The Walking Dead, Episode 3.06: "Hounded"

Believe it or not, there are only two episodes of The Walking Dead left in 2012. That can only mean one thing: the show has to start heading toward a mid-season endgame to help wrap things up (and provide fuel for the second half of Season 3). Last year, you'll recall, the endgame ultimately centered around the Barn Full O' Walkers, which ended up circling around to Sophia's disappearance. For Season 3, the basic endgame is simple: the prison and Woodbury groups have to converge in some fashion, with the likelihood that the second half of the season will focus on having all our characters together, duking it out for power and so forth. In that sense, this week's episode of The Walking Dead, "Hounded", started laying the groundwork to unite the show's two halves, and that alone makes me very excited to see how the next two weeks play out. Granted, it took us the majority of the episode to get to that point (and until then, the episode's scattered nature was a bit reminiscent of last week)… but we can still be optimistic!

Let's begin with the evening's biggest slap-your-forehead moment: As soon as Maggie and Glen got out of the vehicle at Baby Formula Central and smooched, you probably screamed at the TV, "Well, they're screwed!" And as luck would have it, there's Merle right there, to provide some convenient conflict and to capture the couple. However, I'm afraid that if it wasn't Merle that showed up, I'd be even more upset… but again, this scene is important to dovetailing the two main threads. And it set up the even cooler payoff in the final scene, in which Michonne (formula in hand!) walks up to the prison fence and sees Rick. (It served as a great final payoff for Michonne being covered in guts, and her eventual discovery that they camouflaged her scent.)

Before I get too far into tonight's write-up, I have to give some appreciation for Michael Rooker's presence this season. As great as Michonne and the Governor have been to watch in this season thus far, there's something so gleefully enjoyable about Rooker's sleazy performance… and the fact that he has A BAYONET FOR A HAND only serve to catapult him into the "Iconic TV Character" stratosphere. And fortunately, since the Governor was too busy trying to bed Andrea last night, Merle got to take center stage… first in the hunt for Michonne, then with the "we ain't gonna let them turn" head stabs of the other deceased team members and the swift takedown of Cargulio (or, as Merle calls him, "the other guy"), and finally with the capturing of Glen and Maggie. (Speaking of the Governor… well, at least they got the hook-up part out of the way. The show's been telegraphing their inevitable couple-ness for several episodes now. Now, to wait until Andrea has to - again - decide between the comfort of Woodbury and the Guv'ner or the fun world of fightin' walkers!)

And then there's Rick's wacky vision quest, or however you want to call it… which, I'll admit, I wasn't too keen on. You'd think that suspension of disbelief wouldn't matter much on a series revolving around the zombie apocalypse… but when the "It's me, Lori!" reveal came, I couldn't help but feel like it was a misstep… which was a shame, because up until that point, I liked the sadness and desperation in Andrew Lincoln's acting work, especially during the first phone call and his "We're dying here" speech. At least everything was contained to voiceovers, and not Actual Magical Visions of Dead People. (And if we're going to bring back former cast members for audio cameos… why not Shane? Or was he being spited for sticking with Team Darabont?)

And in the midst of all of this, there was plenty of room for some minor moments: the scene where Hershel consoles Rick in the boiler room; the mesmerizing single-take scene between Daryl and Carl in the hallways (brought to you by Virginia Slims!); and the powerful reunion of Daryl and Carol. Let's give credit for not dragging our Carol's disappearance like they did Sophia's… that would've been a rote mid-season capper! But what wonders will next week bring us, what with all the wonderful new character combinations? I'm a bit afraid that we won't get much done, simply because we'll be having too much fun having Michonne and Rick face off, or Glen and Maggie versus the Governor. But again, we've only got two episodes before a 2-month break, so let's hope for an all-around exciting hour!

Random notes:

• Tonight's director: Dan Attias, who's served as a veteran TV director for over 25 years, and who's been a major director of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Big Love. This is Attias' first episode of The Walking Dead; however, he does have some horror experience: his only feature film to date is 1985's Stephen King's Silver Bullet.
• Tonight's kill count: 3 humans and 5 walkers. Michonne leads the chart, with 1 walker and 2 humans.
• Tonight's movie promos: Red Dawn 2K12, Killing Them Softly, Hitchcock, and This is 40.
• Norman Reedus' Zombie Apocalypse Playlist:
• Motorhead - "In the Year of the Wolf"
• Sonic Youth - "Dirty Boots"
• Minor Threat - "Filler"
• Neil Young - "Rockin' in the Free World"
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Simple Man"
• Iggy Pop - "The Passenger"
• Shall we prepare for a shocking rise in biter-grams nationwide after this week's show?
• I could sure use some flannel slippers… you know, for the end of the day! And relaxin'!
• Next week: Here's a clip that picks up right where we left off last night… Enjoy!