The Walking Dead, Episode 3.05: "Say the Word"

After last week's high-mark episode, I was a bit prepared for a bit of an emotional cool down. After all, in episodic television, series cannot and do not stay at a fever pitch… it's just not sensible. But, what baffled me about tonight's episode was that it was, surprisingly, not focused. Instead, it chose to meander through a number of separate and somewhat minor plot threads. But, when you toss out this week's major revelation in the cold open - that the Governor still harbors his undead daughter, Penny - and you end the hour with a bit of an anti-climactic reveal - that The Episode's Big Secret is essentially a zombie-tinged gladiator match starring Merle - you can't help but be a bit disappointed.

But if nothing else, we at least got some movement on the one plot element that started to drag - the "Shall we go?"/"Shall we stay?" tug-of-war between Andrea and Michonne. Now that Michonne has actually left - with her sword! - the Woodbury civility that's held her back can be shed, and we can actually see her more in her element…. which we got to see a bit of in the enjoyable "target practice" scene, in which Michonne slices and dices her way through the walkers for the night's wrestling festivities. (That scene must've eaten up a good chunk of the show's CGI budget… or maybe AMC's willing to loosen up the purse strings, now that The Walking Dead is getting better ratings than most network series.) Heck, let's watch that scene again!



Oh, and then there's the zombie gladiator stuff… which merits a little bit of fun, if only to see Michael Rooker kicking ass, which is pretty cool. (As was Merle's bayonet-hand-stab-to-the-head in the earlier scene when he and his crew went to collect some new recruits for the fight.) Still, it's a little nonsensical, as Andrea rightly calls the Guv'ner out on… despite the intimate relationship play that he's trying to pull.

Meanwhile, over at Le Prison, the order of the day is to get some formula for the baby. It's a relatively straightforward B-plot, as Maggie and Daryl - ahem, make that PONCHO DARYL!!! - raid an abandoned daycare and come across their biggest enemy to date… a possum! Okay, that's an exaggeration… but still, not much tension tonight. We also learned, via Carl, that his baby sister has no name as of yet, although the first name of every dead or missing female to date is up for consideration. Shall we start placing bets on which one will be selected?

And then, there's Rick and his post-shock quest to find Lori's body… or something. This is a hard plot thread to gauge, if only because there's no real focus to it, outside of the primal, scattered, and emotional state of Rick… which leads to some gone-bananas slaying in the prison corridors, a tense scene with Glen (who tries to reason with Rick), and a head-shot/stomach-stabbing of a gorging walker in the ill-fated boiler room. Ending it with an out-of-the-blue phone call that seemed straight out of the Lost playbook didn't help matters, either. Hopefully, next week will provide a good payoff for that… and maybe a more cohesive episode as well.

Random notes:

• This week's director: It's none other than Greg Nicotero, the key mastermind behind the show's makeup effects. This is his second episode at the helm… and in addition, he's directed both series of Walking Dead webisodes, Season 2's "Torn Apart" and Season 3's "Cold Storage".
• Tonight's kill count: No humans (whew!) and 12-plus walkers, 6 of which were taken out by Michonne.
• Tonight's kill of the night: Definitely Michonne's head stomping… further proving that she doesn't need her sword to kick some butt!
• Just a heads-up: Next week's write-up might be posted later in the evening than usual (or, worst-case scenario, Monday night), due to personal obligations. But something will be posted eventually! With that in mind, here's the preview clip for next week: