The Walking Dead - S03-E09 - "The Suicide King"

The Walking Dead
Season Three, Episode Nine.

"Th Suicide King"

It's been a long 10 weeks since Blair and I have had any reason to talk to each other, but now that everyone's favorite zombie apocalyptic adventure, AMC's The Walking Dead, has returned we can get back to business!

"He's just not that into you."

You can also keep up with us through the Twitterverse;

@the_lazy_gamer

@BlairMFink

Blair also has his own blog, Be Blair or Be Square. I'm going to start pimping that more to get him back to posting on it more often, he has become lazy and complacent, forcing me to do all the formatting and posting.

I AIN'T AFRAID OF NO GHOST

But Rick seems to be a little rattled by the silhouette he saw of one in the window. More on that in a minute.

After a mid-season break, Misery Idol The Walking Dead picks up right where it left off, with a Fight to the Death between the Dixon brothers. Just when things start to get hairy, it’s Ricky Rick and the Rescue Bunch to save the day, setting up a nice action sequence that, unfortunately, is the high point of the episode. It’s a bit of a clunky ride from there.

Andrea is officially my new most-hated character. She is the worst. She’s been annoying for a long time but now with Lori gone, she’s moved into the top spot. Let me clarify: I hate how her character is written (also my biggest gripe with Lori). She is inconsistent, wishy-washy and vague. The longer she doesn’t realize that the Governor is super crazy and super dangerous, the worse it reflects on her character. Actually, all of the “Woodbury in chaos” scenes in this episode didn’t really work for me, especially Andrea’s Inspiring Speech. Hilariously bad. So cheesy and lame and yet everyone bought it and went home appeased and inspired? Please.

Back at the prison, Tyreese and his crew are making their case to join the regular cast. Well, he and his wife are, while Andy and Ben (I forget which is the father and which is the son) are making a strong case to get killed off. They suggest that they should attack the lady and the “little kid” and steal their weapons. Is their memory that short? Carl single-handedly rescued them and brought them in. Give the kid some credit. Carl is becoming Hit Girl from the movie Kick-Ass.

Why is Glenn being such a douche? Is it because he thinks Maggie is lying to him about not being raped by the Governor? Or that she told the Governor about the prison? He needs to stop whining and talk to her.

Carol is actually becoming a more interesting character! I like her now. Her connecting Daryl’s relationship with Merle to her relationship with her (dead) husband was very insightful. Nice work, Carol.

So, in the end, what did we learn? Rick is going crazy. The Governor is going even more crazy. They are inevitably leading their groups to a Crazy-Off. The biggest question is, when are the two groups going to meet in all-out battle? In the season finale? Before that?

Also, Daryl left with Merle to go off on their own Dukes of Hazzard-style adventures in the wilderness I guess. So do they roam around the area until they are needed to come back and tip the battle one way or the other. It seems like they are the wild cards in all of this.

What do you think the episode title refers to? Am I missing some obvious connection? The suicide king is the King of Hearts, correct? Because it looks like he’s stabbing himself in the head? Who is the suicide king of the episode? Rick? The Governor? Both?

Bring it home, Steve.

I think I would have preferred to see the Dixon boys try to bust out on their own. It seemed that Merle had a plan, whether that was to fight the handlers and have the bitters break free thus giving them the chance to escape in the ruckus or not. I think that would have built a better bond between the long lost brothers that would warrant Daryl taking off a bit more than what happened. Either way we all had a feeling that if they found each other they would stick together. 

Along the lines of what Carol noted about the abusive relationship, Steve Yeun (Glenn) was on the after show Talking Dead and noted how it is interesting to watch Daryl, who goes from strong, second in command, team player to quickly cower and fall back into his older brother's shadow. I'm curious to see how they return to the show. And they will return, I can't see the fans being too happy about Norman Reedus taking some time off.

Back to Woodbury...which I too was bored of at this point. I was hoping that more walkers would get in and cause some serious damage. Andrea is a lost cause, she knows the Guv is nuts, from last episode with the dead, undead daughter and the wall of heads. Now she finds out he is a liar, and from their conversation in his apartment, doesn't give a shit about her. Hopefully she smartens up a bit soon.

Tyreese and his crew picked a bad time to ask to join the gang. Rick is clearly still going bananas. Everyone keeps saying he is going crazy again, I say still, as even during the episode before the break up he saw Shane at Woodbury. Things haven't fully sorted them selves out.

I would have liked to see those 2 try and take out the "woman and some kid". Carl killed his mother, you really think he will lose sleep over taking your forgetful ass out? As Kevin Smith said, "he is turning into Wyatt Twerp".

Unfortunately you were right about Glenn. He doesn't believe her. I hope they sort it out, I don't want to have to watch them deal with their shit. I want zombies, not relationship drama.

The crazy train is right on time, they should be pulling into the station in about 4 episodes, leaving enough time to wrap things up nicely. Stay tuned!

Suicide king...perhaps referring to both leaders, getting ready for a battle that could be costly to both sides.

BURNING QUESTIONS/RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

-Beth and baby Judith are now joined at the hip. I think their fate on the show is also dependent on one another. Their characters now exist for the purpose of the other.

-Did The Governor say one of the dead was named Heisenberg?

-Is The Governor going to get a real eyepatch or just wear that cotton pad for the rest of the season?

-Why is nobody playing basketball on the courts at the prison? That’s how the two groups should face off! Have a winner-take-all basketball game! Prison Walkers vs. Woodbury Biters.

-Anyone else notice the lack of connection between Rick and Judith? When he was holding her it seemed like he had no idea what he was looking at, see that twinkle in her eyes...it's Shane! You were all thinking it too!

-Hasn't WD referenced Br Ba before?

-You know why they haven't done that Blair? Cuz no body like basketball except you. That's why!

-I want to see more Tyreese, he seems like he has his shit together and knows how to handle a situation.

Blair’s Episode MVP: Tyreese

Steve’s Episode MVP: Hershel
Blair’s Episode Grade: B

Steve’s Episode Grade: 1.5 thumbs

Blair’s Deadpool Pick: Andy and Ben (the ones who wanted to attack Carol and Carl)

Steve’s Deadpool Pick: Andrea (This could be wishful thinking)