‘The Walking Dead’ 3.13 Recap: “We’ve Got a Lot to Talk About”

Too bad there’s already another show with that title, because this week’s episode of ‘The Walking Dead’ should have been called “The Talking Dead.”

Rick talks to the Governor. Daryl talks to the Governor’s muscle. Hershel and Milton have a brief meeting of the minds. Talk, talk, talk. The boring nature of the talking didn’t annoy me as much as how this episode simply doesn’t follow the characterizations that the show created in past episodes.

In last week’s episode, we saw Rick, Michonne and Carl drive right past a lonely survivor just looking for help. It was a callous act, but was necessary to show Rick’s progression from a caring person to a stone cold leader. They didn’t think twice about leaving that guy, even though they knew that he was most likely going to be zombie chow. At the end of that episode, I really thought Rick had changed.

Fast-forward to the latest episode. Rick and the Governor have a sit-down chat to discuss terms. Rick walks in with his gun drawn. The Governor meets him, removes his weapon, and stands defenseless before Rick. Where’s that stone cold Rick from an episode ago? The Governor, at that moment, doesn’t hold any bargaining chips. He has absolutely no collateral or leverage. Waste him, Rick. Waste him! Sure, the Governor has a gun taped to the underside of the table just in case, but there’s a window of time when Rick could put a bullet through his brain without a second thought. Kill the head of the snake and the rest crumbles. Rick even had the advantage for a good portion of time because the Governor’s henchmen hadn’t shown up yet. If you know they guy poses a huge threat, he’s already attacked and fired on you, then kill him when you have the chance. Sheesh!

Instead, the two of them participate in a testosterone-fuelled gruff-off where each tries to out-gruff-talk the other. This episode is full of so much manly machismo and chest-beating that Andrea gets booted from the premises.

Last week’s episode was great because we left the Governor behind for once and focused on building characters that haven’t had any real time. The show has gotten lost in complex plotting, so it was nice to return to its roots. Now, we’re faced with another episode with the Governor sneering for the camera and Rick remaining his wishy-washy self. Kill him, dammit!

Is it just me or has ‘The Walking Dead’ started in on the reflective musical number fad that most dramatic TV shows do now? Sorrowful rock music plays over the background as we recap what just happened in the episode. This happened a ton on ‘Lost’ and has been replicated on various other shows. Seems like the last few episodes of ‘The Walking Dead’ have ended like this and it’s starting to get on my nerves. It doesn’t fit the setting of the show.

This episode felt like one of those ‘Lost’ episodes people would complain about. It’s an episode that doesn’t go anywhere and feels like filler at the end of a season.

4 comments

  1. I can’t agree here. While this wasn’t as good as the previous week, it was a fine, slow-burn episode.

    Rick couldn’t just shoot the Governor, because he didn’t know what sort of backup plans the Governor had. For all Rick knew, the Governor could have people hiding, waiting to shoot him and his people if the Governor died. Or another raiding party could have been ready to attack the prison if negotiations went south.

    • Besides which, the season needs to end with Michonne stabbing the Governor in the heart, then slicing off his arms and jaw and making him her new “pet.” 🙂

  2. Charles M.

    I liked this episode. Much better than last weeks, which I really hated. Sure they talked a lot but so what? What they had to say was worth hearing. Last week was just driving, driving, walking, walking, risk life for photograph, walk some more and now driving again.

    Oh, and I hated Rick last week.

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