TV Korner: The Walking Dead 3.4 – “Killer Within”

Just as Glen utters the words “Can’t we just have one good day?” this week’s installment of The Walking Dead shows that there are no good days when the dead rise to kill the living. What goes around, comes around… After this episode the first person to say that to Rick just might get a machete to the head. Want to know why? Find out inside. 

This is only Episode 4 of the third season of The Walking Dead, but the writers are showing fans that no one is safe in the zombie apocalypse. Not one but two major characters met their end in this episode, and with their deaths, the status quo of the show changes. The group that left Atlanta in Season One just keeps getting smaller– in the last six episodes we lost four major characters and a few supporting cast members, leading many fans wondering will there be anyone alive by the end of Season 3?

The series, at least for now, is splitting time between the two settings– the prison and Woodbury.  The time spent in Woodbury this week is short, only setting up plot lines for the rest of the season. The Governor reveals his name to Andrea, trying to charm her into staying just a little longer, even with protests from Michonne. Michonne is taking a closer look at the town and putting together the clues that may lead her into the zombie fight club from the comics. Merle is starting to question his place in Woodbury thanks to the info from Andrea that Daryl maybe alive.

Meanwhile back at the prison all hell is breaking loose. In the last few weeks Rick has had to step up to make the hard choices for his group. Those choices, horrible as they may be, are becoming easier for him to make. Rick saw Tomas as a direct threat to this his group, he did not hesitate taking a machete to his head, but Andrew did not pose the same type of issue, at least at that time. Instead of killing Andrew he gave him a chance to get away, and that was Rick’s biggest mistake. Andrew returns a lot more resourceful than he appeared to be before his “exercise time” in the yard with the walkers. Not only did he catch the group off guard, but he took out two of their strongest members… possibly three if Carol did not survive the attack. In the end it was Oscar, Andrew’s fellow inmate, that saved Rick from Andrew, possibly earning a spot among the survivors.

The deaths of T-dog and Lori will both leave a major void for the rest of the characters. T-dog will be missed on the show, but his spot in the group is more easily replaced than Lori. The sacrifice Lori made could be considered a selfish one, getting to leave this horrible world and stop running. Her death will leave the biggest void yet, and the impact on both Carl and Rick will surely be felt for the rest of the season if not the show. It was also interesting when the writers added the flashback of Carl and Rick from last season. The scene was a result of Carl being unable to take out a walker, leading to the death of Dale, while this week’s deaths were a result of Rick letting Andrew live.

Will a baby be more trouble, or a sign of hope for the survivors? And will Carl blame his father for being put in the position to put down a zombie to be Lori?

Head to the comments to let us know what you think.