‘The Walking Dead’ Season 3 Trailer: 8 Secrets Revealed

As we’ve mentioned before, that helicopter seen in promotional posters for ‘The Walking Dead’ season 3, as well as glimpsed once every season to date, will play a much larger role in the coming episodes. What we see in the trailer seems to be a modified version of the events in the book, as The Governor’s camp happen upon the downed military chopper, seemingly encountering Andrea and Michonne in the process.

In the books, it was Glenn and Rick who first saw the crashing chopper and headed off to investigate with Michonne. Finding the abandoned chopper eventually led the trio to Woodbury, where it was revealed that the aircraft’s occupants had been survivors holed up in a news station, rather than military personnel as on AMC.

Several shots in the trailer make it evident that some time has passed in between the season 2 finale "Beside the Dying Fire” and ‘The Walking Dead’ season 3, as not only are both Carl and Hershel’s hair seen to be much longer, but Lori is visibly further along in her pregnancy. We’ll learn exactly what happened to the survivors when the season premieres on Sunday, October 14, but it’s likely that the time-jump was facilitated by the show’s production schedule and Atlanta weather.

You see, the final episodes of ‘The Walking Dead’ season 2 alluded to the weather getting colder in preparation for the winter, but the show’s production schedule meant shooting once more in the summer months, thereby requiring a bit of a time-shift in the story.

Granted, AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ has a habit of using original characters, even where minor comic book characters could potentially fit, but we couldn’t help notice some cursory similarities between comic book Woodbury inhabitants, and a few fresh faces glimpsed in the trailers.

The woman seen in the infirmary over Michonne’s left shoulder may be some incarnation of (or combination of) Dr. Stevens’ medical assistant Alice, while one of The Governor’s thugs with a bandana wrapped around his head could be implied to be Martinez, both of whom aided in the survivors’ eventual escape from Woodbury.

Several times we see characters wearing riot gear (adorned with “WGC,” presumably “West Georgia Correctional”) as they attempt to clear the prison of walkers, notably Glenn and Maggie. In the books, both were the first to discover the prison’s stash of riot gear. No one in the trailer has been seen to wear the full-body outfit just yet, but it’s still a nice nod to the books.

Clearly, the continuity has shifted from the books as the first from the survivors’ group to encounter either Woodbury or The Governor is shown to be both Michonne and Andrea. Michonne is among the first to meet The Governor in both the books and AMC's version, but, in the books, she needs far less time to doubt the man’s trustworthiness. Andrea even meeting the governor is completely original to the AMC series, and judging by their borderline-friendly interplay and some recent comments by Laurie Holden, the two might just get more than friendly.

One shot that certainly might have slipped under the radar is an ominous look at The Governor reclining in (presumably) his quarters, seemingly transfixed by an image in front of him. If the series follows certain key traits of the iconic ‘Walking Dead’ villain to the letter, fans will note that it’s certainly not a TV that’s got his attention, but rather his own unique form of entertainment (which we won’t give away just yet).

Purely speculation, of course, but at least two shots of the trailer suggest that securing the prison will cause several injuries, if not casualties. We’re betting on one of two things that could make the youngest Greene daughter Beth so upset (with Rick’s head in the foreground tending to someone), while Rick is seen once again hesitant to put a bullet in someone. Any guesses what? (Or who?)

Another quick clip that takes a little bit of thought is Daryl training his crossbow on someone, asking, “Who the hell are you?” It stands to reason that Daryl wouldn’t ask this of a walker, even though the following shot shows one lurching toward that direction.

Rather, we think this might be a bit of clever editing, as it looks like Daryl is standing in a cafeteria (note the table in the background), and fans of the comic well know what the survivors find inside the prison mess hall. If true, it’s certainly been kept well under wraps, but there’s no hiding from hungry 'Walking Dead’ fans!