The Walking Dead: Review: Season 3 Ep 6

AMC, 18 November 2012

While Rick’s hanging on the telephone, Daryl hunts for the missing Carol, Andrea grows closer to the Governor and Glen and Maggie are captured by Merle.

This is quite simply Michael Rooker’s episode, stealing the acting plaudits from David Morrissey, who has all but dominated the past few episodes.

From the opening sequence of Merle’s hunt for Michonne through to his ruthless capturing of Glen and Maggie at the end, we learn a little more about his character and what drives him under the Governor’s tutelage. The arrival of Glen and Maggie at Woodbury looks likely to put the kibosh on Andrea’s continuingly rosey-eyed view of the town, especially since she’s now fallen into the Governor’s bed.

One thing this season has not been short on is zombies. After last season’s occasional zombie-free episodes, there has been a surfeit of undead walkers, in all their variety. It shows fears of cost cutting, or dumbing down, were unfounded.

Rick spends most of the episode chatting on the phone to his demons, culminating in a chat with dead wife Lori. Let’s hope this confrontation allows him to get over himself and start looking after his people once more…

Verdict: All hail Michael Rooker, whose Merle stole this episode single-handed… Erm…

Episode 6 ‘Hounded’: 8/10

Brian J. Robb