The Walking Dead - S03E11 I Ain't A Judas (2013)

Review

Following the Governor's attack on the prison Rick's group are in a high state of paranoia. One faction, led by Herschel, are all for abandoning the prison, another faction with Glenn at the helm see an attack on Woodbury as a viable response, while Carol cuts through the chord with the most clear cut solution. Unfortunately for Carol someone is unable to deliver on their end. Rick's response, the dude is still all traumatised, is to decide to go on a run with Michonne and Carl to gather more ammunition and supplies. Surprisingly Merle might prove an asset as the big Georgia Redneck has military training and is under no false premise in regards who they are exactly dealing with when it comes to the Governor. I guess one sociopath recognises another!

Meanwhile over in Woodbury the Governor is gathering all able bodied men and women and forming them into an army. Andrea isn't pleased and devises a plan with Milton, who is working for the Governor, to sneak out and contact the prison in order to reach some sort of a compromise. She makes the prison but discovers not everything is exactly as the Governor has portrayed it to be, and more importantly Rick's group are prepared to fight to the death. Michonne points out some home truths to Andrea, but naturally none of them stick with this chick who redefines "blonde moment". In a surprise development Tyreese's group make it to Woodbury, the Governor and Milton proving to be very interested in their descriptions of the prison and its defenders.

There were three instances in this episode that really drove home to me just how good a drama The Walking Dead can be, and why exactly I watch it religiously and defend it against the whingers that seem to make up a sizeable percentage of the internet's population. Once again I'll reiterate for the mentally challenged, zombie outings are not about the zombies as such, the undead provide a backdrop to the often times incredibly insightful view into the human condition. To put it simply, zombie outings are about the survivors and how they cope in the post-apocalyptic wilderness, here there be monsters and if we had to be truthful those monsters are not shambling rotting corpses.

Rick is being called on to step up to the plate, immediate interest is in whether he is capable of doing so

In the first instance Andrea was confronted by Michonne about leaving a friend out in the cold in return for the promise of a warm bed. The katana armed chick clearly doesn't develop friendships that easily and was more than disappointed with the rather shallow decisions Andrea made in Woodbury. Proving she really is blonde, Andrea blames Michonne for turning Rick's group against her and once again fails to see the reality of the situation she is in. To be honest in the television show Andrea is as thick as a box of hammers, a far cry from the kick arse chick in the comics. I really am disappointed in this characterisation considering the cool source material. You have to wonder what morals the Lori haters have, when they remain resolutely silent on the whole Andrea thing, what exactly was Lori's sin again - she slept with Shane after her world crashed and she believed her husband was dead. At least Lori didn't get into bed with the enemy! Still on the Andrea front there's some good writing going down, as opposed to this review, Andrea doesn't realise just how shallow and blinkered she really is; the character was always headed for Woodbury from the moment we meet her in the camp outside Atlanta.

In the second instance Rick is outside scanning the surrounding woods for Woodbury incursions, Carl joins him. Showing the development the character has gone through over the course of this season Carl informs his father that he should take a break from leadership and allow Daryl and Herschel to make the tough calls for a while. The pressure has been building on Rick to such an extent that even his son is starting to think he isn't making the right choices. And was it just me or was there a hint of Lori out in the woods just prior to Carl making the scene? The short home truth Carl delivered may just be the tonic Rick needs to get over his funk and to grab back the reins in time to avert the Governor from turning the prison into Daryl's "the tombs" scenario.

And finally the whole Merle situation is heaping additional pressure on Rick. Clearly Daryl remains loyal to his brother, regardless if it's warranted or not, while Glenn wants the elder Dixon Bro long gone following his torture at the hands of Merle in Woodbury. My take there was that Glenn was more about the indignities Maggie faced than his own punishment. Has the situation between Glenn and Maggie been resolved yet? Anyways back to Merle, Michonne remains enigmatic toward him, which would have me worried if I was Merle, and could choose to take decisive action rather than waiting on Rick to make a call. Remembering it was Michonne who made straight for the Governor when Rick and team came to call on Woodbury. Whether Rick wants Merle to stay or not is moot, he needs Merle in order to shore up Daryl's support, Rick's hands are tied, he mightn't like Merle but the group will fracture at just the wrong time if Merle is cut adrift. Rick instinctively knows this, which is once again indicative of just how good the writing is in this show.

If you have guessed by now that zombies don't really take a huge allotment of time in the episode then you would be correct. They are still an external threat, vigilance is required, but the episode delves more into the fallout from the Governor's attack on various characters and less on the global nature of the post-apocalyptic world. Which of course is a fundamental view in the zombie sub-genre, it's all about small groups of people trying to survive in the new world order and less about the overall situation. Remember we still don't know what has caused the zombie outbreak, Kirkman hasn't even alluded to it in the comics beyond a vague theory about biological weapons, or why exactly every living person is infected with the virus. For mine that is both a weakness and a strength of the show, there appears to be no end game in sight, just how sustainable is a show that is going to have to hunt out human evil season by season?

Another engrossing episode that had me glued to the screen, I'm actually sorry for the haters that can't get their minds around the fact that not all horror is simply blood and gore; you're in the minority by the way if this is your requirement. Simply excellent examination of the human condition and the reactions of various people based around their previous history, horror really doesn't get much better than this to be honest. I was also intrigued by Milton who seems to represent the downtrodden of Woodbury who follow the Governor through fear and not loyalty, now there's a sub plot I'm expecting to be explored more in subsequent episodes. The Walking Dead is much watch television, if you haven't caught up with it yet then book some time off and get stuck in, this show will take a bite out of ya!