Just glad to see Michonne finally speaking up and beginning to fit in. Its been a long time coming. Overall a good episode, but i feel like nothing too exciting will happen till the season finale.

All this plus they found a way to throw in some zombie tension that wasn't too forced. A lot of times when a character goes off to get something personal it pisses me off and I think it's bullshit and weak. But Carl had a pretty solid reason.

Plus I think Rick seeing Morgan again, seeing where he ended up, is going to make him re-evaluate himself. This was the good "go off on a run" episode before the storm, like in Season 2 with Shane, Rick and that kid in the town.

My only OCD complaint is Rick getting stabbed and acting like it's nothing. There are some major vessles right there and even if they were missed, that was deep, the muscle damage would be pretty rough. Oh well...TV medicine!

Yeah, that was great and seemed to be part of how the episode was about desensitization for survival, and the parameters thereof. I also liked that when Michonne overheard Carl and Rick talking about her, she had this look of reserved exasperation, almost (but not quite) like her feelings were hurt, which to that point you couldn't have imagined given her tough-as-nails facade. This impression seemed verified later when she gently snapped at Rick, "no, I don't have a problem," and Rick seemed to get it. It was like her way of saying "there's tension and distrust between us that we need to get past."

I know some folks watch this series for the zombie action (and I love it too) but it's moments like that which redeem the weak parts for me. The human stuff that "works."

Frankly the zombies annoy me to the point where I only want to see them consume characters I don't like. Otherwise I only care the setting is apocalyptic. Sure Nicotero's zombies look good but he has way too much influence on this show (stupid time wasting zombie plots- i.e autopsy, demouthing etc, and being allowed to direct episodes). The guy even doubled as Axel's cover body for Carol. Egomaniac.

Best episode of Series 3 . . . new twists, character development and real different to the usual slash and burn!

Next week looks like it's back to business as usual!

The zombies are there for what make them a good tool. An unrelenting problem. Something that, if handled quickly and smartly enough, isn't too bad. If let to go turns into a huge problem. Stress and tension by an external force. Honestly they could be replaced with anything as long as we had interesting survivors with in a bad situation.

No good zombie movie or fiction works because of zombies. It's the survivors that make it. I'm NEVER sick of the zombies and gore in it though. Especially when they present a good obstacle. But it would be crap without solid survivors.

There were some episodes, ESPECIALLY in season 2, where you'd MAYBE see 1 zombie. They were terrible. Not just because of the lack of the dead, but because there was never anything going on. Not even character development. SO that said I'll never be upset if there is too much action or violence just because of the slow haul that season 2 put me through at points.

I honestly forgot the governor even existed at points during this last episode it was so interesting.

New Robert Kirkman TV series and comic announced!
http://www.skybound.com/skybound/2013/3/4/new-tv-series-and-comic-coming-from-robert-kirkman.html

So by now I'm assuming we've all seen 'Clear'. I've got some questions, and maybe this is just me over thinking it but:

Some of the things Morgan said made me wonder. When Rick mentioned the prison, Morgan asked him if his wife died there right away and then mentioned about someone wanting to take it. Those quick conclusions make me wonder if Morgan has not already encountered some of the Governors men? Then that big crate of hand grenades? Where did Morgan get those? National Guard depot from the GN (Graphic Novel)?

He did also mention to Rick he was on the road with Duane for awhile so maybe he found them elsewhere but he could have been right by where Rick is now. Weird how he came all the way back to King County and while scavenging for food in some random house his very own zombie wife got Duane. What are the chances? Something just doesn't add up.

I think Morgan's just intuitive. Rick- "My wife died" "We're safe in the prison" Morgan- "LOL NO!" He was making more of a "you're never SAFE" comment I think. Also, as far as Morgan knew, they've been in that prison for a loooong time, so she'd be there and have died there. Not unthinkable that he'd add it up with few clues.

On the Governor front I'm willing to bet Morgan's encountered others (probably not Woodbury, because his ass would be dead and those guns taken) trying to start some crap or take his junk. Clearly there are other, random bands of survivors (the Mexican family, the dudes from Philly, etc.) not affiliated with Woodbury.

Agreed, Morgan saw Rick was "stockpiling" on weaponry. They didn't need that many guns to take out walkers so its safe to assume a dispute with another group essentially over land and a someone safe place to live. I do wonder how he was able to collect such a vast array of weapons assuming the distance he traveled with his son was considerably less than Rick's.

In the opening episode, next to the hospital there was an entire National Guard encampment with helicopters, ground vehicles, sandbagged locations, etc. It's reasonable to assume that the grenades and everything else came from there.

Duane gets bitten by his own mom? So dumb. I like to think that Morgan is misremembering things.

Also, I'm so tired of Michonne. That katana is silly. Her ninja routine with the photo was ridiculous. Stop trying to manufacture "cool," producers, the show is interesting enough.

Super dumb filler episode. Rumor has it that at one point they were having trouble filling episodes with material/story lines which ultimately led to Glen Mazzara's firing. I take rumors with a grain of salt but it seems obvious that the writers either A) were told to stretch this prison thing out by AMC, B) they don't know what the fuck they are doing with the writing, or C) Both

Yeah, getting a little annoyed with these filler episodes, we didn't find anything out about the characters that we didn't already know. No surprise that the gov. wouldnt actually stand by his words.

The show suffers from "lowest common denominator" syndrome, where as they try to mass appeal it for a ratings bonanza every week. They have to get their quota of zombie killings, have to show just about everyone in the cast- no matter how insignificant their role is to the storyline line that week. It's ridiculous filler already! Utilize your cast when needed and utilize the zombies when needed. Sometime less is more. This episode could have been so much more if it was just Rick & the Governor pretty much the entire episode with well written dialogue trying to psych each other out.

It's like each episodes writing session goes like this: OK we have to really drag this thing out and make the dialogue as simple as possible so there is zero complexity to any of the characters. They'll make the dumbest decisions even if it contradicts whatever they did the week before, just so we reinforce their personalities as one track only, i.e. Daryl- zombie killer bad ass etc etc. Then they hand the script to the 5 year old in the corner and ask him/her to write Andrea for the week.

they must have just added Walking Dead whiskey tumblers to the AMC online shop this week & that was one long commercial for them.

That explains why the sex scene was so long

haha god, i was so anticipating something bad happening during that sex scene, but no. They were just killing time....

Yeah i figured Merle was gonna slip out and start shit during the boning scene. I hate useless sex scenes. They're almost always useless. Unless it's porn.

I agree, I'd rather have seen the Gov and Rick talk the whole time.

I didn't mind the other conversation scenes really, even the zombie killing. I think they were setting it up and showing that on both sides, the "soldiers" are normal people. They don't WANT to do this. So they were all connecting with each other even though they know they'll eventually be killing each other. Very Civil War/WW1 in a lot of ways.

Very well said. That was the meat of this episode.

It reminded me of the scene in Shaun of the Dead when all the doppelgängers run past each other

I thought the episode was worthwhile, too, although I could have done without Merle's saber rattling. Interesting that the Governor is so sure that Rick is going to do exactly what he said and sell Michonne down the river to him, though. His confidence seems to be getting the better of his paranoia (and it seems to be the opposite case with Rick).

Lixx, I think it might be good for you to stop watching at this point. At a certain point it's just good to give up on a show you don't like and expect your life will be that much richer for it.

I like that they showed that Rick is certain he's being hoodwinked, but still has that small doubt. It'll make for some interesting questioning of his actions in the future until the season's done.

I also liked that you weren't sure if Rick knew he was being fooled until he outright said it. The conversation as it was made you wonder if Rick was falling for it or just playing the Governor.

I'm not going to stop watching it. I've invested 3 seasons into it, am I not allowed to be critical? This show had so much potential especially with Darabont at the helm, and it still can turn itself around. They just need to get consistent with their character writing but not to the point where there is no growth and just predictability. Also plan out story arcs better, so we dont have so many filler episodes, and I don't just mean action packed ones either. Hopefully the new show runner will steer it in the right direction.

Having read all the graphic novels, I still want to see how they tackle what's out there.

they all look a like. zombies, that is. what were YOU thinking?!?

Baldmove did a funny little skit that summed up the eppisode before this weeks podcast :

http://baldmove.com/2013/03/313-arrow-o ... hing-dead/