The Walking Dead Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life: 06 (Walking Dead (6 Stories))

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The episode was directed by Greg Nicotero and written by Scott M. Gimple [2] and shares its name with the sixth volume of the comics. [3] Everything is tautly paced without rushing through the more important parts and emotionally complex. The world building is stunningly immersive and effective. Direction is smart and atmospheric while the show throughout has been strongly acted. Michael Rooker especially is outstanding in this episode. Emotion wise this episode was very powerful. Seeing Daryl find his brother like the way he did was very sad. Merle went out like a hero, in an attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of his brother, making his death even more sad.

Kirkman, Robert (May 2, 2007). "This Sorrowful Life". The Walking Dead. Vol.6. Image Comics. ISBN 978-1582406848. THE-WALKING-DEAD It's really hard to start discussing an episode that is parts solid and awful. "This Sorrowful Life" had its highs, its very low lows, and plenty of "ugh" moments that make it hard for me to say whether I'd ever be willing to watch this episode ever again. I suppose that is the way almost every episode in the second half of season three has been, but this is probably the best example, as the highs hit almost redeemed the episode…but not quite. Merle going on a rogue mission on his own to kill the Governor is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 46, where Tyreese and Michonne go on their rogue mission instead. In the DVD commentary for this episode, it is revealed that Greg Nicotero's father cameos as one of the walkers near the prison fence in the first scene of the episode.

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Lauren Henneberg, Coleman Youmans, Jacque Tenpenny, James Barker, Ashe Johnson, and Jeremiah Scott as Walkers Merle is put down by his brother, Daryl, following his sacrificial death by the hands of The Governor. While I can’t say I was sad about Merle’s death, it certainly played out as the strong, “going out on his own terms” scenario it was meant to and certainly a great send off for a character whose presence I once loathed. And man, Norman Reedus then actually had me legitimately emotional. Reedus was excellent conveying Daryl’s absolute despair at seeing Merle now a zombie, as he broke down in tears and initially couldn’t bring himself to do anything more than shove Merle away. The juxtaposition between this and how he then absolutely destroyed Merle was an excellent way of showing the extremes going through Daryl in that moment. The writing generally is intelligent and thought-provoking, with lots of tension and emotional resonance and still shows signs of character complexity and multiple layer storytelling. The climactic parts are thrilling and terrifying as well as uncompromising.

This Sorrowful Life" is basically Merle's episode. His big goodbye. So, you can look at it two ways: you hated Merle all along and you were yelling "Good Riddance!" as Darryl kabobed his brothers head or you were starting to like Merle and felt like there was a redemption to be had, which we sort of see in this episode. I believe this factor will impact how you feel about this episode.So what is a repentant Merle to do? Redeem himself? No. Change who he is? No. He does the one thing that comes naturally: He looks out for his little brother’s interests. And that is the beauty of the episode. Merle does not metamorphose into a saint or a kind hearted butterfly. He leads walkers to where the Governor is hiding and kills as many of his former friends as possible, all to help his brother. Honestly, if the shoe had been on the other foot and he had to kill the prison group to secure Daryl’s safety at Woodbury, he would have done it. Hell, he shot that poor asthmatic teenager without a second thought. At the perimeter of the prison, Glenn scans a group of walkers at the fence. He finds a female and cuts off two of her fingers. This episode featured the death of Merle, who is killed when trying to redeem himself. Critics praised the performance of Michael Rooker in the episode and Norman Reedus' performance at the end, upon confronting a zombified Merle. This Sorrowful Life" may be more focused on the character development and interaction, though the action is hardly neglected. The good news is that this aspect is done exceptionally, the character interaction makes for some brilliant scenes that are suspenseful and emotional. I mostly enjoyed this episode for the performances, character development, and general themes, but I slightly struggled with some elements of the story.

I like Glenn decided to propose Maggie. I really do. But when I saw Glenn cut off the walker's finger to get her engagement ring, it was so disgusting. He should have gone to Jewellery store and get a brand new ring for her best girlfriend, not to get a ring from the zombie. Eww! Personally, I am a little split. While I was tired of Merle walking around like a badass that didn't get along with anyone, he did try to redeem himself in the end and tried to save his baby brother. You have to respect any dude that goes out in a blaze of glory, bullets and fists flying, all to protect his family and kill a man that betrayed him. But in the end, I didn't feel the full impact of the moment. Merle's demise felt a bit rushed and the change towards redemption felt all too sudden.But now to Merle, who was the focus of the episode. Merle takes matters into his own hands and decides to bring Michonne to The Governor himself. In his conversations with both Daryl and Michonne in the episode we see that Merle doesn't want to be the evil guy. This all leads up to his final decision to let Michonne go, while he goes off on his own to confront The Governor. Merle manages to kill 8 of The Governor's men, including the unbelievably annoying Ben, before being forced into a fight with The Governor himself. In a particularly brutal fight, The Governor gains the upper hand and kills Merle. We then see Daryl find Merle as a walker and kill him, with great emotion. Had heard nothing but great things about 'The Walking Dead' from friends and IMDb reviewers. It took a while to get round to watching, both from being busy and also not being sure whether it would be my cup of tea. Finally getting round to it a few years ago and slowly working my way through it, having had a very long to watch and review list, 'The Walking Dead' turned out to be very much my cup of tea and as good as the hype made it out to be, have found it extremely addictive.