The Walking Dead Season 3 Finale

Another season of The Walking Dead is in the books. Season 3 went out with a bang, though it was not quite as good as the season 2 finale which gave us a Michonne (Danai Gurira) tease when she rescued Andrea (Laurie Holden) in the forest and the beginning of the "Ricktatorship".

A week after the emotional death of Merle (Michael Rooker), we have another sad goodbye of an original character with the death of Andrea. It was played out well and had a very powerful build. Even though I don't like her death, I understand her story came full circle, and ever since the death of her sister in season 1 she hated seeing others meet a similar fate. She tried to save everyone at the prison & Woodbury, including The Governor (David Morrissey), but it didn't work out. Seeing Milton (Dallas Roberts) stand up to The Governor before being stabbed and left locked with Andrea to turn also brought his story to a close. 

It was pretty well done, aside from making Andrea take FOREVER to pick the pliers up with her toes. It should have taken a few seconds, maybe one minute. The main reason I hated seeing Andrea die is because it feels like too many of the original cast has been killed off. We're down to Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Carol (Melissa McBride), Daryl (Norman Reedus), Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Carl (Chandler Riggs). Of course it keeps you on your toes, but I hope it doesn't come to a point where its overkill. After watching Merle and Andrea die in back to back weeks, we've now lost well over half of the original cast members. Dale, Andrea, Shane, Sophia, Merle, Lori, & T-Dog have all died since the middle of Season 2. Though I'm sure we will see Andrea some more through Michonne flashbacks. 

We saw Carl basically turning into Shane II. That will clearly become a storyline, as Rick will attempt to handle Carl becoming affected by the awful world around them. The Governor escaped, which leaves him at large and sure to pop up again. I guess we'll find out this summer when the show begins filming again if he'll be back in Season 4, or sometime after. Talking Dead also got prank called by some creep who breathed heavy then said something about the end coming and the graves being full, which was odd yet funny.

The 4th season of The Walking Dead on AMC begins in October. To help hold us over, Mad Men returns next week!

The Walking Dead: Andrea Chooses a Side

The Walking Dead ramped up the intensity in the episode titled "Prey", with a #PreyForAndrea hashtag being hyped up on The Walking Dead twitter. We found out why in a big way.

The episode was mainly about Andrea (Laurie Holden) and The Governor (David Morrissey). Andrea, by the way, returned to the Season Two badass Andrea finally. She also finally chose a side, opting to return to the prison once she'd seen what The Governor was planning to do with Michonne (Danai Gurira) in his dungeon. Milton (Dallas Roberts) shows it to her, and has seemingly lost his trust of The Governor as well. Its assumed he burned the walkers they were planning to unleash on the prison.

Back to the Andrea/Governor scene though, which filled most of the episode. The game of cat and mouse was absolutely perfect, and created what was perhaps the most intense, edge-of-your-seat episode of the entire series. The Governor turned into the full-on evil Governor they'd been building up to as he made his way through the warehouse searching for Andrea. He even pulled a little Freddy Kruger move, taunting her with whistles as he dragged hit metal shovel against the fences. I like that both characters were able to use the resources to get a leg up on the other. When Andrea found the stairway full of zombies, then entered and hid behind the open door as the zombies streamed out towards the Governor was one of the most exciting scenes they've had.

Then when she finally arrived at the prison, about to wave for Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) attention, he grabs her from behind and ends up taking her away. Just seconds from a happy reunion, she ends up in the worst possible spot. You have to wonder why she didn't just take his truck back at the warehouse, but then I guess that messes with the plot.

In a preview for next week on Talking Dead, we saw Merle (Michael Rooker) actually trying to convince Rick not to give up Michonne, knowing how The Governor operates and that it wouldn't make a difference. The two factions will have their war, and The Governor may use Andrea as bait to separate Michonne from the rest of the group. Or will Milton save Andrea and then die for doing so? With just two episodes left this season, the intensity is sure to continue at the high level of "Prey". Fear not though, as The Walking Dead ends, Mad Men returns a week later. Two very different shows, yet both fit well together because of the excellent storytelling and passionate cast & crew.

'The Walking Dead' Slays the Competition

Did you think The Walking Dead couldn't get any bigger? Think again. The hit AMC show took Michonne's katana sword to the rest of the competition on Sunday Night, as the return from winter hiatus drew a record 12.3 Million Viewers, with a 6.1 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic, the largest the series has ever seen in both categories.

That means The Walking Dead destroyed American Idol in adults 18-49, and nearly topped it in total viewers period. Not to mention the fact that The Walking Dead had to go up against some stiff competition in the 2013 Grammy Awards, or it could have been even larger. Michael Rooker, who plays fan favorite Merle, commented on twitter: Gmorning all y'all FANS around the World a big SHIT YES!!! Thank you!!! For ur Support...  

The show is changing the face of television, as cable networks can now dream of beating out broadcast networks in the ratings game. This all comes after The Walking Dead became the first cable show in history to become the Fall's most watched show with 18-49 year olds. Zombies may be hot right now, but this show  has been able to be much more than that, creating characters that people care about, which the broadcast networks are dreaming they can do. 

I have to say, it was probably my least favorite episode (titled "The Suicide King") so far this season, but it did a good job setting up the rest of the season, so it was needed. Especially after the intensity of the previous episode, "Made to Suffer", this one was a bit more mellow. Now just because it was my least favorite of the season doesn't mean much, as it was still incredibly entertaining. If you need a little Walking Dead style action in the middle of the week, give The Americans on FX a chance. It's yet another exciting cable show to add to the growing collection of them.

Watch The Walking Dead Season 3 Trailer!

The theatrical new trailer for The Walking Dead (watch below) has been released online following the debut at comic-con. Everyone is in action in the new trailer, and you get to see how The Governor (David Morrissey) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) will fit into the epic 3rd season. And epic is the perfect word, as this promises to be full of action with even better storytelling to go with it. There's also the first glimpse at the returning Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) as well as the prison and the survivor community, Woodbury.

Andrea (Laurie Holden) & Michonne are going to make one kick-ass team. We can see Michonne does not trust The Governor from the start. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) is in full on "take no bullshit" mode, and you know once the gang joins back up with Andrea and new pal Michonne, they may go to war with The Governor. And both groups will be attacked by countless walkers (zombies). The 3rd season will premiere Sunday October 14 at 9ET on AMC. The show may be more anticipated than any show on TV, including network TV, and should beat the cable record 9 million viewers it received for the season 2 finale.