TWD 3x07 "When The Dead Come Knocking" episode discussion...**SPOILERS WITHIN**

[babomb]

I don't know why people keep making such a big deal about them clearing out the prison. The Gov, Merle, Michonne, like they can't believe it was possible. It was a task, sure. But if you can think it through it isn't such an impossible one.

[MinionZombie]

I suppose The Governor and Merle have had it, relatively, easy for the most part living in swank-ass Woodbury. Meanwhile our gang have been on the road living on owls and squirrels and boiled river water for months and months - point being, they're desperate and their determination is far stronger ultimately. They had (essentially) nothing to lose and (essentially) everything to gain when they stumbled upon the prison, whereas the folks of Woodbury, even the likes of Merle, have a comfy bed and good food and even electricity at times, so whenever they go out they've got a lot to lose ... they 'want it' less, particularly as they'd written off that entire area as "the red zone".

[rgc2005]

I cannot stop thinking about the prison's generator. The writers went to great pains to include it in the story and even have Alex working on it "In Case of Emergency".

[AcesandEights]

I don't know why people keep making such a big deal about them clearing out the prison. The Gov, Merle, Michonne, like they can't believe it was possible. It was a task, sure. But if you can think it through it isn't such an impossible one. There's also the matter of motivating people in a somewhat secure town to undertake a voluntary clean-out of a prison in which it's likely there will be losses. It's a political problem and "The Governor" takes these things very seriously. You can pick up on this the way he takes great care to play to what he perceives as the need of the townspeople to "let off steam" with the zed gladiatorial combat, how he (sensibly) keeps a lot of the dirty business his cronies undertake under-wraps then repackages and sells their (mis)deeds to his people in a speech and how interested he was in how things fell apart in the former holdout of the refugee servicemen. Motivating hardened, desperate people on the road to risk to ultimately better their situation is definitely different from what the Governor would have to deal with.

[Neil]

I cannot stop thinking about the prison's generator. The writers went to great pains to include it in the story and even have Alex working on it "In Case of Emergency". Well we know the generator are there... So maybe the writers were worried about if they were never mentioned them again, people saying, "Hey! Why aren't they doing anything with those generators?" Damn if they do... Damned if they don't

[MinionZombie]

Aye, the folks of Woodbury don't need to go beyond their borders for anything other than supplies, and situations like when they tracked down those military guys and snuffed them out. Plus, the prison would be a step down in their estimations. For the Ricktatorship, it was a huge step up. Another thing is, generally speaking, the majority of Woodbury's residents aren't trained in weapons or combat - many of them are civilians - some are trained in survivalism and weapons (in a non-professional manner, as-in, just by living it themselves), but most are just civvies being guarded by other people. Clearly our gang sneak into Woodbury next week, so the town's folk are a little lax on security - they've lulled themselves into a false sense of security, but they haven't considered human beings being underhanded with them (i.e. the other way around). They've got the streets blocked off, and the outside buildings boarded up, but they're sitting pretty and that carries a danger. The Ricktatorship have had a hell of a time at the prison, so there's no chance of them letting their guard down for a very long time. The Governor's words about how he was surprised that a small group could take over an entire prison reveals this false sense of security in spades.

[babomb]

There's also the matter of motivating people in a somewhat secure town to undertake a voluntary clean-out of a prison in which it's likely there will be losses. It's a political problem and "The Governor" takes these things very seriously. You can pick up on this the way he takes great care to play to what he perceives as the need of the townspeople to "let off steam" with the zed gladiatorial combat, how he (sensibly) keeps a lot of the dirty business his cronies undertake under-wraps then repackages and sells their (mis)deeds to his people in a speech and how interested he was in how things fell apart in the former holdout of the refugee servicemen. Motivating hardened, desperate people on the road to risk to ultimately better their situation is definitely different from what the Governor would have to deal with. I agree. What I'm saying is that Merle told the Gov that clearing the prison was impossible, and Merle looks shocked to hear that the prison was taken by 10 people. And then back at the prison before leaving for Woodbury, Michonne asks Beth about it in a way to reaffirm it as if she's also shocked to hear it. Then in the "Inside TWD ep07" the guy that plays the governer says that when he hears that such a small group took the prison, he knows he's dealing with a formidable guerrilla force. But when we saw them actually take the prison it didn't seem like the same monumental undertaking as it's being treated as now. So I'm wondering if maybe they rushed us through the taking of the prison a little too quickly so we don't get a sense of what a task it was. I've kind of thought all along that the 1st episode should've been longer. Not only because the last 2 seasons they were, I understand the reasons why they were longer. But also because I think more attention and time should've been spent on the actual taking of the prison. They should've built the idea of the prison up alot more than they did. I also think that they aren't doing a good job conveying the scale of the prison. I feel like this prison is not very big. And prisons are large. This is meant to be a maximum security state prison. By the size of it you'd think it was a county jail in a large city. I think it's because they're trying to pack too much into every episode. they aren't taking the time to fully illustrate some of the more subtle but just as important elements. I think this is true of other elements also.

[AcesandEights]

It's because of the super-duper pistol marksmenship, Babomb. No one counted on the Group's (plot-driven) ability to plink away at skulls with that level of skill!

[Buzzbomb]

I thought that was a pretty disturbing episode. For a start, the scene with Maggie & the Governer was unpleasant to watch, & the advert-cut to the UK show's sponsor with their tag line "Bad is so good" seemed in bad taste. I wonder if it would have had the same (or more) impact if it had been cut at an earlier point (eg when the Governor drew his knife).... When Maggie & Glen are brought together again, it would have still been obvious what she had gone through. I'm hoping the Governor character meets a very slow, painful death - preferably torn limb from limb ala Day's Rhodes.... For me, the cabin in the woods scene was also a little off-putting. I felt sorry for the bloke who was murdered by Michonne - one minute he's asleep & next his home is full of people pointing weapons in his face.... Still I guess it was his own fault for not locking his front door. The only person who seemed to show any concern at his demise was Oscar... a far cry from Rick's "We don't kill the living" speel from series 1. I would've posted this earlier, but as I caught premature glimpse of Glenn's zombie mentioned in the World War Z thread before having chance to see 3x07, I decided to wait until today. Can't wait to see tonight's mid-season finale! Buzzbomb PS: One of the things I really liked about this episode, was the look on Michonne's face when she saw Rick, Darryl & Oscar co-ordinated zombie killing teamwork. Carol's actress stole the show with he brief but splendid range of emotion & which Rick and Carl seemed genuinely affected by.