The Walking Dead Review: S3E12 “Clear”

Sunday night just passed and we were graced with another episode of The Walking Dead. Shamble on by to see what I thought about last night’s episode titled “Clear.”

Hit the jump to read the review, beware SPOILERS.

Alright before I get to far into it, I have to say that this is the best episode for this half of the season so far. And for that, I am glad.

The Walking Dead has a knack for sometimes making you hate the show one episode then completely making up for it in the next episode. This was one of those situations.

Now let’s get on with what I really thought about the episode. Rick finally comes back to the leader that we have learned to love in this little road trip with Michonne and Carl. We even get to see Rick be a father as he teaches Carl how to get a car that is stuck in the mud to move. Now the question becomes: where are these three going? The answer comes pretty soon as we find Rick back home at the armory from his former police station. It is a wonder that in over a year’s time in the apocalypse that these people have been so close yet so far away from the place where the story began.

Rick knows a few locations where guns are licensed in town and decides to check those areas out. They stumble upon a main street been set up as a zombie death trap. Not a death trap for people filled with zombies, but an area set to trap and kill zombies. As they begin to make their way through the spike-filled street, the trio are attacked by a lone gunman on a rooftop. It is a tense few moments but it ends when Carl is able to sneak up on the gunman and shoot him in the ribs. We would find out that he has body armor and still alive.

We would also find out that the gunman is Morgan.

For those that may not remember, Morgan and his son Duane are the first people who Rick meets after he wakes up from his coma. They bring him up to speed about what happened to the world. We have not seen either of them since the very first episode, although Rick tries to contact them through his radio throughout the first season.

The interaction between Morgan and Rick are priceless. When you think back to that first episode, you begin to realize the drastic changes these men have gone through. Seeing Morgan brings an excellent parallel to how Rick is coping with the loss Lori. Morgan’s story becomes even more tragic when we find out that Duane is dead because Morgan could never kill his zombie wife, who ultimately killed her own son. Talk about f***ed up.

While Rick and Morgan are getting reacquainted, Michonne and Carl are on their own adventure. Under the pretense to get baby supplies, Carl is determined to get a picture of Lori for Judith to have. They have to fight through a cafe full of zombies, but lose the picture frame in the process. Michonne shows her willingness to be part of the group as she goes back in to get the picture for Carl.

This episode is fantastic for a few reasons. We get to see Michonne’s character come into the light, even with a bit of humor. There are subtle touches to expound on the dynamic of the group such as the hitchhiker from the beginning and the end of the episode. These survivors are a hard group to get into, which also shows why it is so important for Michonne to become necessary to the group.

4/5

The episode offers a lot of subtle nuances to help define the characters and the group as a whole. Without a whole lot of action, we are given a full story this episode which shows that action is not always needed in this show but the drama needs to feel natural and complete to compensate.