ZOMBIES: Season 3 Finale 'Wild Speculation' for 'Welcome to the Tombs - Walking Dead

by Bowie Ibarra

JACKIE DRUGA, Permuted Press author of FLU

Oh! Oh! This is the week where my wild speculation is spot on! Simply by viewing the two sneak peek trailers, this is my ‘Wow she nailed it’ predication for the season finale.

Milton discovers Andrea has been taken hostage by the Gov. As he tries to free and help Andrea, Gov comes in. After nailing Milton with that mighty punch, which by the way IMO wasn’t enough to take out bad ass Merle. Gove says to Andrea, “I’ll set you free, but you have to come with us. You have to be the one to get Michonne for me,” he tells her and a few other dubious lies. She says no and he laughs, we see him close the door. He rallies his forces. Tyrese stays behind with Sasha. Tyrese finds out via Milton, what the Gov has done to Andrea and turns the tides inside.

Meanwhile back at the prison, Rick and the crew have packed up, heeding Merle’s deathbed advice of Michonne to warn them. He sends Carol, Beth, Baby Judith (No she isn’t going to die) Carl and Hershel away and to be hidden. Gang Woodbury arrive to ambush the prison. Booby traps are set for them. Remember Michonne said, “We don’t have to win we just have to make it hard for them to get us.”

Daryl has found transport and heads back to the prison. He arrives as Rick, Micky, Maggie and Glenn are watching from a distance the Gov and his people fall.

The four of them, in turn head to Woodbury.

In short, they make their away in. The Gov, pissed off about the unsuccessful ambush, realizes that Team Prison is at his home front and goes there. This is where the battle takes place. This is where Maggie or Glen will die. They have been playing on them being happy and married so that is foreshadowing they won’t be. Michonne finds Milton who tells her Andrea is in the torture chamber. She goes there, Andrea’s head is down, when she lifts it, she’s a walker, Michonne takes her out. Rick fails in killing the Gov and he gets away. Team prison moves into Woodbury. The clean up begins.

GARETH WOOD, Permuted Press author of RISE

I predict for the season finale, either Milton or Andrea kills the Governor. Hershel will be killed in the showdown. Carol and the baby will be killed. The Governor kills Rick and adopts Carl to raise as his own. Andrea and the Governor elope.

ARMY ED, Special Weapons and Tactics Advisor to ZombieBloodFights.com

The people in the prison need to take off.  Let the Governor take the prison, cut their losses, and run.  There's no sense defending the place.  They can find another place to defend.  Let the Governor expend resources in this futile move for revenge.

There's just too much at stake for the prison to fight this maniac.

MICHAEL S. GARDNER, author of the short story collection, Death in the Times of Madness, and the zombie novella (that’s only a buck), Betrayal. He also blogs at: www.atasteofterror.blogspot.com. Look for his new zombie novel, Downfall, which is coming soon.

Well, last week was a tear-jerker. I truly was saddened with the loss of Merle. He, in my opinion, had a lot left to offer the show. But that’s what happens when you’re thrust into a world filled with walkers and one-eyed gov’nas, I suppose.

For the big season finale, I’m thinking that we’ll see Andrea get rescued (unfortunately) by either Michonne or Rick. I’m really betting on the former, however, as I imagine the gov’na or Tyreese will put one in the back of her head. Andrea won’t die, I’m thinking; we need a kickass female lead, and it’s apparent that Michonne isn’t what the director and writers are looking for.

Speaking of females, my girl, Maggie, will bite the big one. Her ghost came and told me this last night. Or maybe that was a dream. Glenn too. They’re both goners. Herschel will do his best to save them. However, a flight of stairs – his arch nemesis – will prevent him from doing so. The old man, this time, will run out of shotgun ammunition, as well as balance, and be consumed by a mob of hungering walkers.

Rick, well, he’ll be doing stuff and things; that much is obvious. My money is on Daryl fucking up the gov’na and his cronies. I imagine it happening like this: Daryl on top, choking the dirty politician and holding his head down so the walkers can peel slabs of flesh from the buffet of his face and lap up the blood like parched, feral canines.

Lori will make an appearance, but who cares? Even if it is significant.

We’ve been warned this season’s ending would leave us speechless, so all bets are off. I would prefer that we lose at least half of the cast. Nothing personal; it’s just time for a big change.

Oh, and if Daryl dies, we riot.

 

THOMAS, VW Tech Guy

Rick and the folks in the prison have booby-trapped the prison, ready to let The Governor and his Death Squad infiltrate the labyrinthine facility.  This will allow the Walking Dead folks to attack the Governor from all angles.

I also predict the Governor will get his other eye poked out and fall victim to a zombie.


ZOMBIEBLOODFIGHTS.COM

If I don't see Zombie Lori in this episode, I'll be upset.

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BOWIE IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuester.  His latest zombie story, The Fall of Austin, tells the story of military, police, convicts, and citizens of the Texas capitol as they deal with the zpoc.  It is available in Kindle and Paperback.

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Follow Bowie on Twitter @wingback20

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You can network with Bowie and read about his Tex-Mexploitation stories and check out his book trailers at his personal website, ZombieBloodFights.com.

ZOMBIES: Merle's Dirge, or The Zpoc's playlist

MUSIC TO SMASH THE LIVING DEAD TO

by Bowie Ibarra

Merle Dixon, one of the most despicable, yet interesting, characters on 'The Walking Dead', met his fate making a final futile push against the leader of Woodbury, Philip the Governor.  One of the most fascinating choices he made as he girded his loins to go on his veritable suicide mission was to look for drugs and ask for liquor at the prison.  As he moved closer to his destiny, he apparently found a bottle of whiskey and jammed out to Motorhead's 'Fast and Loose' in a car as he got shitfaced and lined up zeds for his suicide attack on the governor at the rendezvous point.

Or maybe they were just Motorhead fans?

At any rate, as much as the song was a theatrical convention that was relevant to describing the character, it was also a great choice to go on an all-out assault of the enemy during the zombie apocalypse.

With that said, let's take a look at some musical pieces The Walking Dead has used, and music outside of the movie themes that have laced the background of many of our favorite zpoc movies and books.

Well, books from ZombieBloodFights.com, that is.

'THE WALKING DEAD - I Ain't a Judas'

The Governor apparently had a thing for the music of Frederick Chopin, because his music was played several times this season.  When Andrea returned to the Governor in this episode, the Governor was listening to Chopin's Raindrop Prelude.

In this same episode, Tom Wait's Hold On was also featured as well.

'THE WALKING DEAD' - Say the Word

Chopin made his music felt in this episode, where he used Chopin's 'Etude No. 3 in E', known popularly as 'Tristesse' to soothe his daughter as well as the guy that gave up his body to science to see if they could be saved.

DAWN OF THE DEAD '04 - When the Man Comes Around

Johnny Cash was a little played out after his death, but his song 'When the Man Comes Around' and the imagery behind it really set the tone for this re-envisioning of the classic Romero hit.  And who can forget the silly 'Down with the Sickness' interpretation by Richard Cheese?  Of course, the movie finished with the hard version by Disturbed.

28 DAYS LATER - Bach's 'Ave Maria'

One of the many haunting moments of the movie '28 Day Later' was when the survivors were traveling on the major highway out of London in a Taxi, this song played in the background.  We were greeted with images of a smoldering London and an even bleaker future for the survivors.

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD - Party Time

When the dead rose from the dead to attack the living, the skeletal face that opened its eyes and smiled started this song off, and you knew things were about to get real.  From this point on, it was running zombies (before running zombies were cool) and zeds talking on CBs asking for 'more paramedics'.  Brains, baby.  Brains.

DOWN THE ROAD by Bowie Ibarra - Albinoni's Adagio

George Zaragoza pulls out of his apartment complex off of IH-35 near William Cannon in Austin, Texas, and plays Albinoni's Adagio for Strings on his Chevy Cavalier tape player.  The song is used to accentuate the turmoil he sees in the traffic headed out of Austin.

DOWN THE ROAD:  ON THE LAST DAY by Bowie Ibarra - Bread of Life

The title of the story and elements within it were completely inspired by a traditional church song I grew up with called 'Bread of Life'.  The theme of the dead rising from the dead on the last day was the complete theme of the zombie apocalypse in Beeville, Texas, and its fight with the United Nations infiltration of Texas.

Incidentally, the story shares a similar theme as Woodbury in 'The Walking Dead', with the mayor securing the city with the citizenry.  The mayor, however, is not half as sinister as The Governor, but ten times more lascivious.

DOWN THE ROAD:  THE FALL OF AUSTIN

A car chase during the zombie apocalypse?  You betcha.

Two rivals chase each other up IH-35 into downtown Austin in a wild car chase that has shades of 'The Road Warrior' in it.  One of the rivals jumps into a vehicle to find Technotronic's 'Pump up the Jam' in the CD player, and the song plays as the deadly car chase ensues.

This is certainly not a definitive list of zombie movie music outside of the movie's main theme, or music from books.  But its a start.

Let me know a song that has played in the background of a zombie movie, book, or TV show that has added to the ambiance in the comments section below and I'll add it to the blog.

This offer is good FOREVER, so let me know.

And with that, RIP Merle.  You were a sonovabitch, but damn I'd have you on my Zpoc team if you didn't mind hanging out with my Mexican ass.

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BOWIE IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuester.  His latest zombie story, The Fall of Austin, tells the story of military, police, convicts, and citizens of the Texas capitol as they deal with the zpoc.  It is available in Kindle and Paperback.

Enjoy the blog?  Share it with your friends using the 'Facebook', 'Blogger' and 'Twitter' buttons below.

Leave a comment below using your Google+ or Blogger account.

Follow Bowie on Twitter @wingback20

Follow Bowie's Facebook page.

You can network with Bowie and read about his Tex-Mexploitation stories and check out his book trailers at his personal website, ZombieBloodFights.com.

ZOMBIES: Recap 'This Sorrowful Life', The Walking Dead

by Bowie Ibarra

'This Sorrowful Life' wasn't as explosive as anticipated.  But it did provide yet another sad turn of events for one of the TV show's most interesting characters.  Here's how things went down.

==  Rick is getting his inner circle (Herschel, Glenn, and Daryl) up to date on the move to sell out Michonne to the Governor.  Rick then approaches Merle, who says Rick doesn't have the guts to do it.

==  Sure enough, Rick second-guesses himself and calls the move off.  But Merle has taken matters into his own hands and made the move himself.  When the group finds out, Daryl goes out to find him on his own.

==  After finding a car to make the trip faster, Michone talks sense to Merle and changes his point of view.  He lets her go.

==  With nowhere to go anymore, he plays the only move he has left.  He gets shitfaced drunk listening to Motorhead's 'Fast and Loose', and sets up a one-man ambush of the Governor and his death squad at the rendezvous point.  He finds a position to start picking off the death squad as they get tied up with zombies that Merle let loose into the area.  He's only moments away from picking off the Governor when his position is discovered and he is brutally beaten before the Governor shoots him.

==  Daryl finds Michone, and though he thinks she killed Merle at first, she tells him what he did.  Daryl finds the rendezvous point and the victims of the ambush.  One of them happens to feasting on Ben, who was shot in the massacre.  Daryl discovers its his brother and puts him down by stabbing him in the head multiple times.  We then have to watch our hero deal with this tragic loss.

Next week, 'Welcome to the Tombs' debuts, the finale of Season 3.  I can already imagine what that episode is implying. 

Thanks for reading.

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BOWIE IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuester.  His latest zombie story, The Fall of Austin, tells the story of military, police, convicts, and citizens of the Texas capitol as they deal with the zpoc.  It is available in Kindle and Paperback.

Enjoy the blog?  Share it with your friends using the 'Facebook', 'Blogger' and 'Twitter' buttons below.

Leave a comment below using your Google+ or Blogger account.

Follow Bowie on Twitter @wingback20

Follow Bowie's Facebook page.

You can network with Bowie and read about his Tex-Mexploitation stories and check out his book trailers at his personal website, ZombieBloodFights.com.

ZOMBIES: RECAP - 'Walking Dead: Made To Suffer' until February, S3 Ep.8

by Bowie Ibarra

THE PRISON POPULATION GROWS

This weeks episode opens with the appearance of Tyrese, apparently another popular character from the comic, regulating zeds in the woods with his friends.  We are treated to an example of his football acumen as he runs through the woods with skill and athleticism with a big backpack to help his team.  Though one of their team is bit, they end up finding sanctuary in a broken down wall and its building.  Look familiar?

Axel gets creepy with Beth, but is cut off by Carol, who pulls him aside.  He's pretty plain about his motivations, having spent so much time behind bars without the company of a female.  He thinks Beth is his only option, stating he thought Carol was a lesbian because of her haircut.

Later, young Carl, with his dad's hat, keeps tabs on the group and his little sister.  They hear a scream from the interior.  There's a funny moment when Herschel says it can't be Carol because she's in the guard tower with Axel.  We all remember the fun Maggie and Glenn had in the guard tower from a while back.  I wonder how Daryl's going to feel about that.

At any rate, Carl goes to investigate and finds Tyrese and his friends.  He helps them fend off the zeds, who seem to have followed them in, and leads them back to a secure room.

Its there that one of their team passes from a bite suffered in the woods.  Before they can smash her face in with a hammer before she rises, Carl locks them in the space.  That's when one of the team named Sasha's voices that she's not much for being 'secured', but Tyrese sees the advantage and they relax about it.


ZERO DEAD THIRTY:  THE RAID ON WOODBURY

Andrea volunteers to help scientist Mr. Mamet cremate Mr. Coleman.  As she leaves the governor's side, it gives the governor special time with Penny.  He plays music like Mr. Mamet's experiment, Penny runs at her dad, but is restrained by a leash.  He tries to calm her by undoing her bonds and singing to her.  Too bad she's interested in the blood pudding he made for her.  He shouts at her, losing patience, and puts her back in her cell.

Meanwhile, Maggie and Glenn are trying to come to terms from their respective forms of torture, and 'forget what people do'.  Glenn gets motivated and rips the arm off a zed in the room, taking its bones for use as weapons.

Meanwhile, outside, the WD Crew Fireteam of Michone, Rick, Oscar, and Daryl follow Michone's lead and begin their infiltration of Woodbury to find their friends.

The Governor and Merle are planning an assault on the prison.  Though Merle is concerned about his brother, the Gov feels they can get Daryl on his side.

The WD Crew move deeper into enemy territory, breaking into a building.  Rick thinks Michone might be leading them into a trap.  But they are spotted by some schmuck from the wall who walks in on them.  The dude doesn't think they are much of a threat.  But when Rick jumps the dude and asks where his friends are, its too late.

They end up finding out where the prisoners are when Maggie and Glenn make a move on enemies entering the room they were in.  They jump them and stab them with their bones, but its short lived because they had backup.

It gives enough time for the WD Crew to initiate an assault, freeing their friends and leading to a mad dash out of Woodbury.

The Governor tells the regular citizens not to worry and go home, but tells his militia to gear up.

Michone leads the team to a safe building to make another run at the wall before she runs off.  Its here that Glenn tells the team about Merle and the Governors knowledge of the prison.  Daryl wants to see his brother, but Rick tells him he needs him with the WD Crew.  We once again see that Rick's relationship with Daryl is just like the Governor's to Merle.  It's another striking moment when you see the duality of the two teams, just like when Michone first joined the WD Crew at the prison.  It was like Woodbury without the trappings of normalcy.

The Governor mobilizes his team against the 'terrorists', and tries to keep Andrea out of the action, who again gets all women's libbed up and ready to fight back.  But the Governor can't let her see the enemy.

That's when the WD Crew makes their move.  The set off smoke bombs and race to the wall.  Andrea claims she sees them.  The Governor thinks she was able to see them because she was able to identify the prisoner, Oscar.  Not by name, actually, but by clothes.  But that could spoil his plan to assault the prison, so he demands she goes to hide.

While the WD Crew is running and gunning their way to their escape, the ghost of Shane comes to haunt Rick and even shoots Oscar dead.  Rick puts the Shane-Ghost down to find it was a real man that was not really Wolverine Shane.

Rick clearly is still not well.


PENNY



Michone infiltrates the Governor's house and waits at the door for her revenge.  But she hears Penny in the side room.  She kicks open the Governor's rec room to find the heads and Penny locked up.  She thinks Penny is just a kid and takes off her chain.  But then she takes off the bag on her head to find she's dead.  When she tries to bite her, Michone takes control to set up a fatal strike with her Hanzo.

But that's when the Governor shows up and begs her not to hurt her.  He even puts his gun away and submits to her, offering himself up to Michone to spare his 'little girl'.  Michone sees the best way to hurt the Governor by killing Penny, which she promptly does by stabbing her through the neck and out her mouth.

A fight ensues, as you might imagine, breaking the fish tanks with the heads and brinking their biting into to the equation.  That's when Michone uses some glass to go Lucio Fulci on the Governor and stab him in the eye.

Its then that Andrea appears to see it all, and the two former BFF's have a face off.  Michone walks off because the Women's Libber can't pull the trigger.  The other problem is she is now exposed to the Governor's sick secrets in his rec room.

At the doctor's office, Andrea confronts the Governor about the heads.  But he doesn't have much to say.  When Merle arrives, he tells the governor he'll go after them.  But the governor is thinking about a different angle.

Rick mentions to Michone upon her return that Daryl moved back into Woodbury to find his brother.  But the problem is he gets caught and put in the arena of sport, the ZombieBloodFights.com Arena, where the Governor sets up a speech about how he's failed the city and sets up Merle to take the fall as a 'terrorist', saying he is responsible for letting the terrorists in for the attack.

Problem is, Daryl gets added into the mix, too, and all of Woodbury calls for their heads.

And that's it.  That's the mid-season finale.  Damn this mid-season finale bulls**t.

Anyway, enough of that.  We'll see you in February.

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Enjoy the blog?  Share it with your friends using the 'Facebook', 'Blogger' and 'Twitter' buttons below.

Leave a comment below using your Google+ or Blogger account.

Follow Bowie on Twitter @wingback20

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Bowie Ibarra is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuester.  His latest zombie story, The Fall of Austin, tells the story of military, police, convicts, and citizens of the Texas capitol as they deal with the zpoc.  It is available in Kindle and Paperback.

You can network with Bowie and read about his Tex-Mexploitation stories and check out his book trailers at his personal website, ZombieBloodFights.com