Fanboys Anonymous

It's that time of week again! Yours truly, Chris "The Dace Man" Dace, is back with another review and synopsis of AMC's horror drama The Walking Dead!

Its that time of year again where AMC grabs our minds and turns them into putty, as we spend our last hour with the cast of The Walking Dead and wrap up season 4. With a midseason finale that saw the return and demise of the Governor, the separation of the postapocalyptic group we've grown to love, and the loss of the beloved Hershel, the finale has a tough act to follow.

Andrew Lincoln has gone on record saying that this finale will "irrevocably change" Rick Grimes going forward. With a season that was saturated with character building, and the introduction of three new characters brought to life from Kirkman's comic that will usher in a new chapter to the series, what is in store for us in the finale entitled "A"? Last year's finale saw the Governor's first attack on the prison, and his full slip into insanity by mowing down his fellow townsmen, as well as the loss of Andrea. What is in store for us this year? Will we lose another beloved character? Will we see a new antagonist for Rick and the survivors to battle? Lastly, part of the group has arrived to Terminus, with the others not far behind, what happens when the entire pack arrives, and what exactly is Terminus? Hopefully all this will be answered tonight. If not, we're gonna have a very long wait till October!


We kick off our last hour of zombie fix this season with a flashback to the prison. Rick, Maggie, and Glenn return from a run and are greeted by Hershel. Yay, Hershel cameo!! We then cut to a bloody Rick who looks to be in the future, he also appears to be rattled a bit. Close-up on his eye and then we roll into the main commercial break!

Back from the first commercial break, we see Rick at a camp with Michonne and Carl in the present. Rick says they'll stay at their campsite for another day or two, and they discuss what they will do upon arrival at Terminus. Carl questions who they are and what they will tell the Terminus inhabitants about their long storied pasts. In the distance they hear a man screaming for help whom they find is surrounded by at least a dozen walkers. The heroic Carl tries to save the man, but Rick stops him from running into the herd. The three take off and find another, smaller group of walkers as the larger one follows them. We cut back to another flashback of Hershel and Rick in the prison and Hershel asking a favor of Rick and to come with him. We cut back to the present and Rick, Michonne, and Carl continue fleeing until they find a truck to camp in and call it a night. The truck appears to be the same vehicle we saw Rick sitting by at the beginning of the episode. They hear a rustling in the woods, and after some more discussions, suddenly Joe has finally caught up to Rick and as we roll into commercial Joe has a gun to Rick's head. GASP!

Before Joe can pull the trigger, Daryl reveals himself. Daryl tries to rationalize with Joe about not killing Rick and then offers himself. The group then jumps Daryl, and a man pulls Carl out of the truck. As the man tries to take advantage of Carl, Rick finally snaps and attacks Joe. In a moment that had me literally yelling "holy shit" at my TV, Rick bites Joe's neck, killing him, and then repeatedly stabs the man that had Carl. Rick has gone over the edge, and we now see the Rick from season 3 after Lori died—but this time he's killing the living. Daryl, Michonne, and Carl stare in silence as Rick repeatedly stabs a man begging for his life. We go to commercial and I try to pick my jaw off the floor.

Back with a calmer voice of reason, Hershel starts planning with Rick about taming wild animals. Hershel says to Rick "The war is over." We now see what brought Rick back from the aggressive edge. Hershel's words of wisdom convinced Rick to give up the war mentality and take up the farming life. Back to the original scene we kicked off the show with, a bloody Rick is sitting by a truck, and the group is silent. Daryl returns and begins talking to Rick about the group and how he met them and also explains that Beth is gone. Rick tells Daryl them reuniting is huge for the group and that he's his brother. They talk about Rick's anger and his uncontrollable rage when it comes to Carl's safety. We cut to a new scene of the four heading to Terminus once again. Instead of sticking to the tracks, the group diverts into the woods and approaches Terminus. They decide to spread out and do some recon, and Carl decides to stick with Michonne. Michonne asks Carl why he didn't stick with Rick, but he ignores the question. Michonne then explains to Carl how she lost her child. She explains the two she left her child with were high and were bit after the camp was overrun while she was on a run. She explains she became a monster because of her anger and that what brought her back was the group. She explains that there is no need for him to be afraid of Rick or her. Carl explains he still has these thoughts that would make Rick disappointed in him because he's a monster too. Rick saw and overheard the whole thing and then decided to bury the guns.

The group then decides to scale the fence and approach Terminus. They enter a warehouse where they meet the group in charge of Terminus. After introductions and the awkward lay-your-weapons-down standoff, they get their weapons back and head on the tour. Rick notices Glenn's riot gear, Maggie's poncho, and Hershel's watch. He immediately smacks the plate out of the hand of the tour guide and holds him at gunpoint asking where they got the items. We now have a Walking Dead Season Finale Showdown!!! Commercial time!!

We cut back to another prison scene with Rick interacting with Carl. After seeing Carl being stone cold he gives the same speech Hershel gave him. Back to the standoff and Rick is demanding answers. They engage into a gunfight with the group. The snipers on the roof seem to be directing them to a location. They're directed to the back where they are outnumbered. We cut to our last commercial break of the night! Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have just been introduced to The Hunters!

We're back for our last few minutes of Walking Dead this season. The group is being directed into a rail car, and we are very close to the biggest cliffhanger ever. They are reunited with Glenn's group, and we get a prison flashback and close ups on all their faces. With the last dialogue of the season between Rick and Abraham about their situations, Rick delivers the final line: "They're messing with the wrong people."


As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn) as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case, I don't even know what. What am I supposed to do till October?!—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!