'The Walking Dead' 2013: Rick's insanity brings an awakening in 'Clear'

“The Walking Dead” returns Sunday night with a new episode titled “Clear.” Hopefully the word “clear” refers to Rick’s head, as he has been losing it in the last couple of “The Walking Dead” episodes. The big question this week is “Can Rick get his act together to save his group?” This is what the Seattle PI is asking on Saturday, March 2, 2013.

According to the Comcast Xfinity menu for Sunday night’s “The Walking Dead,” Rick and the crew are out numbered by the Governor’s crew, so he goes on a mission to gather up some firearms. While it looked like Andrea’s allegiance was with the Governor last week, this could change soon once she really gets to the bottom of his evil ways. She’s had blinders on for too long, just seeing the aquariums filled with walker’s live heads should have been enough to have her run the other way, not to mention the long list of other clues pointing to this man’s insanity in the past.

Michonne hit the nail on the head last week when she told Andrea flat out that she choose a warm bed with that maniac over a friend. Michonne was referring to Andrea choosing to stay in Woodbury with the Governor instead of leaving with Michonne.

Andrea gave the viewers probably one of the most disturbing scenes yet to come out of “The Walking Dead” yet, last week. She chopped off a walker’s arms and then dismembered his jaw in a disturbing scene to watch. She was taking a page from Michonne’s survival book and getting the walker ready as a traveling companion. This keeps the other walkers away.

Last week as the episode closed, it looked like Andrea took Carol’s advice to give the Governor a night in bed that would curl his toes and then when his guard is down, get rid of him. Andrea climbed out of bed naked, grabbed a knife and stood over the Governor, but couldn’t do it.

“The Talking Dead’s” Chris Hardwick explains why Rick has to come back from the brink of insanity and what put him there in the first place, during a recent interview. In this week’s episode something happens that makes Rick realize what he’s become. After last week when his young son Carl told him he shouldn’t lead the group any longer, Rick started to take a hard look at himself.

This week something else happens and it pushes him to realize he has to snap out of it. With Rick and the group gearing up to fight the Governor, a little bit of residual insanity for Rick, might be just what is needed to conquer the Governor who is truly insane.

What this incident this week is wasn’t revealed by Hardwick, but he did say Rick realizes he has to come back from the mental state he’s been wallowing in for the sake of the other group members. Before he does get back to normal, he first has to face what he has become, which was something he couldn’t do before, putting him in a state of insanity.

Rick may find help in Woodbury from his former group member, Andrea. She fancies herself the peace maker, but unfortunately she doesn’t understand how deeply disturbed the Governor is and she has no idea that all he wants is the prison dwellers dead. Andrea went back to the Governor in hopes of getting him to work towards becoming friends with the prison group, which Rick and the crew will have nothing to do with. They’ve seen what the man is capable of. The box truck that unleashed a walker bomb was enough for them, especially after he ambushed the prison group.

One thing to watch for on Sunday night’s episode: Was the Governor awake as Andrea stood over him with a knife? Many viewers thought he might be and believe that he waited, while pretending to be asleep, to see if Andrea could actually attempt to slit his neck.

She couldn’t do it, so maybe the Governor is assured now that Andrea is hooked on him and on his side in this war with the prison group. But is she really? Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET “The Walking Dead” airs the new episode “Clear” on AMC.