Lori and newborn baby Judith's deaths in the comic series was the second instance -- after Rick's Luke Skywalker moment -- where I felt like I was punched in the gut. This happens at the climax of Woodbury's attack on the prison after a very tense conflict between the two groups spanning weeks.
Obviously, things are quite a bit different in the TV series. I'm not sure why Lori was killed off so early in the series. Typically, you save the main character deaths and baby births for either the finale or the episode before the mid-season break. It may be a comment on the popularity -- or lack thereof, I should say -- of Lori with fans of the show. However, it does set up an interesting dynamic that wasn't present in the comics. Now we get so see the completely unstable Rick -- talking to himself on the phone and such -- go up against the calm and practical Governor. That could be interesting.
Also, having Carl put his own mother down is pretty grim. Not quite as grim as Rick seeing Lori and the newborn killed because he pissed off the wrong warlord, but pretty grim. I'm glad they're not shying away with taking Carl down the same messed up route he's taking in the comics.
The Simpsons 25.02: "Treehouse of Horror XXIV" (2013) directed by Rob Oliver
Attention Fox: I paid money to stream this on Amazon. I didn't have to. I could've easily pirated it. Shove more ads into the front of your streaming shows and that's just what I and many others will do.
Like everyone is saying, the opening sequence directed by Guillermo del Toro is the best part of the episode by a long shot. Hell, it's the best part of any "Treehouse of Horror" for a solid decade and half. The real stories in the episode are the typical weakly amusing fare of the modern Simpsons. The best story -- and most Halloween-y -- was probably the Dr. Seuss rip-off, but even that grated on my nerves after listening to their tortured Seussian rhyming for so long.
Do yourself a favor and watch just the opening, if you haven't, and have fun picking out the infinity of horror references:
The Walking Dead 3.05: "Say the Word" (2012) directed by Greg Nicotero
The reveal of the Governor's zombie daughter was weak. He's shown combing her hair, but even before a chunk of scalp falls out and we see her dead face, we hear her zombie grunting noises. Nice was to waste a surprise. Should've saved this for later, maybe for us to discover at the same time Andrea inevitably does.
I'm sure the show won't be chopping Rick's hand off and I'm sure the interaction between Michonne and the Governor will be toned down compared to the comic series, but, damn, the fate of Lori's body in the TV show was worthy of the comic series. Grief-maddened Rick finds a puddle of blood and gore where Lori had died. Nearby, he stumbles upon a satisfied zombie with a bloated belly resting against a wall. Damn, man. The show had me afraid, when Rick started stabbing the zombie's tummy, that he was going to dig all of the Lori-chow out of it in order to bury her. They didn't go that far out, but, still, this is the best representation of how horrific it is that we are zombie food I've ever seen.
The Walking Dead 3.06: "Hounded" (2012) directed by Daniel Attias
I don't know if it's Laurie Holden's acting -- she always seems to have this dumb half-smile on her face -- or the writing or both, but I can see why fans turned on Andrea this season. I hate to keep referencing the comic series -- they're two different mediums and changes are not only expected, but required -- but Andrea in the comic is such a awesome badass. She's not a cartoon like ninja-Michonne, but a real person hardened by the fall of the world, physically scarred, and deadly with a sniper rifle. After Rick, she's my favorite character in the comics. In the show, the only thing she shares with her comic counterpart is her name. TV Andrea is so wishy-washy, she's hard to watch. I spent the last few episodes wishing Michonne would snap and punch her.
Sweet. Merle captured Glenn and Maggie and brought them to Woodbury. Now we can finally get rocking with the conflict between the two groups. But, c'mon... did Merle teleport like Jason Vorhees seems to? He leaves the Governor and then just happened to wander in exactly the right direction to find Glenn, Maggie, and Michonne at the same time? Lucky guy.
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