AMC's The Walking Dead

I think the truth is that fans probably spend more time obsessing about show plots than show runners and writers do. You figure a show has 10 million viewers, they spend an hour watching an episode. TV producers and writers have maybe 100 total person hours putting together an episode's plot.

 

When watching The Wire with a very critical eye, I found only maybe two or three points where something didn't quite add up. (Example: Why wasn't Slim Charles around for Season 2?)

Great shows can hold up to high scrutiny. Most shows can't.

 

Slim Charles didn't show up until Season 3.

 

That is why I asked. (I don't mean to sidetrack, so sorry.)

 

There is no way around the fact that the show has its dumb moments. That whole "fight" scene at the prison was stupid. I don't even know where to begin with that one. But the same episode also delivered two incredible "Carl" moments that have me anticipating next season, and everything involving Andrea and Milton in the torture room was extremely well done. I didn't even care what was happening at the prison, I just wanted to go back to that one tiny room.

I'm still mad at the "Andrea rallying the citizens" scene from earlier in the season, but hopefully something that fucking horrible never occurs again.

 

That's exactly how I feel. I didn't even mention the little fight scene because it was the weakest in the entire episode. It clearly was an attempt to drive The Governor over the edge, but it didn't hold up to scrutiny.

As for why they chose the prison over Woodbury, I do have one reasonable answer: The prison is better fortified. Woodbury required numerous armed guards at all times. The prison only required guards because of the threat of The Governor. The prison is very safe and reasonably comfortable. Everyone gets a room, which happens to be a cell. They probably will go back and raid Woodbury's supplies, though.

 

What drives me nuts is that with just a short scene or two, they could've set up the way things went down at the prison more. Have some of the citizens complaining to the Governor about not being soldiers before his "They're going to come here and kill us" speech, or have some of the other guys who were more hardened talking with each other about it, saying these people aren't ready for this kind of combat. Lay some groundwork for them running a little, and then when they turn tail it would make a little more sense.

 

The thing is, as soon as the prison battle went down, the Governor had to kill a bunch of his troops. He's going to go back to Woodbury defeated and having people talk about what a lousy tactician he is?
The Guv should be interesting though, he was the big cheese in Woodbury, had his zombie-daughter and hope that he could "cure" her. Now he has nothing.

 

What I found strange about how they turned away from the fight was here was a group of people worked into a frenzy, armed to the teeth who go and run down another group's fences, blow up defenses with grenade launchers and a .50 cal, and search the place for people to shoot and kill. Then when a few flash bangs go off and someone shoots at them -- without hitting anyone mind you -- they all run off and want to quit? They're shooting at US! No one said they'd shoot back! Wah! Wah! I don't want to play war anymore!
What did they think they were doing?

 

That's why I wish they had set it up that some of them, the majority even, weren't ready for what they'd be facing, that the only thing they had faced so far was firing ranges and shooting zombies from the top of the barricades set up in Woodbury. Then when they ran it would've made more sense.

 

This would have been better as a two-hour episode. Of course, they also could have built up to the episode better in the weak episodes preceding the finale.

I still think it was a very good finale. I blame most of the lack of context on the poor episodes preceding it.

 

It was a very good episode.

Was it as good as, say, Clear? No. But it set a lot of things in motion for next season. I just hope they don't have a mid-season firing like this year. That seemed to take a lot of energy out of the show, IMO.