CliqueClackThe Walking Dead finale: Boring? Or misunderstood?
Was the season 3 finale of ‘The Walking Dead’ really that lackluster? Did it not live up to the hype and expectations?
The Ugly
The ugly of the finale, of course, would be the so called “war” that manifested itself … such that it was. Ever since The Governor and his lackies knocked on the prison door several episodes past, we knew there would be an old fashioned throwdown between Camp Rick and Woodbury. But the whole 10 minutes that comprised the war turned out to be a big, fat non-event. And that’s what a lot of people are gnashing their teeth over, the fact that it was anticlimactic and dull.
A Few Other Items Of Note
Rick looking up at the skyway passage and not seeing Lori there: Finally. An unseen herald to the end of his dementia and confusion.
Remember the cross (or marker) in the prison graveyard at the beginning of the episode? It was the final scene at the end as well. Coincidence that the finale was broadcast on none other than Easter Sunday? Not to mention the John 5:29 passage sandwiched in between: “And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” I love it when (not so) little reference such as these are injected into the mix.
I enjoyed the fact Andrea’s fate finally revealed another side to Michonne other than skepticism and hatred.
Question: Why didn’t Glenn and Maggie continue to fire on The Governor and his posse during their retreat from the prison? It would have made a statement. That was the perfect time to catch them off guard and on the run, to incapacitate some of their vehicles, to catch them in the crosshairs out in the open, to deal with them on the group’s terms and not on the defensive.
Overall? Catching the episode a second time I found there wasn’t so much suckiness as I thought after my initial viewing. In fact, it was all those little subtleties I glossed over which eventually made it an enjoyable finale.
6 Comments on “The Walking Dead finale: Boring? Or misunderstood?”
I thought it was a pretty disappointing finale to a fairly good season.
They dragged the 2nd half of the season on and on offering us the eventual showdown between Rick/Michionne and the Governor like a carrot on a stick and then they said, ha ha, April’s fool!
Andrea… is like, they really ran out of ideas. After fighting zombies for so many months sometimes with as little as her bare hands, she just gets bitten even though she even had a weapon? Just doesn’t ring true and honestly made her whole story arc this season moot. Governor can survive 30 zombies going at him in a closed room, Andrea can’t even make it through one!
(And yes, the whole time I was yelling, omg shutup and pick up!!)
About Carl, I actually kinda agree to a point of why he did it, that other guy was taking forever to lower the weapon and he kept inching closer. Don’t we always yell at the TV when a character doesn’t shoot or trust someone else that looks suspicious and then they end up in trouble? Carl takes care of it but everyone acts like he’s the devil. (Not that I like Carl very much)
This felt like a mid season finale, not a season finale. I’m really disappointed they are making the Governor a multi-season arc because I’m more interested in Rick’s group’s interactions in a world of zombies than their war with a random psycho with some zombies thrown in to kill the characters fans got tired of.
I think the backlash is solely due to the non-event that was the “war” between Woodbury and the prison. I think though that it was necessary to show the strength of our core group and the madness of the Governor. He spent all that time protecting his people only to gun them down because they didn’t feel his war was worth fighting?! Yikes! And after all the hype of “27 people will die” before the episode and people wagering on who in the prison would meet their demise — I was sure Hershel and Carol were for certain casualties — I can see why people are angry. Unfortunately, that anger is negatively impacting their perception of the show, and could possibly drive people away come next season. I think they should have just left the hype behind and let everyone watch the episode without such high expectations.
As for Andrea, I agree with you. I mean, could she not have at least taken the pliers to Milton’s head since she had that free hand?! Apparently that entire scene was reshot. In the original version, Rick and crew never made it back to Woodbury, Milton was shot in cold blood by the Governor as he was gathering the torture instruments, and he tried to strangle Andrea while she was trapped in the chair before he turned, but he bled out before he could finish her, turned and started taking bites out of her. Probably would have been a satisfying ending for all the Andrea haters, but I liked that the new ending gave Michonne a chance to make peace with her and was really her friend to the end. I thought it was a very poignant moment.
So, yes, I was a bit let down that the war that had been promised just about all season was just a blip, but I’m actually glad that the core group actually lived to see another day.
let’s just say that I fast forwarded through parts of the last 2 episodes of the season. That should never happen.
The Andrea scene was nothing short of ridiculous. As stated above, she should have easily dispatched Milton. if they needed her to die, they should have had them break into the room as Milton was choping on her (still bound) arm or something.
Other than that, though, I was satisfied.
I would have disarmed Carl and reminded him that he is 12 (or whatever he is) and I am his father… that thread/arc/flight of fancy on Carls part would end right there.
I was fine with the War. I’ve had a very big conflict and subsequent reservation about the seemingly unavoidable war. Simply put, the majority of the people of Woodbury were decent folks just looking to start a new life. having Rick’s group kill a large number of them would, in my mind, ruin the humanitarian theme they (at least try) to maintain. Having the governor go ballistic on them takes care of at least some of the problem I anticipated… to many characters for the show. I still believe there are too many… so we’ll see how that plays out. However I was pleased with the results of the “war” and, specifically the lack of carnage dealt by Ricks crew.
hahaha. lame article / blog rant.
walking dead season 3 sucked big time. the finale tried to do too much to inject some “WOW, THAT’S UNEXPECTED”. Instead, it turns out cliched.
come on… rock music in the last couple of episodes? are they trying to inject some “hip” into the show? didnt work. turns out lamer than usual.
Rick changing his mind? Please, Rick can never consider giving Misho up. So when he told the ‘inner circle’ to do it, it just doesn’t make sense. Out of character and without reason. what made his give up Misho? No reason, thus totally unbelievable. and lame. Then he decide, “oops, my bad… we love Misho. let’s not give her up”. Even lamer.
Seeing ghost laurie all the time? Well, didnt really go anywhere. Boring.
So they were supposed to meet at noon, but Rick decides to skip it? So whats his plan is he doesnt give up Misho? No plan on how to save everyone? So boring.
Meryl becomes a good guy? Why? No answer. He just became a good guy because the writer was too lazy to come up with a back story. Doesnt make any sense. Boring.
Worst of all.. why do people “turn” without being bit? No explanation after an entire season. “We are all infected”?? THATS ALL?? LAME!!!
There is no story in season 3. It is the same as season 2. Season 2 was stuck on a farm. Season 3 is stuck in prison. Is season 4 going to be stuck up your ass?
lame.