The Governor convinces his new group to attack the prison. With grim results.
The Walking Dead – Season 4, Episode 8: “Too Far Gone”
Tagged David Morrissey
The Walking Dead – Season 4, Episode 7: “Dead Weight”
The Governor finds Caesar again, as they each try living a new life. But that old life keeps tugging at him, wanting to creep back in.
The Walking Dead – Season 4, Episode 6: “Live Bait”
In this chapter, we see where the Governor's been all this time.
The Walking Dead – Season 3, Episode 16: “Welcome to the Tombs”
Tragedy strikes when the Governor does the unthinkable, as Rick, Daryl, and Michonne try to find Andrea.
The Walking Dead – Season 3, Episode 14: “Prey”
Andrea tries to help Michonne when she figures out the Governor's plans.
But all's never well in this new apocalyptic world.
The Walking Dead – Season 3, Episode 13: “Arrow on the Doorpost”
To try avoiding any further bloodshed, Rick sits down for a face-to-face with the Governor.
Will all goes as planned?
The Walking Dead – Season 3, Episode 10: “Home”
With Rick trying to put his mind back together, others try stepping up to the plate. Meanwhile, the Governor plots revenge.
The Walking Dead – Season 3, Episode 8: “Made to Suffer”
In a twist of fate, the Brothers Dixon wind up in a terrible position against one another.
The Walking Dead – Season 3, Episode 7: “When the Dead Come Knocking”
AMC’s The Walking Dead
Season 3, Episode 7: “When the Dead Come Knocking”
Directed by Daniel Sackhelm
Written by Frank Renzulli
* For a review of the previous episode, “Hounded” – click here
* For a review of the next episode, “Made to Suffer” – click here
This vicious entry in the third season starts with Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) interrogating Glenn (Steven Yeun). As Maggie (Lauren Cohan) listens on in the next room, strapped to a chair, her man is being tortured, as Merle looks to find where they’re living. He wants to find his brother Daryl (Norman Reedus), but wouldn’t mind getting his hands on Officer Friendly, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln).
Speaking of Rick, he’s watching Michonne (Danai Gurira) right outside the fence of the prison. The walkers finally tune in to her being around, so Rick and Carl (Chandler Riggs) stand there as she fends off a group of them. Her wound is getting worse then she passes out, which prompts the Grimes men to intervene finally. Or at least Carl does, anyways, surprising his father. They both head out and clear a path, hauling Michonne to safety and taking in the goods she brought. Best of all, they determine she was shot and not bitten by walkers. They take her inside. At least for now. Rick has her locked out of the cellblock for the time being.
Then, Daryl reveals to them all that Carol (Melissa McBride) is alive. She is happy to see them all, receiving hugs and all sorts of love. But also she discovers the baby without Lori, as she and Rick and Carl each share a few tears. Emotionally charged scene with a whole lot going on, which is something Michonne sees and you can tell it affects her. Perhaps this is a group she might someday be able to belong to, in her own mind.
Slippers and a robe on, The Governor (David Morrissey) receives Milton Mamet (Dallas Roberts) at the door. Apparently Mr. Coleman is ready – whoever that is.
At the prison, Michonne reveals Glenn and Maggie were taken and that’s why she had the formula when she arrived. Nobody trusts her, which is understandable. We do because we’re privileged with all the information. Slowly, she reveals the presence of survivors in the town of Woodbury, talking of The Governor and even calling him a “Jim Jones type“.
Swing back to Merle, who has Glenn’s face beat in, bleeding, purple and puffy. Except Glenn is one tough cookie. He warns of Rick coming to find them, what he’ll do. Merle isn’t afraid, but Glenn says: “We‘ve been on the road. Not hiding in some dungeon.” Problem is he doesn’t know about Andrea, which gives Merle a slight advantage he’ll use in some way.
The plan at the prison is for Rick and a few others to go to Woodbury and find the lost couple. Even the remaining prisoners agree to help, as best they can. Carl and Beth (Emily Kinney) are ready to do their part, too. Everybody is helping and doing what they can. Another brief father-son chat happens between Carl and Rick, starting out surrounding the boy having to finish off his mother; Rick trusts his boy to protect the people at the prison, which is a great thing to see. They end up deciding on a name finally, coming from Carl’s third grade teacher: Judith. A touching moment in between the harshness of their world.
Milton is experimenting in his little lab at Woodbury. The Mr. Coleman he spoke of is a subject they’re using to test where reanimation happens, how it does, and so on. Apparently the older gentleman is doing Woodbury “a great service“, or so The Governor fawns over him. Andrea’s brought in to help things along with Milton, which involves the playing of a record, the slight ringing of a bell and specific commands and statements from Milton. It is all meant to test the boundaries of the zombie virus, the functions of the brain after death and going into the void of the undead. All sorts of scientific stuff Milton hopes to understand. See, Mr. Coleman is dying and they’re trying to figure out more about walkers.
More disturbing things are happening in the room where Glenn is held. Merle lets a walker loose in the room with him. Glenn fights it off, still duct taped to a chair. He manages to bust out slightly and keep the thing from biting him. Very cool scene with an interesting zombie kill, also showing how resourceful Glenn is, and what a survivor he has become over time.
The most disturbing is when The Governor goes to see Maggie, tied to the chair. For a moment I was sure he would inflict some terrible kind of treatment, sexual abuse, on her. It is an ominous few moments between the two, as he puts a terrible fear in Maggie. And us. But she is defiant and refuses to give in to any of his tactics, telling him to do what he wants and to “go to hell“.
Out on the road, Michonne leads Rick and Daryl towards Woodbury. A large horde of walkers comes from the woods to keep everyone busy. With too many bearing down the group slips further into the trees where they find a lodge of some sort. Inside, a rotten dead dog stinks the place up. Better than outside where the dead line every inch of the lodge’s exterior. Rick finds a crazy man sleeping under a blanket on a bed. He threatens everybody’s safety ending in a shot fired and then Michonne putting her sword through the man to prevent walkers getting in. “Remember the Alamo?” quips Daryl looking out at the thicket of walking corpses crowding them inside. They feed the dead man to the walkers out front and sneak through the back, as the distraction works perfectly.
The heat turns up in Woodbury with The Governor threatening death against Glenn in order to illicit a response from Maggie. She obviously gives up the prison, its location, how many survivors are left there, and anything else they need. Sad to hear the information given up, but what else would you do? Maggie clearly doesn’t want to watch the love of her life die, not after everything. And Glenn almost explodes seeing a topless Maggie being treated how she is by The Governor. They’re left alone. Except now things are getting wilder, as The Governor’s paranoia sets in. At the very same time, Rick and his small crew have arrived at the gates of Woodbury. They stand ready to take back their people, to infiltrate.
The episode ends with Andrea strolling back to the new place she seemingly sleeps at night, everything appearing fine, The Governor wringing his hands and worrying about the next step, and just outside Rick Grimes poises to mount his offensive on the sleepy town of Woodbury.
Next episode is titled “Made to Suffer” and is sure to bring plenty of madness, excitement, paranoia, and naturally… death.
The Walking Dead – Season 3, Episode 3: “Walk With Me”
AMC’s The Walking Dead
Season 3, Episode 3: “Walk With Me”
Directed by Guy Ferland
Written by Evan T. Reilly
* For a review of the previous episode, “Sick” – click here
* For a review of the next episode, “Killer Within” – click here
We start out with a military helicopter chopping through the sky; it’s in trouble. The serious kind. With soldiers inside the thing goes down hard into the forest.
Cut to Andrea (Laurie Holden) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) on the road, miles away. They see it crash, then begin to make their way into a field out towards the site. Of course, Michonne has her two pet zombies on a leash with them. When they get to the crash, Andrea has to rest a minute, still not feeling top notch after her bout of the flu, or whatever. Michonne goes to see if there are any survivors, but mostly it’s just death. One soldier is cut in half completely by the chopper’s remaining blade.
And then in the road a little further comes a truck. Michonne and Andrea hide, checking out the people who emerge from the vehicles. They’re a crew of men there to investigate the crash, as well as see if there’s anything worth scavenging. A few walkers come out of the forest and are quickly dispatched by this new group, with bow and arrows, baseball bats. The men discover a soldier in the helicopter is still breathing, so they get him out. They only end up killing more people, the dead coming back. Essentially putting people out of their misery, yet there’s still something about these guys that feels… military. Strongly so, and in the wrong sense.
But out of the woods behind Michonne and Andrea comes a familiar face, to us, and Andrea, too. It is “your old pal Merle” – Mr. Michael Rooker himself. After all he’s been through, the older Dixon brother survived. He now has a nice little rig on his arm, extending out into a blade. Good for the post-zombie apocalypse.
Now the two women are being shuffled off, blindfolded in the night. Brought to some place where they have no idea how to get, or get back from. Although, once they’re in this new camp Andrea’s being cared for with medicine. Merle shows up and explains a few things. Shows off his bloody, nasty stump. He has a few choice words, particularly about Rick Grimes (Andrea Lincoln). Their reunion is not exactly cheery, but Andrea doesn’t seem in danger. For now.
The man who runs the community is called The Governor (David Morrissey). He also gives Andrea and Michonne some knowledge – no matter how people die, they turn. Shocking for these two to learn it, especially from a man neither of them know. But either way for the time being they’re welcomed into the quaint, walled little town named Woodbury.
The place is almost too good to be true. Neither Andrea nor Michonne is too keen on staying, though, eventually they’re convinced to stay a while. Their streets are protected, men always on guard and others making runs for supplies, et cetera. A few people with obvious medical experience take care of the sick and unhealthy. Walkers never make it inside the town walls, but are shot by lookouts posted around Woodbury. Seems as if The Governor has everything all figured out, right?
In a makeshift laboratory, Milton Mamet (Dallas Roberts) is doing a few experiments. He and Merle aren’t really pals, they don’t work well together. But Milton gets on with his tests. The Governor is interested in the previous relationship between Merle and Andrea, from their old group; he wants more information, specifically asking if Andrea knew anything about his brother Daryl (Norman Reedus).
Milton dissects and studies the walkers Michonne was hauling along with her on the leashes. Turns out, if you take away the zombie’s ability to eat eventually it stops wanting to, or caring for food. As we know they were used as repellent, to help Michonne walk among the dead without much attention paid to her. The Governor has Milton fairly wrapped around his finger, as it seems the rest of Woodbury’s citizens are, too.
The next morning, Andrea and Michonne have breakfast with Milton and The Governor. Not totally without unease. Michonne eyes her samurai sword placed in a cabinet in the apartment where they sit. All the while, tea is served and things are as if nothing ever changed. Except every single thing has changed. Personally, the idea of Woodbury and trying to make things seem normal is almost too forward a step. Too forward thinking, at least for the time being. While most of the world is overrun with living corpses.
The soldier saved earlier gives The Governor a location for the rest of his men, a National Guard convoy. He heads out to meet them waving a white flag to make sure they don’t take it as an assault. He tells the men about their survivor, but soon things turn into a bloodbath. The Governor initiates an all-out one sided gunfight, kill the soldiers and commandeering all their guns, ammo, vehicles. It is a chilling moment. To watch this Governor go from being a friendly leader welcoming new citizens into his safe haven suburb, to a cold blooded killer who takes down a bunch of military men who were probably willing to become part of their larger group, perhaps help with keeping things safe. A very defining scene, which will resonate further.
So back to town goes The Governor and his men, new vehicles and other goods in tow. Just another day out scavenging the wastelands. He boldfaced lies to everyone in Woodbury, saying the National Guard soldiers were taken down by “biters”, as they call them in this camp. Is this how things usually go, will always go? Probably. He seems like a two-faced sort already within the first episode of his appearance. Those who’ve read the comics know all about his danger.
Andrea: “So what‘s your real name? If it‘s not asking too much.”
Governor: “I never tell”
Andrea: “Never say never”
Governor: “Never”
But it’s the final couple minutes of the episode which tell the full tale. The Governor, with a naked woman splayed on his bed sleeping, slips into a secret room he keeps. He drinks and sits in his big leather chair, thinking. Watching. In front of him stands a large encasement of aquarium tanks, all of them holding dead walker heads, including the National Guard soldier who survived; at least until he arrived in Woodbury. More will come. Let’s see how this new town affects both Andrea and Michonne.
Stay tuned. Next episode is titled “Killer Within”.
