The Walking Dead: The Complete Third Season [Blu-Ray]

“You kill or you die. Or you die, then you kill.”

In Season Two of “The Walking Dead,” Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors found out that they’d convinced themselves they’d found an untouched part of the world that was safe from the walking dead. In the end of Season Two, Rick Grimes learned many things about this new world. He learned that the walking dead are everywhere, and that human beings are just as deady–maybe even deadlier–than the walkers that roam around. His experience with the nomads at the bar, and his experience murdering his best friend turned Rick in to a man who will do anything to survive.

Season Three opens on a less than stellar road for the dwindling group of survivors. The walker population has risen dramatically, and Rick and his group are running out of places to hide and find food. In the opening moments of the first episode, Rick and the group barely have time to rest and eat before they’re chased away by a herd of walkers who begin lurking around their new safe haven. Tackling the most popular story arc from the comics, Rick and his group stumble upon the abandoned penitentiary in the middle of the country. Though it’s overrun by the walking dead, they begin a calculated tactic to seize the prison, and take it for themselves. Meanwhile, Andrea barely survived being separated from the group, and is now on the road with her new ally Michonne, a samurai sword donning warrior. When the pair are captured by nomads, they’re introduced to a small town named Woodbury. Though it seems serene, Michonne is convinced it and the town ruler known as “The Governor” are up to something devious.

Season Three garners more episodes than two and one, so there’s much more room for error. While Three is pretty great, it’s very flawed, and there are at least two or three episodes that feel like filler and nothing more. With the changing of the guard mid-season, the third time out also feels tonally inconsistent, with some episodes slowed down for characterization, while other episodes are so fast paced you can barely keep up. “I Ain’t No Judas” is the worst episode of the season by far. It acts merely as a means of closing up storylines and giving the audience resolution to Andrea’s dilemma with losing the group in the finale of season two, but it feels like just consistent emphasis on the storyline that we just don’t need. The season also wastes some truly excellent characters from the comics, including Axel, and transforms the source material’s most dynamic character Andrea in to a push over who spends more time whining and moaning than helping anyone.

Granted, Laurie Holden is an excellent actress, but the character will grate on even the most patient viewers. That said, while the season is imperfect, the flaws are minimal compared to grand scheme of the story arc. Season Three delivers fans brand new twists and turns that not only sets itself apart from the first two seasons, but offers a finale that’s somewhat gratifying in paving itself as a television mainstay. There’s much greater emphasis on the fight for survival, while characters like Rick, Daryl, and Carl evolve in to darker and stronger individuals. There’s also the inclusion of fan favorites like the apocalyptic warrior woman Michonne played with perfection by Danai Guerira, and the larger than life hammer wielding Tyreese, portrayed wonderfully by Chad Coleman who is as much a dead ringer for his character as Jon Bernthal was for Shane. David Morrissey is also a marvelous performer as the vicious The Governor, whose own streak of violence leads to torture, mutilation and the dead littered all around him.

Fans of the comics will be taken by surprise at the re-invention of the Governor that works well for the television format. Where as in the comics he was a nomadic sleaze ball, here he’s a metaphor for a cult leader with a gubernatorial bent who leads with charisma, charm, and enthusiasm, and garners a dark side behind closed doors. The performances from the cast are as rich and compelling as ever, while the third outing delivers some excellent episodes that depict a world where hope is extinct along with the human race, and the quest for survival turns man in to animal. It’s by no means flawless like the first season, but it’s fantastic nonetheless. Warts and all.

Featured in the five Disc Blu-Ray Edition is a bevvy of extras for fans of the third season who want to learn not only about the show’s nuances, but how Robert Kirkman feels about the changes. Among the excellent featurettes, there’s the seven minute “Rising Son” about the evolution of Carl Grimes from momma’s little boy to zombie killer. There’s insight from Chandler Riggs who plays Carl, and a look at how Carl differentiates from his comic counterpart. “Evil Eye” is a look at the Governor and how he differs from the comic book character, overall. This Governor in the series is a different kind of character who rots gradually as opposed to the comic book where he’s already rotten. “Gone, But Not Forgotten” chronicles the harrowing and heartbreaking making of the death of Lori Grimes, and the experience filming her final scenes.

There’s “Heart of a Warrior” exploring the introduction of popular comic character Michonne to the Television series, and how Danai Gurira approaches playing the character as an actor and playwright. “Michonne vs. The Governor” is more a technical feature about the violent fight between Michonne and the Governor that seals their bitter hatred once and for all. “Safety Behind Bars” is a look at the Prison setting, and how the crew–with the help of the set designer from the “Mad Max” films–took a studio back lot and turned it in to a prison, along with fake bricks and all. “Making the Dead” is a fun look at the making of the walkers, and how they’re rotted and their significance to various episodes. “Guts and Glory” is a look at the various deaths in “The Walking Dead” and how the cast feels about the demise of crucial players.

There are six Deleted Scenes for the audience to chew on from the episodes “Walk With Me,” “Say the Word,” “Hounded,” “Home,” “I Ain’t No Judas,” and “Clear.” There are four audio commentaries for select episodes fans will love. For “Killer Within” there is an audio commentary with Director Guy Ferland and Actor IronE Singleton; for “Say the Word,” there’s a commentary with director/Co-Executive Producer/Special Effects Make-Up Artist Greg Nicotero and Actor Danai Gurira; for “Made to Suffer” there’s a commentary featuring Executive Producer/Writer Robert Kirkman, Executive Producers David Alpert and Gale Anne Hurd, and Actor Danai Gurira; for “The Suicide King” there’s Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd and Actor Danai Gurira, and finally there’s an audio commentary for “This Sorrowful Life” featuring Director/Co-Executive Producer/Special Effects Make-Up Artist Greg Nicotero and Actor Michael Rooker.

In Stores on Blu-Ray and DVD August 27th. Order it Through Us!