It’s No-Shave-November! And The Governor is celebrating by sporting a beard even the boys from Duck Dynasty could appreciate. That’s right, in Sunday’s episode we finally got a look at what everyone’s favorite one-eyed sociopath has been up to since we last saw him at the end of Season 3.
The episode picks up at the exact moment the show left off with The Governor’s story last season. You know, when he went off the deep end, let the bullets fly and killed all of his own army from Woodbury except his two right-hand men. Well it seems The Governor has been a bit on edge ever since then. A lot has changed for this man, who just days ago was the leader of a thriving community in this desolate post-apocalyptic world. He was the king of his own little piece of the world. The rug literally just got yanked out from underneath his feet by Rick and Company. Next thing we know, The Governor has went full-on Forest Gump mode and is just running around with no real purpose or direction. The man is just walking around for days on end. His transformation into Hobo Governor happens quick, backpack and all. It’s obvious he’s a broken man with nothing left to really live for.
When The Governor meets Lilly, her daughter Megan, Terra, and their father, it becomes clear we’re not dealing with the same man who ruled Woodbury with an iron fist. Either that or he’s hiding his true self once again. Just ask Andrea, he can be pretty convincing. But it genuinely feels like this man, who once was an egotistical maniac, has now turned over a new leaf. This is especially so after he risked his life to do one last favor for Lilly and get the oxygen tanks from the nursing home for her dying father. Another thing that makes me feel like this is a genuine change is the fact that he is now going by a new name, Bryan. It’s like he’s starting a brand new life. Also, while talking with Lilly and the others about why he left where he was staying before, he made the comment that the person in charge had gotten out of hand. Hmm.
We also have the scene where The Governor opens up a bit to the little girl, Megan. It seems like he can see Penny in Megan and his walls come down. During the scene when Lilly and Terra’s father passes away, The Governor knows what is about to happen and stands by, just waiting for the change to happen to protect these women. He and Lilly become especially good pals soon after leaving the apartment complex behind.
So we have The Governor opening up quite a bit to these new people. He has taken on the leadership role once again. And as the group runs up on a pack of zombies, he immediately jumps to action to protect them and especially Megan. With a little convincing, he scoops Megan up in his arms and promises to protect her. And oh does he ever! As The Governor is running with Megan through a field, he falls with her in his arms into a deep trench. While watching, I’m noticing these huge black marks on the sides of the walls of this trench, and I’m thinking this looks an awful lot like the trench they used to capture zombies for the fights in Woodbury, which just so happens to be the same trench Milton burnt all of those zombies in Season 3. The Governor backs up his promise to Megan by ripping the throat out of one zombie and then turns around, uses a femur of one of the skeletons laying in the trench to put in another zombie’s mouth and pull its head apart! Wow! Best part of the episode, right there! Probably one of the most impressive zombie kills in the entire series so far. After another hug and promise to Megan, The Governor looks up to see none other than his old pal, Martineze looking down in the trench at them, and once again promises Megan he won’t let anything happen to her.
I’m still not fully committed to this theory about a new Governor, but it’s really starting to look like he’s been doing some thinking while he’s been out on the road alone. There’s also the fact that he lit the only remaining picture he had left of his wife and daughter (his former life) on fire and pushed it out the window. There’s just so many things in this episode that makes you think we’re seeing a new evolution of The Governor. Of course this sets the show’s Governor even farther apart from his comic book counterpart. There is already a huge difference in the two, but if this continues and THIS Governor does go in the direction it looks like he is going right now, we could see something that would take the show to a completely different place than the comic book ever went. I’m still on the fence whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand you have something that would be totally new for those of us who are fans of the comics. Then again, on the other hand you have something that could potentially have some severe backlash from everyone.
This episode got us caught up a little with where The Governor has been since we last saw him, and I believe we’re gonna see even more of that next week. Possibly another entire episode dedicated to The Governor. That’s fine by me. I really love seeing what’s been going on with this guy. After this episode, I’m starting to question if The Governor was ever really THAT bad of a guy. Keep in mind, this isn’t the world we live in today. In this world they’re living in, it’s kill, or be killed. I think most of us would do whatever it would take to make sure the people we care about are taken care of and no harm would be brought to them. Maybe that’s really just what The Governor was doing all along at Woodbury? Maybe towards the end, he started to slip up and loose sight of his original intentions. Who knows?
What did you think of this week’s episode? Questions or comments? WE WANNA HEAR ‘EM!! Leave your thoughts or questions in the comments below. Do you think The Governor is about to blaze a new path on the road to redemption and finally get some shut “eye” with a clear conscience? Or do you think he’s just reloading for another round?
