Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 4 “Killer Within” Review

Usually you'll get my recap and review of The Walking Dead Monday mornings, and this week I am a day late.  I was out of town and had to DVR the show, which I then watched last night.   It's been 12 hours since I saw the episode, and I can honestly say that I am still uncomfortable about it.  Warning, shocking spoilers ahead if you aren't caught up.

I had heard this episode was very shocking before I watched it.  I was very anxious when I started watching, and I was constantly guessing who would die.  When T-Dog died, I sighed a breath of relief.  It's not that I didn't like T-Dog, it was that I could deal with that a little better than one of the more core characters being gone.  He had probably the bravest and best death yet, potentially saving Carol (we still don't know.)   It would be tough to fathom the amount of courage it would take to hold back zombies eating your apart.  Way to go Dog, we'll miss you.

So just when I thought that T-Dog would be the only to die, Lori starts going into labor at the worst possible time: right in the middle of fleeing from the zombies.  To make a long story short, Maggie, Carl, and Lori are holed up in a vacant room where she is going to have to give birth.  Of course it doesn't go well, and it appears Lori will not be able to survive the birth, she begs Maggie to cut the baby out of her, knowing that she will die anyway and this is a chance to save the baby.

At this point of the episode I couldn't sit down anymore.  I don't think I've been more uncomfortable watching a TV show in my entire life... and that's a compliment to the writers.  It was torture to watch.  Lori gave a goodbye speech to Carl, telling him how proud she is of him, and telling him don't let this world spoil him.  It wasn't a well thought out speech but it got the point across.  It was rushed, messy, and in panic.  And that's exactly how it probably would be in real life.  Kudos to the writers, and damn you at the same time.   The baby lives, and then Carl has to shoot his mother before she turns.  I'm glad it was off camera, it would have been too much.  Speaking of "too much," it was something I kept muttering under my breath for the whole last 15 minutes.   Not because the writers went too far, but because it was too much for me to handle.

Then the most gut wrenching part of the episode happened when Rick learns Lori's fate.  Carl walks out dead eyed along with a shell shocked Maggie and the baby.  Andrew Lincoln had the best acting scene yet in this show.  He should win an Emmy for that.  When he looks at Carl and realizes that he had to put his own mother down, he loses it.  It was very difficult to watch.  I really honestly don't think I could watch this episode again, because it was so emotional.

Oh, and who unleashed the zombies on the prison people?  Andrew, the prisoner that Rick chased out into the yard full of zombies.  I was sure he was dead too, and looks like that came back to bite us. (For T-Dog, literally.)  Oscar, the new big black guy, shoots Andrew and likely will earn Rick's trust.  Looks like the remaining to prisoners could join the group.

Also, a few notes about Woodbury...  The Governor continues to fascinate me, and scenes from next week look like we'll get a little more action in the sleepy town.  We also learn his name is Philip, which he tells Andrea while flirting.  Did anyone else see the look on his face when Andrea closed her eyes and took a sip of his booze he poured her?  Pure EVIL.  Then back to a smile when she opened her eyes.  What was that all about?  Michonne knows this place is a bad deal and something is fishy, but Andrea wants to stay, and they will for a couple more days at least.

This episode showed us that this show will kill off anyone.  We knew its a zombie apocalypse and anyone could die, but I honestly didn't see Lori dying in the way she did.  I think the writers did a great job.  The whole show was a panic attack, and I felt as if I was running through the prison with them.  Can't wait for next Sunday, but this time I may need a stiff drink to calm me down before it begins!