The Walking Dead “Welcome To The Tombs” 

My eyes are burning so badly from the tears from watching the season finale that I wasn’t even sure if I could write this review tonight.  Besides the tears, I am still paralyzed from the mere shock of the episode.  How many people out there are still just sitting in their chair in front of the TV, just trying to comprehend what in the f*ck just happened? I know I am.  We had some major character deaths in tonight’s episode, and the most stunning part is the way in which each of them died.

Before we were even one minute into the episode, we get the first shocking moment of the night.  We had seen previews of the Governor (David Morrissey) punching someone and just assumed it was Andrea (Laurie Holden).  To the fans dismay, especially the Andrea-haters, it wasn’t Andrea but our poor Milton (Dallas Roberts).  After beating Milton senseless for his little torching shenanigan from last week, the Governor pits Milton against Andrea and orders him to kill her.  At this point, the tears starting down my cheek because I knew Milton wasn’t going to kill Andrea, which would cost him his life.  In a final moment of heroism, Milton attacks the Governor, only to be gutted and left to die.

        In this life, you kill or you die.  Or, you die and you kill – Governor

The catch is that Milton is locked in the room with Andrea, which means Andrea will be faced with a situation liked Glenn’s once Milton finally turns.  I have to admit that this storyline was a stroke of genius on the writers’ part.  Actor Dallas Roberts has already accepted a role in the CBS drama Unforgettable, and even before that, most of us knew that Milton probably would be too weak to survive.  I just don’t think any of us imagined Milton going out this way.  Rest in peace, Milton.  You will be sorely missed.

What makes this storyline even more mind-blowing is that I think everyone expected Andrea to walk out of that room, alive and well.  Andrea has faced enormous odds since season one.  Here’s the list of times I was able to come up with off the top of my head that Andrea has defied odds:

• Andrea escapes a department store full of zombies (Season 1 — loved the tieback with the “I know how to use the safety” quote)
• Andrea survives an attack on the camp, but her sister is killed (Season 1)
• Dale talks Andrea out of suicide at the CDC (Season 1)
• Andrea survives an attack by a walker in Dale’s RV (Season 2)
• Michonne saves Andrea’s life in the forest (Season 2)

Andrea is one tough girl, but this time, she isn’t quick enough.  Milton (as a walker) is able to get a chunk out of her before she finally finds a weapon and puts him down.  It ends with Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Daryl (Norman Reedus), and Michonne (Danai Gurira) arriving at Woodbury right before she makes the decision to kill herself.  Michonne and Andrea share a final, touching scene together, and Danai Gurira does a fantastic job depicting a Michonne who is finally able to show some emotion upon seeing her friend (perhaps her only friend) die right in front of her.

The last shocking moment of the episode revolved around the Governor, and I must admit it was the mother of all shockers.  I have to say that the writers and producers of the show really know how to tease its fans, because with the limited previews that were released, we all were led to believe that the Governor and his men would find an empty prison, with perhaps Rick’s camp gone ahead to attack Woodbury.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Rick’s group remained at the prison and does attack the Governor and his team, but the real threat to the people of Woodbury isn’t the prison group – it’s the Governor himself.  I don’t think any of us can be sure exactly what set off the Governor, but on their way back to Woodbury, the Governor pulls a Psycho and wipes out his entire team, except for two men.  To top it off, the Governor is completely clueless why the remaining 2 men are hesitant to get back in the truck with him.  Well, hello!  Governor, you just blotted out most of Woodbury, so excuse us if we think you’ve gone looney-tune crazy!

The finale ends with some fantastic character development with Rick and Carl.  One thing you have to realize is that a child learns by watching adults, specifically by watching his parents.  Since the beginning of Season 3, Carl has watched his father unravel and become someone who has very little care and respect left for other human beings.  This is exemplified with Carl killing the young boy from Woodbury, even though he was lowering his weapon.  Without a doubt, Rick would have done the same thing earlier in the season.  However, now, Rick is coming back down to Earth and seeing the error in his ways.  The humane and compassionate side of Rick is slowly returning, leaving Carl confused, and somewhat pissed off, especially when his father corrects him for behavior that he would have done himself a few months ago.  Don’t be surprised if Rick and Carl have a few tense episodes next season while they try and get past this.

One final note — for those who are loyal Walking Dead comic-book fans, don’t fret too much that the finale didn’t end like the Governor story line did in the comics.  For those who are not familiar with the Kirkman comics, the Governor is shot by a Woodbury resident, Lily, during a prison assault and then, thrown in front of a huge horde.  While that may have made for a super-cool finale, just because it didn’t turn out that way doesn’t mean it couldn’t eventually happen later on down the road.  With Karen surviving the Governor’s homicidal rampage, that made me wonder if she would eventually take on the role of Lily from the comics and ultimately, kill the Governor.  Bottom line, everyone — you just have to be patient.  I’m absolutely certain that the Governor’s days are numbered, but who knows when the Governor will strike again so that Rick’s group can finish the job.

All in all, this was a superb A+ episode.  It was action-packed, had the viewers riding a gigantic roller coaster throughout the entire episode, and even with all that, it still managed to get in some really good character moments at the end.  Heck, it even left us with a fantastic cliffhanger – after all, where in the hell is the Governor?  And, what in the f*ck will he do after he finds out that Rick has taken Woodbury and led all of his people to the prison?  Holy shit!

The only bad part from the finale is the damn 6-month wait until the Season 4 premiere begins.  Sigh.  See everyone again in October…

So, what did everyone else think of the finale?  Loved it or hated it?  Let us know your thoughts in the below Comments section!