Walking Dead Season 3 Finale Review

The confrontation came and went between Rick and The Governor, but not really.   We expected a full out battle, and what we got was a little more or less interesting... SPOILER ALERT! 

Part of me wanted to see the Governor die, and part of me thought that there was more development in his character to watch play out.  Well we certainly saw him go off the deep end, didn't we?

Milton dying wasn't a surprise.  It was a nice twist though, with leaving him to die and turn and take Andrea with him.  I'm not surprised that Andrea died, I kinda expected it.  Her death played into the "kill or be killed" lesson that resonated throughout the episode.  If she had killed the Governor when she had the chance, she could have saved her own and Milton's life.  The camera work and waiting for the gunshot really made you feel like you were with the others, grieving for Andrea and waiting for it to be over.

The prison assault was fun to watch, and it really had us wondering if they had actually left, or just using a hide and seek tactic.  I'm glad it turned out to be the latter.  It was nice seeing the untrained citizen soldiers running away.  The Governor snapped when everyone turned on him and ran.  It was shocking moment when he started opening fire and killing all of them.  The best part of the scene for me was seeing Martinez's face in the background.  Good acting, we saw the shock and fear in him.  This also shows how the Governor had elevated himself above human to his men.  They all hesitated to shoot him.  It would have been easy for anyone to take him out, but no one did.

And Carl, or should I call him Governor Jr?  That was pretty sad that he shot the fleeing kid, but if the kid had not hesitated and dropped the gun, Carl probably wouldn't have shot him.  Either way, there is no doubt that Carl needs him moral compass adjusted at the least.  If you do look at what has happened this season, Carl did what he thought was right.  Look how many times letting someone live ended up hurting them.

Glad to see Tyrese is back with the group.  I like him and Sasha.  It will be interesting to see how the politics play out from the rest of the Woodbury survivors.  If it was up to me, I would have taken over Woodbury, but whatever.  The prison is theirs, and apparently they want to keep it.  Rick's visions of Lori seem to have gone.  Apparently she was there for him to remind him not to lose his humanity, so he didn't turn into the Governor.  He opened up his arms to the people and he's back, finally.

So the Governor and his two remaining soldiers are out somewhere?  Presumably back to Woodbury?  The Governor is too crazy to let everyone go.  He's going to be still looking for blood.  Will his men stay loyal to him?  He's now lost his entire community, we'll have to see how that plays out.  He's now even more a super bad villain that has lost his mind.  He's more dangerous now than ever.

All in all, I'd give the episode a 6/10.  I wanted more conclusion with the Governor, but we will see how it plays out.  It's the first season finale that didn't end with the group finding a new place, so we'll see if the prison is going to get old like the farm did.  My biggest fear about this series is that after Lori's death on the mid season finale, nothing else can shock us.  And to be honest with you, I don't want anything more shocking than that episode, anyway.  As viewers, we are getting calloused with the death and killing.  When Andrea died, I thought... well that's too bad.  I think what the series needs is some promise or hope for the group.  We'll see what happens in October.