disappointing finale to say the least. Spoiler: I can't believe they decided to kill off andrea... such a disservice to her character and i really don't know what the writers were thinking here. she should've been the one to kill the governor and on that note, i also can't believe the governor didn't die. i was really hoping things would move beyond the prison but that doesn't seem likely any time soon.
Spoiler: agreed, disappointing Yeah I was not satisfied with the ending either. I did not expect them to kill off Andrea. Martin, as much as I wanted him to join Rick's group, his death was imminent. The Govenor killing his group was pretty messed up. Shows how far gone he is. As for Rick bringing all the old and young from woodbury to the prison; not a good idea. I feel the Govenor will come back (which I'm sure is why they didn't kill him off yet. They need a bad guy for next season) and fight them once more. On the other hand, is anyone else super annoyed with Carl? I absolutely hate his character now. I mean, they do need a character to conflict with Rick and his decisions within the group. Why not father and son conflict. Him not being accepting of the Woodbury residents isn't good either. I almost hope that Rick just backhands him, cause I dislike him that much. Not looking forward to Carl's story development next season. Overall, the finale was disappointing, leaving me yearning for more
Ending was disappointing. This is something that you would expect from a mid-season finale and not a season finale. It's just...urhh annoying.
Like I had suspected since last week's ep, this was going to be anti-climatic and so it was. Despite the pyrotechnics, the finale seemed devoid of any real plot fireworks. Also, they resorted to the same audio track of a shot report followed by the clink of a spent shell casing hitting the ground (used in the famous Sophia found episode); but... Spoiler: in this case ...again, it was from Rick's six shot revolver, which does NOT eject shell casings, LOL... Seriously, the final shot taken by Andrea, in those closed confines, should have been loud as shit. Instead, it was a wimpy little muffled poof, like a shot heard from a mile away. But my question is, how did Rick et al, have the time to make it to Woodbury before the Governor, Martinez and Shumbert returned? Apparently, the Governor didn't return to Woodbury; so where did they go? It's obvious that this blood feud isn't going to go away. IMHO, what would have been a really good ending would have been if Martinez and Shumbert, before getting into the vehicle with the Governor, would have looked at each other, realized that the Governor was crazy, and then shot him instead before driving off. That would have been the best ending. I noticed too, that after the Governor's murderous tirade, the Woodbury troops somehow lost all their weapons (except for Allen, who alas, was too hesitant to do himself any good), which allowed the Governor to gun them all down. But given that they had abandoned their vehicles on the road, and especially the one with the mounted M2 .50 Cal machine gun left at the prison; IMHO Rick and crew should be sitting very pretty right about now. If anything, they can fortify that prison into an armed bunker. With that .50 mounted on a protected platform on the roof of the prison, nothing could ever approach them. If anything the Governor is going to be only an afterthought now. But, be that as it may, Woodbury has now been completely depopulated, whilst the prison has literally tripled their rosters. With the exception of Tyreese and Sasha, it seems they're now additionally burdened with old men, women and children (total of 14 new people, 13 shown in the scene, inclusive with Tyreese and Sasha speaking in Woodbury, plus the single survivor of the massacre). So how productive they'll eventually be is another issue. But at any rate, they finally found themselves a school bus! It's about time. Those vehicles are literally the most versatile automotive creations for any post apocalyptic world. It's certainly not as cool as the "Dead Reckoning" (that high tech armored bus from Land of the Dead [2005]) but you get the idea. They can now transport, do long range recon and extended supply foraging runs, and quite literally sleep in and defend from within the vehicle if need be. One final word, Andrea didn't need to die. After their struggle, they could have just as easily shown Milton laying fully dead on the ground with one handle of the pliers sticking into his eye. ie. de-braining him, so to speak. However, I guess this character role's ending was Andrea's reward for fucking up the entire year, to make up for all the mistakes that she made. Moreover, after making audiences hate her so much during the whole of season three, I doubt there will be many who would miss her. In this case, IMHO, it did the Andrea character a real disservice and was a dramatic departure from the print series (Andrea continued to survive). I personally think that they should have rehabilitated her and given audiences a chance to like her again. Interesting too, was Carl's change into a merciless little bastard. But, he certainly had a solid point when he highlighted how his father brought upon them all these woes because of a failure to do the tough things that had needed to be done; in other words, the little fucker is turning into a pint sized Shane. But, I just had to LOL... at Carol and Beth, easily hacking and poking at zombies like it was a simple matter of routine.
That homemade 'silencer' Carl had attached to his pistol was funny. IMO, he done the right job. That kid didn't look like he would have dropped the gun and give in, he asked for it with the looks in his eyes. In a time like this, there would be no time to negotiate in dropping the gun. It's either you drop it instantly or die. It's just too risky to play the eye game. I didn't have sympathy for Andrea death because like you said, she fked up many times, she had her chance but she wanted the mushroom tip. I was expecting Martinez (not that guy with the afro) to get shot too because he was holding his machine gun in a way that he was getting ready to put the Governor down from his insanity.
In this life now, you kill or you die, or you die and you kill. I think everybody expected the governor to die but it didn't happen, big anti-climax. So the finale was just about Andrea's death. Her character was so badly written, I don't know if the writers did that intentionally or not. But because of that everybody started hating her, so she just had to die. To be honest, I didn't expect her to die. I thought she would free herself at the last moment, kill Milton and get away. But blonde Andrea really deserved to die, she was freeing herself like she had all the time in the world, pausing several times and one time she even stopped to talk to Milton and explain her behavior LOL.
Spoiler: I actually really liked the development shown in Carl's character arc in the last episode. The way he dropped the sherrif badge in front of his father before he turned his back and walked away, shooting the woodberry kid point blank, and his dissaproving look of taking in the confused and lost woodberry residents at the end. It's like this is what the zombie apocalypse will do to your kids, turn them into heartless little shits with no respect for authority and a kill or be killed mentality.
Note: Spoilers hidden content do not work if there is an apostrophe anywhere within the tag line Kevin and Cailini, you're both right of course, that this apocalyptic experience is essentially making parenting even more difficult than what it would be under normal real world circumstance. Spoiler: In essence ...Carl already had his childhood stolen; he is no longer a child, but a survivor in an extremely brutal, unforgiving world, where even the slightest hesitation could mean your life. It's no wonder why he's turning out that way. I agree that the scene in which Carl 'executes' the armed fleeing teen was certainly open to interpretation. In such a kill or be killed world, he should have dropped his weapon immediately. Holding onto it only gave the already nervous Carl ample reason to end his life. But, IMHO, what would have been a really dramatic ending would have been had Carl, looking initially confused (when the first saw the Woodbury evacuees off loading from the bus), suddenly changed his demeanor to one of angry rage, began shooting the evacuees before the stunned looks of Rick et al, and despite Rick's cries for him to stop, continued doing so, until Rick himself shoots Carl in the head, killing him. Now THAT would have been a season closer On another note: Glen and Maggie's use of the riot gear in this case was a bit frivolous, as such equipment is good only for personal blunt impact protection in close quarter physical combat, but almost useless for shoot out battle engagements against high velocity ballistic projectiles. I'm curious too, as to how none of the Governor's gang seemed to get shot by Maggie and Glen; if anything, they should have been sitting ducks running out of a choke point like that doorway. As for Andrea, she even acknowledged that she eff'd up by not killing the Governor when she had the chance; her rationale was she was trying to "save them all" regardless of their evil intent or not. I don't think it was her sexual desire for the Governor that doomed her, it was a genuine sense of humanity on her part. Except in this case, it was wholly misplaced and the decisions she made ultimately cost her, her and Milton's life. Had she killed the Governor in his sleep, none of this would have occurred and both Woodbury and the Prison would have survived.
Spoiler: agree I know right! Unless their intention was only to scare them off instead of killing them. It may be the former because they didn't seem like they wanted to kill them, but the others like Daryl wanted to because of what had happened to his brother, Merle. Through reading speculations, I was expecting Carl to get shot, but that sheriff badge would have blocked the bullet. Now that would be awesome...but only in TVB dramas lol Oh yeah that's right, but it's futile to think in such manner. Especially when there is a zombie apocalypse, most captains are territorial and want things their way. She just needed to think properly, but because she didn't, she died with regrets.
What I thought was interesting too, was that... Spoiler: Carl ...after doing what he did, also seemed genuinely surprised (by the look on his face) and was momentarily stunned by the gravity of the situation. Another question now is that Karen, the Woodbury army sole dissenter survivor, has been taken in by Rick; what role (if any) would she have to play in the next season? There has always been a question of Tyreese and what contributions he would have in the television series. In print, he dies after being executed (decapitated outside the prison) after the Governor unsuccessfully tried to used a captive Tyreese as leverage to get Rick's group to open the prison gate. In AMC's version, the prison battle is effectively over; Rick's group not only didn't lose and flee the prison (as they had in print) but won, and is now augmented with Tyreese, and two able bodied females (Sasha and Karen, not to mention the other Woodbury noncombatant survivors). Thus, this was a very significant departure from the original storyline and plot. Further, given that the Governor has been effectively neutralized, not only do they no longer have any need to leave the prison; they now also have access to the bulk of Woodbury's remaining supplies. In effect, they've become much stronger than they were previously. Again, this reinforces the idea that they should not leave the prison, but instead try to reinforce it and make it their haven. They also have an enclosed area that they could begin to farm once they rid themselves of the walkers. This would be an important survival strategy as previously manufactured food supplies should be well depleted by now. In fact, I'm surprised that they've lasted as long as they have. Season 4 should prove interesting.
Yup, the Governor can't do much now because he only has his left and right hand man, which they didn't seem to like the idea of his onslaught.
As for plot value... Spoiler: Not sure why ...the show had decided to let the Governor live, escaping with only the two 'followers'? Let's examine the rationale for this; the main reason that the Governor had any followers at all, was this control of Woodbury; a zombie free, protected, secure, and functional enclave. But it no longer exists. In other words, the community which enabled the mechanism of friendship, relationships, and or acquaintances, ie. the social raison d'etre, is gone. Thus, there is absolutely zero reason for these two guys (Martinez and Shumbert) to stay with Phillip (he's no longer a Governor of anything except perhaps, his own ego and rage). In fact, one would rather expect that mercenary characters like these two (who are there simply for their own best interests) would easily be the first to abandon him as he now has nothing to offer them. Moreover, without a doubt, they both realize that he's not only crazy, but one willing to kill his own companions if they didn't suit him at some point in time. Hence, not only doesn't he have anything to offer, but to stay with him subjects them to an enormous increase in lethal risks. I would imagine that they can perhaps bring them back in a later episode as an evil protagonist; but given the bleak survivability prospects of the threesome on the road, with limited ammunition, food, and fuel, I wouldn't be surprised if they met with eventual demise on the road. However, that's not Hollywood enough and I'm sure that AMC will find some way to bring him back a power base of some kind, to later antagonize Rick and crew. If anything, Rick should instruct his people to heed his son Carl's advice vis a vis Phillip; shoot on sight, because they cannot take that chance.
The Governor shall now just be called Philips because he is powerless lol. You raised valid points, he has nothing to other and pose a threat to those that mirrors his interests.
I'm not so surprised that Martinez and Shumbert stayed. Throughout the season they seemed only as if they were extensions of the governor, twisted around him in such a way that they've almost lost their autonomy. Being military guys, they have been trained to follow orders to the t and often do so without knowing what purpose they serve. All that aside, neither seem to be really large picture planning guys and their decision to follow is almost like a default/what better choice do we have action. By themselves, they really don't amount to much. Also, they had to make the governor seem scarier for next season. Having a gaggle of Woodberry residents following him around seems like fluff, but having the governor be in a compact and stealthy team with two loyal military men willing to follow him to the ends of hell (and his insanity) is a lot more intimidating. I feel like he realized he was more dangeous without the extra baggage (Woodberry residents) holding him back. Now the governor could come out of the woodwork at any point and isn't beholden to anyone. Seeing him go bonkers like that also kinda gives you chills.
Actually, in S03E13... Spoiler: when Daryl asked if Martinez was Army ...he replied, "Nah... just hate these things..." for what they did to his wife and family. Shumbert, also looked too much the dullard to be military either. If anything, they're still dangerous because Martinez seems to have a lot of street smarts, while Shumbert is too dense to disobey. As for the Phillip coming back out of the woodwork, it would be a tall order. He would have to sneak up on them. That however, would be easier said than done, unless Rick does something really stupid.
