Sunday, November 18, 2012

'The Walking Dead' Episode 304: 'Killer Within'




Episode 304 "Killer Within" starts with someone making a trail of blood and guts of a deer up to the prison and through an open gate. He is drawing the walkers in on purpose, to get rid of Rick and his group, and boy does it have disastrous results.



While they are out taking about how they are going to clear the corpses from the prison yard, the two remaining prisoners, Axel and Oscar, approach them and ask if they can join the group. It was hard for them to dispose of the prisoners' bodies, some of them were their friends.

Rick doesn't think it's a good idea, but T-Dog says that they should let them in. Whatever they did to get in there, the world that disapproved of it is gone, and they deserve a second chance. Rick says no, and dismisses them.

Meanwhile, at Woodbury, Michonne is checking out the National Guard trucks and takes note that there are traces of wet blood in the bullet holes. When the Governor approaches her, she asks him about how the soldiers died. He tries to brush it off like it's nothing and tries to convince her and Andra to stay in his town.

At the prison, Rick tells Glenn to take a week's worth of supplies to Axel and Oscar and send them out of the prison and on their merry way. But the prisoners don't want to leave. They are terrified of what lies beyond the prison gates, and know that they don't stand a chance of surviving on their own. Axel (who is portraying a suspicious amount of gratitude and constantly is offering to help them with things) asks Daryl if he can give his motorcycle a tune up, and is denied.

Hershel is struggling to walk with crutches and has Beth and Lori helping him learn how to walk with them.

At Woodbury, Michonne tells Andrea that she is planning on heading over to the coast, to find a boat or an island to live on; someplace away from the walkers and a lot of people. Andrea, being the doe-eyed idiot that she is, doesn't want to leave Woodbury. She likes it there and is enjoying the peace and safety of the fortified community. Michonne tells her that there is something wrong with Woodbury, and the Governor. Andrea thinks that she is being paranoid, when in reality, she really ought to be listening to her. Michonne's gut instinct has helped them survive thus far, and it's mind boggling as to why she wouldn't listen to her friend now. The only thing that I can think of is that she has been seduced by both the Governor's charisma, and the charming appeal of living in a functioning society once again. But there is a vicious ugly truth hiding beneath all of the smiles and good manners, and Andrea will find out soon enough that she once again has fallen for the bad guy.


At the prison, they are clearing out the yard as Lori and Carl help Hershel step outside. Glenn and Daryl seem happy to see Hershel on his feet, or in this case foot, again and remark on just how tough that old buzzard is. But their happiness is short lived, as the group suddenly finds themselves surrounded by walkers.


Rick runs to help as the group is separated and scattered by the walkers. Beth runs over to Hershel and they lock themselves into a fenced-in entrance to the prison. Maggie runs off with Lori and Carl and they attempt to get to a safe place in the prison cell block.

T-Dog and Carol run to shut the courtyard gate. Unfortunately, there are walkers inside the fence near the gate and one of them bites T-Dog's shoulder before he can completely shut it. T-Dog and Carol then run into the closest doorway in the cell block.


Back at Woodbury, Merle talks to Andrea about the farm where she last saw Daryl. She points it out on a map and tells him that it's been months since they were attacked by walkers and driven away from the farm. Merle is positive that if he can get to the farm he can track his little brother down. He asks her to go with him, but she refuses. Merle says that they were both abandoned by that group, and then rescued by the Governor.



Andrea for some reason, display compassion for Merle and trust, which is weird. She quickly turns the other cheek the moment Merle apologizes for the things that he did to her. I wouldn't trust that man with a water balloon, let alone my life. But maybe that's just me. When Andrea asks him if the Governor is a good man, he tells her that he was on the verge of dying when they found him. He could've left him to die, but he didn't. Instead he took him in, so yeah, he's a good man.

Back at the prison, Glenn discovers that someone cut the gate and let the walkers in. Rick suspiciously eyes Axel and Oscar when they walk up to see what is going on, and accuses them of doing it. Suddenly, the prison alarm goes off, attracting more walkers to the fence. Oscar tells Rick that the back-up generators have to be running, as it is an electronic alarm. He goes with Rick to turn it off. Someone is messing with them, and that someone is dangerous and playing for keeps.

Meanwhile, Carol tells T-Dog that she doesn't know much, but she'll do what she can to help him with his bite. He tells her that they need to keep going and they continue to make their way through the labyrinthine hallways of the prison.

Carl, Maggie and Lori are running from walkers, which are appearing around every corner. When they find themselves surrounded, Carl finds the door to the boiler room and they run inside.

At Woodbury, Merle approaches the Governor and tells him that he wants to go find his baby brother. While he understands how he feels, he can't afford to lose him and refuses to let Merle go. He tells him that if he has more information on where he was last seen, or where they were headed, that he would let him go.

Back at the prison, Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Axel and Oscar split up. Rick, Daryl and Oscar head to the back-up generators. Glenn and Axel head off to look for the missing members of their group.

Lori tells Maggie that she's going into labor. Maggie panics, she doesn't know much about helping someone give birth, she's only done it with the farm animals. Lori tells her that she'll be fine as Maggie undresses her from the waist down.


Maggie tells Carl that he's going to have to help her with his mom, but he isn't sure what to do. Lori asks her to help her stand up and she starts pushing through her contractions, but she soon starts to bleed heavily, which is not a good sign.

T-Dog and Carol make their way over to the laundry room, but their path is blocked. They are out of ammo and have no other weapons.  T-Dog runs towards them shoves the walkers away, telling Carol to run. T-Dog is attacked and killed by the walkers while Carol runs off through a set of double doors, into the laundry room and disappears. Literally. The only evidence of her passing is her scarf. Just like when Sophia ran off when they were attacked by a walker herd on the highway and left her doll behind. I honestly hope that Carol shows up within the next couple of episodes. If she winds up a walker locked up in the Governor's shed, I'm really going to be disappointed.



What's interesting, is that while I was watching the episode and T-Dog voiced his compassion for the prisoners, I joked with my S.O. that he was going to die. And, wouldn't you know it,  he did die. Just like Dale, T-Dog  voiced compassion towards an unknown element, such as the prisoners, that want to join the group in an episode and he died. Is this merely a coincidence? Or is this going to become a predictable pattern that ultimately results in a cliche, like the extras that wear the red shirts on Star Trek that are the only ones to die on missions.




At Woodbury the Governor and Andrea are having drinks in his apartment. He tells her that is first name is Phillip, and that his wife died in a car accident before the world went all to hell. Andrea thanks him and he tells her that they can leave in the morning and that they are welcome to return to Woodbury at any time, which of course, turns out to be a lie. Andrea then confronts Michonne in their room, telling her that she wants to stay. Michonne, disgusted, leaves her in a huff.


Daryl, Rick and Oscar find the generator room and enter it, only to be attacked by Andrew- the prisoner that Rick left to die in a courtyard full of walkers. Rick drops his gun and Oscar picks it up.



Andrew tells him to shoot Rick. Oscar shoots Andrew and kills him, then hands the gun back to Rick. They turn off the generator and the alarm stops.


Lori is in serious trouble and is lying on the floor. She knows that she is not going to make and tells Maggie that she is not going to lose her baby, she has to cut her open. Carl was born via Cesarean section, and the baby has to be born that way too.


Lori tells Carl that's she's proud of him, and that he's the best thing she ever did in a very tearful, heartbreaking goodbye. Carl, crying, hugs her and tells her that he loves her.

Maggie then takes her knife and slices open Lori's stomach. She has Carl help her find the uterus and gently pulls the baby out. After a moment of coaxing, the baby begins to breathe and makes mewling sounds.



Carl looks at the corpse of his mother and tells Maggie that they can't just leave her like that, she'll turn. Maggie walks away with the baby as Carl raises his gun and shoots his mother in the head, to prevent her from becoming a walker.  They head outside to find the others and Maggie is holding the baby in her arms, tearfully saying "I'm sorry," over and over again.


Glenn rushes over to comfort a distraught Maggie and she sobs in his arms.


Carl stands there, crying as Rick collapses in grief and has a total breakdown, sobbing on the cold concrete while the others look on in shock.


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