I know I’m not the first person to say this – in fact pretty much everyone on the internet ever is – but I’m really enjoying the Walking Dead these days. They seem to have finally hit their stride. Episode after episode has hit the mark. I think we’re finally starting to put the second season’s problems behind us for good.
The episode starts off with Rick and the Governor coming together for some little peace talk. Except neither of them really have peace on their mind. Andrea seems to think she’s some kind of bridge between the two groups but, honestly, neither of them respects her any more. Rick wants a cease fire and division of territory. The Governor says he wants their total surrender but it’s really something else…
Anyway, they go back and forth for a while and have a pretty deep conversation. The Governor tries to humanize himself. Rick sits and glowers and tells him he’s made his choices.
While Rick and the Governor are talking things out, the rest of their two groups are off having fun and bonding together. Merle and his little friend from Woodbury were kind of cute going and killing zombies together. Sharing cigarettes. Telling one another that nothing is going to get worked out anyway. It was very reminiscent of soldiers on a battlefield during a short cease fire. And Milton is all kinds of super awkward while talking to Herschel about science and his amputation and stuff.
I agree Herschel. Before you let anyone see your stump they best buy you a drink first.
Back at the prison the group is preparing for a massive fire fight. They are stashing ammo all around the building and planning for a major defensive operation. Merle is pissed off that Daryl is off with Rick and in danger and butts heads with Glenn whose really trying to man the fuck up. It gets so bad that Herschel’s youngest daughter grabs a gun and fires into the air like “Cool your shit, people.”
Next thing we know it Judith is going to be threatening to shoot people just to get people to cooperate.
Maggie and Glenn decide afterwords that it’s time to have a brief reconciliation and then have sexy time. Except Glenn totally freezes up because there are zombies outside and they can see and hear them. So they lock themselves in a storage room because in a prison that’s still heavily zombie ridden that’s totally safe. (I mean, they don’t get eaten this time but still.)
Merle keeps trying to push this plan to go to the peace talk and just straight up assassinate the governor. Which, honestly, is totally the right idea. I don’t know why people are so opposed to this. Yes, Rick, Daryl, Andrea, and Herschel might be caught in the crossfire but still. The guy isn’t wrong. The Governor is going to kill everyone no matter what.
He claims all he wants is Michonne. That’s all it takes to get peace between the prison and Woodbury. Rick gives up Michonne. It’s over.
But did anyone really believe that?
For some reason Milton apparently did. Milton. Buddy. I know you have a hard on for the Governor but he is not a good man. He’s not.
At least Rick saw through his shit. Because instead of giving the group the Governor’s ultimatum he tells them all that the Governor wants the prison and wants to kill all of them. He basically declares war right then and there. Well, not basically. He does declare war right there. Rick tells Herschel, though, because everyone needs to have a grandpa’s shoulder to cry on.
All in all, this is a pretty short recap. It’s dialogue heavy and not much happens but damn is it not an impressive episode.
Next week… shit seems like it’s going to start going down, though. Andrea finally realizes the Governor is totally irredeemable. And so does Milton, apparently. Which is nice. Milton doesn’t seem like a bad guy. Weird, yes. But not a bad guy. He deserves a hero’s death in the end.
Also, it looks like we’ll finally see Tyreese and his group again next week!
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