dog becomes the first main character victim in a few episodes. He had slowly become the underdog that never seemed to be going anywhere. He never had much of a presence in the group, but he was just kind of a rock that everyone could rely on. His death sets off a domino chain for the rest of the misfortunes to come.

In between, Meryl trying to flirt with Andrea, and Andrea giving it right back to the Governor, is the serious drama. Whereas the last episode revolved solely around the Governor, this episode focused on the prison setting. The breakup of the characters is always bound to leave someone vulnerable to be killed. It was no different this episode, but it was the way in which the death came that was surprising.

Running through the halls and dodging zombies is never a good life plan for a pregnant woman, a country girl and a barely teenage boy. Lori, Maggie and Carl are soon trapped in an old cellar. And, here comes a big shocker, it’s time for the baby to come! If there’s a downside to the show, it’s that some of the surprises are more predictable than a political commercial. With nowhere to go, and the previously trained doctor Carol far away, it’s up to Maggie to handle the entire birth process of the child. After a bit of pushing and straining, it becomes evident that Lori has no chance of having this child properly. Rick and the gang are searching frantically for the lost members, but it becomes clear that more paranoia is setting in than actually reason.

On a side note, an interesting sub plot has developed. Andrea seems to actually be getting close to the Governor. In a private meeting the Governor reveals to her the ways in which he thinks and that is real name is actually Phillip. It’s a short scene, but it’s just enough to show that the governor may not be the evil person that everyone thinks he is. Maybe he’s just a guy trying to get over his lost wife. He certainly wouldn’t be the first to do so.

The desperation is taking its toll on everyone in the show. Self sacrifice slowly becomes the theme of this episode. Backed into a corner with nowhere to go, an already dying T-Dog decides to give up his life in order for Carol to get away safely.

In another room, it is revealed who the mystery fence cutter is. When Rick, Daryl and one of the locked away prisoners, Oscar gets stuck in the room as another prisoner jumps out and attacks Rick. Soon Oscar is left with the choice of killing Rick, the man who betrayed him, or the prisoner, who he associated with before. Oscar defies the odds and takes down the estranged prisoner.

Just a few moments later, Lori makes the heart wrenching decision that she wants to give up her own life in order to save the child via C-section. The torment and distress on the faces of Maggie and Carl seem to be overwhelming. They debate for a few seconds until Lori adamantly states that she wants it to be done. The entire time it almost seems like a given that Carol will burst through the door at any moment. Help has to be on the way, and if it’s not, then Lori’s going to find a way to live somehow.

The times are changing. For the first time, sadness takes over everything. He holds on to his crying mother as the tears flow down both of their faces. The blade rips open Lori. Her agony is transparent and she shrieks a blood thirsty scream. Maggie digs around to pull out the baby that may not even be real. The baby comes out not breathing; a still born, in the cruelest of twists. But soon the baby begins to cry; crying at the same time that its mother passes away. Carl matures years in the matter of seconds. With Maggie present, Carl makes the decision to end the life of his mother. Carl flashes back to a scene of Rick telling him that one day his parents will pass and he’ll have to be a man. The sound of the bullet echoes the sad sentiment that the show will always have another twist. The pain on the face of Rick shows that he may never get over such a thing.

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