“You’re the town drunk who knocked over my fence and ripped up my yard. Nothing more.”
Even in a post-apocalyptic zombie world, there are still neighbors arguing over their yards. Some things never change! War negotiations. Fun stuff, if you can manage it. Desperation on both sides put two men at each other’s throats in order make some compromising decisions as a devastating battle draws closer. Emotional manipulation is at an all-time high on The Walking Dead this week and the show’s characters are stuck in a dread-filled limbo as the inevitable bloodbath rears its ugly head. Finally, Rick and the Governor come face-to-face in a tense meeting that propels the season’s final few episodes in a striking direction while also leaving a fan-favorite character’s life in the balance.
The raging testosterone trapped within the old barn and some rash talk of surrender has the piercing tension rising to new heights. A small meeting of negotiations has the blood boiling as Rick and the Governor engage in a little push and pull in a dark room with Andrea attempting to act as mediator. This meeting gives us some interesting character development, mostly concerning the Governor’s world-class narcissism and sociopath tendencies. The Governor is at first very upfront with his intentions and his wants: Surrender. When that doesn’t work, the Governor tries to act as a potential friendly neighbor. And then he manipulates even further by trying to put a human face on, covering up his sins--essentially trying to find common ground with the man he’s at odds with. The snaky, charming, amply smug bastard goes through the motions and even tells a little story about how he lost his wife in order to muster up some sympathy--some sort of man-to-man mutual respect. It’s all for show. And while the two leaders at odds definitely have a lot in common, they couldn’t be more different.
The Governor’s power-hungry ways have multiplied sense the zombie apocalypse started. This damaged world has given him the chance to gain great power in a short time simply by being thrown into a leadership position (much like Rick was) and finally getting to realize his self-indulgent dream of being in charge of a large group of people--being their holy savior. It’s everything he’s ever wanted and more. Now he wants revenge. There is nothing more erratic and dangerous than a sociopath and a narcissist who is aching for revenge. That anger will bring everyone down around him. And he might not know it yet, but the Governor is kind of leading himself to failure and his impossible narcissism is blinding him from that. Tension builds more and more, especially when the Governor brings up the possibility that Shane might be Judith’s real father. Ouch. Here, the Governor is utilizing things Andrea’s told him in secrecy as his ammunition, the manipulative jerk! The meeting ends with the Governor offering a chance for peace. But at a price: Michonne. Just last week, Rick and Carl got closer to the katana-warrior and now that bond is being potentially disrupted due to some sociopath’s want for revenge. The worst part is, Rick is so desperate that he’s actually considering it…
All of this while, Daryl and the Governor’s henchman, Martinez engage in a pissing contest over who can kill zombies better and Hershel and Milton bond over the thought of keeping history, no matter how screwed up that history is. Strangely enough, these simple interactions between individuals from different teams demonstrates that even when humans have conflicting interests we all do still maintain similar struggles and shared human concerns. Especially, when those same people have survived a zombie apocalypse for so long. Milton and Hershel’s interaction is excellent in displaying that truth. They’re even able to make jokes and laugh a little, in the midst of a war that will have them at each others throats soon enough. Andrea knows all too well of the impending danger that is coming for each side. She knows, probably more than anyone else, what is at stake for them all and how this scenario will go down if both sides do not compromise…
…And she isn’t liking it! After a hint of just how sick the Governor is, concerning what he did to Maggie, Andrea is ready to end this and has a real chance at doing so. But who is going to get to who first? Andrea is clearly hatching some sort of plan in her head to deter the Governor from his mission to take out Rick’s people. I’m not able to tell if the Governor is aware of that fact yet. He may be too adamant on getting his revenge on Michonne. But one this is for sure; Andrea’s crush is over with the Governor and thank God! The time to contemplate on the Governor’s benevolence is over. He’s clearly reached a point of no return. Andrea can be the killer within if she plans it all out right. Fans of the show like to discredit her and consider her no more than an annoying fool; however, the ball is very much in her court right now and she’s doing the best she possibly can. Yeah, she’s slipped up a few times, but she’s only human. Now only if Andrea can fully get Milton on her side, we’d have a good scenario.
Back at the prison, Merel is feeling protective of his little brother. Erratic and loud-mouthed as always, Merel impatiently wants to get things moving (much like impatient fans who just want to see the death and destruction ahead) and he’ll put everyone else at risk to do it, even mentioning certain yet to be healed wounds concerning Maggie’s dark experience with the Governor. Glenn, Maggie and Michonne happen to tame the beast (for the moment at least) but Merel hasn’t ruled out trying to manipulate a fellow rebel, when he attempts to get Michonne on his side to go on an unannounced mission to kill the Governor. Michonne has more than earned her place with this group of people and even gives up another chance at taking out the Governor to stick by them. Again, Michonne is too great of an ally to give up simply to satisfy a mad man’s need for irrational revenge. She’s strong and loyal and God knows that Michonne could cut down the wannabe-Messiah that is the Governor if she got another chance.
Glenn remains a temporary leader of the group while Rick and Daryl are away and he handles himself quite well, even with Merel acting a total fool. Glenn finally apologizes to Maggie for his irrational reaction to trauma that she and she alone faced. Glenn made it all about him and he pushed a hurt Maggie away when she needed him most, which is the most frustrating thing for her. It’s been apparent since they got together; Glenn and Maggie are the light of this group. They are a young, strong, sometimes foolish love. A beautiful thing that has become a rarity in these dark times of survival. Which also makes them the most vulnerable. Their reunion turns into passionate lovemaking and an expression of gratitude that brightens this dim world just a little more and finally opens these two lovers up to one another in a new way that just makes viewers worry even more for their safety once the war begins…
Returning back to their havens, both Rick and the Governor inform their people of what the near future will bring, which is likely to be utter death, violence and chaos. Not only does the Governor lie to his people, but so does Rick, who doesn’t put forth all of the information concerning his meeting with the sociopath that attacked them, but instead uses more emotional manipulation by giving his group more reason to fear. In reality, Rick is looking for an easy way out of this war, and it’s all because of the fear. The guy is totally getting eaten by fear and it’s blocking his rational thought making him think idealistically about the possibility of giving up Michonne to save the lives of his people. Realistically, giving away Michonne will only give the Governor satisfaction that he is able to manipulate others in order to get his way. So he’d do it again until he eradicates Rick and them all. The inevitable war is now on and it seems like everyone will be forced to make some tough decisions. And either way someone will end up dead and gone by the end of it. Great use of Fink's moody track, "Warm Shadow" for the end of the installment...
No matter how many drinks Rick and the Governor have together, they can’t hide from the war that’s coming! The Walking Dead moves more chess pieces in this game of strategy and tactics, putting two forces face-to-face in order to make some shaky negotiations and in some cases, bond over common human ground. Still one can’t help but sense a bit of stalling before the thunderous storm hits leaving behind countless fatalities. What the episode does well is build a slow momentum and tension that is sure to explode soon. There will be blood! It also forces leaders, Rick and the Governor (especially Rick) to decide what kind of leaders they want to be at the end of it all. These war negotiations? They essentially go nowhere apart from the development of the Michonne option, which is made in bad faith. These guys? They suck at being neighbors. “Arrow on the Doorpost” gets 4 out of 5 stars!
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a comment!
© Patrick Broadnax 2013
Comments