After an emotionally charged episode from last week, the season finale of “The Walking Dead” did not disappoint and ends the season on a high note.

Last week marked the end for fan-favorite Merle as he was ruthlessly killed by the Governor. Milton was the next victim after he tried to end the Governors life on his own.

After leaving Milton to die in front of a restrained Andrea in the torture room, the Governor does his best motivational speech before setting off for the prison. As they approach the prison, the fireworks begin as Woodbury attacks as if they were storming the beaches of Normandy.

However, it seems the prison gang decided to skip town as the prison seems like a ghost town.

Going back to last episode, Rick made it clear he is nothing like the Governor by giving everyone the choice to decide what they do next. They could stay and fight or leave the prison for good and look for other option. Instead of acting like a dictator, Rick is reverting back to the good, honest man he was before the zombie outbreak.

Fortunately for fans of the prison group, they did not run away. Using guerilla war tactics, they flush out the Woodbury attacks forcing a retreat.

The deaths of all but the Governor and two of his subordinates survive. However, they were not killed by the people you would think.

The final assault is not like it was in the comics, but that’s not a bad thing. In the comics, everyone but the main cast die. This leaves only five people who survive leading to an overhaul of the series.

It’s nice to see a different take as it keeps the intrigue about what will happen in each episode. Going by the book would make for a boring experience and thankfully the show writers have done well on their own to create an organic story.

A nice side story while the fighting is going on is between Andrea and a dying Milton. As he dies, he tries to help Andrea escape before he turns into a zombie. It’s nice and adds a relaxing feel to a heavily violent episode.

Towards the end, Rick, Michonne and Daryl chase after the group to finish the job but are surprised at what they find. Leading to an emotional ending, the episode ends full-circle from where it began in the torture chamber.

This episode did a very good job rounding out the saga between Woodbury and the prison gang. It had all the action and drama we have all come to expect from the show. It was edge of your seat entertainment and did not drag, which is what plagued the second season.

It’s also nice to see Rick finally back to the good person he is. Instead of turning away newcomers, he is now embracing the fact that they need to help each other to survive. It took him awhile, losing a wife is hard, but he came to his senses in the prison groups twilight hour.

Even though the comics used death to have a clean slate, the show is going a different route. With the war now over, a new chapter can begin with the merging of what’s left of both camps.

Hopefully now we can see Tyreese become a more prominent fixture in the show, but those are just my cries for attention to my favorite character from the comic.