SPOILER ALERT!

Each week I review the latest episode of AMC’s television series, The Walking Dead and pick three scenes or characters and breakdown the differences or similarities the show might’ve had with the comic book series. For those that are privy to the comic book and the show, this is for you.  Unfortunately, if you have not seen the episode or read the comic, this will spoil everything!  You’ve been warned!

Season 3 – Episode 7 – “When The Dead Come Knocking”

For the penultimate episode to the midseason finale, this one was a doozie!  There was so much palpable energy and subtleties that could be witnessed in this episode, that it had arrested our eyes and jaws and left them delightfully hanging there, extended from our faces!

Michonne is finally invited in and introduced to Rick’s group in the prison.  Her survival instincts, careful observation, and slight withholding of information has at least garnered enough trust for Rick to allow Herschel to mend her wounds and allow her to freely join them on their search for Glen, Maggie, and Woodbury.  Of course, Michonne has withheld information about Merle, which leaves us teeming with anxiety and excitement for when these two brothers finally meet from their opposing sides of the zombie-apocalyptic train tracks.  Merle has become the violent, one-armed, impulsively torrid champion of Woodbury, while Daryl has been a crossbow-wielding, sentimental, baby-holding, pseudo-big brother to Carl.  A lot has occurred since season one, and it will be very interesting to see the magic that takes place when these two, non-comic characters finally meet face to face.

We also saw the tear-jerking moment of Carol’s return to the group and her delicate understanding that Lori did not make it.  There was a lot of great performances and it was great to see the unspoken motives and emotions from each and every actor on the show. Even Andrea has to teach a lesson to a neophyte scientist that zombies are just “monsters.”  Glen has finally graduated to zombie-apocalypse manhood after he gets beaten within inches of his life by Merle and has to contend with fighting off a crazed walker that is released in his interrogation cell.  The Governor shows just how diabolically twisted and evil he can be as he opts for a more “psychological” approach than Merle’s, for his interrogation of Maggie.

And finally, the baby “asskicker” finally gets a name! Let’s see how it compared to the comics…

“Good Cop/Bad Cop” Meets “Bad Cop/Biter-Cop”

Glen’s interrogation is first on the list, as he has a sit down with Merle in the introductory scene of this week’s episode.  Through this scene, fan s of the comics can see that Merle has absorbed much of The Governor’s violent and impetuous characteristics from the comic books, while David Morrissey’s character of The Governor on the TV show retains the charmingly deceptive side of The Governor from the comic books.  The show runners have created a dichotomy that allows them to explore both sides of the evil, which seems like a fantastic idea to create more drama on the show. The interrogation scenes in this episode slightly differ from how the interrogation scenes happen in the comic books.  In the TV episode, Glen is beaten to a pulp by Merle and then is left to defend himself from a walker in the cell.


Maggie is in the room next door, and can hear every tormented word of anguish coming through the walls.

While the Michonne interrogation of the comics will leave an everlasting imprint on your mind, I like the idea the TV show did by pitting two star-crossed lovers in the crosshairs.  In the comic books, the roles are slightly changed.  Michonne and Glen are The Governor’s captors and Michonne is subjected to the physical torture.  Meanwhile, Glen is subjected to listening to the excruciating distress taking place beyond the walls.  Maggie is back at the prison awaiting their return.

This interrogation tactic plays similar on both forms of The Walking Dead series because the person that has to endure hearing the torment is the one that breaks and gives up the location of the prison camp.  In the comics, Glen gives the group up.  In the TV show, Maggie gives the group up.  And given the circumstances for each, you can’t blame them for their lack of resolve.

Wake Up Maggie, I Think I’ve Got Something To Say To You

So for the television show, Maggie gets a taste of psychological torture as she endures an evil parlay from The Governor.  What makes it seems so genuinely evil is that The Governor in the TV series doesn’t even have to lift a finger to incite fear in Maggie.  His demeanor and insistence just exudes diabolical fear as he instructs her step-by-step, in what we think will be an inevitable rape scene.  Thankfully she manages to go unscathed, but the damage is done and our poor girl is broken.

Unfortunately, a somewhat similar scene happens in the comic book series and the captor is Michonne.  She does not engage in a cerebral parlay on the TV show.  She is wrack-fully tormented and raped by The Governor in the comics, which infamously makes the character as one of the most hated and evil son-of-a-bitches in comics today (he ranks #86 on IGN’s Top 100 Villains).

Thankfully, I think the show runners of the television series took a more graceful and better approach to these scenarios and spared us the trauma.

Judith The Asskicker!

To end on a brighter note, we finally have a name for Rick and Lori’s baby (I know many people are still skeptical as to whether it’s Rick’s child or not –let’s leave that for another day).  I’m gracious that the show runners kept the name Judith, and didn’t leave the child nameless or the affectionately dubbed “Asskicker” by Daryl.

I like the little backstory of Carl’s teacher as inspiration to the name of the baby.  In the comic books, we only get a quick christening of it by Lori.

We also get a positive reaction from Carl on the Judith name in the comic books.

If history serves me correctly, you know next week’s mid-season finale episode will be mind-blowing!

Be sure to tune in next week as we pick up all the bloody entrails and impaled heads left in the wake of the finale here at Dead On Arrival.

Make sure to comment below or follow me on Twitter @roderickruth

Roderick Ruth

Roderick Ruth

Reviewer/Columnist
Roderick’s comic book addiction started at the pre-teen level, where his father helped him nurture a steady, visual diet of Spider-Man, Batman, and any “X-Title” comic that was available. As he entered his teenage years, he spent hard-earned allowances on almost every comic at the supermarket stands (remember those days?). After reading and attempting to draw every Lee/Liefeld/McFarlene/Larsen book of the “90′s glory days”, Roderick eventually lost his way with comics. As he got older, he continued to watch super-hero TV shows/movies and collected graphic novels from bookstores every now and then. After going to San Diego Comic-Con in 2011, his passion was reinvigorated. With the help of his local comic shop and his tablet, the passion has yet to slow down. He is an aspiring screenwriter and dabbles in different mediums including drawing, comic writing, and playwrighting.
Roderick Ruth

@roderickruth

@nicsopana @brianwood Nope, not yet. I'll be waiting for it though ;) - 16 mins ago
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