“Welcoming to the Tombs” is a great episode, but not exactly a great ending. After two tightly focused installments centered on select characters, The Walking Dead brings everybody back on camera. Season three's finale is packed with brilliant moments, but giving everyone their moment in the sun makes some climactic moments feel forced.
Opening in the show's traditional cheery manner, we get a first person view of The Governor tenderizing Milton's face-meat. This beating is apparently the first lesson in a class taught by Woodbury's leader called “Kill or be Killed 101”. After sufficient pummeling, Milton is given a choice: murder an imprisoned Andrea or die.
Milton counter offers that The Governor should eat a warm slice of death pie. That's soundly rejected by way of a knife to some pretty vital organs. Milton gets left to bleed out and chow down on Andrea post-zombification. I thought Milton's guaranteed demise would kick me right in the emotions, but felt only twinges of sadness. Upon careful consideration, I realized I'll miss seeing Dallas Roberts every week more than the character he plays.
Meanwhile, Prisonville's preparing its defenses. Shane Botwin err... Carl's all mad his daddy won't let him kill people like a big boy. Rick's all like “Can't you bother your mom with this crap, she's right over there!” Okay, not really. He just stares wistfully at Lori's spectre for the billionth time.
Tyreese and Sasha decide they'll sit out this firefight as well and stay back protecting those too young or old for fighting. Killing Walkers is a-okay in their book, but when it comes to still breathing targets they're conscientious objectors. Tyreese is becoming The Walking Dead's voice of reason, and the show's stronger for it. His character provides a solid moral center aside from Hershel's Christianity tinged platitudes. Of course, that's probably a death sentence for Rick's current spiritual adviser next season.
Having rallied his troops, The Governor's army valiantly sets out spending whatever money is left in the special effects budgets. This includes blowing up multiple prison towers and gratuitously mowing down zombies with huge guns. After penetrating the penitentiaries' gates, the invading army realizes there's not a soul to be seen.
That's because Rick planned the best surprise party ever! Woodbury's soldiers venture into the prison's catacombs where they're provided complimentary gift baskets including tear gas, gun shot wounds and extremely huggable Walkers. None of the guests overstay their welcome and politely retreat.
One young lad flees right where Carl and Hershel holed up. Even though the boy surrenders, Carl won't pass up his chance to actually kill someone and shoots him in cold blood. Rick's later lecture to his son about playing nice with others isn't well received. Carl absolutely tears his dad a new one, bringing up a litany of people Rick let live who later killed their friends. What makes this scene one of the finale's best is Carl's merciless logic. Erring on the side of mercy has cost several lives, shaping the boy's ruthless outlook.
Well, that or he's actually Shane's son.
Their assault failed, Woodbury's army decides they'll just go home. The Governor reminds them of his new “kill or be killed” policy, emphasizing the “be killed” part with lots of gunplay. He, Martinez and Random Dude Who Will Probably Be Important Next Season ride off into the sunset leaving behind sole survivor Laura. While the show really ramped up The Governor's crazy level recently, this psychotic break feels out of place. Having the Bullet Bus run over most of Woodbury's citizens seems like a tacked on ending for this conflict.
While these shenanigans occur, Andrea struggles to free herself before Milton's desire for nomming on human flesh kicks in. Because she's a laid back kind of gal, Andrea occasionally pauses for with her old buddy. Girl really needs to work on her priorities. Survival should be several notches higher than polite conversation on her “to do” list. Andrea gets free right as Milton turns, but her fate isn't revealed yet
Rick and company decide one good attack deserves another and head towards their rival town. They encounter Laura on this journey, who gives them the latest news. She accompanies them to Woodbury, where human pinball Tyreese happily bounces back over to Rick's side.
Finally, we learn what befell Andrea. She's bitten, with only a short time left. Her last breaths are spent telling everyone she just wanted to save everyone. It would be really touching stuff if we actually had seen that motivation. A big plot point in this season's first half was Andrea embracing her love of combat after watching Woodbury's choreographed Walker fights. Now she's on death's door and we're supposed to believe she's Mahatma Zombie? Please.
Maybe Carl's rant reminded Rick it takes a village to raise a child, because he buses Woodbury's babies and elderly survivors back home with him. Now his boy can have like twenty surrogate grandparents! At first I was wondering why everyone didn't relocate from prison to the newly vacant town, what with its hot water and electricity. However, doing so would lose Rick and company some of their moral high ground. Taking over Woodbury frames them as a conquering army, exactly what The Governor labeled them. Staying put allows them to remain peace loving folks just protecting their home.
Even with its flaws, “Welcome to the Tombs” is a solid episode. It ends Andrea's frustrating storyline and incorporates Tyreese into his new home, laying a sold framework for season four. Even if The Walking Dead didn't exactly provide many satisfying resolutions this time, at least the show's moving forward.
Images courtesy of AMC.
