This was one of the most interesting week's of the year as The Walking Dead reached it's Season 3 conclusion on the same night that HBO launched Season 3 of Game of Thrones. So, it is safe to say plenty of people had their DVR's working full tilt. At the same time, The Good Wife was continuing along with a great season and Justified aired Season 4's penultimate episode.
It was a tough week to pick No. 3 since the top two were pretty much a foregone conclusion going in ...
3. Californication, Episode 11, The Abby. Californication is one of those shows that is just impossible to get a handle on because the writers keep it moving at such a well-timed pace. Every week it takes a few days to get a full understanding of where the episode took the characters because the writers have stayed so very true to each and every individual on the show over the course of six seasons. This episode was not one that needed to simmer though. It very much leaves the viewer wondering exactly where the relationship of Hank Moody (David Duchovny) and Karen (Natascha McElhone) is going to go now that their daughter, Becca, has moved away. Karen comments that she thinks Becca may have been the only thing keeping her and Hank together all these years ... and the viewers have to know that she has a valid point. On the side, we have the wonderful up-and-down relationship of Charlie Runkle (Evan Handler) and Marcy Handler (Pamela Adlon) coming full-circle to what seems to be a re-marriage of the couple we all cheer for each week. The final episode of Season 6 is sure to be good and we already know we are getting a Season 7, so it will be interesting to see what kind of cliffhanger is in store for Hank.
2. Game of Thrones, Episode 1, Valar Dohaeris. Dragons, dwarf, Daenerys. Delicious.
1. The Walking Dead, Episode 13, Welcome to the Tombs. The Walking Dead season finale did everything a season finale is supposed to do. It also had a handful of problems ... but if we all watched TWD just pointing out the problems ... the show would pretty much be ruined. This season had a great focus on the "kill or be kill" mentality of Woodbury's leading man — The Governor played perfectly all season by David Morrissey — vs. the struggle of Rick (Andrew Lincoln) trying not to become that. And it teased all season that we would get an epic showdown ... there was only one problem the writers had with that. They need to be able to bring the ultra-villainous Governor back in future episodes/seasons when needed. So, they took this episode to remind how reprehensible he is, get Rick and his misfit band of survivors in the clear, and leave open the possibility of future head-butting. The season long turmoil felt by Andrea (Laurie Holden) and her desire to bring Rick and The Governor together without anybody getting hurt ended the only way it could, with Andrea dead. I thought the death scene was done well and wreaked of desperation that everyone in zombie world must feel day after day. Carl's cold-blooded killing of a kid who was handing over his weapon also sets up a very good future storyline with his father, who seems to have come back around to the steady hand that we all cheered for throughout Season 1 and most of Season 2. Season finale's for super-popular shows are tough to do. They need to keep plenty of storylines available going forward because this show could clearly end up with a 6 season run or more and writers on popular shows know that actors and actresses are a fickle bunch that could just flake out at any point (ask the Downton Abbey writers about that). So, with that in mind ... we did not get the great big bang-em-up shootout ending many people hoped for, but doesn't everyone remember the silly ending to Season 2 with unlimited shotgun ammo and unlimited zombies? Maybe the folks at TWD realized they need more to a show than bang-em-up shootouts ... and they gave us plenty of story angles instead.
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