November 12, 2012

The Walking Dead -- "Say the Word" Review







Channel: AMC

Day and Time: Sundays at 9/8 CST

Release Date:

Buy Links:


TV Show Description:
Police officer Rick Grimes leads a group of survivors in a world overrun by zombies.


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"Say the Word" -- Review by Angela D. Williams

11/11/12 "Say the Word"

The latest episode of The Walking Dead opened with a festive cook-out/party in the middle of the day. Andrea is talking to the Scientist, and Michonne is watching her from afar, looking very unhappy.



Cut to the Governor, brushing a little girl's hair. Suddenly part of her scalp comes off and you realize the little girl's actually a zombie. Apparently having her hair brushed too hard upsets her, and she becomes angry, trying to claw and bite him. However, she is small and he has her in a strait jacket, so he's able to get her under control. "I'm here," he tells her. "Daddy still loves you." He places a pillowcase over her head, and glances out the window. The blinds are down, but they're also open. He stares down at Michonne, who is staring up at him. Then we cut to the credits. (Nope, totally not the creepiest scene EVER)

We're back at the prison, where everyone is standing around the court yard, still shell-shocked. Especially Rick, who says nothing, and his hearing is distorted. All he can hear is a baby crying. Daryl is in front of him, trying to get his attention, but isn't able to. Hershel tells the others to let him see the baby. He says that, "She needs formula. And she needs it soon or she won't survive." Immediately Daryl says he's going to find it because they're not losing someone else. Glenn and Maggie both volunteer to go with him, but they quickly realize they won't be able to take a car because the highway is too jammed. Daryl says he can take one on his bike. Maggie says she'll go, but Glenn tries to talk her out of it. She is determined to be the one to go and he tells her, "I love you. Be safe." She hops onto Daryl's bike.

Rick has grabbed an axe and made his way back into the prison. He's slaughtering zombies left and right, a very scary look on his face.

Back at Woodbury (is it just me or does anyone else keep wanting to call it Woodsboro and then want to watch the Scream movies…? Bueller…?), the Governor is making a speech about how far they've all come. Michonne, however, isn't interested, and she sneaks into the building where they were keeping her sword. She takes it out, looking quite pleased with herself. She spots a journal and flips through it, seeing a page of a list of names, the last of which is Penny. The next several pages look like this: /////// . Just over and over and over. Nope, that's totally normal. She hears footsteps in a locked room, and grabs a letter opener, trying to pry the door open. Then there are footsteps from outside. She quickly hides as Merle, the Governor, and Scientist guy walk in. Scientist wants to postpone the festivities tonight because he needs the power for his experiments. The Governor tells him they aren't postponing, and to enjoy himself.

Somehow Michonne has managed to sneak out an open window without any of the men noticing. She's walking and she spots a bunch of walkers behind a gate. She pulls the gate open, and they lurch toward her. She smiles as she pulls out her sword and then kills each one of them. Someone spots her but you can't see who. They are carrying a bucket of flesh (to feed the captive walkers, I guess, but...EW), and he promptly drops it at the sight of the dead walkers and her.

Michonne is sitting in the same building she just raided for her sword, looking ten shades of pissed off when the Governor comes inside. "You get off on that? Poking around other people's things?' he asks her. He tells her he was about to give her her sword back (yeah right), because she fits in there and they've enjoyed having her. Then he tells her that she broke the rules, and if he doesn't do anything, he's inviting anarchy. He's carrying around her sword. He moves behind her, and suggests maybe she should join the research team. Without warning, she moves, grabs the sword from him and holds it to his throat. They stare at each other for a long moment before she backs away and heads out the door, past Merle. Merle asks the Governor how it went, and he tells Merle to send Andrea in.

Back at the prison, Glenn is digging a hole. Axel and Oscar show up. They ask him if he needs help. He just looks at them. Axel says his friends were good folk, and he says they're sorry about what happened. Glenn responds they were family. He spots Hershel a few yards away, and the older man is staring at him. He hands the two prisoners shovels and they start digging two more holes as Glenn heads away to talk to Hershel. They discuss how one asshole wiped out 1/3 of their group. Glenn admits that part of him wishes they'd killed all the prisoners on sight. He talks about how good of a guy T-Dog was, and how many times the man had saved his life.

Andrea and the Governor are talking. He tells her what Michonne did. She points out that she can't steal something that was hers to begin with. He tells her that some people what Michonne to leave and his back is against the wall. He ends the conversation, saying, "We're not barbarians."

Michonne is packing their things when Andrea shows up at their room. Andrea tells her that they're not prisoners there and Michonne states they can't leave unless they MAKE you leave. "This place is NOT what they say it is," she warns Andrea.

Glenn is inside the prison now, looking for Rick. He spots the other man holding an axe that is dripping with blood. There are walkers all over the floor, dead. He calls Rick's name and Rick turns his head to look at him and gives him, what is literally, the scariest look I've seen Rick give anyone, including Shane. Glenn tries to talk Rick into coming with him. He reaches out to touch Rick and suddenly Rick pins him to the wall--by his throat. Then he shoves him away and walks down the hall without a word. It looks like it's Rick's shadow as he's walking away, rather than him, which is very poignant.

A truck is rolling down the road toward some kind of solar-powered machine. It seems to be making some kind of high pitched noise. Merle and a few others, including the scientist, get out of the truck. There is a large hole in the ground--a trap for walkers. They bring the walkers up in a large net and Merle taunts them. They yank one of the walker's teeth out with a pair of pliers.

Maggie and Daryl are breaking into what appears to be a daycare facility. There are handprints made from construction paper in various colors. Each one is small and has a name written on it. Maggie finds some bottles and some diapers, and they begin to explore the building. They get to the kitchen, and there are scuffling sounds from a large kitchen pantry. Maggie opens the door -- it is just a opossum. Daryl shoots it, saying, "Hello dinner." Maggie finds several cans of baby formula in another cabinet.

Back at Woodbury, Michonne and Andrea are carrying their bags and heading toward the gated exit. Merle stops them, telling them it's almost curfew time and he'll have to arrange an escort. Michonne glares at him, and he moves to talk to the guard atop the gate. Michonne tells Andrea there's always a reason they can't leave yet. Andrea almost looks like she believes her, when Merle opens the gate and tells them they should find shelter before dark. Andrea gives Michonne a look, and Michonne says, "They knew we were coming. This was all for show." Andrea isn't convinced. She tells Michonne she is tired and doesn't have another eight months in her for being on the road fighting for survival. Michonne asks her if she's coming or not. Andrea doesn't answer. "You'd just slow me down anyway," Michonne tells her, leaving with Andrea watching. She doesn't look back.

Andrea is sitting on a bench looking forlorn. The Governor sits beside and tells her he's sorry things didn't work out with her friend. He offers her a drink and good company. She takes his arm and they head away.

Daryl and Maggie are approaching the prison on his motorcycle. Axel and Oscar begin beating on the fences to distract the walkers around as they roll in. Daryl takes the infant from Carl and feeds her a bottle. He asks Carl if she has a name yet. He suggests naming the baby Sophia. Or Carol or Andrea or Amy or Patricia or Lori. Daryl suggests the name "Little Ass Kicker" and the group chuckles.

Rick finds the room where Lori gave birth. There is a huge bloodstain on the floor, and smear marks, but her body isn't there. He finds what's left of the bullet that Carl used to shoot his mom with so she didn't turn into a walker. There's a zombie a few feet away with a very distended stomach, leaning against the wall, too full to move. Rick moves over to it and blows its brains out. Then he stabs it in the stomach repeatedly.

The night's festivities at Woodbury are about to begin and the Governor guides Andrea to some makeshift bleachers. There's a huge crowd already there. There are lights, and several zombies chained up in a circle inside the lighted area. Merle and some other guy from the community proceed to engage in a fight--in the middle of the zombies. Andrea looks sick and horrified, but the rest of the crowd, including children, are going wild. The "referee" lets the walkers closer to the two men that are fighting, forcing them to fight in closer proximity. Andrea gets up to leave but the Governor stops her. He tells her they're just blowing off steam. "You go for a jog to blow off steam! This is sick!" she says angrily. He tells her the whole thing is rigged--they've removed the walkers' teeth. She tells him he's teaching the people that walkers aren't dangerous. He responds with, "We're teaching them not to be afraid."

Back at the prison it's now sunrise, and all is quiet. Daryl approaches the three graves, crouching down in front of one of them. He sets down a Cherokee rose on it and grasps the cross for a moment, looking sad. Then he walks away.

Rick is still sitting in the room with the now-dead walker. A baby's screams are echoing in his head.

...then a telephone begins to ring. He slowly gets up and answers it. "Hello?" Which is the only word he spoke during the entire episode. The end credits begin to roll.

Who is on the other end of that phone? Is Carol still alive? Will Michonne meet up with the rest of the group at the prison or go back to Woodbury? Only time will tell. Until next week!

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