I was pretty pumped for tonight's episode but then found myself disappointed with some of the decisions the writers decided to make.
(spoilers below, yo! oh never mind, that's a breaking bad line)

First of all, it seemed like Rick had recovered from his mental anguish (the whole ringing phone and hearing the voices from everyone in the group including his dead wife = seriously?!) So it seemed like he had recovered only to now be seeing images of Lori in tonight's episode. Seems a little too soap opera like for me. And this from a former (and current) Dallas fan.

Secondly, for a smart man, Rick sure doesn't seem to grasp the concept "strength in numbers" especially in a world where danger lurks constantly. Not only does he frequently try to widdle down his already incredibly soft group (i.e. almost as soft as the Habs against the Leafs this past Saturday) by alienating those 2 prisoners and forcing out that newest group of visitors to the prison... but he even allows his best warrior (Darryl) to abandon the group. He didn't even really try that hard to make him stay, the same guy who saved his life countless times. And as if that wasn't enough, Rick made it clear tonight that he intends to force out Michone, who would also be one of the best warriors in the group if she stayed. An incredible fighter who would save lives.

Sure, keeping Darryl would mean dealing with Merle. But Merle could also be an enormous asset to the group, from a defense perspective, even though you could never fully trust him, of course.

Andrea continues to annoy. So at least there is logic and consistency there. She has a surprisingly good body, though.

I also don't buy the people of the town abandoning Woodbury so quickly after one measly attack. 8 injured and 1 dead. Based on that alone, so let's go out into the world overrun by zombies, with limited food, no generators, no society anymore.
Doesn't seem realistic they would so quickly run from the peacefulness and structure they all helped to build in that town.

They are making too big a deal out of what happened with Maggie. She was interrogated and not very nicely. Sure, the Governor even made her go topless for a moment. And even let her think he would have his way with her. But he didn't. He certainly could have, but did not rape her. So why are they acting like she was sodomized? I don't think what happened to her was nearly as bad as the trauma suffered by Glen! Beaten silly by Merle and attacked by a walker while he was tied to a chair. THAT is traumatic.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, just disappointed and hoping the remainder of the season is better.

I agree with most everything that you said, EMG. As far as playing up what happened with Maggie, I am not sure Glen knows exactly what happened, and just assumes she was raped.

As far as the Merle / Daryl situation, I am not sure what else they could do. There is no way Glen or Maggie would allow Merle to stay with the group. What's the alternative?

For me, the walking dead has ALWAYS been an amazing premise with huge potential, executed with amazing mediocrity. I know that it is based on a graphic novel, but the characters always seem ridiculously one-dimensional and over the top, and the writing borders on absurd at times. Sadly, Shane dying single-handedly removed one of the best characters from the show, and one of the best actors on the show (Jon Bernthal). Thankfully, Lori dying shortly after single-handedly removed one of the worst characters from the show, and one of the worst actresses on the show. I enjoy The Walking Dead, but I keep waiting for it to blow me away. Zombie apocalypse is one of my favourite horror genres, but it could be SO much better.

Rylant

Killing Shane off, imo, was a HUGE mistake. Not only was hea strong character, the actor playing him was one of the best actors on the show.

As far as this first ep, it was too slow. I felt enough character building, etc. took place a few months back. They had plenty of time to figure this out. They needed to start of with a bigger bang. Merle and Darryl's fight scene, where we left off was even weak, not worth the wait. They'll need to pick it up before too long and I lose some interest.

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Yup - that describes it very, very well... "amazing premise executed with amazing mediocrity."

I also agree that Shane (love him or hate him) was a huge loss for the show. And I can't see anyone disagreeing that Lori's exit was an overdue blessing.

As for Merle, for the sake of keeping Darryl and therefore keeping the group as strong as possible, I guess I think Glen and Merle could have co-existed much the same way Dale and Shane co-existed. People can hate each other but still band together when necessary, for the greater good.

It's almost like this show dedicates SO much effort to the visual aspect that they continue to let the acting and story writing get weaker and weaker.

I love this show but it needs to change locations, geographically.
They have to go somewhere new.

I realize (by production cost), the two set locations are probably great... but I'm just done with them in that prison.
It reminded me of when they were on the farm (set) for just way too long.

My wish list:
1) Something needs to force them out of that prison within 2-3 episodes.
2) Get rid of the "Lori ghost". That was just dumb.
3) Find a way to introduce some captivating characters. Seriously, the show simply needs to cast some better characters.

I know this second half of season three just kicked off last night, but with the glaring issues you guys mentioned, I wonder what's in store for the next season. Right after the first half of this season ended it was announced the showrunner Glen Mazzara was stepping down by mutual agreement between himself, AMC, and Robert Kirkman. Not hard to connect the dots there.

Haven't watched last night's episode yet, but I have it DVR'd and should get to it in the morning after work.

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eye missgilmour....I agree with absolutely everything you are saying. A lot of it didn't make sense to me; the Daryl and Maggie things especially.

Like Maggie, it's not like in the comics where the Governor supposedly actually rapes and beats women.....I understand Glen's anger but to THAT degree? It's just another common TV show plot device where they throw a wedge into the seemingly strong couples in the show, even when they make little sense. I absoluetly hate that, especially when a couple like Maggie and Glen clearly have a lot of love for each other and are kind of in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

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The Laurie Ghost is a major TURN OFF!!!

On a different note, they killed my man Axel off in a jive way. He never saw it coming.

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Agreed. Crazy Rick sucks. That being said, the last half of tonight's episode was awesome. I kept expecting Tyrese to come and save the day, thus ingratiating himself to Rick, and then getting allowed into the collective. Hopefully, this jolt will be the end of "Crazy Rick".

Rylant

The last 15 minutes of the episode this week really redeemed the last 2, which were quite poor. I'm hoping for an end to Rick's shenanigans as well. Think he works better as a leader who tries to do the right thing.

Was pretty surprised that they cut Tyrese and that group totally out of this episode, I'm wondering if they are still at the prison at all?

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