Welcome to Walking Dead Weekly! As the title implies, each week (bearing a new episode of course), we’ll be taking a look at the latest episode of the AMC series. I’ll let you know how I felt about each weekly offering, and will also compare it to what Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard were doing with the comic at the same time.

Last week saw Merle and company on the hunt for Michonne. Things didn’t quite work out how Merle would have wanted (with Michonne dead), but he did end up with something even better: Glenn and Maggie. After the couple wouldn’t take Merle to see his brother, he took them hostage and brought them to Woodbury. An injured Michonne found our prison just as the episode came to a close, meaning that 6 episodes in we finally got our first connections between Woodbury and the West Georgia Correctional Facility. Now that the two locales will soon know about each other, I can confidently say that shit is about to hit the fan. Of course that isn’t all that happened – Rick answered that damned phone and half an episode later realized that he was talking to his dead wife, Andrea continued her string of bad relationships by hooking up with the Governor, and we also found Carol, alive and hungry after being all but forgotten by the rest of the group. In my opinion, Hounded was the weakest episode we’ve seen this season. That being said, it wasn’t bad by any means. It simply wasn’t up to par with previous weeks!

Let’s head right into When the Dead Come Knocking! As always, there are spoilers below, so don’t read until you’ve watched!

Episode Thoughts – ‘When the Dead Come Knocking’

The Walking Dead and I had a fantastic day today. First, I finally had a chance to sit down and play through the fifth and final episode of Telltale’s adventure game version of The Walking Dead. It was an incredible climax to what is by far the most enjoyable and memorable gaming experience that I’ve had all year. Second, after last week’s just okay episode of the AMC series, we got an awesome return to form with this week’s offering. When the Dead Come Knocking was simply much more of what we’ve come to expect this season: awesome.

The episode opens with a very impressive standoff between Merle and Glenn, all while Maggie listens from the next room. Merle wants the location of the camp (and subsequently, his brother), and Glenn won’t give it to him. Merle has many tactics at his disposal while attempting to obtain the information he’s looking for, from the knife that is now permanently attached to his arm, all the way to bringing in a walker to finish Glenn off. Of course, Glenn’s tough, and throughout the course of the interrogation, Merle won’t learn a single thing. Nice work!

We then head back to the big house just seconds after Hounded came to a close: Michonne is still on the outside of the fence, though now walkers are starting to notice her. She tries to make her way to the gate but quickly succumbs to her injuries and faints. Rick and friends are nice enough to carry her in, where she quickly divulges all that she knows: Glenn & Maggie have been taken to Woodbury, and that place is misleading as hell. She was also nice enough to bring the baby formula that Maggie and Glenn had been collecting before they were kidnapped! Now baby can eat!

We’re then treated to a touching reunion between Carol and the rest of the gang: it was a great scene, and really almost makes you forgive the fact that they forgot all about her… almost.

After some heavy petting (whatever that means), Governor asks Andrea for a favour: Milton is testing whether walkers retain any of their memory when they turn, and Phillip wants Andrea there to take the walker out if need be. I really enjoyed this scene: we of course know that a walker is a walker, and once they turn all they want to do is eat you. Andrea knows this too after having her sister turn all the way back in season one. It’s really neat to see her go with it even though she knows full well what’s going to happen. Milton nearly turns into zombie food, and would not be alive if it hadn’t been for Andrea’s quick reflexes.

Two important group members are being held hostage, so it isn’t long before Rick arranges a party to go get them back. Michonne (as she’s the only one who knows where Woodbury is) and some of the more able-bodied group members load up their weapons and head out. They also take the two remaining inmates (Axel and Oscar) with them: I’m a little worried about this, as the two haven’t really had any character development yet, and at this point are still highly expendable. I hope this doesn’t end up the case, as Axel became an extremely interesting character in the comic (while Oscar never existed in the paper version).

Before the group leaves, Rick pulls carl aside for a chat which amounts to: sorry you had to shoot your mom, and the baby needs a name. The two settle on (drumroll) Judith before Rick runs off to play hero. FINALLY this baby has a name!

Back at Woodbury, after Merle is unsuccessful in getting anything out of Glenn, Governor decides that he’ll test his luck with Maggie. I was scared here: in the comic, Governor spends almost a week brutally beating and raping Michonne. It was tough enough to read that, and I’d guess it would be even tougher to watch it play out. After forcing Maggie to strip and alluding to the fact that he could do much worse, Governor thankfully doesn’t. Instead, he puts a gun to Glenn’s head in front of Maggie, which in turn makes her reveal everything.

As When the Dead Come Knocking closes, Rick, Daryl, Axel, Oscar, and Michonne are about to launch an attack on the town, while the Governor has sent a recon team to the prison. Whether or not you’ve read The Walking Dead, you know that shit is about to get violent. Of course, next week is the midseason finale, so what better time for it to happen!

As I mentioned above, When the Dead Come Knocking was a fantastic return to form after (in my opinion) the show lost a bit steam with last week’s Hounded. I can’t wait until next week, but I’m certainly not looking forward to the two month break afterwards.

As usual, the episode closed with a preview for next week! Again, next episode is the mid-season finale, meaning after it airs we won’t see another new chapter until February! Check out the preview for Made to Suffer below, and let us know what you thought of When the Dead Come Knocking!

Comic Comparison

Poor Glenn. No matter how you like your Walking Dead, whether on paper or on TV, he’s going to have some tough times in Woodbury. AMC sees him brutally beaten as a means to (unsuccessfully) learn the location of their camp, while on paper they keep him captive while Rick unknowingly gives the Governor exactly what they’re looking for. Fans definitely seem to love Glenn, so I’m sure it was a tough night for them not knowing whether or not he would make it through the episode!

As I mentioned in past columns, in Robert Kirkman’s stories, it’s Michonne that gets the brunt of the punishment. Governor Phil is a real jerk to her, and appears to take a sick pleasure in the emotional and physical torture he doles out. It appears as though on TV the Governor, while still a sick bastard, isn’t (yet) as disgusting as he is in the comic book. He mainly takes to scaring Maggie instead of brutally traumatizing her. What a gentleman.

The way that Rick and friends are introduced to Woodbury is also much different. The comic has them looking for a settlement after tracks lead away from the helicopter crash (as we saw in episode 3 of this season). They (being Rick, Glenn, Michonne, and Tyreese) find the town, and quickly wish they hadn’t, as Robert Kirkman leaves no guesswork to the Governor’s intentions.

AMC’s version introduced us to the town weeks ago (while following the adventures of Andrea and Michonne), while Rick’s group learned of it in this very episode. Just as in the comic, the introduction does not have a happy ending: the only reason Rick is taking a group there is to get back their kidnapped friends.

On screen, Michonne was just now introduced to the group, while when Woodbury became a plot point of the comic, she had already been a member for some time. AMC also had her arrive in a very dire state, and had it not been for Hershel’s medical knowledge, she likely wouldn’t have made it. On paper, she’s quickly accepted into the party after saving Otis from certain death.

I can’t wait to see what happens next. Could it be as surprising as the prison finale of the comic? Will the ordeal end as quickly as the comic did? Woodbury and the prison seem much to interesting to be done with at the end of just one season. Then again, though I’ve read way beyond what the show has covered, I still find myself surprised every week. After a rocky season two, we’re now halfway through season 3 and it still rocks.

Of course, If I could only experience The Walking Dead in one way, I certainly wouldn’t be watching the show OR reading the comic. Neither media has managed to carry the same sense of hopelessness, sheer terror, and surprise like Telltale has with their just concluded adventure game. Play it!

See you next week!