Spoilers for the episode follow. You’ve been warned.
Man, actor Andrew Lincoln as been playing the hell out of Rick in these last few episodes. Longtime fans of the comic have been anticipating Rick’s conversations on the phone with his deceased wife, and when the moment finally came, it did not disappoint. The build up and payoff of the moment was fantastic and really shows how far from sanity Rick is slipping. But for us, the viewers, it makes for damn good television.
But Rick’s further downward spiral was not the only highlight of “Hounded,” which featured a number of great moments. How about the pursuit of Michonne by Merle and his posse? Some brutal moments there, and we also see the jerkwad Merle we’ve always loved to hate. And by the time he runs into Glenn and Maggie and takes them hostage, boy, that dude has it coming… whenever that eventually is.
Honestly, thinking back on how the original comic pitted the prison gang against Woodbury, I kind of like the route the show has taken, what with Rick having a reason to venture out with Michonne because they are trying to get Glenn and Maggie back from Merle. And let us know forget the history Rick and Merle share. Therefore, the motivation for how the prison group and Woodbury come face to face makes a lot of sense here.
The other major talking point of this episode is the Governor getting a li’l action. Man, Andrea is really going to regret that decision when she stumbles into the room full of heads in tanks and the Governor’s zombified daughter. Talk about skeletons in the closet – literally. I’m also excited to see when Andrea discovers Glenn and Maggie are in the Governor’s custody. Hopefully that moment happens next week.
Oh, and it’s finally confirmed that Carol is indeed alive. The moment where Daryl finds her was a touching on, although maybe it wasn’t played up as much as it should have been. Specifically in light of Rick kind of coming to terms with his wife being dead (sort of), a little more focus on Daryl and Carol reuniting in life would have been a nice complement.
Overall, “Hounded” was another stellar episode that sets up what looks to be a big one next week. Thus far, season three of The Walking Dead has been a success. Let’s hope it continues.
What did you guys think of the episode? Sound off in the comments below.