The Walking Dead 3.10 Review, “Home”

rating: 3.5

Two problems that held down "Home" from being one of the best episodes of the season so far. Number one: Andrea is once again a know nothing moron who can't keep up with anything around her. There are about ten people in Woodbury, and once again she has no idea what's going around her. Seriously, you should be kissing Michonne's feet for saving you, or else you'd have been a walker months ago. Number two: Robert Kirkman confirmed on "Talking Dead" that Tyreese and his group have pretty much flown the coup. Seriously? That's it? Another of one of the best characters from the comic has been pissed away? Kirkman has hinted we may see them again, but that's a big maybe. It's a huge maybe at this point. So Rick loses his mind for a moment and Tyreese decides it's best for the group to leave a sanctuary after all? It was that easy? Seriously, Tyreese is one of the most iconic and complex characters in the comic, he becomes Rick's second hand man, his shoulder to lean on, and they give us Tyreese for a few episodes only to trade in his storyline for more of the Dixons? Granted, I am enjoying Daryl's journey, but how about visiting other characters from the comics and fleshing them out more? For once can someone we love from the comic rise to the level of face time and importance that Daryl Dixon has? I don't think that's asking too much. We get it, they have a video game coming, don't sacrifice the characters for their popularity. You've let me down again, "The Walking Dead." In either case, "The Walking Dead" at this point seems to be less about building characters, and more about building up to the point where the governor will in fact wage war on everyone in the prison for their siege. The entire series has been leading up to the Woodbury storyline, let's face it. The writers have been speaking about it since episode one, and fans have asked about the governor since the first season finale. Sadly we have it and I just didn't find it gelling too well with everything that had come before it. I mean what was Rick even doing outside the prison? Where were the walkers that surrounded the perimeters before? What is Lori's presence even symbolizing? In any case, this episode may have finally rattled Rick enough to get his act together and finally take control of the prison and the group again. With Daryl back and Merle now an unofficial part of the group, there will be competitions for Rick's alpha status very soon. Thankfully though the episode seemed to be intent on exploring the dynamic between Daryl and Merle that hasn't been seen at all, the chemistry between Michael Rooker and Norman Reedus is fantastic. I not only buy them as brothers, but you can sense a lot of unresolved issues and anger between the pair of them. Especially Daryl.

It becomes clear when we see Daryl standing in the woods looking for food while Merle sits along the grass relaxing that Daryl has confirmed to himself that he's made a terrible decision. Merle clearly has no idea how to survive on his own, and Daryl now has to pick up the weight, and their arguments are very compelling and interesting. The sequence on the bridge is also a highlight because you, once again, get the sense of where the characters are. Merle hasn't grown a bit, even after learning to live in Woodbury alongside a diverse group of people, while Daryl has grown to appreciate every form of life, no matter what kind of color skin. And there's also the interesting tidbit that the Dixons planned to rob the entire Atlanta camp over night. I wonder how Shane would have responded if he'd caught them in the middle of the act. The climactic gun fight not only shows that the Governor clearly wants to make a point and is a vindictive monster, but that the group clearly is not prepared for an attack at all. Had the governor been assisted by a tank, and four more squads of shooters, the prison group would have either been massacred or would have clearly been forced to give up and relinquish all control to the man. While it was very entertaining and incredibly filmed, it felt oddly injected in an episode teeming with flaws and character stumbling blocks. It's really time for the writers to bring the group over the hump and turn them in to the bad ass marauders we saw them as during the "Hunters" storyline in the comics. You know what I'm talking about. Get to it, AMC.