The Walking Dead - S03-E06 - "Hounded"

The Walking Dead Season Three, Episode Six.

"Hounded"

I would watch Two and a Half Men if it starred these three.

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@BlairMFink

@the_lazy_gamer

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS AND WHAT RICK FOUND THERE

“Uh-oh.” – what went through Hershel’s mind after putting Rick’s magical telephone to his ear.

Well, it seems as though Rick is back after getting closure from his little trip down the rabbit hole. I have to say I was really worried when I realized Rick was hallucinating a voice on the other end of the phone. I got even more worried when it was Ghost Lori but somehow, in the end, it worked. Rick needed to go a little crazy (he’s been holding it together for so long) in order to stay sane. He needed to say what he needed to say to Lori in order to move on. It was necessary for the show to spend a little extra time to let Rick react honestly to such a tragic event and it did it in an interesting way. I didn't think the writers could stick the landing on that one but they mostly did.

Next up on Rick’s To Do list: Name the damn baby.

The other prison subplot is the highlight of the episode for me: Daryl, Carl and Oscar work on clearing out more of the prison. The scene where Carl one-ups Daryl’s Dead Mom Story (Daryl: “My momma so dead there was nothin’ left of her.” Carl: “Yeah, well, my momma so dead I had to shoot her in the head so she wouldn't become undead.”) was nicely done and Daryl’s heartbreak and hesitation at dealing with what he assumes is Zombie Carol is great. The reveal, although not a huge surprise, that Carol is alive makes more of an impact because it makes you realize just how few victories these people have had recently. Hooray for a shred of positivity.

The weakest parts of the episode involved The Governor’s seduction of Andrea. Ugh. I've never really liked Andrea very much. She’s not that interesting and I find her personality kind of grating. The only interesting aspect of this story is it sets up how she will react when she finds out Maggie and Glenn are being held there and the ultimate war between her old group and her new one. She’s going to have to choose sides at some point. Also, she should know better than to interrupt a man when he’s doodling in his Crazy Book.

Speaking of Glenn and Maggie, I liked how this story line moved some pieces around the board. Having Michonne end up at the prison (how did she pull that off?) and two of the prison crew end up at Woodbury will mix things up a bit.

Here’s my grades for each of the story lines:

Rick and the Telephone to Heaven: A-
Merle, Michonne and the Kidnapping of Glenn and Maggie (Glaggie?): B

The Governor of Woodbury buries his wood in Andrea: C

Daryl, Carl and Oscar in Two and a Half Men: A

Which parts were your favourite, Steve? Only two more episodes in the first half of this season!

I think Herschel realized what was going on with Rick and knew it would have turned out bad if he told him that there was no one on the other end. He understood that Rick had to deal with it on his own and on his own time. Even offering to sit and wait with him. I was a bit nervous about how it would turn out with Rick and the phone, but I think Andrew did a fantastic job with it. 

Well name the baby after a shower and new change of clothes of course. 

The three musketeers were fun to watch. I hope to see more of the Daryl/Carl duo, they almost seem to be building a brotherly bond. If there is anyone to look up to in a zombie apocalypse it's Daryl. I wonder what Daryl's point of talking about his mom was? Was it to share a commonality with Carl and let him know it's going to be OK or was he trying to get Carl to talk about it rather than bottle it up like dear ol' dad.

I'm tired of Andrea and her slutty ways. I was pro Andrea last season when she started kicking ass. But this season she has turned into a weak follower. She seems to gravitate towards men who she thinks will take her far in the current situation.

I'm still not 100% sure where Merle's allegiances stand and whether he honestly was happy to hear about his brother being OK. How he deals with the Gov is interesting. I don't know if he is behind him, or just with him for the time being. I'm wondering if he will try to convince Daryl to take off with him, just the 2 of them, Huck and Tom style 

It's getting close to the two groups meeting, with the swap of characters someone is going to talk. My money's on Michonne. She will tell Rick everything, that is if he can trust her long enough for her to talk. But what will come of it? They can't assault Woodbury. And what of Rick's quest to find a safe heaven for his group, could he see Woodbury as that heaven? Or does the Gov get the information out of Glenn or Maggie? Would he "save" the group like he saved the soldiers? Would Glenn fall for that or has he learned enough from Rick to not trust anyone. He was very skeptical of Merle.

As for Carol I have a few questions. Did Daryl know she was in there? Did he see her when he peaked in? From the final scene with him I think he may have seen her but thought she had turned, and he wanted to deal with her on his own, not with the other 2 there. Which would explain him sitting there, alone, bidding his time, finally summoning up the courage to take her out only to find her , clinging to life, barely. I wonder where their relationship will go now. Now that Daryl had to deal with the thought of losing her, will he do something about it.

As for the different arcs this episode I would say

Daryl, Carl and Oscar could have used some more screen time. Would have been fun to see more zombies meet the end that the one that snuck up on them did. A bit overkill but fun to watch.

The Gov could have done less this episode and it wouldn't have made much difference to me

Merle did a lot, I enjoyed his scene with Glaggie. (Fun Fact: Michael Rooker lends his voice to my latest time sink, Halo 4)

Rick's telephone scene was very well done, much better than anticipated.

BURNING QUESTIONS

-Do Daryl and Carol get romantic next episode? This has to be the catalyst I mentioned last week, right? “I thought you were dead!” “You saved me!” Mwah-mwah-mwah-kissy-kissy-kissy. Or something like that.

-How great is this photo of Maggie’s Crazy Face?

-Pretty sure somebody is dying in the fall finale (episode eight). But who?

-How bummed was The Governor that Merle didn’t bring back Michonne’s head? “BUT WHAT ABOUT MY COLLECTION!?” – The Governor’s eyes.

-It's all going to pop off soon. Interested to see how the 2 groups meet. Will it be on good or bad terms and how does it all turn out. 

-Are you thinking a major character dies? Why not, they already killed off a lot of the supporting characters already. Hopefully Andrea

-Does Michonne play a bigger role in Rick's group? Will she be more trusting of them?

Blair’s Episode MVP: Daryl

Steve’s Episode MVP: Michonne
Blair’s Episode Grade: A-

Steve’s Episode Grade: 2 thumbs up, a lot of little things happened rather than a lot of nothing and then a mad rush of panic.

Blair’s Deadpool Pick: Axel (the convict with the moustache)

Steve’s Deadpool Pick: Andrea