I officially have too many posts dedicated to The Walking Dead. However, I decided after my last one -- which pointed out how boring and nonsensical the middle episodes of the second half of this season have been -- that I would need one more follow-up after the season finale, just to see if the story redeemed itself in the final episodes. As it turns out, it didn't. I was pretty frustrated by where the show has been headed (nowhere), but the season finale seems like the final nail in the coffin. The new writers don't seem to know how to create and maintain a story, let alone an interesting one.
The entire season has been building intensity between Rick's group and the Governor, who has proven again and again that he's completely insane. We should have learned our lesson in season two, when way too many episodes were dedicated to the same thing: Shane going against Rick. We all knew Shane's death was coming because he became so illogically disagreeable that there was just no place for him in the group. Now we have the Governor, who is senselessly evil. From the very beginning, Michonne suspects that he is crazy, and we side with her because, well, she has a cool sword. Other than that, there is no revelation of his motives or what makes him evil. He's just 'the bad guy.' So by the end of the season, he should be dead, right? And it should be some epic battle between him and Rick, or at least their respective groups. Of course, we're expecting other casualties along the way. That's the fun of the show, right? And there haven't really been any deaths recently, with the exception of Merle a week before.
There are also the comics to consider. Will this finale in any way bring us back around to something even resembling the source material?
The answer to both of these questions is a resounding NO! Rick and the Governor don't even see each other face to face. The Governor and his people storm the prison, which apparently Rick's group has booby-trapped and temporarily vacated. Some teargas cannisters explode and the Governor is forced to retreat. And...that's it. That is the resolution to the conflict that has been building for months. No one dies. No one of importance anyway. I guess we're supposed to assume some of the Woodbury people get killed at some point; Maggie and Glenn shoot at them all for a while as they run for their trucks. Rick and the others aren't even around.
The Governor leaves, alive. Down the road he decides to open fire on all of his people, because he's evil, and that's what an evil person would do. For some reason, none of them fire back. And the Governor and his two main henchmen drive off. Rick shows up at Woodbury and invites all the remaining people -- including Tyreese -- back to the prison.
And if that sounds out of character, it should. Rick has proven time and again that he doesn't care about other survivors. If anything, they represent a threat. But I guess they saved all of his character development for this last episode, where he completely changes his mind and rescues a bunch of women and children that for months had been told to fear him and his people. Also, Carl shoots an innocent kid, only reinforcing what we already know, which is that he has lost his humanity. Except even this is inconsistent with a scene earlier in the episode where he was lovingly cradling a picture of him and his parents.
As for the comics, I guess the writers just use them as toilet paper. The whole point of the prison shootout is to get Rick and Carl out of the prison and on the road alone, so the story has somewhere to go. Now they are still there, with an even larger group. People who should be alive are dead, and people who definitely need to die are still breathing. At least at the end of season 2, they got off of that unbearable farm. I'm not sure where they plan on taking the show next season, but I am starting to lose interest. There was no cliffhanger, other than the Governor still being alive. I hope we don't have to sit through another season of him trying to attack the prison. Then again, I'm not sure I'll even watch next season.
Anyways, this show has been moved to my WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? list, right there with Dexter and True Blood.
Showing posts with label Walking Dead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walking Dead. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
The Show is Written ABOUT Zombies, Not FOR Them
Look, I hate to do this before the season is over. But I am having trouble holding my breath for the rest of season 3 of The Walking Dead. And besides, I haven't written anything in a while.
What the hell is going on? The show just came back a few weeks ago from its midseason break, and absolutely nothing has happened since. The last three weeks in particular seem to have been written with the sole purpose of wasting time until the season finale. If you haven't seen them, let me recap.
GOVERNOR, to Andrea: If you go to the prison, that's it. Don't come back. You will be our enemy.
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: Okay.
[At the prison]
ANDREA: I'm alive!
RICK: Meh.
ANDREA: The Governor is a good guy. I slept with him, I should know.
MICHONNE: He's crazy.
MAGGIE: He tried to rape me.
GLENN: He had Merle try to feed me to a walker.
RICK: He came here and opened fire on unarmed men and women walking around in the daylight.
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: You're all wrong. He doesn't want a war. I have to go.
RICK: If you're one of us, you'll stay. If you go, that's it. Don't come back. You will be our enemy. [Andrea leaves]
RICK: We will kill the Governor, first chance we get. Nothing will change my mind about that.
[At Woodbury]
GOVERNOR: You're back.
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: Did you really try to kill Glenn, rape Maggie, make Daryl and Merle kill each other, and shoot unarmed men and women?
GOVERNOR: ...
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: You're not a monster. Let's have sex.
THE END
[Rick, Michonne, and Carl are in a car.]
RANDOM, DESPERATE SURVIVOR ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD: Help me! Help! PLEASEEEEE!
RICK: Ignore him. I hate everyone. We need to learn to leave people behind. By the way, Michonne, I don't trust you.
[In some town]
MORGAN, disguised with mask: Hand over your guns, or die!
RICK: No!
[Bullets. Michonne teleports to a rooftop. Morgan walks out on the street and Carl shoots him.]
CARL: I shot him.
RICK: Carl, my helpless son who used to run through the zombie-infested woods around Hershel's farm, and then through the dark zombie-infested hallways of the prison, completely unattended, are you okay? Are you mentally scarred by any of this?
CARL: It's what mom would have wanted.
RICK: Michonne, I trust you now, babysit my son for a while. [Michonne and Carl leave.]
RICK: Morgan, it's me, Rick.
MORGAN: I don't know you.
RICK: Yes you do!
MORGAN: Okay, I know you.
RICK: Come back with us.
MORGAN: No.
RICK: I never leave a man behind! We have to hold on to our humanity.
MORGAN: What about that survivor on the highway? The one who, even though we are now over a year into the zombie apocalypse, is still helplessly running around trying to figure out what's going on, while I, a civilian, have managed to stockpile a room full of automatic weapons, carve hundreds of spears out of broom handles, as well as capture a bunch of rats and rodents to use as bait?
RICK: Okay, you're right. I'll see ya later.
[Meanwhile...]
CARL: I have to kill all the walkers in this diner that has no significance to viewers.
MICHONNE: I have a better idea. [Michonne teleports in, gets whatever Carl wanted, and teleports back.] Here you go.
[Michonne and Carl return to Rick.]
RICK: Okay let's go. I hope nothing at all of importance has been going on with the prison or Woodbury.
[As they drive away, they pass the random, desperate survivor on the side of the road, who has since been disemboweled. After a full year, he hasn't even learned to run from a walker.]
THE END
Episode 13: "Arrow on the Doorstep"
[Rick shows up at some factory, with Hershel and Daryl. The Governor is already there. Andrea arrives with Martinez and Milton.]
[Outside]
MARTINEZ: Fuck you!
DARYL: Fuck you!
MILTON: I am a man of science. Can't you tell by this notebook! We don't want to fight.
HERSHEL: Neither do we. I am missing a leg, and am therefore the sensible one of the two of us.
MILTON: We're not so different.
HERSHEL: Yea, but we're going to have to kill each other anyway because we need a season finale.
[Inside]
RICK: Who arranged this meeting?
GOVERNOR: I will gladly kill you and all of your friends, just because I don't give a shit.
RICK: I won't let that happen.
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: Look, I believe that...
RICK: Shut up!
GOVERNOR: Go away!
[Andrea goes outside]
HERSHEL, to Andrea: You belong with us. If you're one of us, you'll stay with us. If you go, that's it. Don't come back. You will be our enemy.
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: I think I'll come with you.
[Inside]
GOVERNOR: Okay, I am a man of my word. And I think, sitting down like this, with a table and chairs and everything, you have no reason not to trust me, even though I keep smiling maniacally every time I say something that is obviously not true.
RICK: You're right. I trust you. What do you want?
GOVERNOR: Michonne. Let me rape and torture that bitch, and you can keep the prison.
RICK: Hm, that is some noble reasoning. I'll think about it.
[Rick, Hershel, and Daryl go back to the prison. Andrea, Martinez, the Governor, and Milton head back to Woodbury.]
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent, to the Governor: How'd it go? What's the plan? Everything work out?
GOVERNOR, smiling maniacally: Ohhh yes, it's been worked out. Worked out real good. Mwahahaha!
THE END
So we have three full 42-minute episodes of characters saying one thing and then doing another for really no other reason than to take up time. I find it irresponsible that AMC or the writers or whoever would push for an extended season of 16 episodes, knowing that there's not enough story to fill it.
Now, I have also read the comics. And I appreciate that the TV series is a completely different story, and therefore I will not stress over the immense liberties being taken with the source material. But one thing that gets me is that the characters are actually more interesting on paper. In the comics, we see that the Governor is insane and not just because Michonne gets a bad feeling about him. And Tyreese, that dude who just wandered into the big gaping hole in the prison at the end of the first half of season three, is supposed to play a huge role in defending the prison. In the show, he and his group represented a huge cliffhanger before the break. But instead they tossed him and the others out after one episode, and he is only mentioned again once since then. The same goes for Morgan. Why bother mentioning the character again if you're just going to drop him at the end of the episode. What a waste of time.
In the show, they managed to drag Hershel's farm out for an entire season, when in the comics the group wasn't there for very long. And yet they WERE at the prison for a pretty long time time. And a lot of interesting stuff happened to them. But the writers opted to cut out all of the good stuff, and throw in a bunch of dead ends and plot holes. And worst of all: where are the zombies!? For three seasons, the show has sacrificed any significant character development to showcase the blood and gore. But in the last few episodes we have been seen an walkers, let alone feel threatened by or afraid of them.
I certainly hope they put the next three episodes to good use. They can only build up tension between Rick and the Governor so far without actually doing anything. And that's what everyone is waiting for.
What the hell is going on? The show just came back a few weeks ago from its midseason break, and absolutely nothing has happened since. The last three weeks in particular seem to have been written with the sole purpose of wasting time until the season finale. If you haven't seen them, let me recap.
Episode 11: "I ain't a Judas"
GOVERNOR, to Andrea: If you go to the prison, that's it. Don't come back. You will be our enemy.
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: Okay.
[At the prison]
ANDREA: I'm alive!
RICK: Meh.
ANDREA: The Governor is a good guy. I slept with him, I should know.
MICHONNE: He's crazy.
MAGGIE: He tried to rape me.
GLENN: He had Merle try to feed me to a walker.
RICK: He came here and opened fire on unarmed men and women walking around in the daylight.
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: You're all wrong. He doesn't want a war. I have to go.
RICK: If you're one of us, you'll stay. If you go, that's it. Don't come back. You will be our enemy. [Andrea leaves]
RICK: We will kill the Governor, first chance we get. Nothing will change my mind about that.
[At Woodbury]
GOVERNOR: You're back.
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: Did you really try to kill Glenn, rape Maggie, make Daryl and Merle kill each other, and shoot unarmed men and women?
GOVERNOR: ...
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: You're not a monster. Let's have sex.
THE END
Episode 12: "Clear"
RANDOM, DESPERATE SURVIVOR ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD: Help me! Help! PLEASEEEEE!
RICK: Ignore him. I hate everyone. We need to learn to leave people behind. By the way, Michonne, I don't trust you.
[In some town]
MORGAN, disguised with mask: Hand over your guns, or die!
RICK: No!
[Bullets. Michonne teleports to a rooftop. Morgan walks out on the street and Carl shoots him.]
CARL: I shot him.
RICK: Carl, my helpless son who used to run through the zombie-infested woods around Hershel's farm, and then through the dark zombie-infested hallways of the prison, completely unattended, are you okay? Are you mentally scarred by any of this?
CARL: It's what mom would have wanted.
RICK: Michonne, I trust you now, babysit my son for a while. [Michonne and Carl leave.]
RICK: Morgan, it's me, Rick.
MORGAN: I don't know you.
RICK: Yes you do!
MORGAN: Okay, I know you.
RICK: Come back with us.
MORGAN: No.
RICK: I never leave a man behind! We have to hold on to our humanity.
MORGAN: What about that survivor on the highway? The one who, even though we are now over a year into the zombie apocalypse, is still helplessly running around trying to figure out what's going on, while I, a civilian, have managed to stockpile a room full of automatic weapons, carve hundreds of spears out of broom handles, as well as capture a bunch of rats and rodents to use as bait?
RICK: Okay, you're right. I'll see ya later.
[Meanwhile...]
CARL: I have to kill all the walkers in this diner that has no significance to viewers.
MICHONNE: I have a better idea. [Michonne teleports in, gets whatever Carl wanted, and teleports back.] Here you go.
[Michonne and Carl return to Rick.]
RICK: Okay let's go. I hope nothing at all of importance has been going on with the prison or Woodbury.
[As they drive away, they pass the random, desperate survivor on the side of the road, who has since been disemboweled. After a full year, he hasn't even learned to run from a walker.]
THE END
Episode 13: "Arrow on the Doorstep"
[Rick shows up at some factory, with Hershel and Daryl. The Governor is already there. Andrea arrives with Martinez and Milton.]
[Outside]
MARTINEZ: Fuck you!
DARYL: Fuck you!
MILTON: I am a man of science. Can't you tell by this notebook! We don't want to fight.
HERSHEL: Neither do we. I am missing a leg, and am therefore the sensible one of the two of us.
MILTON: We're not so different.
HERSHEL: Yea, but we're going to have to kill each other anyway because we need a season finale.
[Inside]
RICK: Who arranged this meeting?
GOVERNOR: I will gladly kill you and all of your friends, just because I don't give a shit.
RICK: I won't let that happen.
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: Look, I believe that...
RICK: Shut up!
GOVERNOR: Go away!
[Andrea goes outside]
HERSHEL, to Andrea: You belong with us. If you're one of us, you'll stay with us. If you go, that's it. Don't come back. You will be our enemy.
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: I think I'll come with you.
[Inside]
GOVERNOR: Okay, I am a man of my word. And I think, sitting down like this, with a table and chairs and everything, you have no reason not to trust me, even though I keep smiling maniacally every time I say something that is obviously not true.
RICK: You're right. I trust you. What do you want?
GOVERNOR: Michonne. Let me rape and torture that bitch, and you can keep the prison.
RICK: Hm, that is some noble reasoning. I'll think about it.
[Rick, Hershel, and Daryl go back to the prison. Andrea, Martinez, the Governor, and Milton head back to Woodbury.]
ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent, to the Governor: How'd it go? What's the plan? Everything work out?
GOVERNOR, smiling maniacally: Ohhh yes, it's been worked out. Worked out real good. Mwahahaha!
THE END
So we have three full 42-minute episodes of characters saying one thing and then doing another for really no other reason than to take up time. I find it irresponsible that AMC or the writers or whoever would push for an extended season of 16 episodes, knowing that there's not enough story to fill it.
Now, I have also read the comics. And I appreciate that the TV series is a completely different story, and therefore I will not stress over the immense liberties being taken with the source material. But one thing that gets me is that the characters are actually more interesting on paper. In the comics, we see that the Governor is insane and not just because Michonne gets a bad feeling about him. And Tyreese, that dude who just wandered into the big gaping hole in the prison at the end of the first half of season three, is supposed to play a huge role in defending the prison. In the show, he and his group represented a huge cliffhanger before the break. But instead they tossed him and the others out after one episode, and he is only mentioned again once since then. The same goes for Morgan. Why bother mentioning the character again if you're just going to drop him at the end of the episode. What a waste of time.
In the show, they managed to drag Hershel's farm out for an entire season, when in the comics the group wasn't there for very long. And yet they WERE at the prison for a pretty long time time. And a lot of interesting stuff happened to them. But the writers opted to cut out all of the good stuff, and throw in a bunch of dead ends and plot holes. And worst of all: where are the zombies!? For three seasons, the show has sacrificed any significant character development to showcase the blood and gore. But in the last few episodes we have been seen an walkers, let alone feel threatened by or afraid of them.
I certainly hope they put the next three episodes to good use. They can only build up tension between Rick and the Governor so far without actually doing anything. And that's what everyone is waiting for.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)