The Walking Dead season finale (Spoilers)

[Jingle Fett]

I actually wasn't all that bummed out that Andrea died. I mean I liked her well enough but for some reason I wasn't all that bothered by it. I guess I just didn't connect that well with her character. I didn't mind what she was trying to do all season, I got that she saw the potential of Woodbury and the prison group coexisting and how unnecessary the fighting was, so I was ok with that.

Carl killing the kid, though cold, I think was the safe and right thing to do, given their circumstances. Here we have some kid, probably from Woodbury, running around the forest with a shotgun, who for all we knew he was sent to scout for people fleeing the prison. And even if he wasn't from Woodbury (very unlikely), the fact that he happens to show up when the group is under attack, very risky. If the kid (who also looked slightly bigger/older than Carl) incapacitated Carl, it'd be him against an old man missing a leg, and a girl with little combat experience.

I was legitimately upset over Milton's death though I felt he was one of those characters with a ton of potential, he brought a welcome break from the usual survivor mentality. And what with him being one of the only scientist type characters and obviously being fairly intelligent, I thought he could have been a huge asset to the team (but in a way different than usual) and I was really hoping he'd make it.
I really liked the fact that he was more of a scientist type character, something we haven't really seen all that much of and I really liked the idea of him continuing to do research on the walkers, learning more about them and how they worked. And with him being a scientist type character there'd be the chance of him coming up with inventions and stuff to make life at the prison better. I dunno, I guess I felt he added a bit of charm to the the show. He seemed like a guy who was less about killing zombies and more about restoring society to its former state, or as much as possible anyways, looking beyond simply surviving day to day.

But over all, I thought it was a great season finale.

 

[sky14kemea]

I agree that it was pretty anticlimactic.

I was all set for huge explosions and fighting! I had ice cream out and everything! They do what? 2 explosions, then after 5 minutes they start retreating? =[

What a let-down. I was glad none of the prison cast died. Wasn't so bothered about Andrea either. I haven't liked her since she and Mishone split.

Was sad for Milton, though. I liked him! D:

 

[Xathos]

A big resounding "Meh" for me. I thought overall the season was good, but finale wise it was pretty weak, a complete opposite from season two.

I will comfortably stand in the Team Andrea camp. I can defend (most) of her actions this season, as her view to try and keep everyone alive without bloodshed mirrors my own thoughts. With that said, I was actually a bit surprised to see her die. When the camera panned away from the room I rolled my eyes thinking "Of course Andrea is going to survive, c'mon now". Nope, she got bit. And while I understood that it was sad, it wasn't...emotional as compared to say Lori's or even Merle's death. Probably because while I sympathized with Andrea and what she was trying to do...she ended up doing jack this season. I guess her death played into the whole "If you killed first, things could have gone better" theme the episode had going.

Loved the bit with Carl shooting the kid, especially his look right after. And the way he just told off his dad? Priceless.

Honestly? I thought Glen or Maggie would get axed tonight on the count of their whole "marriage" last episode.

And poor Milton. I really, really liked his character. When he interacted with Hershel a couple of episodes ago, I felt that he would have great chemistry with the cast. And because I liked him, they had to kill him off. =(

I actually thought Rick and co would really leave the prison. I thought the traps were to bring in as many Zombies as possible as a sort of "You want it, take it!" sort of deal. Then once everyone from woodbury was dead or ran out of ammo, they would come back in and take it. That or head to Woodbury once the Governor and his army left and mess up the town. What played out was a pretty anticlimactic.

When the Governor started shooting all those people, I LOVED the look on Martinez's face, completely realizing things are going way too far.

So I like certain things about this episode, but not everything. Still a good season though.

 

[TKretts3]

Andrea died. Andrea died and I cried. I am so done with The Walking Dead... Until the next season.
... And according to this thread, I'm the only one who liked Andrea.

Overall, Andrea was the best character on the show, and the one with whom I could most connect with. Her story arch, her character, it was all just great. When they were opening the door I was so nervous, then I saw Walker Milton dead and Andrea lying down and thought it was all clear. Then she spoke painfully and moved her jacket and I just started crying. The tears really burst out when she said, "Don't worry, I know how to work the safety" because it just made me remember her entire journey, her life that we've seen. And it didn't help that hard-as-nails Michonne started tearing up too.

It's the one thing that I love/hate about The Walking Dead. How it gets me so emotionally invested in it's characters and story. Andrea, Dale, Sophia...

Though, one criticism of it all - HOW long does it take you to pick up some pliers with your feet? Seriously! And it didn't help she kept on pausing, looking at, and talking to Milton throughout the entire thing. Seriously, he even told her to hurry up, get out of the chair, and stab him in the head. But did she listen? Nooooo...

I also have to mention, after The Governor gunned down a large group of his own civilians right in front of Martinez and the black guy, why did they still go with him? They'd have to be crazier than him!

 

[The Sanctifier]

I would like to start with a hearty "Fuck you" to Glen Mazzara for not only making Andrea somehow even stupider than she's been all season, but also preventing her from becoming a good character again under a competent showrunner by giving her a completely meaningless death.

The prison trap was kind of clever, I kind of liked that they ended up not killing the Governor for now, and Carl did kind of have his first interesting character moment in three years, but the sheer stupidity of Andrea's "storyline" overshadowed the decent bits. And there were no real good bits.

So long, Mazzara. Don't let the door hit you on your way out.

I was kinda expecting that after Andrea got bit she might at least try to kill the governor or something before she turned, maybe as a kind of redemption for not killing him earlier. But as it stands, it seems a lot like they just killed her off because they figured someone needed to die for the finale.

The ending seemed rather anti-climatic and I was really expecting that there would be some kind of second assault on the prison or some sort of confrontation between Ric and the governor, or least something for the whole build-up.

quick question, I could swear that in the preview they showed someone with an RPG shooting up at one of the towers. Maybe I'm wrong but it seemed like that happened.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

Well, that episode totally killed Governor character for me. I mean, when season started and they've shown Governor for the first time I was thrilled! He was charismatic, rational and really looked like a nice guy. I was hoping that the inevitable war with Rick would be for some rational reasons! I mean, maybe there would be some kind of misunderstanding, maybe both groups would have to fight for some scarce resources, so that we won't have clear good guy-Rick and bad guy-Governor... but no, Governor is just bat-shit crazy kids. Real shame. And Andrea, I just feel sorry for her character. I could even relate to her motives, but the way she was executed is just bad.

 

[Ishal]

Why does everybody hate Carl? I can understand it in light of the past season's and him being an unlikable twirp. Call me crazy, but in the context of the show his development may be on course for something amazing.

He's like the spiritual successor of Shane's character regarding his attitudes. He had the best dialogue in the whole episode apart from the gov talking about his daughter.

Didn't he tell the kid to put down the gun? If someone holds a gun to your face and tells you to put down a gun in a zombie apocalyptic world, if you don't want to get shot you put down the gun. They seemed to make the scene ambiguous in that the kid might have tried something anyways. Then Hershel (spelling?) had to be the annoying moralizer again. What a bunch of crap.

I really hope that Rick might have to contend with another "Shane" in Carl. Dat be some good writing there.

 

[IndomitableSam]

I don't think I've yelled at the TV more than when Andrea was on. She pissed me off to no end... but I think her dying was a cop-out. It would have been better if she lived and went back with the group and had to live with the consequences and fallout of everything she (didn't do) did.

I also really liked Milton. Shame to see him go.

As for Carl, the whole time the kid approached without putting the goddamn gun down, I was saying "Shoot him!" because fi someone tells you to drop your gun, you don't fucking keep your hand on the barrel and step towards the person with a gun to your head. Carl did the right thing. (Kid would have died anyway, later on with the Governer, but that's not the point.) He was also right to throw all that crap back in Rick's face. Now.. that he didn't feel a bit of remorse isn't a good thing, but he did right in shooting the kid.

Kinda wish I could afford to buy the comics now, so I could see what's different. They're just so expensive, it's kind of upsetting. It's why I've never gotten into comics, the price has always been far too expensive for me, and for my parents when I was a kid. It's a shame.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

Here are my thoughts on the finale:

- Andrea in this episode was a waste of screen time. Every time she came on I thought to myself that she is wasting time checking on Milton instead of getting herself free. It's her fault she got bit.

- I liked the episode until way towards the end where it was very anticlimactic. Not showing the Governor again and ending with him leaving off into the sunset.

All in all a decent enough ending, although I don't think it should of ended on a cliffhanger (so to speak).

 

[Instant K4rma]

The prison "assault" confused me so much. You bring upwards of 15 heavily armed men, and stage a full retreat once two people start firing at you. Two people that apparently can't aim for shit, I might add. Aside from the super sloppy/lazy prison attack sequence, I thought it was a pretty good episode.

 

[Tactical Pause]

In my eyes, the episode didn't feel at all like a season finale. The thing that had been built up to for ages never really happened, and it seemed like the reason it was actually labeled a finale as opposed to just another episode was because they killed a main character... that nobody gave a damn about.

I had a couple issues with the writing as well, mostly with things people have stated above. First, Carl killing that kid was definitely a grey area move, as he clearly was not dropping his weapon, yet Herschel (and even Carl himself!) make it out to be just a cold-blooded murder. Second, why did they not just take Woodbury once it was available? It's better supplied, better fortified, has no zombies wandering around inside, and is just an overall better place to live.

Seems to me that this is where the books and the show say their farewells and part way entirely, as we have far more differences between the two now than at any point previously. This is probably for the best, as the books started slipping a bit after their phenomenal conclusion to the Woodbury story-line.

All in all, this season had some great episodes, and the finale just wasn't up to par.


EDIT: Every single damn time I have to post on one of these types of threads I deeply regret my choice of forum names.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I agree that it was pretty anticlimactic.

I was all set for huge explosions and fighting! I had ice cream out and everything! They do what? 2 explosions, then after 5 minutes they start retreating? =[

What a let-down. I was glad none of the prison cast died. Wasn't so bothered about Andrea either. I haven't liked her since she and Mishone split.

Was sad for Milton, though. I liked him! D:

Same here.

I was all ready to go after I saw the preview of the Governor and his people attacking the hell out of the prison, but that didn't really happen. That was a little disappointing, especially how they all ran away after they were attacked by the group. But it did give us that scene where the Governor lost his mind and killed all those people, minus one, so there's that.

I didn't really care about Andrea, but I felt bad for Milton.

They could have killed off Carl and I would be totally fine with it.

 

[nathan-dts]

Frankly I was disappointed with how the season ended given that they've been building up to the prison battle for the entire second half of Season 3 only for it to be short and not really all that epic. I know the prison fight pretty much ended up with everyone dead in the graphic novels but seriously, this was the best they could do? On top of that is the fact that - instead of migrating to what is essentially an abandoned, heavily fortified, and more sustainable town (Woodbury) everyone goes to the prison. Which strikes me as monumentally stupid. This is also purely my opinion but Carl is getting into the unlikeable territory again - he's gone from being an annoying load, to a more mature kid who adapted to the setting, to a creepy sociopath who's annoying - so he started low, got up, then fell down a hill again in terms of character.

No offense but I wish Rick had chewed him out or something.

Andrea's dead and I really didn't care, so my accusations of sociopathy are a tad hypocritical, but I'm sure i'm not the only one who got sick of her character being all over the freaking place.

I was wondering about Woodbury, but the fact is that it's a big place and they don't have many able fighters, given that all of the new people they picked up were elderly or children. Not really defensible.
Governor is still out there, and he'll know Woodbury's weaknesses.
Wouldn't be surprised if they go over there and take all of the food, weaponry and technology, though.

Completely agreed on Carl becoming unlikable, again, but I can see where he's coming from.

 

[sky14kemea]

They could have killed off Carl and I would be totally fine with it.

Carl! Caaaaaaarl! When he shot the guy my mind jumped to that Llama thing. "Caaaaaaaaaaaaarl! That kills people!"

I have a feeling he's going to become annoying again next season. Which is good and bad.

It's good 'cause I can start making a lot more Llama jokes.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

They could have killed off Carl and I would be totally fine with it.

Carl! Caaaaaaarl! When he shot the guy my mind jumped to that Llama thing. "Caaaaaaaaaaaaarl! That kills people!"

I have a feeling he's going to become annoying again next season. Which is good and bad.

It's good 'cause I can start making a lot more Llama jokes.

"Caaaaaaaaaaaaarl!"

I never noticed that until now. XD

I thought throughout the season he would grow up and stop being annoying, boy was I wrong.

As long as he doesn't get to the Dawn from Buffy levels of annoying then I think I will be fine, otherwise I'm going to be horrible and chant for his death more often next season.

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

Why does everybody hate Carl? I can understand it in light of the past season's and him being an unlikable twirp. Call me crazy, but in the context of the show his development may be on course for something amazing.

He's like the spiritual successor of Shane's character regarding his attitudes. He had the best dialogue in the whole episode apart from the gov talking about his daughter.

Didn't he tell the kid to put down the gun? If someone holds a gun to your face and tells you to put down a gun in a zombie apocalyptic world, if you don't want to get shot you put down the gun. They seemed to make the scene ambiguous in that the kid might have tried something anyways. Then Hershel (spelling?) had to be the annoying moralizer again. What a bunch of crap.

I really hope that Rick might have to contend with another "Shane" in Carl. Dat be some good writing there.

Personally, I really liked how Carl had been growing as a character this season. There was actual maturity in many of his decisions, but he also wasn't above indulging in his childishness, showing he was turning into a proper survivor but not losing his humanity completely.

Then this episode happened.

*sigh* I'm sorry, but I feel like this was a step back in his character development. We're back to last season's "Randal dilemma" when he was just a petulant child trying to act strong and mature. He handled Tyreese's group perfectly, like he understood that banning together with others was important but also that trust needed to be earned. A true survivor, but not at the cost of his humanity. A truly interesting and complex character that is sorely needed on this show. And from the youngest character no less! I love that!

But here? Okay, let's break this down: Kid surrenders at gunpoint. After being told to drop his shotgun, the kid instead opts to hand it over to the much younger kid pointing a gun at him. If this wasn't a ploy of some kind thinking he had the upper-hand on a much younger kid, I would have been sincerely surprised. This ploy, however, relies entirely on Carl taking the gun from him. So the obvious answer to this problem is just don't take the shotgun. Keep the gun pointed on the kid and demand again that he drop it or you will shoot. If he refuses, then you have a problem. What Carl did? He chose not to even deal with the situation, like the life of that kid wasn't even worth considering. Bullshit absolutism at its finest. More than likely, he just figured "It's too much trouble", negating everything he did in his development this season!

I see him turning more into the Governor than I do Shane. "Kill or die" are the words that Philip spoke at the very start of the episode, and that's exactly the creed Carl is justifying his action with. Then, he straight up lies to his dad about what happened to make it sound like self-defense, exactly like what the Governor did the entire season to everyone who questioned his actions. The parallel is quite obviously with the Governor, which is not a good parallel to have after everything that happened this season. If they decide to continue this trait in his character in the next season, I don't know if I can continue with the series without getting completely frustrated.

Also, justifying his killing by blaming Rick for Lori's death because Rick didn't kill Andrew? Um, no Carl. You can't just blame a person for an entire series of events based on what "could have" happened. A mature person knows this. Your dad is has done some very reprehensible things, but this is not one of them. And again, it negates the maturity he was developing over the course of the season because he's justifying himself by blaming someone else. It pisses me off.

 

[Carnagath]

As promising as the season seemed at start, it all gradually fell apart for me. The ending was rubbish and no character arc convinced me.

Merle absolutely did not seem like the kind of guy that would stop a car in the middle of the road and decide "You know what, fuck it, I'm just gonna get drunk and go on a suicide mission". As questionable as his choices were, he was always at least resolute. Then he just sort of instantly deflated because Michonne tried to play psychologist on him for 30 seconds. And that happened shortly after Daryl clearly displayed his affection towards him, telling him that he wants his brother back. Merle would do anything to be with his brother, then he's all "fuck it". Complete trainwreck.

Andrea made me cringe with every second of screentime, and I was glad to see her gone. Offensively blind, retarded and a slave to Gov's cock, it made me wonder how she had lasted through a whole winter, even with Michonne protecting her. The "I just didn't want anyone to die" speech did not really make up for her retardation. Completely obnoxious character that we were supposed to care about. Damn.

Michonne felt way too passive, for a person whose only love interest is under the spell of a maniac and constantly in danger. She was like "whatever, we'll see what happens". Really?

Carl's shooting seems weird but there's not enough additional background to comment on it yet. We'll see how it turns out next season.

The Korean dude and his girlfriend are so uninteresting that I don't even remember their names. He holds some sort of grudge against her cause Gov felt her up (wtf?) and then he loves her again and so does she and they fuck while they are on guard duty and expecting an attack on the prison at any moment. Then he rips a ring off a walker's fingers and gives it to her as a marriage proposal. So, that's...love? I guess? I have no words.

Hershel is not a character, he's just the voice of reason and kindness. With a white beard.

Rick would never, under any circumstances give away a member of their gang as a bargain. The fact that the writers had him do it, even though he changes his mind, is preposterous. He may be unstable considering what he's been through, but he's not an idiot. Only an idiot would think that would actually work and Gov would leave them alone. And he doesn't even believe it, as he tells Hershel. Then why does he do it? Never mind the fact that that doesn't fit his "ethics", it's just an incredibly stupid thing to do.

Gov was a great character initially, because he would keep his cool under any circumstances. He was manipulative, clever, told people what they wanted to hear, knew exactly what his fellow citizens thought and felt at any time like any true sociopath, and had a smile on his face all the time, even as he slit people's throats. Then at the end he goes all like "HURR DURR HOW DO YOU PEOPLE DARE TO BE SCARED? DIEEEEEE". Now he's just a moustache twirling cartoon villain. Congrats on ruining an actually interesting character within 15 seconds. What a shame.

Never mind the complete cop-out of the ending, where noone managed to hit anyone as they were coming out of a door disoriented and single file, just so that our heroes won't get all that blood of potentially misguided/frightened people on their hands, lest they actually have to do something interesting, like deal with a trauma like that. Nope, all butterflies and rainbows, Gov gunned everyone down himself and all the old and sick people came to live at the prison, with Rick being responsible for their lives (which he does not want to be, seeing how he turned down Tyrese's team shortly before for that very reason, the hitch hiker and pretty much everyone else up to that point, but never mind that shit, now he suddenly wants to take care of EVERYONE because the writers say so! Yay!)