ZOMBIES: #TheWalkingDead recap 'Welcome to the Tombs'

by Bowie Ibarra

What an asshole

Well, we were all calling for it.  And we got it.  One of the main characters from the show didn't make it out alive.  Neither did a bunch of random people.

Anyway, lets get to the big finish of 'The Walking Dead - Welcome to the Tombs' Season 3 finale.

ANDREA'S TORTURE CHAMBER UPDATE

Governor is ready to kill Andrea, but he's not going to do it himself.  No.  He won't sully his hands in Andrea's blood.  He'll let Milton do it.  But Milton refuses, so the Governor stabs him in the belly to let him bleed to death.  Then, when he turns, he'll kill Andrea.

What the Governor doesn't know, however, is that Milton left a pair of pliers for Andrea to use to twist off the chains on the cuff.  He encourages her to do it as fast as possible.

Naturally, Andrea drags her feet on the whole situation.

THE BATTLE OF THE PRISON

Tyrese and Sascha refuse to go on the mission to Woodbury and are greeted with bitter scowling and a weapon from the Governor.

The Governor has put a gun in the hand of all thirty of Woodbury's citizenry, and they go on the assault, trashing the front gate, the tower, and busting in unopposed.

As the ragtag band of citizens move on the prison, they notice the door is wide open.  In fact, the entire prison is unlocked.

Like the maniac he is, he still refuses to go back out and moves deeper into the catacombs.  In a dark hallway, Rick and Daryl launch a smoke-bomb/flash-bang attack, freaking the citizens of Woodbury the fuck out.  They bugger off and right out of the prison in fear, much to the Governor's dismay.

As they all run off with their tails between their legs, they are shot at as they exit the building and get in their vehicles and run off.  So much for the Governor's plans of vengeance.

As the Governor tries to get the people to regroup, the entire citizenry refuses to go back on the attack.  So the governor mows them down.  All of them.  He even pops them in the head as they lay on the ground.  One citizen hid under a body, an classic genocidal survival tactic, and gets off because the Governor ran out of bullets.

The Governor drives off into the wasteland with his two trusted death squad members.

PRISON FALLOUT

So, this kid scrambled in fear into the woods where Carl, Hershcel, and Michone were hiding.  Carl pulls a gun on the kid and tells him to drop his weapon.  The kid hesitates to put his gun down, and Carl makes the executive decision to put down the non-compliant kid.

When Carl gets back, Herschel tells Rick the news.  When Rick tries to get the details about what went down, Carl puts his dad in check by saying he did what he had to do.  Carl had seen too much death in the past as a result of not acting in the moment to neutralize a dangerous element, and he tells his dad just that before running him off like some kind of underling.

And in a symbolic moment, his dad's badge falls off his shirt, thus becoming something completely different than the image of his father.

ANDREA

Rick, Daryl, and Michone go on a guerilla mission against Woodbury, but soon find the massacre of the people of Woodbury.  They also find the woman who was saved.

They make her help them get into Woodbury to find Andrea.  The woman signals to Tyrese to let them in and they do.

When they discover the place Andrea was in, they discover she had been bit before she had a chance to put Milton down.  Her decision not to act only days before not to kill the Governor when she had the chance has now been cashed out with her life.

Suddenly, Carl's philosophy makes the most sense in the zombie apocalypse.

They take her body to bury back at the prison.  They also take the women and children who did not go on the attack of Woodbury.

More mouths to feed as we go into the next season.

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ZombieBloodFights.com would like to take a moment and thank the following people for their participation in this season's 'Walking Dead' Blog entries.

Thanks to:
Army Ed
Thomas, the VW Tech Guy
Jackie Druga
R Thomas Riley
Gareth Wood
DL Snell
Micheal Gardner

You guys are the best.  Thank you.

Please, if you enjoyed this blog, look them up on Amazon.com.

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Need more 'Walking Dead' Season 3 recap and review?  Check out my buddy Jason Thorson recap over at Ravenous Monster here.

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BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuster.  His latest book, 'The Cruel Fate of Dr. Brewster' McGill' is a weird western tale of snake oil, Aztec Magic, and the dead rising from the grave to attack the living.  It is available in Kindle and paperback from Amazon.com.

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ZOMBIES: 'Arrow in the Doorpost' Walking Dead Notes

by Bowie Ibarra

 

 

Tensions were high in 'Arrow in the Doorpost'.  Here are some notes from ZombieBloodFights.com.

 

GOVERNOR AND RICK FACE-OFF

 

--  Rick, Daryl, and Herschel are part of a convoy to meet the Governor.

 

-- Great opening shot overhead of the silos where the Prison/Woodbury Peace Summit would take place.  Great shots throughout, creating great, bordering on arthouse-style pictures throughout.

 

--  Rick finds the shed where the Governor is waiting to broker a deal.  Rick puts his piece away, but the Governor has an ace in the hole taped to the side of the table.

 

--  Andrea shows up with Milton and Marquez.  She claims to have negotiated the peace talks.  She is quickly dismissed by the Governor, showing no respect to Andrea.

 

--  Rick suggests boundaries for co-existence, Governor doesn't want any of it.

 

--  Governor says he'll lay off if Rick sells out Michone.  He gives him two days to decide.

 

MARQUEZ AND DARYL, HERSCHEL AND MILTON

 

--  The muscle of both teams, Marquez and Daryl, flex their muscles putting down zeds.  Both know they're going to throw down eventually in spite of the diplomatic theatrics from their leaders.  But they respect their leaders enough to stay on their leashes.

 

--  Herschel and Milton have a moment together and bond over Herschel's cut off leg.

 

--  Herschel subtly reveals to Andrea the threat of rape the Governor posed to Maggie.  He also says she is still welcome with the prison crew.

 

PRISON GEARS UP

 

--  With all the weapons brought from Morgan and throughout their adventures, the team gears up.

 

--  Merle thinks they should jump the Governor at the meeting site, its the best opportunity to finish it.  Glenn shoots down the idea.

 

--  Merle takes the initiative and tries to gear up and make a run on the Governor, but Glenn stops him with physical force.

 

--  Merle tries to recruit Michone to go jump the Governor, but she turns him down, too.

 

RICK AND THE GOVERNOR'S RETURN

 

--  Rick weighs the options of selling out Michone by asking Herschel's thoughts.  Herschel says Michone has earned her place and is a big part of why their still alive and Glen and Maggie are safe.

 

-- The Governor says whether Rick brings in Michone or not, they're going on the offensive to crush the prison folks.

 

It's a great episode and lead up to next week.  We'll see how it plays out.  Join us later this week for the next 'Wild Speculation' as well.

 

If you enjoyed the blog, please consider offering support by purchasing one of the ZombieBloodFights.com titles from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuster in paperback and kindle here.

 

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BOWIE IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuster.  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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ZOMBIES: 'Arrow on the Doorpost' Wild Speculation, Walking Dead

by Bowie Ibarra

The follow-up to 'The Walking Dead-Clear' episode should be interesting.  Here are some thoughts from some noted Zombie Enthusiasts.

R THOMAS RILEY, author of the Permuted Press title 'If God Doesn't Show'

First off, I have a really healthy love/hate relationship with The Walking Dead. Some episodes all I want to do is reach through the screen and slap a stupid character, other times, I'm simply in love with said same character. Much of this has to do with the various writers of the show. The writers have done some really stupid stuff over the past three seasons, then again, the writers have managed to pull off some of the best stuff I've ever seen in a TV show. Basically, I long for the show to somehow find consistency. One can hope, right? Still, in the end, I'll still be hooked on this show, warts and all, and most episodes it is the best show on TV.

For this week's episode, Arrow on the Doorpost -

1) I predict Andrea is going to play a pretty significant part in setting up The Governor and Rick's meeting, and , and she'll pay dearly for it, caught in the middle and torn between her feelings for both The Governor and Rick, if not in this episode, certainly by the end of the season. I don't feel her chances of surviving past the finale are very high, and Michonne will have a hand in Andrea's demise.

2) The Governor is certainly laying a trap for Rick and his crew. I predict during the peace treaty talks, others from Woodbury, on orders from the Governor, will attack the prison, while Rick is distracted.

3) Merle will prove to be a wild card. At this point, he could go either way. Both Rick and The Governor have tried to kill him, so he's really not loyal to either at this point in the series. Merle is smart and a survivor, he'll certainly weigh his options and go with the group that's more likely to survive. I could see Merle taking over Woodbury and becoming the "new" Governor.

4) We're going to lose more characters, it's inevitable. I predict either Maggie or her sister are going to die. It'd really do a number on Glen if it's Maggie, and if it's Maggie's sister, the baby will be in even more danger.

5) This may be the episode where the set for the finale is very much in motion. The prison is no longer safe and it's time to move on. Rick's kicking Tyrone and his group out will come back to bite him. I really feel the hitchhiker from the previous episode is going to play into something as well.

JACKIE DRUGA, author of the Permuted Press title The Flu

Episode 12 gave us very little but character development of Michonne and a nice treat into Morgan.
So my speculation, based on previews and items picked up in the episode clear. They meet up with the governor. But I think Rick goes into the meeting thinking they are gonna talk and while Hershel is outside, he gets kidnapped. Starting the war.

Back at prison, Merle becomes more part of the group and they plot the assassination of the governer.
In Woodbury, Tyrese trains to be a solider there but learns quickly about the governor’s evil ways and hence becomes a spy. I think Tyrese sees Herschel.

Michonne really came out of her ‘anti’ shell and I liked what we saw. I don’t know if it’s me but I felt a connection between her and Rick. If anyone is gonna bring him out of his padded cell world, it’s her.

I’m gonna lean toward thinking there was something in the orange backpack they picked up. The writers can’t be so daft to think that we, the viewers would buy a man, who had survived a year in a Zombie Apocalypse, would scream and run down the road. He knows better. You gonna tell me he survived all that time to die being stupid. No. So I’m hopeful that the twit factor didn’t play into the writers and the running survivor means something other than a bad way to show Rick lost all humanity and how much he has changed.

ARMY ED, Special Weapons and Strategy Advisor to ZBF.com

There's got to be a showdown between Rick and the Governor.

Both sides feel each other out.  Prison needs to upgrade security.

Woodbury shouldn't storm the prison, but he's probably going to because of his hubris.  If they have 35 some-odd people at Woodbury, and 20 folks go on this offensive, what happens?  Some of them are going to die, many will be wounded.  Not only will they have to deal with the defenses and the prison itself, but the zombies outside.  As people start dying and getting wounded, the wounded start expending resources.

And even if they made it into the prison, they don't know where they're going, they're still dealing with zeds, and all the people in the prison have to do is lock the cell blocks and hold their positions.

And the Governor would have to maintain morale, which is hanging by a thread a the moment.  If the Governor were leaving people out on the battlefield without help, attitudes would definitely change toward the Governor's regime.  It would change the attitude of Tyrese, too, who might be the deciding factor in the assault.

If the Governor is going on the offensive, he'd be better off doing some sort of stealth attack with his death squad, infiltrating under the cover of darkness.

And Morgan's story about putting down his zombie wife and how she infected his son is finally setting up Zombie Lori.  Zombie Lori will have Carl in a vulnerable position, Carl won't be able to act, and Rick will put her down.  Rick learned from Morgan's story.

KAS ALLEY CASSEROLE, Zombie Horror enthusiast

I speculate that...
A. Rick makes some sort of deal with the governor that will put the group at odds and make everyone further question his judgement.

B. He and Michonne will plan a prison courtyard picnic with their dead loved ones.

C. The governor will find an abandoned Best Buy and suddenly will be as populated with iPad 3s as Atlanta is with 2013 cars in "2010".
;)

Suddenly Woodbury will be as populated with iPads.

 

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If you need a little more zombie horror in your life, I hope you will consider checking out my zombie horror series, Down the Road, from Permuted Press.  The books are available in Kindle and paperback at great prices, so check them out here.

Thanks, and we'll see you next week.  Don't forget to follow the blog for this week's 'wild speculation'.

ZombieBloodFights.com will be live Tweeting again next Sunday (@wingback20).  Use the hashtag #ZBF to join in the conversation, which was basically just me last week.  So join me for some fun during commercials.

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BOWIE IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuster.  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

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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: Wild Speculation for The Walking Dead - Clear

by Bowie Ibarra

After considering last week's episode, 'I ain't a Judas', zombie fans chime in with their wild speculation for next week's episode, 'Clear'.

JACKIE DRUGA, author of Flu from Permuted Press

My, my, my, how I love Merle even more each episode. I though last night’s episode really showed how he was a valuable part of the group. Leading the pack when Andrea showed up. Love it.
Like many of you, I saw the sneak peek where the survivor chases the car, screaming for Rick to stop, but they don’t, that pissed me off. I mean, seriously, The prison group thinks only of their immediate survival and doesn’t think about the future. They should. They have three young people in their group.. Their future thoughts are with food for tomorrow instead of a world for Carl, Judith and Beth.

Onward to my speculation. I am basing this on the three TV previews I saw. This will be an episode where we only see, Rick, Michonne, and Carl. Aside from the running man on the road and the guy on the roof, they lead you to believe it is Woodbury, but it isn’t. I’m gonna say the guy on the roof is Morgan (From season 1 Episode 1), we know this from the comics. This is one of those episodes (IMO) that do not advance the storyline. Only character development for next season. Nothing pivotal will happen. Just some good visual PA stuff and twisted sickness (Like piles of burnt bodies). And while I am at it, can someone tell me why now Walker Blood is suddenly bright red? Even when they are severely decomposed? Why is blood so fresh? Grr.


MICHAEL S. GARDNER, horror writer and blogger from Virginia. His short story collection, Death in the Times of Madness, is currently available on Amazon for cheaper than a candy bar. You can check out his reviews and interviews at: www.atasteofterror.blogspot.com

My predictions for next week’s episode are as follows:

1.  We finally have Merle (re)integrating with his former survivor pals and newcomers alike. The tension is, of course, obvious. This, to me, means must-see television. We all know Merle is a racist prick, but we’ve finally seen some of the caring side (like that was possible, right?) when Daryl took off his shirt and revealed the scars from his abuse as a child – note the tattoo shifting sides. Near the end of the episode, we see him trying to bury the hatchet with Michonne. Yeah, yeah, this could just be another ploy to stir the pot, but I’d like to see less of this stereotypical backwoods bigot archetype. And this is my first prediction: In next week’s episode, we’ll start to see Merle’s character develop. Hell, who knows? Maybe he and Michonne might find out that their not so different after all? Possible love interest, maybe? Either that or he gets offed.

2.  We’ve finally seen Carl growing into the man he’s going to be (barring he doesn’t get shot on accident again – or on purpose). He made a good judgment call on the previous episode in pointing out Rick wasn’t fit for the Ricktatorship due to obvious stuff and things. Next week I think we’ll see him taking up more responsibility, possibly even starting or stopping a major conflict with the Governor.

3.  I do believe it is time for Daryl to get him some. Sorry, ladies, but I’m going with Carol for this one. (My girlfriend’s probably gonna punch me when she reads this!)

4.  Fourth, but FAR from final, I think we’ll see more horrible shots on the stationary living and more crack shots on the ambling dead. Seriously, WTF is up with that?

5.  This should have been my first prediction: Andrea will FINALLY die. And if it’s not on the next episode, count this prediction as “active” until someone just says screw it and puts one in her forehead. Every time I see her lately, I can only think of Peter Griffin saying: “Shut up, Meg.” I get that they’re trying to show her as the strong female lead - and the series needs one – but not her. Andrea just seems like she’s unable to what has to be done – note how she couldn’t kill the Governor, which will probably come back and bite her in the rear next episode or soon after. She should have just stayed at the CDC. I’d rather have Lori at this point (not in the form of a ghost, mind you).

GARETH WOOD, author of the 'Rise' series from Permuted Press

Wild Speculations on The Walking Dead! Well, kids, we've had a wild ride
this season so far. I think it's only about to get worse for Our Heroes.
My top 5 predictions, in no particular order, for the next episode:

1- Merle will misbehave, and Daryl will have to set him right.

2- Rick, with something to focus on other than the ghost of his dead wife, will make threats and state boldly that something "will not happen..."

3- Andrea will continue to be the most clueless character ever, in the history of everything. I mean really, the writers have done such a dis-service to a fine actress, giving her such terrible material to work with.

4- Michonne will kill something, and then snarl or be surly. Her default expression of mistrust and bat-shit-crazy will me replaced with one of confusion. Here is another character that the writers appear to have not one clue how to write properly.

5- There will be zombies. They will eat someone. Possibly a minor
character like Herschel's Other Daughter Who Is Not Maggie.

And there it is!  We'll see how right I am!

ARMY ED, Weapons and Tactics advisor to ZBF.com

For one, Tyrese might be ready to throw in with Woodbury, but he is going to see something or experience something that's going to change his mind about the place.  More idealistic than Andrea and is going to see Woodbury for what it is.  It might be at the cost of that female. 

Merle will carve out a niche for himself in the group and make himself indispensable.  He knows he's the first on the Governor's list, so he knows what side his bread is buttered on.

Andrea is also clearly going to regret not cashing the Governor out when she had the chance.  More people will die because of her inaction.

ZOMBIEBLOODFIGHTS.COM

From the teasers, it seems like Rick's going to make that run with Carl and friends, but it's not going to play out like he'd hoped.  He'll be captive in Woodbury, forcing the hand of the WD Crew in the prison.

That's it for this week!

If you enjoy this blog, The Walking Dead, or zombie smashing in general, please give the Down the Road zombie horror series a go.  Great action, great horror, and a great storyline.  Help support this blog by pitching in a few bucks to buy a book or two.

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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: #TheWalkingDead crew gets caught with their pants down in "Home"

by Bowie Ibarra

Photo credit Gene Page/AMC

Things start in the realm of fantasy, it seems, but get real really fast at the prison as 'The Walking Dead' brings another episode to our screens of humans being more dangerous than zombies in 'Home'.

RICK'S PHANTOMS

The pressure put on Rick has pushed him over the edge.  Yet again, he's chasing the ghost of Lori out of the prison walls into the outer wall, making himself vulnerable in the sticks around the prison.  Michone, taking it upon herself to be a lookout from a position near the gate, sees it all play out.

Young Carl is working with Glenn to secure the prison, because if what Michonne is saying is correct, the Governor and his deathsquad will be making a move on the prison soon.  Glenn thinks they should mount an offensive against Woodbury, with Michone's knowledge.  But Herschel thinks it would not be a good move.

As they set up to defend the prison, Glenn and Maggie have an awkward conversation about the threat of rape the Governor used against Maggie.  It really seems Maggie has had this issue in the past even before the ZPoc, and Glenn doesn't know how to deal with it.

Axel and Carol flirt while building the defenses.  Axel's even cleaned himself up as well.  He lied about being a druggie because he was really in for armed robbery.

THE WALKING DIXONS

As 'Army Ed' astutely pointed out in our 'Wild Speculation' post, the Dixon boys were going to have to face the updated versions of each other.  And it didn't take long for them to butt heads on what direction they were going.

They eventually had to face off on their philosophical differences when helping a Latino family trapped on a bridge and attacked by zombies.  Daryl's idea was to help because they had a baby to take care of, hearkening back to his time and affection for 'Little Ass Kicker'.  But Merle's idea was to pillage after securing the zeds.

After having to put his crossbow to his brother's head to leave the Latinos alone, Daryl was walking away to head back to Rick's camp.  Merle knew he couldn't go back to Woodbury.  But then again, he couldn't go back to the prison because he had beef with Glenn and Maggie.

GOVERNOR SECURING ALLIES

Knowing he's lost some street cred after shooting a bitten resident of Woodbury in the face in front of its citizens, Phillip the Governor petitions Andrea to act as interim Governor as he takes a hiatus to pull himself together.  Andrea has always wanted to show her value, and had occasionally screwed up that chance.  Remember when she almost shot Daryl in the face?  I haven't forgotten that.

But the Governor clearly knows she wants to be a leader, and appeals to that part of her pride to keep her in his pocket.  He does the same to Milton, but with a little bit more menace because he knows he can with him.  He's Team Phillip for Life.

THE ASSAULT ON THE PRISON

Glenn apparently takes the new truck sponsor for the zombie apocalypse, the Dodge Ram, to drive to find where the breach to the prison was as Herschel moves to the first fenceline to talk to Rick, who reveals his problem with hallucinations as Michone watches.

Axel and Carol arrive on the scene.  But the tranquility of the scene and the budding friendship is ended quickly by a shot to Axel's head by the Governor.  His deathsquad arrives and raises hell, getting into a gun battle with the prison population.

Vulnerable, a milk truck batters through the first two fencelines and unleashes a crowd of zombies from the back of the truck.  The mysterious masked driver leaves the truck and returns to the Governor's position.

Its a wake-up call to Rick, who needs to get his shit together, as it seems his team, disorganized and caught with their pants down, was spared by the Governor.

We'll see if Rick can pull his head out of his ass and rally the team for the next move.  But who makes it?

We'll find out soon enough.

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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

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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: #WalkingDead Wild Speculation for 'Home'

by Bowie Ibarra

The first episode of the second part of the third season of 'The Walking Dead' has come and gone, and as we head into the next episode, 'Home', zombie enthusiasts and Walking Dead followers have some wild speculation about what we might see in the coming episodes.

>>>JACKIE DRUGA, author of the Permuted Press title, The Flu

 

Opinion: Really? Daryl is gone and Rick takes a nosedive in the pool of insanity waving a gun and they push away the only guy (Tyrese) who could do a take down on Rick should he start shooting .

Tip to the writers: redeeming a character who went bad is a lot easier than redeeming a character who lost their mind.

Speculation: Rick leaves and Michonne follows to protect him. Garnishing her group status. Rick leaves to not only find himself but he finds the Dixon brothers in the process. After he meets the governor and discovers his 'whoops my bad' for getting rid of every strong person. Merle will be allowed back.  While Rick's gone, Tyrese helps the prison group when his guys turn on the group.

Wishes: On Talking Dead, Kevin Smith coyly indicted the missteps in writing. My hope is for better writers who actually work and depend on being good writers in this genre. Not just Hollywood writers with a distorted vision of what PA fans want. Kirkman clearly has stepped back.

>>> ARMY ED, ZombieBloodFights.com weapons advisor

It will be interesting to see how Merle and Daryl discover how each of them has changed.  Having had a strong role within Rick's group, I'm interested to see how Daryl will respond to his big brother's bullshit after growing as a leader.  That will be something to watch for.

I also feel that although the Dixon brothers want to go their own way, something will compel them to return to Rick's team.

>>> BOWIE IBARRA, ZombieBloodFights.com

I brought it up a few blogs back, but with Lori being mentioned several times during the episode before the big moment when Rick was haunted by her ghost, I still believe we're going to see 'Zombie Lori' sometime soon. 

Think about it:  Her body wasn't there when Rick found the place.  The Zed he stabbed all to hell didn't eat her up.  There was evidence of her body being dragged away.  I truly believe she's walking around the prison somewhere, and before the end of the season, Rick is going to have to face her and put her down.

What do YOU think?  What is your 'wild speculation' for the show?  Let us know in the comment section below.

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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 - The Walking Dead 'When the Dead Come Knocking' lights the fuse, S3, Ep7

by Bowie Ibarra

Here's how last week ended...

And here we go with this weeks episode, 'When the Dead Come Knocking'...

THE WOODBURY INTERROGATION

Merle has captured two of the WD Crew and begins by interrogating Glenn, pushing his buttons by insulting the cultural background of Glenn's friends and pushing him to say where the others are by threatening Maggie, who is in the next room and can hear it all.  Glenn draws first blood by catching Merle with a headbutt, and the beating begins.

Realizing how stubborn Glenn is, Merle uses one last cruel attempt to get Glenn to talk by unleashing a zombie on him.  But the once meek Glenn, who hid behind a trash can when it was 'go time' in season two, ups his game.  During a struggle, he escapes from his chair that he was bound to and kills the zed.

Merle reveals to the Governor that his brother is still alive, but doesn't know where.  So the Governor takes it upon himself to interrogate Maggie.  He's cordial, even unties her bonds.  But when she doesn't answer his plain and simple non-threatening questions, he begins a sexual humiliation of her and threatens rape.  I hate to think she's been in this predicament before, because it came across that this wasn't the first time by the way she handled herself with some real courage and repressed rage to call the Governor's bluff.

Turns out the Governor might be a weirdo, but he's not a rapist, and he diffuses the situation.  He pulls her into the next room with Glenn and forces her hand by putting a gun to Glenn's head.  That's all that needed to be done, as Maggie sings like a bird to spare Glenn.  The Governor adds insult to injury by attempting to console Maggie with a hug and a kiss.

THE WOODBURY EXPERIMENT

Andrea gets assigned to work with the scientist Mr. Mamet to help scientifically determine if the zeds have any conscious thoughts.  And before that, we get a Van Damme-style 'Put on my Calzoncillos after Banging it out' shot of Andrea by the window.  You remember the Van Damme 'Put On My Calzoncillos after Banging it out' shot from 'Bloodsport', right?  Yes, you do.

Anyway, when Andrea arrives, the scientist is trying to program Mr. Coleman with audio and visual cues to see if the recently deceased and risen Mr. Coleman will remember the cues.  Andrea is doubtful, but the scientist somehow insists.  It seems the results could be of some value to the Governor when you think of his daughter.

When Mr. Coleman turns, Mr. Mamet tries to make a run with the audio and visual cues.  When he thinks Coleman might respond, he loosens the bonds only to get attacked.  Andrea puts a stop to the experiment with a knife to the head.

With that revelation, the Governor questions Merle's loyalty as well as Andreas.  Little does he know, the raid from the WD fireteam is about to happen.

MICHONE GETS LOCKED UP

Michone makes it to the fenceline of the jail with 'Lil' Ass Kicker's' baby food.  Rick and co. decide to make a move to help her before she is overrun by the zeds and bring her in.  Its this time that Carol is revealed by Daryl to the crew to much warm fuzzies.

Look at all this space

Then Rick and the crew help patch up Michone before they interrogate her on how she got there.  I have to admit, this felt like the duet scene that Michone probably got the role from, as she does a pretty good job here.  She even stares down the crossbow from her loose cannon rogue equivalent in Daryl.  She reveals the location of Woodbury, and the Governor.  Rick and his team mobilize, using the roomy and luxurious comfort of the Hyundai Death Dealer: Zombie Crusher Edition.  Rick puts the burden of protecting the prison on Carl, who apparently hates the nickname 'Lil' Ass Kicker' and gets Rick's approval to call the baby Judith in what I believe is a Freudian nod to Judith O'Dea, or Barbara from 'Night of the Living Dead'.

When the WD fireteam arrives near Woodbury, they are nearly overrun by zombies.  They requisition a house to hold off the zeds.  They don't realize the house has someone in it.  When the dude freaks out in spite of Rick trying to be calm about it, the dude almost runs out to let the zeds in, Michone takes matters into her own hand and kills the dude with her Hanzo sword for the safety of the team.

They feed the dead body to the zeds and the WD Fireteam makes a break for it.  And we get a great Greg Nicotero special effects gore feast.

Before long, they find Woodbury and gird their loins for the raid.

Looks like the mid-season finale (WTF?  C'mon, Walking Dead) is going to be filled with some action.  Until next time.

===========

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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.

ZOMBIES - RECAP: Lots of 'action' in The Walking Dead: Hounded, Season 3, Ep. 6

by Bowie Ibarra

Things start of pretty fast in 'The Walking Dead: Hounded'.  Here's how it played out.

MERLE AND FRIENDS HUNT MICHONE
- Merle took a small team of killers with him to hunt down the exiled Michone.  They stumble across a warning from the Hanzo-sword wielding killer made up of dismembered zed body parrts.  One of the crew, an openly frightened Gargulio, deciphers the message as 'Go Back'.  Before they know it, Michone jumps the Woodbury crew and takes out two of the members.  Merle gets a shot off that wounds Michone, and the chase is on.

Only a few moments after looking for her, she jumps them again.  After a struggle, zeds join in the fun, giving Michone a chance to run.  But not before she cuts open the stomach of one of the ghouls while stuck on the ground, providing the viewer with some great Greg Nicotero special effects gore.

Merle calls it off, saying Michone is going into the 'red zone' and is as good as dead.  Gargulio speaks up and wants to make another run at finding and killing Michone, stepping up to Merle.  But Merle blasts the boy for speaking up and returns to Woodbury.

Trying to escape, Michone accidentally learns that the caked-on gore from the belly of the zed has disguised her to the walking dead.  So she moves on and into a nearby town.  Its here where she sees Glen and Maggie rolling in for supplies.  The problem is Merle arrives as well.  After setting up a false sense of security, Merle captures Glenn and Maggie and forces them to go drive Woodbury, leaving the baby food.

ACTION IN WOODBURY

Andrea tells the governor she didn't like the ZombieBloodFights from the night before and wants to work wall.  So she's assigned with this young girl who has a compound bow.  But the girl sucks with the bow she claimed she killed her father for, so Andrea has to go all women's lib on the zombie the girl tried to kill by jumping off the wall, stabbing the zed in the head, and making the girl look stupid.  But the girl rats her out to the governor.

In the proverbial principals office, the governor takes her off the wall.  But to get back in to his good graces, she changes her position (no pun intended) for the governor on the ZombieBloodFights.

The Governor sees that she's opening up to him (no pun intended), so he takes her back to his super mini garden for a drink and conversation.  It's here that he gets all Jim Jones on her and charms her with words and whiskey and gets her in the sack.  That's when Merle returns and lies about the expedition but the capture of Maggie and Glenn.
MYSTERY AT THE PRISON

The mysterious phone call is answered by Rick.  The people on the other line claim to be survivors, but they hang up on him.

After checking with the team, Rick returns to the room and a dude calls him back, asks if he's killed anyone and how many, then asks about his wife because he mentioned a boy and a baby to the lady who called the first time.  When he doesn't answer, the dude hangs up on Rick.

Herschel shows up to help sooth Rick, and Rick tells Herschel about the phone call.  Herschel listens on the phone, then offers to stay with him.  Herschel suggests the phone isn't working, and gives Rick some space.

Another few phone calls later, he then starts talking to Lori, and you know he's gone off the deep end.  But the message she has for him is a kind of consolation that helps get his focus back.  He returns to the team to hold his baby for the first time.

Oscar, Daryl, and Carl do some cleaning up of some of the prison.  While doing their search, Daryl shows off some acting chops with a monologue about how his mom died in bed when he was young in a fire.  Daryl says how unreal it was to him.  But Carl comes back with his experience shooting his mother in the face and saying 'That was real.'  They both console each other for their loss.

They had discovered a door that seemed to contain another zed.  They knew it couldn't be much of a threat if it couldn't open the door.  Later, when Carl and Oscar return to the team, Daryl moves to kill the zed after a moment of brooding.  It's then that he finds out it is Carol.

Meanwhile, Rick is having his moment outside with his baby, but notices something by the gates.  As he approaches, he finds Michone... with the baby food Glenn and Maggie left behind.

Just how will Michone be treated by the Walking Dead crew?  We'll see very soon.

==================

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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.

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

ZOMBIES: Recap - The Walking Dead kicks its fans square in the crotch with 'Killer Within', Ep. 4, Season 3

by Bowie Ibarra

Thank you for taking a moment from icing your crotch from the severe Krav Maga-style kick to the nads delivered courtesy of 'The Walking Dead'.  This season has been pretty amazing so far, and this one takes it to the limit and then goes further than anyone expected.  Here's the ZombieBloodFights.com take on one of the most horrifying episodes yet.

Brought to you by the Hyundai Zombie Death Dealer, Dodge Ram, and classic Chevy Suburban

THE LATEST WOODBURY NEWS

Meanwhile, back at the secured town of Woodbury, very much like the secured town of Beeville in 'Down the Road: On the Last Day', Michone takes a closer look at the vehicles and resources brought into town the day before.  She notices the bullet holes and blood on the vehicle when The Governor appears, trying to keep her and Andrea from leaving.  But he also pitches her a position as a recruit into his fire team/death squad, appealing to her survival and fighting skills.  She's not buying in, and walks back to her room with Andrea.

Michone takes a map and tries to form a plan with Andrea to run to the coast.  But Andrea is not sold on leaving.

Andrea leaves Michone and finds Merle, sharing the location of the farm where his brother is at.  She asks him if the Governor is to be trusted.  Since the Governor saved his life, his answer is yes and he leaves.

But he goes to visit the Governor and asks permission to go out and find his brother with Andrea's info.  Merle wants to take a team or go alone, but the Governor says he is needed here.  In fact, he puts the whole safety of the town on his shoulders.  But he says if more concrete info is found, the Governor would go with him.

Andrea visits the Governor back at his place and talks about her plans for leaving.  They share some whiskey and talk about themselves.  Andrea talks about the family she had lost.  The Governor reveals his wife died in a car accident before the zpoc hit, and his daughter survived.  Sounds fishy to me.  In the end, the Governor makes goo-goo eyes at Andrea and tries to keep her there with his silky voice and subtextual language.  Andrea is lured in by his snake charm, but pulls away and bails on the meeting.  Andrea leaves, but not before the Governor reveals his name as Phillip.

Also, no kiss out the door.  Now why would he do something like that with that kind of golden ticket for some sugar?

That's when Andrea returns to Michone and recommends staying just a few days more.  Michone is not happy with that.

THE HUGE DEVELOPMENT AT THE PRISON

The show opens with a mysterious person breaking out of the prison, setting dead deer as some kind of bait to lure zombies into the prison.  It looks like one of the prisoners.

While that's going down, members of the WD Crew are fortifying the prison.  Well, apart from Glenn and Maggie, who have spent the night and early morning banging it out in the guard tower.  After joining their friends, they find the two prisoners, Axel and Oscar, who were given a cell block have moved from their cell, claiming they hate being there.  Rick says they'll give them some supplies for a week to give them a start in the zombie wasteland.  One of the prisoners tries to make friends with Daryl to no avail and to the ridicule of his fellow prisoner.

Good old Herschel has grown tired of laying in bed and wants to go for a breath of fresh air.  The girls take him for a walk outside as they see the men come back in from gathering supplies and resources outside the prison.  Both groups are separated from each other by the series of prison gates, but are still close enough to share a moment, including Rick and Lori.

But a peculiar camera pan of Herschel, Carl, and the ladies begins, starting with Lori and an empty background.  And as per that suspicion, by the end of the pan with Carl, the zeds have somehow returned to the interior of the prison, and the panic sets in.  Herschel and his daughter find a secure spot, Lori, Carl, and Maggie are cut off and find another spot.  Rick and his team have to negotiate the locked gates to get to them.

 

But even inside the prison, Lori and gang find the interior to be overrun.

That's when the alarm goes off.  Rick and the others think the prisoners did it, but they're just as stumped as well, even with a gun to their faces.

As Rick and the others make their way in, T-Dogg gets bit trying to resecure a section of the prison.  Carol follows for an assist.  But it doesn't take long for them to get cornered.  In a final gesture of courage, T-Dogg sacrifices himself to give Carol a chance to escape.  And we get a great shot of some of the work of Greg Nicotero.

Lori, Maggie, and Carl find a hiding spot in a boiler room.  It's a pretty urgent need as Lori is having contractions from the stress.  It's baby time.

Rick and his team reach the alarm room and are jumped by the little guy that Rick locked out two episodes back.  He survived and caused the mayhem.  After a struggle, Rick and the little guy are held at gunpoint by Oscar.  Just when Rick thinks he's going to be blasted, he takes out the little guy and passes the gun over.

Lori knows she's going to have to have the baby, and the only way she will be delivering the baby is by c-section.  Maggie is going to have to use Carl's dirty knife for the procedure, and after she says a heartfelt goodbye to her son, powering him up one last time for the future, Maggie digs in with a great shot of the cut featuring more great work from Nicotero.  Maggie takes the baby from Lori's stomach into her grimy hands as Carl chooses to stay behind to put her mom down.  There's a great piano and violin-laden flashback back at the barn where daddy Rick tells Carl the shits going to get real and he's got to be ready for it.

And with that, he puts down his own mother and follows Maggie back out.

Rick and his team find the remains of T-Dogg, and also Carol's scarf.  When they return outside, they discover the news of Lori's birth as Maggie and Carl arrive.  With no Lori in sight, Rick and the WD crew know the answer.  And in a powerful moment, Rick, the backbone of the WD Crew, breaks down.  Rick had been distant from Lori, and they hadn't got along as best as they could.  They never had a chance to work things out.

But the big news now is how are they going to feed the baby and keep it quiet?

If there was one episode that highlighted how much you should tell those you care about what they mean to you, this was it.

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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.

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

ZOMBIES: RECAP- The Walking Dead 'Seed' gets planted, Ep.1, Season 3

by Bowie V. Ibarra

So, here's the deal.

I moved to a new apartment.  It didn't have cable.  Not a big deal, all I need to be doing in this town is working and writing.  So it worked out.

But let's face it.  When those three little words all zpoc fanatics hear dance across their ears, you know its time to make it happen when you don't have cable.  And those three little words are 'The Walking Dead'.

Well, cable didn't get hooked up in time, so I had to find an alternative place to watch so my twenty-five noble blog followers could read about ZombieBloodFights.com's take on the show.  My first need was TV.  My second need was beer.

Lo and behold, the creator of the SATX sensation 'Bloodthirsty Thursday' works at a Black Eyed Pea just a few blocks form my current home.  I checked out the place moments before the world premiere of season three, and guess who was working the bar?  My horrorhound homie, Kelly Warren Hammond!

Is that not the perfect spontaneous picture ever

So without further ado, here's the ZombieBloodFights.com take on the season 3 opener of 'The Walking Dead' (complete with pics taken from my barstool).

The show opens with what will always be a tribute to the video game 'Resident Evil' to me.  The cliche 'zombie eye'

Naturally, its moments before the zed gets blasted by the WD crew, busting through the house like a SWAT team to loot the place.  Everyone gets a piece of the action, including that young rapscallion, Carl, who does his share of zombie blasting.  More on that curious development later.

They pillage the house, and Daryl even shots a big barn owl for food, which is an ominous start to the series, as owls are sometimes considered harbingers of death.  Not that the dead rising from the grave to attack the living isn't already a bad omen to the future of the living.

At any rate, when surrounding zeds catch wind of the WD crew, they bail and head to their vehicles, including the legendary Hyundai Zombie Death Dealer. 

They try to figure out their next move when they discover a prison nearby.  Rick decides it would be an amazing place to be safe if they can secure it.  Everyone decides they can do it, and they make a move to secure the prison.  It's a Monroeville Mall for a new generation.

So, one of the things that cracked me up is the fact that Carl apparently became a sharpshooter with a pistol.  This is the same kid that only one season ago shit his pants and couldn't pull the trigger when the zed was stuck in the mud in front of him.  Now, he's hitting headshots on zombies from 100 yards with pistol.  That's right.  A kid is hitting moving targets with a pistol like a military marksman.

Okay, and Rick has to use a scope to get the shot.  I get it.

Great fast start to the show with the mad dash ala Dawn '78 through the prison gates.

Even the preggos Lori gets her some.  And with a pistol at close range.

The show unsubtly sets up the couples, including Daryl and Carol doing their part to secure the yard together as a team.

So, after securing the yard, they settle in to relax.  Carol flirts with Daryl, and Herschel's girls sing an old family song.

The next morning, the WD crew decides they want to take the prison, so they move on it.  They take on dead prisoners and even dead riot guards still in their garb.  They knock one down and rip off their mask, revealing some great Greg Nicotero magic.

 They make their way into the prison, and like some kind of D&D game, they start picking up treasure, so to speak.  One of the biggest pieces of booty found is keys to prison cells on a dead security guard.  I believe this is going to be huge in the coming episodes.

Let's face it.  The keys seem innocuous at first.  But think about it:  whoever has those keys has the power to lock people up.  Those keys are going to be big power pieces as the show advances, I believe.

So they find a secure cell block and settle in, picking cells, apart from Daryl, who is fine with sleeping outside a cell.

Things then start to remind me of 'Women's Prison Massacre' for some reason.

Preggos Lori starts to get anxious about her impending birth, and is set right by Herschel.

Did I mention the mysterious 'Michion' and her jawless and armless pets dismantled some zombie goons with her Hanzo sword.  She's also caring for noted Walking Dead Women's Libber Andrea.  They are adventuring together.

So the WD crew decide to secure more of the cell blocks in the prison and make a move on the dark corridors of the prison.

Great camera shots once again with the lights split by the darkness.

Yikes!  As expected, walking dead prisoners.  But the team is overrun, and Herschel is bit.

Here's one of the bartenders posing for a shot as Herschel's daughter is weeping with fear at the bite on her father's leg.

And here's the zed that bit her dad.  You know those zombie bastards don't last long when they've started munching on friends.

Rick gives Herschel the 'Day of the Dead '84' Miguel treatment by cutting off his leg in the hope of stopping the infection from spreading.  We know how that played out.

Right when you think Herschel's death is the big finish to a grand start to the season, it gets even bigger with the revelation that there are actually prisoners that are still alive and have watched the whole thing play out.

"Holy Shit"

And that's the amazing finish to the fast start that was season 3 of 'The Walking Dead'.

Watch for the keys to play a big part in this season.  And will Hershel have a meltdown like Miguel did in 'Day..'84'?

Only time will tell.

================

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.

Bowie Ibarra is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press.  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.

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