Review: The Walking Dead S3E11 “I Ain’t a Judas”

“You once said this wasn’t a democracy. Now you have to own up to it.” — Hershel Greene

This Sunday wasn’t just the premiere of a new episode of The Walking Dead, but also the airing of the 85th Academy Awards Show. So, my ind was being pulled in two directions all night. This will account for the lateness for this latest episode review. When I finally was able to actually sit down and watch “I Ain’t no Judas” properly with no distractions I found the episode to be one of the better set-up and filler entries in this highly popular, but uneven series.

This latest episode finds Rick’s leadership being questioned by those in his group. Whether it’s Glenn who is still angry at the treatment he and Maggie received from the Governor and his lackeys. It didn’t help Glenn’s temper much that one of those lackeys happen to be one Merle Dixon and now becoming a part of Rick’s group by necessity. If it wasn’t Glenn then there’s Hershel who knows what Rick has been going through mentally and the cause of it and sympathizes, but at the same time wants Rick to cowboy up and take responsibility once more for naming himself their dictator. It was a nice moment to see Hershel voice what every fan of the show has probably been saying since the death of Lori in the first half of this third season. While Rick going through some mental instability does make for some interesting paths the show can take in the future it doesn’t help this current narrative where the prison group must now contend with the Governor and his army which has them outmanned, outgunned and literally put under siege.

The surprising part of this episode was to have Rick’s own son advice him to relinquish the role of leader to someone else. Let Hershel or Daryl take charge from now so Rick can find some peace and time to mourn what he has lost. Chandler Riggs as an actor still has a ways to go before one can call him a very good child actor, but this scene was another step towards that as we see him not just as a young child having to grow up quickly but as one of the grown-ups who has taken it upon himself to lead the group. That scene alone shows just how much Rick has fallen into despair and how much more tough-minded Carl has become. One could easily see the son taking over as leader in the future either sooner or later.

The rest of the episode was focused more on Andrea as she finally realizes that the two groups she has come to see as family were now gearing up for a bloody war that she knows there’ll be no winners. On one side is the people of Woodbury who she come to care about and want to see protected. Then there’s her previous “family” which some have called a band of killers, but who she knows better as misunderstood and scared enough to lash out violently at any hint of violence from the Governor and his people.

It’s interesting to note that while both sides were gearing up for a fight that could easily have been avoided as Andrea puts it to Rick and the Governor, this also makes her look so cluelessly naive. She might have learned how to survive alone in the wilds and take on zombies without flinching, but she still clings to the old ways that everyone should and could get along. Andrea continues to either ignore or hope for the best when it comes to the Governor and his inner circle when she knows deep down that the Governor instigated everything and put this war into motion. It was a nice moment when Andrea meets up with Michonne once more in the prison and the latter pretty much acts like she has been vindicated in her decision to leave Woodbury. Andrea was wrong and continues to make the wrong decisions. Sooner or later she will have to pick a side and the way the show has deviated from the comic books there’s no telling that she would pick Rick and her old group over the Woodbury group.

For a set-up and filler episode this was one of the better one for the series as regular series writer Angela Kang seems to have a better grip on the series narrative and the characters. While the episode was one of the so-called “talky ones” it didn’t drag the pacing down. Part of that has to be due to the reunion of Andrea and the old group and the tension that came with it being written and handled well by all involved. Then when things did look like it was about to slow down we got Greg Nicotero and his gore-wizards at KNB EFX come up with one of the more gruesome and disturbing zombie gore scenes for the show. For a series that’s been quite liberal in showing gore and violence on the screen the impromptu curb-stomping and limb-chopping done by Andrea and Milton on a zombie was even more gruesome than usual.

There’s now 5 more episodes left to this third season and we’re seeing the two sides begin to moves pieces on the proverbial board as the inevitable final showdown between Team Rick and Team Governor will resolve itself by season’s end. There’s a good chance not everyone will make it out alive by the time this third season ends. The question now is whether the writers will follow the comic book path and abandon the prison and go back on the road or will the survivors of the two warring parties finally unite to create a safe haven for everyone.

Notes

Tonight’s episode, “I Ain’t no Judas”, was directed by series regular and make-up effects maestro Greg Nicotero and written by series regular Angela Kang.
Even with most of the group of the mind to take Merle out the back and feed him to the zombies for his actions while in Woodbury I actually do believe he’s the best chance this group has got against the Governor and, in his heart, Daryl knows this too.
Great to see Hershel doing more than just trying to channel his inner-Dale and actually letting it be known to Rick and everyone else that their leader needs to get his mind out of his ass and get to leading.
Which is what Carl seems to think Rick has lost the will and stomach for. Hershel and Carl are both right. Whether Rick listens to one or the other is a different matter altogether with the ghost of Lori leading him at the moment.
Tonight’s episode was Andrea-centric and I think it suffers not because of dealt with the story from her perspective but because the actor playing Andrea just seem to have lost any sense of portraying the character with any subtlety at all. Just how much better would the Andrea character would be if it was being played by someone else is something future pundits would be talking about for years to come.
Glenn, Glenn, Glenn…you seem to have become this season’s second half idiot with the way you’ve been acting. Nice work by Steven Yeun, but this current state of the Glenn character could easily derail one of the show’s more pragmatic and even-handed characters. He’s really toeing the line of turning into a hysterical character ready to pop-off at anyone at a moment’s notice.
Hate him or not, Merle’s a survivor and understands his best chance of living is with Rick’s group despite being outnumbered. Great scene between him and Hershel who looks to try and bridge the gap between the Merle he probably hates for putting Maggie and Glenn through the ringer while in Woodbury and the Merle he knows has the skills the group needs to weather the storm on the horizon that is Woodbury and the Governor.
Not many zombie kills tonight but there was one highlight scene that will go into KNB EFX’s growing portfolio of great zombie effects work. It’s a scene that has arms being chopped off and a curb-stomping sequence that would make those who winced at a similar scene on American History X turn away from the tv.
The episode ends with Beth Greene singing a song (she’s become like the groups bard or something) straight out of Tom Waits’ 1999 album, Mule Variations, and that alone makes “I Ain’t no Judas” worth watching.
Zombie Kill Count of tonight’s episode: 3 zombies (a very slow zombie-killing episode).