That is a good thing. I have always actively despised hallucination sequences in TV and movies. They always come across as contrived and stupid. The Daryl hallucinating Merle episode was one of the dumbest things I have seen on the show. It is good Herschel is being utilized this season. He was so great in the second half of season two, and then stuck in the background for all of three. Incidentally, among my friends, "Daryl with the baby" has become shorthand for any cheesy, out-of-place mawkishness in fiction.

Oh, I didn't like the hallucinations at all. I don't mind them when they're well-handled, but the ones with Lori and (especially) Merle just seemed like an excuse to bring those actors back for an episode or two. I was just wondering since the whole back end of Season 3 is kind of hazy for me. It was just EPISODES of buildup towards a cheesy five minute firefight with The Governor, and I honestly don't remember much story beyond what was going on with Andrea. I couldn't remember if they phased Lori out or not, and I hate when TV shows dump a storyline just because the fans don't like it - sounds like TWD saw that one through to the end.

Beast, I've actually started to use "Pulling a Daryl Dixon" in my writers' group whenever one of the guys neuters a character in an attempt to make them lovable.

Apocalypse or not, I still don't think I would trust a guy who continues to display the SS insignia prominently on his bike. I have run into a few of those sorts in real life. Stereotypes are not good and all, but I feel confident in labeling anyone who bears Third Reich symbols as a dirtbag. I am sure viewers are meant to understand Daryl's trading his skinhead cut for an emo look is representative of his turning away from his past, and showing he is now part of the group. I would think the iconology would be something to be addressed, though. I am probably reading into it too much, based on my own experiences with white power low-lives in the metal scene. This isn't a political show, anyway.

God, after last night...Rick's actually killing this show for me. Every time he shows up, I groan. Such a selfish, annoying, whiner. I'm really starting to hate him. At the end of the second season, Rick was the best thing about the show (IMO), and now he's becoming dead weight.

"Oh, what's that, Carol? You sacrificed people to keep the group safe, before we figured out what this whole flu thing was? Here's the thing. In your hypothetical situation, you were watching out for the group and had to kill two people. In my hypothetical, I gotta look out for my still living and uninfected kids in case you somehow manage to outlast Daryl. Get the hell outta here, woman. I got tomatoes to pick."

Seriously, what was the point of sending Carol off? To keep her safe from Tyreese? Nah, he makes it bluntly clear that if everyone but Rick, Carl, Judith, and Carol drops dead (And does anyone think Carol is going to outlive Daryl or Michonne? Seriously?), he's gotta look out for number one. I know that it's just an attempt to inject more drama in the show, since they can't have everyone sit around and talk about The Governor (until he shows up again), but it's still annoying. Ugh. I keep trying to stay invested in this show, but it really wants to leave my DVR. If it was't for the zombies who keep getting gruesomely dispatched and some good supporting players (Michonne, Carl, Herschel, Tyreese), I'd be over it already.

I had a feeling he was going to exile Carol. So much of the early episode seemed to mirror the episode where he was planning on exiling shane (when they took randell out to dump him)

"Hey guys? Remember how that whole last half of the third season was a huge disappointment because 75% of it was people talking about The Governor? Yeah? Well, now we're going to show a bunch of footage that is...pretty much nothing but people talking about how craaaaaazy evil The Governor is!!! Are you guys looking forward to next week yet?"

Ugh. I was really, really, really hoping that Morrissey wouldn't come back until right before the show went on winter hiatus. Does he HAVE to be back so soon? Really?

I'm ready for more "The Governor is so purely evil and crazy" discussions! YAY!

The Governor? Who cares? Nick Fury was standing outside the prison!

So, the Governor is not a mass-murdering sadist; he is a misunderstood family man who just needs a little girl to protect in order to bring out his gentle side. Man, this show is stupid.

Yeah, that was just a bad episode all around. Yuck. It's sad, because they don't really try to justify The Governor's actions in the comics. He's just a bad person. End of story. Of course, this is the show that tried making a hateful, racist bastard directly out of the Oz cast (Merle Dixon) likable so we'd actually be sad when he bought it. But, hey, it gives them a plot for later in the season. The Governor kidnaps Carl, forces him into a cute li'l pink dress, and starts calling him Charlotte. Identity crisis all around! Fun!

Apparently we have more "Governor Episodes" to look forward to as well! Yay!

See, when they do this sort of thing on, say, Justified - where the writing is MUCH better - it works because Boyd Crowder is actually an interesting character, and the writers are smart enough to not try and make him seem misunderstood or even that sympathetic. He's just engaging and therefore worth spending an entire episode on. The Governor isn't.

I kind of wish that they'd focus the writing on The Walking Dead on developing the 25 bland characters at the prison, or giving Glenn something interesting to do. Instead? MORE GOVERNOR! Cause he's got an eyepatch. And that's kewl.

Well, in the comic world that whole episode kind of happens except in the first Governor novel with his brother, his brother's daughter, and before he gets to Woodbury and goes **** crazy. Trying to shoehorn it into the show after Woodbury just seemed weird.