This week The Walking Dead took the focus to Merle Dixon, the volatile, unpredictable and violent brother of fan favorite of Daryl Dixon. The episode opens with Rick discussing with Hershel and Daryl discussing handing over Michonne to The Governor in exchange for peace. Rick tells Merle of the plan, which eventually leads to Merle taking matters into his own hands and bringing Michonne to The Governor himself.
Before I get to Merle I'd like to comment on the events at the Prison. This was a very strong episode for Rick. We seem him faced with the moral dilemma of handing over Michonne to The Governor, knowing full well that she will be brutally tortured. Rick decides he can't go through with it. We also see him begin to close the chapter on Lori, having what is most likely his final vision of her. In the end, in a very emotionally powerful speech, Rick surrenders his total control over the group, telling them it is their choice if they stay to fight The Governor or run (I guess this means an end to the so called "Ricktatorship") We also saw Glenn propose to Maggie in another very emotional scene. It was genuinely touching to see them persevere through such hardship.
But now to Merle, who was the focus of the episode. Merle takes matters into his own hands and decides to bring Michonne to The Governor himself. In his conversations with both Daryl and Michonne in the episode we see that Merle doesn't want to be the evil guy. This all leads up to his final decision to let Michonne go, while he goes off on his own to confront The Governor. Merle manages to kill 8 of The Governor's men, including the unbelievably annoying Ben, before being forced into a fight with The Governor himself. In a particularly brutal fight, The Governor gains the upper hand and kills Merle. We then see Daryl find Merle as a walker and kill him, with great emotion.
Emotion wise this episode was very powerful. Seeing Daryl find his brother like the way he did was very sad. Merle went out like a hero, in an attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of his brother, making his death even more sad.
Michael Rooker proved in this episode how brilliant of an actor he is once again. In the scenes he had with Michonne and Daryl, Rooker brilliantly conveyed Merle's desire to redeem himself. Norman Reedus also delivered an incredible performance, brilliantly portraying the emotional devastation finding Merle had on Daryl. Andrew Lincoln, David Morrissey and Steven Yeun also delivered great performances in this episode. It has been enjoyable to watch Yeun get more and more impressive as the series goes on.
On a side note kudos to the writers for continuing to figure out brilliant things to do with the walkers. Merle's plan to use the walkers to cover his attack was absolutely genius. Michonne also had some impressive kills of walkers while tied up.
This Sorrowful Life served as an emotionally powerful and action packed penultimate episode for a an absolutely brilliant season of The Walking Dead. 9.7 out of 10
Before I get to Merle I'd like to comment on the events at the Prison. This was a very strong episode for Rick. We seem him faced with the moral dilemma of handing over Michonne to The Governor, knowing full well that she will be brutally tortured. Rick decides he can't go through with it. We also see him begin to close the chapter on Lori, having what is most likely his final vision of her. In the end, in a very emotionally powerful speech, Rick surrenders his total control over the group, telling them it is their choice if they stay to fight The Governor or run (I guess this means an end to the so called "Ricktatorship") We also saw Glenn propose to Maggie in another very emotional scene. It was genuinely touching to see them persevere through such hardship.
But now to Merle, who was the focus of the episode. Merle takes matters into his own hands and decides to bring Michonne to The Governor himself. In his conversations with both Daryl and Michonne in the episode we see that Merle doesn't want to be the evil guy. This all leads up to his final decision to let Michonne go, while he goes off on his own to confront The Governor. Merle manages to kill 8 of The Governor's men, including the unbelievably annoying Ben, before being forced into a fight with The Governor himself. In a particularly brutal fight, The Governor gains the upper hand and kills Merle. We then see Daryl find Merle as a walker and kill him, with great emotion.
Emotion wise this episode was very powerful. Seeing Daryl find his brother like the way he did was very sad. Merle went out like a hero, in an attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of his brother, making his death even more sad.
Michael Rooker proved in this episode how brilliant of an actor he is once again. In the scenes he had with Michonne and Daryl, Rooker brilliantly conveyed Merle's desire to redeem himself. Norman Reedus also delivered an incredible performance, brilliantly portraying the emotional devastation finding Merle had on Daryl. Andrew Lincoln, David Morrissey and Steven Yeun also delivered great performances in this episode. It has been enjoyable to watch Yeun get more and more impressive as the series goes on.
On a side note kudos to the writers for continuing to figure out brilliant things to do with the walkers. Merle's plan to use the walkers to cover his attack was absolutely genius. Michonne also had some impressive kills of walkers while tied up.
This Sorrowful Life served as an emotionally powerful and action packed penultimate episode for a an absolutely brilliant season of The Walking Dead. 9.7 out of 10