Where we left off: The Governor is watching over the prison and nothing else matters since knowing that he’s around just means that no one is safe and people will most likely die since he is just a psychopath; oh and things went down at the prison with the virus becoming more dangerous, turning people into walkers, and leaving the group members alive in the sick block to fight for their life.
So…The Governor…nice to see him watching over the quiet life of the prison…maybe he’ll join them and change his ways? He’ll probably be welcomed with open arms…that are holding guns…and a bow and arrow…I’m sure the love will be there. Except you know. Not really. The episode opens up with the Governor and the events that occurred after he abandoned and killed his own people. Him and the remainder of his group camp out in safe territory only for him to wake up the next day and see the rest of his people left him. In a wonderful montage sequence we see him drive back to Woodbury and see the place in flames…I didn’t think it was possible but I actually feel for the guy. A conversation plays over the montage between him and a young-ish woman.
He sees a little girl in a window in what looks to be an apartment complex so he decides to go inside the building only to be greeted by two women and the child and a gun…he drops his weapon and it seems they’re open to let him in. The previous conversation we heard in the montage picks up and he just sits there quietly. The one woman, Tara, is a former Atlanta City police officer and…well…she’s a badass. And slightly terrifying. Lily seems more receptive to the Governor, giving him what looks to be a can of Chef Boyardee…the gourmet meal of the zombie apocalypse. He just pours it out the window…what a shame…wasting some fine cuisine.
Seeing this small family of two women, one child, and their lung cancer stricken father just doing what they can to live and stay alive. Seeing The Governor interact with this family is both kind of touching yet I can’t help but shake the feeling that at any moment he’ll probably just snap and kill each and every one of them except keep the daughter for himself to make up for the one he lost. The old man suggests the Governor go up to an apartment of his friends to look around the place and take the backgammon set he has. He hears something and goes to check it out…just to find the mans body in a walker state in the bathtub…holding a revolver that he must have used to blow his head off not knowing what he would turn into. It’s a bit of a sad and somber moment and the reality of the type of world these people live in.
It’s easy to forget that the Governor is a human being as well, like in a moment when he takes a picture out of him, his wife, and his daughter. He folds himself out of the picture almost as if he knows what type of monster he’s turned into. The next morning before he sets off to leave he’s asked by the Lily if he can go to an old person’s home and retrieve one or two oxygen tanks for her father, who only has two days of oxygen left. The place is dark and ominous which always makes for some good and innocent fun. Just so it’s known…old people zombies are actually just as terrifying as young zombies…but they’re unable to walk. So. Ya know. There’s that. It almost seems as if he’s reluctant to kill any of the zombies …which may be a bad thing. Since it sounds like they’re coming in packs now.
Which they are. That becomes a bit of an issue considering not every walker there is an old person but an orderly or a doctor. He tries to leave with a cart of about 10 tanks but is only able to take two out with him. You know, walkers really aren’t that bad when there’s only one or two. If only that were always the case. He makes it back alive and the Lily helps him to bandage his wounds. Megan comes into the room and keeps an “eye” on the Governor, and the two get to talking. She asks about his eye and what happened and…in a cute moment, he says that he’s a pirate. He goes on saying he was trying to help someone…to protect them and to try and prevent them from getting hurt. The moment is brilliantly acted by both parts and again…I feel for the Governor which just is weird.
The Governor and Megan then engage in a game of chess…her not knowing the game and him explaining it. Oh! And The Governor looks less like a homeless man…clean shaven and a haircut. He’s treating the little girl like his own daughter…and she seems to be receptive to him like the father who left her. Sadly…the father passes away…and he looks as peaceful as ever. Until he goes to grab Tara…and then The Governor…going back to the man I remember him as, takes an oxygen tank and bashes the old mans skull in…with the two women and the child watching. Megan, rightfully, terrified of him now. But Tara lets him know that she’s okay with it considering he saved her life. Back in his own room, he takes the picture of his family, takes a match, and sets it on fire. As he goes to leave, Lily lets him know that her, her sister and the child will be going with him…thinking there has to be something better out there.
The Governor and the new group of his go on and leave the apartment complex and it seems like the old Governor may be back which may not be a good thing for the women. While trying to sleep in the back of the truck, Lily slowly begins to make advances on The Governor. While Tara and Megan are asleep on the other side of Lily. Seems…fun. The next morning, the truck doesn’t seem to be able to stop (did they bang the truck to its demise?) so now the four have to go on and walk. Tara rolls her ankle after a loud crow, and within moments a horde of walkers begins to approach. Megan, shell-shocked at the sight of dozens of walkers nearing her, seems unable to react. But she runs into The Governor’s arms and the four of them aim to make their escape.
Only there’s only issue: The Governor and Megan end up falling into a deep pit with a few walkers. In Megan, he sees his daughter…and he fights for her life to make sure she’s alive. Gunshots are heard in the background while The Governor is fighting, and once all is said and done we hear a familiar voice. He finds himself face to face with one of his old lieutenants in a pit that was his own creation back in Woodbury.
The way the series is going, it seems like these final few episodes will be heavily focused on The Governor and how he finds himself back at the prison. He clearly has a new goal to keep that family safe, especially Megan, but running into his old crew doesn’t bode well for him. It seems like this is his chance for redemption but I just don’t think that it’s possible for him at this point in his life. All in all, The Walking Dead seems to be getting better and better and it’s truly becoming an impressive show. I’ve had my doubts as to the future of the show with the carosel of executive producers, but so far this has been the strongest season in terms of storytelling yet. With next weeks episode being titled Dead Weight, I can only imagine what’s coming next.
Joshua Kaye (@JKaye57) is a recent college grad with a BA in Cinema Studies. A Queens, NY native, Josh hopes to one day rule all of New York, then the United States, then the world. But after he writes an Oscar winning screenplay.
