The Walking Dead - S03E10 Home (2013)

Review

Rick has gone off the deep end and is seeing Lori all over the place, which impacts on his leadership, Glenn and Maggie are still working out there issues - not well, and everyone is on edge over a possible attack by the Governor. Back over in Woodbury the Governor is seemingly handing over power to Andrea, because she is aware of everything and all. And finally Daryl and Merle are out in the boondocks hunting for food, Daryl wants to go back to the prison but Merle points out he won't be welcomed with open arms.

In a shock attack the Governor's forces descend on the prison and shoot the place up, a van is used to ram raid the gates and unleash a zombie crowd to further distract Rick's crew. It doesn't all go the Governor's way with the prison defenders fighting back and forcing the Governor to retreat, though he almost has Rick who is saved at the last moment by Daryl and his brother. Glenn, who has stepped into the leadership role, discovers there's more to the job than he might have expected, and Rick learns he is needed. Not everyone survives the attack.

Got to say I enjoyed the "false spring" aspects of this episode as the prison crew starting adding to their defences with the Governor likely to launch an attack at any time. Equally the Governor seemingly handing over the leadership role in Woodbury to Andrea, who has redefined being "blonde", was more than intriguing. About the only issue I had was with Michonne continuing to hang out at the prison after Rick basically stated fix her up and kick her arse out of town. Please note I'm a huge Michonne fan and have my fingers crossed Rick changes his mind as the katana swinging Amazon kicks major arse. It was also interesting to note Carol and former prisoner Axel breaking the ice. To specifics yo before we get bogged down here.

Rick, Glenn, and Daryl are forced to re-evaluate their motivations

Rick has really gone off the deep end seeing Lori everywhere and generally dropping the ball on leading his crew through possibly their darkest hour. Clearly losing so many people over the last couple of seasons has started to impact and the pressure is proving too great. When the Governor does launch his offensive Rick is forced to the realisation that he can't wallow in his own splintered world, he needs to step up to the plate, two thumbs up to excellent Brit actor Andrew Lincoln conveying that realisation with aplomb. As expected when the brown stuff hit the osculating appliance Rick was loaded for bear and doing his bit for the home team. Fingers crossed Rick gets out of his funk and back in the saddle for the rest of the season, not entirely sure I'm across the character going nutso at the wrong time.

There's a similar road to Damascus moment for Glenn as well, who has gone off the deep end in his own fashion following his inability to protect Maggie while interned over in Woodbury. Glenn's mind has turned to revenge, he wants a pre-emptive attack on Woodbury, but when Herschel talks him out of that particular brand of madness, our ex-pizza delivery dude heads on out to check how walkers are getting into "the tombs", corridors deep inside the prison. While Glenn is thus occupied the Governor unleashes his opening raid, which involves ram raiding the outer fence and releasing a bunch of zombies. The clear indication is the Governor is testing the defences and making the defenders waste valuable ammunition. Glenn arrives back as the carnage is in full swing and manages to rescue Herschel but otherwise has nothing valuable to add to the fire fight. Steven Yeun delivers on the discovery that while Glenn has been pre-occupied with his personal vendetta, that vendetta has cost the crew dearly. Two thumbs up for Yeun, excellent work, fingers crossed Glenn as a character has a long term future with the show.

I guess the other character who comes to the realisation that Rick's survivors are family is Daryl who is off contending with the dubious pleasure of his brother Merle. Daryl rushes to the aid of a Latino family trapped on a bridge by groups of walkers, and with Merle's help dispatches the monsters leaving the family safe for the time period. Merle wants payment of some kind for their aid, while Daryl doesn't expect anything. Everyone's favourite Southern Redneck decides his future belongs with Rick's group, and Merle is forced to tag along, although I would imagine Merle's reception by Glenn and Michonne in particular is going to be pretty icy. Nice plot development that firmly fixes Daryl to his group, be interesting to see how things develop with the mercurial Merle likely to rock the apple cart as soon as possible.

Naturally there are a couple of deaths involved in the episode, with one of Rick's survivors going down as the Governor makes his movie. It's quite a shocking scene to be honest as it looked like for once Carol was going to have a good time in amongst the ashes prior to a sniper taking out another character in a sudden change of direction. Not sure anyone will miss the character that bites the big one, but still completely unexpected given the way the scene had been developing, two thumbs up for Director Seith Mann who really nails it.

While things were looking grime for Rick, when the attack goes down he is outside the wire and the target of walkers who home in on him in a big way, he is given some reprieve by Daryl and Merle entering the fray. This of course begs the question of what is going to happen to Merle through the next couple of episodes. Rick clearly owes him now but Glenn and Michonne are not going to be rolling out the welcome wagon. Guess it also puts Daryl in a somewhat compromised position as he wants to stick with the group but has family loyalty to his brother. It's going to be fascinating to see how this resolves itself, and I'm not discounting the Governor stirring the pot somewhat as he continues his megalomaniac plans.

Another above average episode that mixes drama, some pathos, and cool action as Woodbury comes to the prison. This season was always going to be about the Governor versus Rick Grimes and we are now seeing that hit hard. It wouldn't surprise me if a few more core characters go down as the Governor isn't going to let up and Rick certainly isn't going to take a step backwards. I'm expecting Rick, Glenn, and Daryl to step up to the plate and do what needs to be done to protect the group. I also wouldn't be surprised if Michonne elects to go vigilante and goes on the hunt for the Governor as a solution to the looming war. Don't worry am not forgetting Andrea and Milton, the Woodbury home front might just get a little hotter than the Governor expects through the next few episodes. Engrossing stuff I am right across season three.