The Walking Dead (Season 3)

Show: The Walking Dead

Season:3

Episodes:16

Created By: Frank Darabont

Released: 2012-2013

Rating: 4/5
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Andrea's Character Arch
Throughout The Walking Dead I have liked Andrea. Is she perfect? No. But I don't think the character deserved so much hate. However, this started to change this season. I can understand why Andrea overlooked the darker side of Woodbury at first. Hell, I would've in her situation. She had the choice between more doom and gloom OR a hot guy and a little bit of paradise. That being said: I think her relationship with The Governor went on too long and made her act dumber than she actually is. I don't like the relationship with the two for the same reason I don't like the one Derek Reese and Jesse Flores had in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Those two relationships work only because one of the characters in the relationship act dumber than they really are. But, by the end of this Season, the Andrea I knew and loved came back.

Let Down of an Ending
I'll try to keep this spoiler free as possible, but as I'm talking about the ending spoilers are probably going to happen. Anyways: this Season's big thing was supposed to be a big show down between The Governor and Rick Grimes. In other words a showdown between Woodbury and Team Prison. At the mid-season finale there seemed to be a little hint of what the Season Finale would be like. But by the end of this Season Finale there had not been a big showdown between the two. Yes, there was a little battle between them but nothing that looked like what us fans were looking for. Was the Finale bad as a whole? There were some VERY good moments but the fact that there was no big showdown was a huge let down.

Merle
I know many people adore Daryl and consider him the highlight of the series. I, on the other hand, prefer Merle over Daryl. Heck, I prefer Merle over any other character on this show. Yes, Daryl is the more moral character but Merle is just so fun to see on screen. There's something about this racist asshole that is nice to see. Maybe it's his dedication to his brother that makes the character redeemable even before the last few episodes of this season aired. I waited three season for Merle to finally appear again and his reappearance was glorious. I liked the exploring of his character for more than part of an episode. You got to see a more complicated character than the one shown in the second episode of Season 1. Scott M. Gimple, leave my beloved characters alone! Bad, Gimple! Bad!

Final Thoughts
While this Season did have some down points, overall it was well put together. The highlight episode being "Clear". Which, besides seeing the return of Morgan, had some excellent character development of Michonne (who previously in the Season was more of a figure than an actual character). Again, I loved seeing the return of Merle but would've so loved to have had the showdown that I was promised. However, we did get to see the total breakdown of The Governor as well as Milton proving himself to be a badass.