So we’ve been waiting months to find Merle and Daryl’s fate, and here we are. I hope you all enjoyed tonight’s episode, The Suicide King, as much as I did. The episode refers to The Governor’s injury at the hand of Michonne and his new one-eyed visage. Since the first six minutes were posted online earlier this week, I feel no guilt in saying that just as Merle and Daryl are getting truly entrenched in their zombie deathmatch, in rush Rick and the rest of the group with a smoke grenade and a hail of gunfire. Everyone scatters and the group escapes, including the addition of Merle. And, I must say, my favorite moment of the episode was when Daryl just plucks his crossbow out of the hands of a bewildered Woodbury resident, and then dispatches a zombie. (As Kevin Smith put it so well on Talking Dead, it’s like Indy reaching out of the plane to grab his hat, it’s become so iconic and identified with the character. Yes!) Also, Andrea picks up a gun, which becomes important later. So, no more spoilers beyond this.
So then a major conflict emerges: what do we do with Merle? You can see how Glenn (or Maggie) might feel about him, but to Daryl he’s still kin. Do you bring him back to the prison, or not? In any case, a fateful decision is made. And Rick makes some decisions about Michonne that will be equally divisive.
Some other things to look forward to:
Glen takes out some pent up aggression by curb-stomping a walker in one of the most graphic curb stompings I’ve ever seen. Guess what? Zombie brains look like dog food. #ilearnedsomethingnewtoday
Things start going bad in Woodbury, and with the Governor MIA, Andrea gives a rousing speech to the people that would make Mark Antony jealous. Will The Governor as Caesar see this as a threat to his power?
And if I were Tyreese and his group, I don’t know if I’d want to stay in the prison.
Rick has maybe gone a little cuckoo. . . .well, this we knew after the phone incident. But it starts getting even worse, culminating in a final scene.
Oh, and if you’re into the Talking Dead, Steve Yeun (Glenn) and Kevin Smith are the guests. And it is easily the most homoerotic hour of TV you’ll watch outside of the Logo network or Spartacus. And pretty damn funny as they move to a full hour. Kevin Smith even makes a Michael Rooker chocolate-covered pretzels Mallrats joke. I approve.