First Season 3 Deleted Scene revealed + my thoughts

Some footage from a season three episode was revealed yesterday that features Merle and Carol.  Here's the video if you haven't seen it already:

I'm guessing this takes place sometime after Merle joins the group at the prison.  It seems like he's still being nice to everyone and trying to find his place within the group.  What Carol basically says in the scene is that she should've been dead several times before.  Then she threatens to slit Merle's throat while he sleeps if he does anything to Daryl or the rest of the group.  The acting from Michael Rooker was on point, as always, but I think the acting from Melissa McBride was a little off mostly due to her smiling too much.

Overall, it was an okay scene, but again, a little awkward from Carol's perspective, but it still makes her character look great threatening Merle like that.  I like the way Merle just smiles afterwards and then we see Daryl in the background. 

I actually wouldn't mind if we actually saw this in season three.  Sure the acting from Carol is a little weird, but it's still a really cool moment from her character.  But it gives Merle more reason to just go in alone with a bunch of walkers against the Governor.  He also said to Daryl, "You people look at me like I'm the devil."  The scene gives more reason as to why he said that.

So tell me what you guys think about the first deleted scene from season three. Did you like it? Should this scene have been in an episode? Let me know what you guys think in the comments below.   

Season 4 - Will they leave the prison?

In season three of The Walking Dead, Rick's group finds the prison in the first episode, stay there for the entire season and are still there going into season four. Will Rick's group leave the prison in season four?

After bringing in a bunch of new people, I think it only makes it harder for Rick's group to leave the prison.  As a viewer and fan, I'm beginning to grow tired of the prison already, but not entirely.  It wasn't like season two where I got tired of the farm really quickly.  The farm was just boring overall, but I loved the last episode with all the zombies overtaking the farm.  I liked the barn being set on fire and Sophia being in the barn, but other then that, there weren't really any nice concepts involving the barn setting.

The camp in the first season was a stupid location, but it was kind of necessary because everyone was new to life during a zombie apocalypse.  Even though they didn't know at that point, being close to Atlanta is bad and they probably should have thought about that a little more thoroughly.  But they were just going day by day and trying to avoid getting ripped apart by zombies.  It had no protection either, so a herd of zombies could walk right in and other groups could rob them and they had no way of stopping them.

I thought the camp was more fun to see then the farm, but the prison was better then both of those locations.  The thing with the prison is that the characters have been there for so long that things are definitely starting to get dry, but it's not a bad thing.  Something that could be done in season four is to establish the prison as the home base and have little groups of people go out and looks for supplies, assuming the group is running low on supplies after the time skip.

So to answer the question, I don't think that Rick's group will leave the prison until possibly the season four finale or at some point in season five.  Hopefully, it won't go longer then that because if they're still at the prison in season six, I'd have to consider not watching the show at all because the prison would have gotten so boring by then. 

I would love to see some new locations in season four like a grocery store or department store and just have the group loot the entire place.  I know they probably don't have a lot of that in the country, but any small town nearby is going to have places like that.  I could definitely see the Governor attack Rick's group while they're out on supply runs. 

I do hope they leave the prison fairly soon, even though it wouldn't really make much sense at this point.  I think by the season finale or early next season would be a good time to leave the prison.

Best and worst episode of The Walking Dead

There have been 35 total episodes of The Walking Dead.  From season to season, it has been the best television show I have ever watched in my life.  But there have also been some low points to the series as well.  So I came up with two lists, one with the best episodes and one with the worst episodes so far.  I'm going to be picking one from both list and explaining why it was my favorite or least favorite episode.

Best Episodes:
Season 2 Episode 1 - What Lies Ahead
Season 2 Episode 7 - Pretty Much Dead Already
Season 2 Episode 12 - Better Angels
Season 2 Episode 13 - Beside The Dying Fire
Season 3 Episode 4 - Killer Within
Season 3 Episode 10 - Home
Season 3 Episode 12 - Clear
Season 3 Episode 15 - This Sorrowful Life

If I had to pick my three favorite episodes, I would go with "Pretty Much Dead Already", "Home" and "This Sorrowful Life", with an honorable mention to "Clear" and magnificent acting by Lennie James (Morgan) and Andrew Lincoln (Rick) in that episode.  I think you can make a case for any episode listed above, but to me, my favorite episode of The Walking Dead is the season two midseason finale, "Pretty Much Dead Already."

Even after watching a fantastic season three, I still think an episode from season two is the best episode ever.  I think seeing Sophia in the barn was absolutely mind-blowing and seeing Carol's reaction at the end of episode was very emotional to watch as well.  I like this episode because we get to see a much colder side of Rick after he shoots Sophia for the rest of season two and all of season three.  I also think it was smart to have Rick shoot Sophia because he was ultimately responsible for her death, and I don't think anyone besides Shane would have had the guts to shoot her.  I also liked how we see Shane and Rick starting to disagree more and events like this eventually culminate with Shane's death in "Better Angels".  So there you have it.  Now let's go to the worst episode of The Walking Dead so far.

Worst Episodes:
Season 2 Episode 2 - Bloodletting
Season 2 Episode 4 - Cherokee Rose
Season 2 Episode 6 - Secrets
Season 3 Episode 13 - Arrow on the Doorpost

I think it comes down to two episodes: "Cherokee Rose" and "Arrow on the Doorpost".  Again, you can make argument for any of the episodes listed.  But I think I'm going to have to give a slight edge to "Cherokee Rose" as the worst episode of The Walking Dead so far.

I'm going off topic here, but here's my script of "Arrow on the Doorpost":

Governor: Surrender
(Governor smiles)
Rick: No
(Governor smiles)
Governor: Give me Michonne
Rick: I'll think about it
Andrea: They kicked me out

That's about it.  If you haven't seen that episode yet, my advice to you is to not even watch it.

Speaking of episodes that you shouldn't watch, I think "Cherokee Rose" was one of them.  This was just a really slow episode and not enough happens.  Just to give you a refresher, Daryl goes and looks for Sophia, Glenn and Maggie hook up and a walker is trapped in the well.  For the record, I absolutely hated the well walker.  That being said, I think this episode contributed to a lot of people thinking that season two was too slow.  There was absolutely no point in doing that and after watching season three, it just proves my point on what a waste of an episode that was.  So even though there was some nice character development with Daryl, I do not care for Glenn and Maggie hooking up and I really didn't care for the well walker.

So those are my thoughts on the best and worst episodes of The Walking Dead.  If you want to offer your opinion or want to just prove me wrong, please write it in the comments below.

Season 3 Overall Review

I think we can all agree that season three was the best season of The Walking Dead so far.

Season one was only six episodes and season 2 didn't have as much action as season three did.  I think the producers in season three did a really good job of not stepping down the quality of the episodes.  I was worried that was going to happen because they are putting in a lot more filler episodes.  Luckily, for season three, they didn't really do that.

So I'm going to go through all sixteen episodes of season three and give you some of the highlights of all of the episodes.

Episode 1 - Seed

This was a really good episode, as we see Lori at end of her pregnancy and the group finding the prison and clearing it out.  I think it was a very exciting episode and the highlights for me include some of the zombie kills, Rick amputating Hershel's leg and Maggie finding out how to kills the armored zombies.  I think it wasn't as good as the season two premiere, but it was still a great way to kick off a great season.

Episode 2 - Sick

Personally, I thought this episode was better than the season premiere.  I thought the whole thing with the prisoners in the cafeteria was great and obviously, the "holy shit" moment of the episode being when Rick kills Tomas.  I also think that setting up Andrew to look like he's dead was great, following the saying, "If you don't see them die, they're not dead."  And as we know later, Andrew eventually returns for revenge.  I also liked the character development for Rick in that episode and what he had to do for the betterment of his group.  There was even some comedy mixed in with the prisoners not knowing how to kill the walkers.

Episode 3 - Walk with Me

This is the episode where we finally meet the Governor and focus on Andrea and Michonne.  I really enjoyed this episode because it is a good introduction to the Governor and us getting to know what he's all about.  By the end of this episode, most people know who the Governor truly is and what is going to happen with him over the course of season three.

Episode 4 - Killer Within

This was a crazy episode, where we see the deaths of both Lori and T-Dog, which was mind-blowing.  Although it was shocking, I think that they should have killed Lori, but keep T-Dog around for a little while longer and have him die later in the season to keep the excitement up.  I think he should have died probably around the time when Axel was killed, but that's just my opinion.  I still think it was a great episode with phenomenal acting by Andrew Lincoln (Rick) at the end of episode.

Episode 5 - Say the Word

Things start to slow down a little bit following the death of Lori.  We get to spend a little more time with the Governor and Rick is starting to lose it.  I think this was an okay episode, but obviously you have to slow things down after Lori's death and the birth of baby Judith.

Episode 6 - Hounded

I really liked this episode because you have Merle and three other dudes chasing after Michonne.  This really introduced the next plot line for the next couple of episodes when Glenn and Maggie are captured and brought back to Woodbury by Merle. 

Episode 7 - When the Dead Come Knocking

I didn't really care for this episode too much, although it was awesome when Glenn killed that walker when he was tied to that chair.  Other then that, I didn't really like this episode.

Episode 8 - Made to Suffer

The mid-season finale was one of the best episodes of the season.  Rick comes to rescue Glenn and Maggie and we are left with the cliffhanger involving Daryl and Merle, which was really exciting and got people pumped for the second half of season three.

Episode 9 - The Suicide King

This was a good returning episode to set the stage for the rest of season three.  Nothing really much to say other then Rick has officially lost it after seeing the hallucination of Lori.

Episode 10 - Home

I have to say that this was probably one of the best three episodes of the season.  I love the way they shot so you don't know what's about to happen, and then all of a sudden, Axel gets his head blown off.  I was thinking we would see something sort of gunfight and characters being pinned down during the season finale, sort of life what they did during this episode.  I think that would have added a little more excitement to the season three finale.

Episode 11 - I Ain't A Judas

This was a pretty cool episode because we got to see how Merle would fit in at the prison.  The episode kind of slowed things down a little bit and even though it wasn't as good as "Home", it was still a decent episode.

Episode 12 - Clear

This was one of my favorite episodes of The Walking Dead ever.  Some people may think of this as a filler episode, but I think it was a perfect episode.  So far, if I had to pick out key moments of the season up to this point, it would be Lori and T-Dog dying, the Governor attacking the prison and seeing the return of Morgan in this episode.

Episode 13 - Arrow on the Doorpost

I didn't like this episode at all.  This was a waste of an episode because we knew the Governor and Rick wouldn't work out a peace treaty and that a war would definitely ensue.  This was probably the worst episode of season three.

Episode 14 - Prey

This was a pretty decent episode, even though some people don't like it when Rick and his group are not featured at all in the episode.  I still thought it was an exciting episode and I loved the ending where we see Andrea tied to the dentist chair.  I don't think it was one of best episodes, but it was still very exciting.

Episode 15 - This Sorrowful Life

This was probably my second favorite episode of the entire season.  I loved the fight scene where Merle took out about seven or eight members of Woodbury and him fighting with the Governor.  My favorite part was when Merle was drinking in the car and he drew all those walkers to where the Governor was.  I could argue that scene was probably the greatest moment of the entire season.  Again, this was a really exciting episode and it kept me on the edge of my seat.

Episode 16 - Welcome to the Tombs

I think this was a very good season finale, although some people thought it was a disappointment.  I was a little disappointed, but that's because my expectations for the series are way too high.  No other show on television can compare to The Walking Dead in terms of excitement and anticipation for the next episode.  The only real competition The Walking Dead has is itself because the season two finale was better that the season three finale in my opinion.  I think there could have been a longer gun battle between Woodbury and Rick's group.

Overall, I think this season was fantastic.  The season started of strong, the mid-season finale was exciting and the season finale was a perfect way to cap off a highly dramatic season three.  This was my favorite season of The Walking Dead so far and I think it definitely beat out season two in terms of excitement, action and drama.  Can't wait for what season four brings us!

S3E16 "Welcome to the Tombs" Review

Last night, season three of The Walking Dead came to an end.  There was blood, there was guts and there was heartbreak, literally.  After the finale, I realized that I have to wait half of a year to see season four. 

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! DON'T PROCEED IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FINALE!

Overall, my reaction to the episode was, "I did not see that coming."  I thought there was going to be a much higher body count among the main cast, and Rick was going to leave the prison.  But in the end, Rick and Co. not only remained at the prison, but they welcomed some new neighbors as well.  Meanwhile, Woodbury has become a ghost town. 

We began with the Andrea and the Governor, with the Governor torturing both Andrea and Milton.  Poor Milton finally got on the Governor's bad side when he burned the pit walkers, and has to pay the price.  Milton's no wimp, but he isn't really a violent person.  He's not Glenn, who can take a beating and get back up.  When Milton is beaten, he stays beaten.

Regarding the situation with Andrea, even I could pick up a pair of pliers faster than she did.  Literally.  If a dying man who is going to eat you tells you to hurry up, then stop yapping and hurry the hell up.

So this is how most thought the episode would go: The Governor attacks the prison to find out that Rick and Co. are gone.  They destroy the prison then find and kill characters like Hershel, Carol and Beth.  But we were dead wrong.  Instead, our heroes cleverly laid down a trap for the Governor and his army.  It was funny to see the people of Woodbury running for their lives.

Enter Dark Carl: give him half a reason and he kills his own mother, so that poor Woodbury kid didn't stand a chance.  I think Carl's philosophy of "better safe then undead" has kept him alive against all odds, so he's doing something right.

Boy, was this a surprise?  When the Governor kills his entire army but Martinez and my man Bowman, it was definitely shocking.  I think this certainly made it easier for Rick and Co. to safely move back into the prison and for the people of Woodbury to join them.  It also got rid of a whole bunch of Woodbury people who were not relevant to the series whatsoever.  By the way, props to Karen for pulling a Carol and hiding behind a dead body to prevent being killed.  In all seriousness, she tells Rick and Tyreese the whole story so everybody can join hands now, right? 

Surprsingly... yes.  But not before the Governor's previous work comes back to haunt them once more.  Andrea fought valiantly (and slowly) for the pliers to free herself and kill Milton before he could kill her.  While she managed to put him down, he still got a big chomp out of her neck.  And that was how Rick, Daryl, Tyreese and Michonne found her.

Now that Andrea has died, let's take a look back on her sometimes irritating plot this season.  It was Andrea who made the wrong decision when Michonne wanted to leave Woodbury, Andrea didn't capitalize on three occasions to kill the Governor, and Andrea who didn't save herself by just going back to the prison when the opportunity presented itself.  But in the end, she was completely redeemed by her own words, "I didn't want anyone to die."  She didn't want her friends to die, the people of Woodbury, Michonne, and even the Governor for awhile.  That may not be the same Andrea as the comic books.  But she is still brave, noble, and she gave her life working for a better world.

Despite the shocking death of Andrea and half the population of Woodbury, things ended on a high note this season.  The prison wasn't abandoned as most predicted, and only two relevant characters died.  It wasn't the explosively shocking season finale we expected, nor was it the season finale to leave us in suspense all summer long.  But after this season, it's almost a relief to have things end the way they did. 

Some questions to answer for next season: Where have the Governor, Martinez and Bowman gone?  Will they return to attack the prison in season four?  Will Tyreese and the other Woodbury refugees adjust to prison life or will they be at odds with Rick's group?  Will we see a softer side of Rick next season?  Will Morgan join the prison group? Who will Carl kill next? We've got half a year to ponder over these questions, fellow zombiephiles.

S3E16 "Welcome to the Tombs" Predictions

Oh, how a week goes so fast in anticipation for the The Walking Dead Season 3 Finale.  As D-Generation X used to say, "Are you ready?!?!?"

I am, and so are millions of other Walking Dead fans around the world, so here are my predictions for the Season 3 finale, Welcome to the Tombs.

By the way, just because Season 3 is ending doesn't mean that I'm shutting down The Walking Shin Report.  I'll be posting about any information, casting and much more on Season 4, and I'll be posting my reviews on the comic series as well.

***SPOILER ALERT!!! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN SEASON 3, I DON'T WANT TO BE THE ONE WHO SPOILS THE EVENTS FOR YOU***

Sneak Peek #1:

Sneak Peak #2:

Promo:

Alright, so the conclusion of Season 3 is upon us.  Season 3 has been great so far, and I'd say it's been better than Season 2.  Last episode, titled "This Sorrowful Life" was one of the best episodes of the entire season.  After the scenes of last episode, everyone knows that there is not going to be peace between Rick and The Governor.

The Governor took what happened to his group as an attack against him and Woodbury from Rick and the group, even though not all of them were there.  Obviously, The Governor has revenge on his mind.  I think The Governor believes that if he kills Ricks' group, then Andrea, who is still trapped in that dentist chair, will have no choice but to stay with The Governor.  Obviously, The Governor wants Michonne as well for her killing his daughter and wanted Merle for not capturing Michonne and "betraying" Woodbury.  In addition, The Governor really doesn't like Rick either because he's the leader of another group, and The Governor wants to be the head honcho, so to speak.

So let's start with the promo.  We finally see Andrea for the first time since she was captured by The Governor, and she has a big gash on on her head.  That just goes to show how brutal The Governor has gotten over the course of Season 3.  The next part is The Governor punches somebody, and I think its probably Milton, as he and The Governor's relationship as turned a bit sour in recent episodes. 

So the next part shows Michonne pissed off at Rick and doesn't really trust him.  I think she is a part of the group but she's still mad at the fact that Rick considered handing her over to The Governor.  Knowing Rick's character, I wouldn't think he'd even consider handing her over, at least my view on that.  It looks like Carl and Beth are packing up the cars as well, which makes me believe that they are indeed leaving the prison.  Martinez then shoots one of the towers down at the prison to end the promo. 

In the first sneak peek, we have Carl is packing and looking at family pictures.  There isn't much to say other then that the prison group is packing, leaving or doing something as it looks.  I think they're leaving completely, but there could be a possibility that they go back to the farm. 

The second sneak peek is where the action really begins.  You have the Governor's group, which includes 20-30 people, attacking the prison and all armed to the teeth.  The you have Allen opening up the doors to the tombs and the sneak peek ends there.  I'm thinking there's something behind that door, but I'm not positive on what it could be.  I'm thinking it's a ton of walkers, but there's a good chance I could be wrong. 

So as far as deaths go, I think it's safe to say that a good majority of The Governor's army will die tonight.  As far as relevant characters, I think Milton, Martinez, Allen and, of course, The Governor will bite the dust on Team Woodbury.  I think Hershel, Beth and Judith will die on Team Prison, and if I'm right, I'd like to apologize to Maggie and how she will feel if they do indeed die.  This leaves Rick, Carl, Daryl, Carol, Glenn, Maggie, Michonne, Andrea, Tyreese and Sasha surviving tonight's season finale.  Also, I'm of the mindset that Morgan Jones will return tonight in some capacity.  Whether Rick goes to where Morgan is or Morgan goes to the prison, although I doubt he know where it is located, I believe Morgan will return tonight somehow.

I can't wait to see the epic conclusion of Season 3.  Get your popcorn ready, because it's going to be one hell of an episode.  I'll have my review out tomorrow and I'll probably end up doing a review on the entire season and give you my thoughts on it.  Enjoy the episode, everyone!