There was a panic in the fan community of THE WALKING DEAD when it was revealed showrunner Frank Darabont and several writers were not going to be continuing on the show. Would it rise or fall without them? Five episodes into season three and I think the question has definitively been answered.

The show hasn’t simply risen, it has soared. This doesn’t mean the exodus was a factor, it just indicates the fears were unfounded. After less than half the season, we’ve gotten some of the most compelling horror entertainment ever put on the small screen. “Say the Word” offers us a continuing look into the psyches of two men and how they are grappling with the horror around them. Rick Grimes, after losing his Lori, descends into hellish madness screaming bloody vengeance through the blood-spattered halls of the prison. He’s clearly hit his breaking point and is now lashing out blindly, like an animal. He nearly takes Glenn out just for trying to talk him down, his eyes glazed over and seemingly not even recognizing him.

By contrast, the Governor is outwardly stable and seeming to thrive on the challenges of the grim new world. The cracks in his armour are much more subtle, but we see them. In the opening, we discover another of his dark secrets: what appears to be a zombie daughter he’ keeping in a nice little summer dress. It’s gruesome and yet at the same time humanizing; a sign that under his cool veneer, there is a seething darkness.

Later in the episode, we’re treated to good old Woodbury entertainment in the form of a zombie pit fight with Merle and another fine citizen. It’s the blood and circuses that soothed the masses of ancient Rome and another point in the favor of the Governor-as-dictator theory. When Andrea is sickened by it, he uses the opportunity to continue his “ends justify the means” rationalizing and gets his seductive hooks deeper into her. It’s hard to imagine the horror of using former human beings as fodder for bloodsport and a chilling look at how close we are to barbarism. Even as zombies, it seems undignified to use them like that.

Michonne sure isn’t falling for it though and this episode she finally gets her sword back, draws it on the Governor and gets the hell out of Woodbury after appealing to Andrea to join her. It’s a tough spot for Andrea to be in, torn between trust for her friend that she survived with over months on the unforgiving road and the safety and security of Woodbury. This is a classic dilemma and parallels strongly with people the world over who’ve lived under oppressors, balancing compromise between values and having food, shelter and relative safety. Any number of very real atrocities in history have been given a blind eye by people who just don’t want to risk their human comforts. So it goes in the world of the zombie apocalypse.

In the meantime, Daryl and Hershel take the lead at the prison while Rick loses it and supplies for the baby are recovered.  There’s even a touching moment with Uncle Daryl bouncing the newborn in his arms during a feeding and calling her “asskicker.” Carl’s suggested list of names ends with “Lori” tragically and leads us to reflect again on the horrible choices he had to make.

Back in crazytown, Rick finds the spot Lori died in and discovers the bullet Carl used to put her down. Following a bloody trail from where Lori’s body should have been he finds a walker, belly distended from its consumption of Lori’s remains. Rick seems to recognize what’s happened and after shooting it in the head, uses Carl’s knife to stab the monster over and over and over in its wretched guts. It’s a wrenching scene followed by a conclusion that makes us all wonder just how far gone Rick is.

Once again, this is only episode five. If you aren’t watching this you are missing out on the best entertainment on TV right now. 

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