TWD 3x12 "Clear" episode discussion...**SPOILERS WITHIN**

[JonOfTheShred]

Loved this episode as well. One of the best of the series. Season 3 has been largely consistent, looking forward to seeing it conclude and also to seeing how Season 4 plays out more with each episode. Great to see.... - Carl and Michonne bonding. Reminds me of a certain short-lived arc in the comic. - Michonne the comedian. - Morgan showing those acting chops again. - The parallels between Rick and Morgan. - Atmospheric set pieces are really needed in a show like this. It takes a lot of focus back on the bigger picture, as opposed to the Woodbury / Prison feud, which grows stale when focused on for too long. This episode should have happened before Axel bit the dust, IMO. Would have given that scene more potency if an episode like this had given us all a false sense of security. The bad... - Got spoiled about Morgans appearance on Facebook a few hours before it happened. But if that hadn't happened, the show would've spoiled it in "Previously on AMCs the Walking Dead" Scott Gimple....he seems all right. Has written some of the best episodes in the series.

[facestabber]

To Minionzombie; I fully understood Carl wanting to go back for the picture. I think most people probably do. I would add that Carl is way overconfident in his abilities. The little shit should have been humbled for good when he indirectly caused DAle's death. But he prances around town like his Beretta makes him king. Tries to ditch Michonne in a very contrived and horribly written manor(did he really think shed be tied up with one walker long enough for his theft). Then he was going to open the door and take on the restaurant horde head on when much smarter ways would work safer. I know Carl is trying be he really needs an ass kicking from someone. On another topic. Can someone explain if I missed something regarding King co sheriff gun locker. Rick did imply that is where he worked yet that set was completely different than the locker he took Morgan to in episode 1 correct. So was this budget shortcomings? And secondly if his PD was withing relative driving distance of prison , how as a DEPUTY, was he unaware of a prison. I understand we don't know how long they drove for.

[MinionZombie]

Jon - ah but if this episode was before The Governor's little swipe at the group then the desperate run for guns would lack a bit of importance, I feel. It's also about the immediacy of the retaliation by The Governor - they haven't had a chance to regroup and think things through yet. Your point about atmosphere reminded me of how TWD can work wonders with mere suggestion, or sights that are after-the-fact. The sign for "Erin" and then seeing the wreck with walkers, one of which has an "Erin" bracelet on ... then Morgan's pad - there's a thousand words spoken with mere sights. Rat traps, trip wires, pungi sticks, the burned body pile, etc etc etc ... this idea of seeing a place long after something has happened, but we get all the story we need (and more) from simply seeing it (e.g. Rick's exit from the hospital in 1x01 says an awful lot in a few seconds). I love it when TWD does that sort of thing, and I also like seeing other survivors along the way here and there (the back packer here, the family a couple of episodes ago) as it shows that this world is populated by more than just two established groups. Face - generally thinking about the prison, I'd imagine it wouldn't necessarily be on anyone's mind if they did know about the prison. You've got so much going on in your head, and you wouldn't initially think of a prison as a good place to hold up - you'd be thinking that it's full of dangerous people, or at the very least totally over-run. Of course, after months of living on the road trying to maintain an existence in places that are familiar, the group are driven to desperation and now a prison seems like a great idea. On the PD's gun locker - yeah, I imagine that they couldn't get the same location again, or it would have involved a costly production move, and being only a small part of the episode (rather than book-ended by the shower scene and then going their separate ways outside when Leon Bassett turns up), it'd make more sense to knock-up a sort-of-look-alike in the studio where they shoot the prison interiors (which is where I'm assuming they did that scene).

[bassman]

The different police department interior is also the same reason Rick's house had "burned out" on Morgan's map. Where they filmed "King County" for S3 is nowhere near where they filmed it for S1. Rick's house and much of "King County" was filmed in Atlanta, while this episode was filmed about 1.5 hours south of the city near the Studio(Prison) and Senoia(Woodbury). Saying the house burned was just a quick way to avoid that problem, I would say. As for the driving distance, I would say their entire trip took a whole day. That would mean it was plenty far enough away from the group's current location.

[MinionZombie]

The different police department interior is also the same reason Rick's house had "burned out" on Morgan's map. Where they filmed "King County" for S3 is nowhere near where they filmed it for S1. Rick's house and much of "King County" was filmed in Atlanta, while this episode was filmed about 1.5 hours south of the city near the Studio(Prison) and Senoia(Woodbury). Saying the house burned was just a quick way to avoid that problem, I would say. As for the driving distance, I would say their entire trip took a whole day. That would mean it was plenty far enough away from the group's current location. Would the prison be in another county? I'm not sure how it works over there with that sort of thing and police department jurisdiction etc - i.e. perhaps Rick's department didn't have that prison under their jurisdiction, so even if they were aware of it, it wouldn't be of that much concern to them ... just a random thought in my head. I'd also say though, that seeing the Grimes family home "burned out" on the map is a nice narrative touch, particularly for Carl, and it rolls in with the last remaining picture in that restaurant/bar ... clearly it originally sprung out of the practicalities of shooting in a different area, but they were able to make it work very nicely for the story and the characters.

[Ragnarr]

That's what it has come to. Early in the series survivors banded together, but now with supplies and shelter being limited, they have to fight for what they have, and for the safety of their group, and outsiders are a threat. Last season they would've went out of their way to help him out. It was nice that we were able to get to the meat of the issue in this episode, and even dwell on it a bit rather than having it build up only to transition to Woodbury and the prison. That was a head scratcher for me. At first I thought "hey, stop the car and save the dude". Then I thought that the hitchhiker could have been a clever scout working for the governor. Also thought that picking up any stranger in TWD's setting would be a risk. Loners could easily be psychotic nutjobs.

[facestabber]

Would the prison be in another county? I'm not sure how it works over there with that sort of thing and police department jurisdiction etc - i.e. perhaps Rick's department didn't have that prison under their jurisdiction, so even if they were aware of it, it wouldn't be of that much concern to them ... just a random thought in my head. I'd also say though, that seeing the Grimes family home "burned out" on the map is a nice narrative touch, particularly for Carl, and it rolls in with the last remaining picture in that restaurant/bar ... clearly it originally sprung out of the practicalities of shooting in a different area, but they were able to make it work very nicely for the story and the characters. Well a prison is different than a jail or county jail specifically. As Rick would be very familiar with a county jail. From personal experience and assuming Rick has been a deputy for a long time, it would be reasonable to know prison locations. Regardless it was a minor nitpick of mine. And I agree about Morgan's drawings and ricks house burned out. That satisfied me and to me explains why they would not go to visit as I'm sure they prefer the memory of an intact home. I wouldn't mind seeing them grab a change of clothes though. Hahaha

[JonOfTheShred]

Jon - ah but if this episode was before The Governor's little swipe at the group then the desperate run for guns would lack a bit of importance, I feel. It's also about the immediacy of the retaliation by The Governor - they haven't had a chance to regroup and think things through yet. Your point about atmosphere reminded me of how TWD can work wonders with mere suggestion, or sights that are after-the-fact. The sign for "Erin" and then seeing the wreck with walkers, one of which has an "Erin" bracelet on ... then Morgan's pad - there's a thousand words spoken with mere sights. Rat traps, trip wires, pungi sticks, the burned body pile, etc etc etc ... this idea of seeing a place long after something has happened, but we get all the story we need (and more) from simply seeing it (e.g. Rick's exit from the hospital in 1x01 says an awful lot in a few seconds). I love it when TWD does that sort of thing, and I also like seeing other survivors along the way here and there (the back packer here, the family a couple of episodes ago) as it shows that this world is populated by more than just two established groups. That's what I'm talking about - that kind of stuff really makes an episode stand out for me. I thought the Daryl / Merle rescue mission you mentioned was crucial for the end of the episode to have played out the way it did, and was one of the best sequences on the show as of late. (Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 had a similar story-telling format - art direction and set pieces literally provide endless narrative. Really enriches the story.) The atmosphere of the prison and Woodbury has grown stale - its great to get traveling in episodes so we can get those atmospheric moments.

[rightwing401]

I totally felt sorry for that guy ... but dude, don't scream out "don't leave!" from really far away. I agree, it felt really messed up to me to see them just so casually drive by the guy as he's litterally begging them to stop for him. Granted, the world has changed and they can barely afford the luxury of giving a complete stranger the benefit of the doubt. But still, it really tugs on your humanity to see them do something like that. While I was screaming myself at the tv for the dude to stop yelling after them, I can see now why the hitchhiker would do that. Looking at all the crap he was carrying, it's probably a good bet that the dude had been on his own for weeks/months. I can only imangine how nightmarish of an existance that would be. Keeping your wits about you and your eyes glued to ever little bit of movement during the day-while practically crapping your pants every night at the slightest noise that happens near you. After likely going through all of that, I totally get now why even I would have a momentary lapse in judgement if I saw a car full of people drive past after all of that and scream after them to not leave me. Still, what I found hard to believe was that they found his bag and bloody remains without a single dropped walker anywere nearby. Maybe that's just me being extremely focused on the little details, but I highly doubt anyone who was surviving on the road, on foot no less, and had made it that long into the zombie apocolypse wouldn't have had at least one weapon on him and not know how to split a few walker skulls. Great job for the show for making a lot of drama out of less than two mintues air time for a situation.

[Zombie Snack]

maybe he only had 1 round left in his gun and used it on himself when confronted by that pesky hoard wandering around.

[rgc2005]

Rick was a Deputy Sheriff in a central Kentucky town. The prison is in west Georgia. They are at least an 8 hour drive one way on a good day. In a post-Walker world that trip over the mountains in Tennessee could take at least a week.

[Neil]

Still, what I found hard to believe was that they found his bag and bloody remains without a single dropped walker anywere nearby. Maybe that's just me being extremely focused on the little details, but I highly doubt anyone who was surviving on the road, on foot no less, and had made it that long into the zombie apocolypse wouldn't have had at least one weapon on him and not know how to split a few walker skulls. Great job for the show for making a lot of drama out of less than two mintues air time for a situation. I suppose him being killed happened several hours before? So they wouldn't hang around?

[bassman]

Rick was a Deputy Sheriff in a central Kentucky town. The prison is in west Georgia. They are at least an 8 hour drive one way on a good day. In a post-Walker world that trip over the mountains in Tennessee could take at least a week. He's from Kentucky in the Comic, but "King County", Georgia in the show.

[facestabber]

Rewatching episode I just noticed Morgan had an M4 with M203 grenade launcher mounted. Good lord would that be a horrible surprise for the governor. I hope our group picked that one up

[Wyldwraith]

Loved this episode, Couple things bothered me though. 1) Carl and Michonne were like 120 yards from a field of Walker catch-traps. Why not just open the door and lure them out and into the field of spike-traps instead of a risky Shane & Otis-style distract & dash (for the medical supplies)...that ended up working about as well as it did for Shane & Otis? Sure, not all the Walkers would have exited, but what remnant stayed inside could be easily dispatched. It's a minor thing I know...but with such a uniquely well-suited resource for catching and immobilizing zombies a hop, skip and jump away it seemed a shame not to utilize it. Though I DID dig Michonne's lightning-fast save when the behind the bar sleeper-Walker grabbed Carl. 2) Michonne knows the Governor seized an ENTIRE MILITARY CONVOY'S supply of weaponry, vehicles and equipment. Plus Woodbury has #'s on their side. I understand only taking a minority % of weapons/ammo from Morgan's stash. But only one medium-sized bag? This was a by-fiat call meant to prevent the Woodbury/Prison clash from being between sides that are equal in any respect. They want to keep Rick & Co. the heavy logistical underdogs. That one bag is partially ammo-filled as well, so there can't be more than 6-8 guns MAXIMUM in there. Even if I'm a bit off on the exact quantity, given the dire straits they're in, and given the reality that ONE GUY JUST DOESNT NEED DOZENS OF GUNS, I would've liked to see Rick & Co. take at least 2x what they did. Enough to meet their immediate needs is all I'm saying. Plus, again Morgan's one damaged man. Leaving that arsenal 95% intact leaves it vulnerable to shady groups like the Governor's. I understand why they had Rick make that call, but it's still kind of frustrating. Still, the best episode of this season's latter half by far. I agree it bodes well for S4 if the new Showrunner for S4 made this episode. Just my opinion though.