The Walking Dead Season 3

[auntiehill]

I agree with G-man; if Daryl died, I would give serious consideration to whether I wanted to keep watching week after week. In a show this dark, there needs to be someone to really root for, to connect with, and for me, it's Daryl. While I certainly am interested in Rick, I care the most about Daryl. It happened gradually, perhaps because we don't know as much about Daryl as we do Rick. Perhaps it's because he doesn't seem to have any agenda and is just doing the best he can. There's no unnecessary angst with him; he just tries to get by the best he can, and in the process, has slowly, reluctantly come to the conclusion that he really does care about people. He is a good guy, although he knows it would be easier for him if he weren't. Of all of them, he is the most capable of surviving on his own, but chose to stay with the group. And the relationship with Merle is fascinating. We want Daryl to finally pull away from him and see the parallels between Daryl & Merle and Carol & her abusive husband.

All of this has been building slowly, subtly (well, as subtly as this show will allow) and the audience loves him for it. If Daryl is killed off, I suspect the audience share would drop noticeably.

IMHO, anyway. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Snaploud]

I can see why killing off Daryl would be a problem. He's one of the few really sympathetic characters on the show. Most of the others are unlikeable or under-developed.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

So who would be expendable? Who is likable? Who is likable....yet expendable? Who is too underdevolped? Interesting questions. As for my two cents

Likable--Daryl, Carol, Rick, Herschel, Glen, Maggie

underdeveloped--Michonne, Beth, Tyrese, (under the assumption that he'll return as hinted at by TPTB) and Carl

unlikable--the governor, Andrea, Merle

Who is likable....but expendable? IMHO

1.)Glenn --though I appreciate what the writers have done with his anger and psychological trauma over being beaten, the show could probably survive without him. I like the actor--but if push came to shove he could go. I wouldn't want to see Maggie written out as this show needs strong and sympathetic female characters

2.)Herschel--I would hate to see Herschel being written out. I really, really, really would and I don't want to be ageist, but Herschel's death could really provide a wealth of story as Maggie's grief played out and Rick loses yet another friend, someone to whom he could bare his soul.

Underdeveloped---if the writers aren't going to continue to develop Michonne she could easiy go, but I can't believe they don't want to delve further into her character. Same deal with Tyrese. Beth could go, easily. Carl needs to stay. Rick has had too much heartache. He'd lose it permanently if his son were taken from him.

Unlikable--the governor will go. There's no way around it. That son of a bitch needs to die. Now Andrea could be written out. I used to champion her character but the show could more than survive without her at this point.

And then there's Merle. The character you love to hate. Merle has it all over the late Shane in that department. Shane, I just hated. Again, with Merle, there's a gold mine of material to be mined. He's the anti-heart of the show but I suspect that eventually Merle will have to perish. I dearly hope, though, that it isn't too soon. There's too much trouble Merle could stir up with Carol and definitely with Rick who has usurped his place as someone his baby brother looks up to. Merle won't be too pleased about that.

Daryl, Carol, Rick and Maggie all need to stay. I think of them as the four core characters. Herschel and Carl I hope stay, but oh the stories their deaths could generate.

 

[sidious618]

Herschel is pretty much the only interesting character of the main group. While I like Daryl, he's most interesting/likeable because of the actor as opposed to the writing.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Herschel is pretty fascinating. To think the writers were going to do him in last season but had a last minute change of heart when the actor who played Dale quit. Sometimes TPTB make good decisions. I do agree that Norman Reedus definitely adds that difficult to define quality to Daryl that makes the character stand out.

 

[Snaploud]

Daryl is pretty much the only character who could really take over for Rick in the short-term, and Rick has become increasingly unstable. None of the other characters really have the potential to keep the group together. That's probably one of the biggest reasons why he's indispensable right now.

Merle could take over in a pinch if we're strictly dealing with a fight, but he would have to step aside right after the fighting finished. Also, there's really no way he could take such a role in the group without Daryl and (probably) Rick being around.

 

[sojourner]

Ah, the normalizing of Merle has begun.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

No way it'll last. Merle will fuck it up. Glad to see Michonne actually speak and tell Andrea how much she'd disappointed her. I don't know what is up with Andrea. Was she afraid the town would turn on her if she knifed the governor? If she was realistially afraid of that I could understand. However, if it's a matter of her simply not wanting to do it, why the hell didn't she just stay at the prison? The governor told her to stay. I loved Carol's evil plan, though. It was practical in the most brutal sense.

Tyrese ending up at Woodbury was not a wrinkle I expected but I'm glad to see him again.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Carol has become very matter-of-fact about things. In addition to her plan for Andrea I liked how she layed out the situation between Rick and Shane.

It's interesting to see how quickly Merle got in place back with Team Rick. He's dangerously pragmatic, that one. He can turn on a dime but it's hard to remember when he can fall in place so easily.

 

[sojourner]

I think Carol's plan is a deep rooted fantasy she had about her husband.

 

[Takeru]

Likable--Daryl, Carol, Rick, Herschel, Glen, Maggie

You put Rick in the likable group? He would be the first after Andrea I'd kill off, he was always a moron but now he's a crazy moron. The only reason he was a good leader was because he led a group of even bigger morons.
But with Daryl being Daryl, Carol growing a spine and brain and Herschel being generally awesome they don't need him anymore. Make Daryl the field commander, Carol the pragmatic tactician/advisor with Herschel acting as the heart/conscience, those three should be co-leaders.
Glenn and Maggie are Lieutenants/capable fighters who can be trusted and if Michonne is successfully integrated into the group she will be their one woman special forces.

They really don't need Rick, he's a liability.

They don't need Rick

 

[Ethros]

Another snooze fest. I have to say the prison storyline in the comics was like 50 times better.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

No way it'll last. Merle will fuck it up.

Possibly. Although Herschel tried to reach him through scripture (great moment, BTW), if everything falls apartm I still see Merle trying to take his revenge against Rick. Additionally, note how Merle was scoping the scene as Beth was singing. Yes, many though Axel was going in that direction, but Merle is a different animal...

Glad to see Michonne actually speak and tell Andrea how much she'd disappointed her.

Same here. She twisted the psychological knife into Andrea during that scene, and was correct in doing so. More than being just a warrior woman with a scowl, she displayed how hurt she was by Andrea taking sides with the psycho.

I don't know what is up with Andrea. Was she afraid the town would turn on her if she knifed the governor? If she was realistially afraid of that I could understand. However, if it's a matter of her simply not wanting to do it, why the hell didn't she just stay at the prison? The governor told her to stay. I loved Carol's evil plan, though. It was practical in the most brutal sense.

Remember, Rick was not going to let her stay, so she had no choice in the matter. Its implied that she does not kill the governor because she is--as she put it--the "odd man out" from Rick's group, depsite their shared past and struggles. However, if she was just suffering from indecision with the thought of killing "Phillip," she will live to regret that, especially since the madman was already throwing suggestive glances at Tyreese's sister.

On that note, it is clear what will make Tyreese jump ship at Woodbury.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

[They really don't need Rick, he's a liability.

Carol admitted it was Rick who kept them alive this long, so he's most certainly a leader.

They don't need Rick

A trianed cop with street smarts and enough of a conscience not to be Shane or the governor is valuable. The entire Atlanta group would have been zombie food ages ago if not for his leadership.

 

[Ayelbourne]

Something that's been bugging me for a while about this show is that everyones shoes are always so loud.
Is that some kind of artistical choice for underlining the Show's title?

 

[Venardhi]

Highlighting the silence of the new empty world?

 

[DarthTom]

Ah, the normalizing of Merle has begun.

Yep, having him quote the bible to Herschel was the start this week.

 

[Kosh Naranek]

I don't know that the show is trying to redeem Merle. Even the devil can quote scripture. Is that how the old saying goes?

I am tired of the Governor. Andrea does not annoy me or make me like her. She is just there. She is a very expendable character in my book.

I am glad that Michone finally spoke up and said something of substance this week. The stoic warrior chick routine was getting old. Hopefully her going with Rick and Carl next week will give us even more glimpses.

I love Daryl and Carol. I enjoyed their few minutes of screen time more than anything else.

I liked that Tyrese and his sister/daughter? showed back up. The father/son combo are red shirt material.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

You put Rick in the likable group?

Oh good heavens, yes. Rick suffers so much from having tried to be a decent human being through it all. His worthless wife turns on him when he kills Shane (who was perfectly content to kill him) and doesn't get her shit together until the very end...and he still mourns her? God, Lori deserved to have her ass kicked six ways from Sunday after the shit she pulled. Rick doesn't even know if Judith is his and it doesn't matter to him because the baby was Lori's and she's Carl's little sister. Rick recognizes Daryl's worth. Rick cares when people die because they matter to him. Yes, Rick is immensely likable.

A great deal of that is the way Lincoln plays the character. He's an excellent choice. The man does angst like a champion.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

re:Rick I think his strength has been (until recently) his just always being in the moment. He may not always make the best decision but he's always ready and willing to make a decision in a world that requires that. The problem with any potential replacements is they have a better chance of being momentarily distracted with something from time to time.