Because The Walking Dead season 10 finale has been delayed thanks to the real-world virus, I have decided that to fill the void left in the schedule, to start a re-watch of the series. I live tweeted the episode as if it were playing live in the regular 9pm GMT slot on FOX TV UK.

We take a detour from the prison to catch up with Andrea (Laurie Holden) and (what I think is the first time we actually get to hear her name) Michonne (Danai Gurira) who have spotted a helicopter crash and go to investigate. When some other people turn up to do the same thing, Andrea and Michonne are found hiding by an old friend. It’s Merle (Michael Rooker)! And he’s back to bring some of his own brand of devilishness back to the series.

The pair are taken back to Merle’s compound, known as Woodbury. Woodbury is run by a man known as the Governor (David Morrissey) and Michonne takes an instant dislike to him, Andrea seems kind of smitten. We get the traditional setup, introduction to some of the main crew but Michonne’s initial gut reaction was right. Whilst Woodbury seems idilyic on the surface, there is something peculiar going on behind closed doors.

The resident doctor, Milton (Dallas Roberts), seems to think there is still something human left within walkers and is doing experiments on them to try and find it. He grills the girls over the two walkers Michonne kept with her but she is keeping tight lipped as ever.

The Governor heads out to find the helicopter pilot’s crew who he promised the pilot he’d bring back alive. But after a little bait, it’s time for the switch, and Woodbury kill all the soldiers of the pilot’s crew and take their supplies. Back at Woodbury, the Governor tells everyone that the camp had been overrun with walkers and they were too late to save them. Andrea thinks the Governor a knight in shining armour and asks for his real name, which he refuses to give.

After, he heads home, looks at a picture of what presumably were his wife and child and heads into a back room to stare at a bunch of fish tanks. Nothing unusual there…but the tanks are filled with zombie heads including Michonne’s protection and the head of the pilot!

As with all setup episodes this one did lull in places but the mystery surrounding the Governor at the end really piqued interest and having Merle back is fantastic for the show – even though his stump hasn’t cleared up much a year later.

The Governor in the comics is much darker and twisted than the TV version and honestly, the comic arc with the Governor was one of my favourite’s. However, it would never transition to TV and so we have a more PG-13 friendly version. We’ll have to keep watching to see what else they change.

Overall Rating: 8

Because The Walking Dead season 10 finale has been delayed thanks to the real-world virus, I have decided that to fill the void left in the schedule, to start a re-watch of the series. I live tweeted the episode as if it were playing live in the regular 9pm GMT slot on FOX TV UK.

Jumping right in where Seed left off, Sick immediately returns to the intensity and ferocity of the cafeteria where Rick (Andrew Lincoln) chops off Hershel’s (Scott Wilson) leg. They have a new audience, some inmates, who jack up the tension even more, especially Tomas (Nick Gomez) who has no idea who he’s messing with.

The episode deals with these new faces pretty swiftly. Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) wants to know if they’re safe with the inmates around, Rick alludes he could just kill them – like Lori asked him to do with Shane – and the two continue to wear their personal issues on their sleeve. Rick and crew agree to help the inmates clear out a cell block they can live in, having explained how the world has ended and about dispatching the dead. All the while there is a bubbling pot under Tomas that is about to explode.

And so it does, when the rabble arrive at the laundry room, Tomas sees an opportunity and tries to get Rick bitten as well as slashes at him. Rick has had enough of his trouble so puts an end to it quickly. It’s all pretty dramatic stuff and signals a new era that the survivors are in. It’s not just the dead they have to be aware of anymore.

Elsewhere, Carol (Melissa McBride) wants a zombie to practice giving a C-Section to as Lori is due to give birth any day now. As she cuts open the body, from outside the fence, someone is watching her. Mystery. The only other thing going on is Hershel’s recovery. Maggie (Lauren Cohan) isn’t sure he’s going to survive, but is mighty relieved when he does.

Another good episode, keeping up the drama even if the new characters were really just chum for the dead. The comic plays out an angle with the inmates that is much darker than the series, but that is ignored here. Probably for the best.

Overall Rating: 8.5

S02E13 Beside the Dying F – Curated tweets by Zombie_Scribe

Because The Walking Dead season 10 finale has been delayed thanks to the real-world virus, I have decided that to fill the void left in the schedule, to start a re-watch of the series. I live tweeted the episode as if it were playing live in the regular 9pm GMT slot on FOX TV UK. You can see all the tweets here or embedded below.

We’re back with a new season and a slight time jump. The gang admit to have been running around all winter trying to find a place to call their own. They obviously missed the prison when they were outside it before. They have marked out herds of walkers on a map and are being forced to retreat to where they started. It’s here they now find the prison.

It’s a brilliant prison break-in, the gang working as a unit, being careful, even when confronted by riot-gear wearing walkers. They make it inside the prison and clear a call block for a safe night’s sleep. The next day they go exploring for the cafeteria and infirmary, only the group gets split running from walkers and Hershel (Scott Wilson) is bit on the leg! In an absolutley horrific ending, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) hacks Hershel’s leg off. The episode ends with some inmates peering out from behind the counter, shocked at what they’ve just seen.

Elsewhere we learn Andrea (Laurie Holden) is alive and still hanging about with the sword lady, although Andrea is sick and they need to find her somewhere safe to help her. Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and Rick don’t appear to be on the best of terms and she’s about to have this baby any day now. She’s worried the baby is dead or will be dead or she will be dead, every permeation that someone will be eating someone soon!

It’s a strong opening and a strong ending to the episode, with a little lull in the middle. But still, this episode contains one of the most gruesome zombie’s of all time – the gas mask face ripper – and an honest to goodness, look away ending. Fantastic.

Overall Rating: 9

S02E13 Beside the Dying F – Curated tweets by Zombie_Scribe

Because The Walking Dead season 10 finale has been delayed thanks to the real-world virus, I have decided that to fill the void left in the schedule, to start a re-watch of the series. I live tweeted the episode as if it were playing live in the regular 9pm GMT slot on FOX TV UK. You can see all the tweets here or embedded below.

The episode opens with a helicopter flying over Atlanta. Walkers begin to follow it and we watch as they migrate for miles toward the farm. Then there is the gunshot from Carl (Chandler Riggs) putting down zombie Shane (Jon Bernthal) and they turn and become the catalyst for an electrifying opening.

The group is split, some take cars and try to flank them, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Carl are in a barn. Carol (Melissa McBride) is off who knows where doing who knows what. There is a huge zombie showdown with, of course, some deaths along the way. No major upsets really, which is a relief considering we’re just coming off the back of a dead Dale and Shane. However, in the confusion, a dead walker collapses on Andrea (Laurie Holden) and Carol thinks she’s dead so the rescue team drive off and leave Andrea to fend for herself. She manages OK, finding her way into the woods but runs out of ammo. Luckily, she is saved by a mysterious, katana-wielding stranger. Exciting!

The episode then transitions into a “what do we do now” situation and the truth is revealed about what Rick did to Shane. Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), despite asking for this, is furious with her husband for killing her bit on the side. Confusing. This all leads to the remaining survivors, now out of fuel and late at night, having to huddle around a fire and gossip. Rick then stops all that with a tirade about how he never asked for this, but now he’s taking it. If you want to stay, it’s no longer a democracy, it’s a RICKTATORSHIP!

Overall Rating: 9

S02E13 Beside the Dying F – Curated tweets by Zombie_Scribe

Because The Walking Dead season 10 finale has been delayed thanks to the real-world virus, I have decided that to fill the void left in the schedule, to start a re-watch of the series. I live tweeted the episode as if it were playing live in the regular 9pm GMT slot on FOX TV UK. You can see all the tweets here or embedded below.

Opening with a eulogy for Dale inter spliced with T-Dogg (Irone Singleton), Daryl (Norman Reedus), Andrea (Laurie Holden) and Shane (Jon Bernthal) out securing the perimiter and taking out a LOT of frustration on some of the undead who are gorging themselves on a cow. There is only really one other scene in the episode that shows the impact that Dale had on the group and that is when Glenn (Steven Yeun) is fixing the RV. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) says in his speech at the funeral that the best way to honour Dale is to do things the way he wanted. This includes letting Randall (Michael Zegen) go.

Why is Dale’s influence on the group ignored? He fought for humanity and he won, although he never knew it. He changed the entire group dynamic (although it is quickly ignored later in the episode) by standing up for what he believed in, but all he gets are a few words of how he was a good guy, really.

There isn’t much else happening in the episode. Hershel (Scott Wilson) allows the survivors to take shelter inside the house, but the main focus here is what is happening with Shane.

Carl (Chandler Riggs) confesses to Shane who in turn tells Rick. Shane then gets all up in Rick’s face for being a bad father and putting the group first before his son. This leads to further tensions between the two that finally reach boiling point.

Shane devises a whole plot on how to take Rick out of the game. He free’s Randall, citing that he wants to join his group. Randall admits that he’ll fit in well as they’re a bunch of nasty people. Seems Shane was right all along. It wasn’t safe to let this kid live. Out in the woods, Shane breaks Randalls neck and then smashes his own face into a tree to make it look like a fight before running back to camp with a story of escape.

Taking Glenn and Daryl with them, they split up to hunt for Randall. This was Shane’s first mistake. Don’t take Daryl out hunting. Daryl and Glenn find Randall who has now turned, but they also find he has a broken neck, no bites and some blood on a tree. They can put two and two together.

Meanwhile, Shane and Rick are alone in a field. Shane pulls his gun on his former best friend. The two have a bit of shouting back and forth about whose family is whose and Rick goes to lay his weapon down, trying to get Shane to lower his, but in a swift pinch, Rick stabs Shane and kills him! Shocking twist!

Then, somehow, Carl turns up. He points his gun at his Dad and shoots, but it wasn’t really aimed at his father but the re-animated corpse of Uncle Shane. The gunfire alerts a herd of walkers who are happily hanging around in the woods. How none of the search party spotted them is not revealed.

An excellent episode that brings to a conclusion the rivalry between Rick and Shane. Unfortunately, it brings to a conclusion the rivalry between Rick and Shane. Shane has been a superb character, a little rough at times but the perfect yang to Rick’s yin. This scene also brings a beautiful shot of the two cast in shadow by the moon. Really stunning.

This is another death that doesn’t match the comic books and it’s a little annoying. In the comics, Carl is the one to shoot Shane. This is what turns him into a man, taking a life, and plays to the talk that he and Rick shared about the world changing and Carl having to grow up. Much later in the comics, Rick then has to go find where they buried Shane to kill his re-animated self, but that’s a bit much.

Overall Rating: 8.5

S02E11 – Judge, Jury, Exe – Curated tweets by Zombie_Scribe

Because The Walking Dead season 10 finale has been delayed thanks to the real-world virus, I have decided that to fill the void left in the schedule, to start a re-watch of the series. I live tweeted the episode as if it were playing live in the regular 9pm GMT slot on FOX TV UK. You can see all the tweets here or embedded below.

Episode 11 revolves around the survivors making the difficult decision surrounding Randall’s (Michael Zegen) fate. The gang are mostly on board to kill him, especially since Daryl (Norman Reedus) has found out the group he was with were happy raping innocent girls while their father was forced to watch. (Now we know that Randall wasn’t part of the saviours). The only person on Randall’s side is Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) who spends the episode trying to convince everyone else in the group to let the boy live.

Dale makes some good points. By killing Randall, they are accepting that the society of laws and ethics is out the window and they are living now by the rule of survival of the fittest. And whilst if Randall was given a chance and allowed to become part of the group, who’s to say he won’t betray them? Randall’s group left him for dead, impaled on that spike. Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) group saved him. But nobody will feel safe with Randall wandering free.

After much, much discussion, Dale is able to convince Andrea (Laurie Holden) of sparing Randall but no one else. Rick is assigned the executioner but can’t go through with it when Carl (Chandler Riggs) sneaks in for a peek.

Speaking of Carl, he is being a bit of a douche this episode. Not listening to Shane (Jon Bernthal), talking ill of Sophia to Carol (Melissa McBride) and stealing Daryl’s gun to go throw stones at a walker stuck in the mud. Having got too close, the walker manages to escape and Carl loses the gun as he flees. Later, as Dale leaves for a walk to clear his head, he meets the walker and is unable to stop himself being torn apart.

It’s a thought-provoking episode and although there was a LOT of talking and debate, it was worth having. Randall’s group appears to have taken law into their own hands, even our group have. Would Rick be alive if he hadn’t taken action in that bar? The morality of humanity is a theme that doesn’t linger around for long enough. Sure, by season ten a new set of laws has appeared, but here and now, in season two, the world is only starting to seem unfixable.

Dale’s death was a disappointing one as he had such a better exit in the comic books. He didn’t get to see that there is still some humanity left in their group and died not knowing that his actions helped save Randall’s life…for now. This will go on to be a common theme throughout the series. Should a character find redemption or happiness, their fate is usually sealed. Only here, that fate happens whilst the character was still unaware.

Overall Rating: 7

S02E11 – Judge, Jury, Exe – Curated tweets by Zombie_Scribe

Because The Walking Dead season 10 finale has been delayed thanks to the real-world virus, I have decided that to fill the void left in the schedule, to start a re-watch of the series. I live tweeted the episode as if it were playing live in the regular 9pm GMT slot on FOX TV UK. You can see all the tweets here or embedded below.

Enticing us with a rather exciting opening where Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Shane (Jon Bernthal) and Randall (Michael Zegen) are being hunted by walkers, it begs the question – how did they get there? Don’t worry, all that is answered as we see the build-up that is just as tense, but without the need for walkers.

Rick wants a stern conversation with Shane, telling him that he will do anything to keep his family safe, but that it is his family. He understands that Shane thought he was dead but things are different now. Shane is angry that Rick can’t seem to see the bigger picture and keeping Randall alive is just another mistake waiting to happen, but Rick can’t agree.

They come across a small town and a school. After a little scavenge and Rick introducing some new rules – use your knife to keep it quiet – Shane questions how these walkers came to be when they don’t have any bites. Rick knows we’re all infected but appears to have neglected to tell anyone about it. They then let Randall out and go to leave him, but Randall makes the foolish mistake of saying he knows Maggie (Lauren Cohan). Shane instantly realises that this means it doesn’t matter where they drop him, he knows where they live. Rick stops Shane from shooting Randall and the two get into a squabble which results in the walkers waking up and coming for them.

All this is spliced with scenes back at the farm with Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) being more trouble. Firstly, she dishes out some relationship advice to Maggie. Then she tries to convince Beth (Emily Kinney) that suicide isn’t the answer before having a pop at Andrea (Laurie Holden) for not helping out enough. It’s classic Lori trying to do anything to make her seem important. We don’t care Lori.

Later, Maggie makes the mistake of allowing Andrea to sit in with Beth. Andrea believes people should be allowed to make their own choices and so if Beth wants to kill herself, let her. She tells Beth the pain never leaves, but you make room for it. That didn’t help. As soon as Andrea is gone, Beth is trying to slice her wrists. She fails. Andrea thinks this means she’s won. Maggie isn’t pleased.

Back at the school and Shane is trapped in a bus. Randall almost escapes – he’s moving really well for someone who had his leg impaled on a spike. Randall and Rick appear to leave Shane for dead, but when Rick spies the two uniformed walkers they killed and lay next to each other earlier, he storms back in with the car and makes a rescue. He tells Shane that he wants him to come back, but Rick is in charge and his word is final. Will he accept it? Seemingly so, but for how long?

Rather a good episode. Some exciting drama with Rick, Shane and the walkers, but even without the undead clawing away at them, Rick and Shane really stole the show. The stuff back at the farm was OK, Beth has needed to move on out of this funk, but there was just too much Lori, really.

Overall Rating: 7.5

S02E10 18 Miles Out – Curated tweets by Zombie_Scribe