Sam Talks of the Dead: Chapter 6

The first part of season 3 is over, and things are getting pretty intense! With a newborn to take care of and a growing case of insanity, Rick has a lot to worry about. In the comic book world, Lori has yet to give birth and Rick has lost his right hand. Guess no matter which universe you’re in, the life of Rick Grimes is a difficult one.

The chapter opens on Rick speaking to his doctor about his newly amputated hand, and the potential for Rick’s escape. A couple of the men who participate in the brutal fights pop into the infirmary and have an argument over some missing teeth. One of the men stabs the other in the neck and leaves.

We then see Michonne, still tied up in the storange unit the Governor left her in. He tells her that he’ll cut her some slack, maybe even let her have a bed, if she will participate in the fights. She warns him not to kill her opponent…but lets be real we all know where this is going.

Martinez stops by the infirmary to see how Rick is doing and make sure the doctor doesn’t need anything, but Rick doesn’t feel like playing nice and tries to start a fight with Martinez. The doctor breaks it up and we see the fight beginning in town. Michonne murders her opponent, and proceeds to kill all the zombies surrounding her before someone can stop her. The audience becomes irate about the fact that their oh so innocent pastime has been corrupted by an outsider. As a result the Governor remarks that he will kill Michonne.

Back in the infirmary we meet Alice, the doctor’s assistant. Then the real action begins. Martinez comes into the infirmary and tells Rick that he’s going to get them out of Woodbury. They find Glenn, and make a plan to free Michonne. The Governor lost his resolve to kill her, and let her remain in her cell. After waiting for the opportune moment, they break in and set her free. After the doctor and Alice make a quick trip back to the infirmary to gather some supplies they leave the building and begin to make their way through Woodbury.

There are a few moments where the doctor’s resolve to leave the people of Woodbury is tested. A women comes up to the doctor and asks if he has time to help her son, he says he will but walks away from her looking defeated. Michonne says she can’t leave Woodbury yet and leaves the group, but they continue on without her. After escaping over the outer wall, the doctor gets bitten by a zombie and they have no choice but to kill him.

Michonne find the governor’s house and breaks in on him having some quality time with his daughter. They begin to fight and Michonne kicks the ever-loving crap out of him. She makes him a captive in his own home. She drills into his shoulder with a screwdriver, and bandages the wound with duct tape. She removes his fingernails with pliers, and cuts off his arm at the elbow. Instead of leaving him to die from loss of blood, she cauterizes the wound with an acetylene torch. She does a few other unspeakable things to his body and finally removes his eye with a spoon. Though two of his guards come to check on him, after hearing the struggle, she gets past them and escapes Woodbury. It’s unclear whether or not the Governor is alive.

Michonne catches up with Rick and the rest of the escapees. Though they run into a handful of zombies on the way back to the Prison, they eventually reach the car they left in the woods a few days earlier. After getting the car moving again, they return to the Prison and find it overrun with zombies after the gates were destroyed to get Tyrese back inside. Rick and Martinez begin to take out some of the zombies, and Dale and Andrea pop out of the RV still sitting just inside the prison gates. They find Lori, Carl, Tyrese, and everyone else safely barricaded inside the prison. They manage to secure the prison to an acceptable degree, and start burning the bodies the next day.

As everyone settles back into the prison, things start to feel safe once more. Glenn and Maggie enjoy…reuniting, and Glenn searches the zombie’s bodies for an engagement ring. Michonne has a moment alone talking to herself again. She tells whoever it is she’s speaking to that the way they handles the Governor was unsettling to her. Andrea hears her speaking to herself.

After a quick chat with Tyrese, Rick discovers that Martinez has been missing for a few hours. Rick realizes that Martinez has betrayed them and takes the RV to try and catch up with him before he can reach Woodbury. He catches up to him, and kills him then returns to the prison. In his absence Carl and Sophia affirm that they are still a couple, and Glenn proposes to Maggie. She says yes of course.

Rick calls another one of his famous meetings with everyone to discuss Martinez’ actions and what they could mean for their future at the prison. He tells everyone that he is sure the Governor will come looking for them someday, and that they have to prepare themselves for his eventual appearance.

So Rick is back and free from Woodbury along with Glenn and Michonne. Michonne still appears to be crazy or something, and Glenn is marrying Maggie. I assumed that the Governor was still alive when I read this the first time, as he is far too good of an antagonist to die so soon after his introduction. Though I looked forward to his death, I found it unlikely that he would meet his fate so early on in the series.

It seems that some kind of epic battle is on the horizon, and while the prison is a fortified and perfectly protectable position to hold, it will no doubt be a struggle for our heroes. I of course use the term hero loosely here, as their status as even remotely moral human beings falls heavily into question. Rick’s murder of Martinez and Michonne’s murder of her opponent in the fight both drive home the fact that killing is becoming more of an every day occurrence. It isn’t something one has the chance to moralize about, it has become a necessity. When the safety of your life and the lives of all of those you hold dear are in the balance who do you trust more, a potentially traitorous man, or a dead one?

Only two chapter remain until the end of this plot arch, and it will be an interesting journey to be sure. Thank you so much for reading, see you for chapter 7.

-SM

 

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