After some intense time at the prison, it’s now time for a little relaxation as the town of Woodbury is introduced.
What They Say:
Walk With Me – Andrea and Michonne find a new community of survivors; a decision must be made.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the first episode of the season largely focusing on the prison and the core group, it paid some attention to what was going on with Andrea and Michonne. With the second episode, they were kept out of the picture entirely. So giving them a stronger focus with the third episode certainly makes sense in showcasing what it is that’s going on out there in the world. Starting it off with a helicopter tour of the area certainly isn’t what a lot of people would expect, but it makes for something pretty interesting, especially since we get to see it go down and things go badly pretty quickly for this mysterious crew inside.
Not surprisingly, it’s something that attracts Andrea’s attention which has her and Michonne going off to investigate the crash site. The situation gets tense quickly with what’s going on as some of the crew are dead, but before they can really do anything they have visitors as a few trucks come by with survivors who seem to know something about it all. The crew from the chopper does seems all military while the group that came by are definitely strict survivors, making for a situation that has more going on than seems clear. Naturally, just when things seem to go from bad to better, everything goes completely south as Andrea and Michonne are found out by Merle of all people.
Being brought in, we do get to see that Andrea gets treated and starts to return to a bit of normalcy. But the normalcy doesn’t come with answers in the short term, though she answers plenty of them as she kind of recaps things for Merle. Merle’s handling it pretty well, though you know he’s itching to do something considering his new accessory. It’s a dangerous dialogue overall since Merle is stalking them in their own way, but there are bigger dangers that are coming into play. While Merle is certainly a big man, he’s still coming across as deferential to the man that sets the real tone of the place they’re in. But he’s got an interesting caution to him, bringing them up to speed on a few things they haven’t figured out since Andrea was separated from everyone.
The reveal for Woodbury, the small part of it that they’ve managed to secure and kepe safe, is interesting to see as it has a mild Road Warrior feeling to it that definitely makes sense. Showing it off at night is even more amusing since it just adds to the overall tension and drama. The questions and uncertainty abounds here, as there’s talk of many more people, but what really surprises is the food, the shower, the power and just the almost surreal sense of normalcy as they’re put up for the night. The daytime is even more disturbing in a way since it almost seems so normal with almost seventy-five people living there and a fair bit of organization. But still a sense of structure, order and hierarchy surrounding the Governor and what he does.
As it goes on, we get a good idea of just how the Governor operates. There’s some real exploration on his part with those who work under him in trying to figure things out. We get a nod towards the military and what happened there, which opens up a lot of possibilities. But we also get him coming to an understanding about just how smart Michonne is with how she used her walkers to survive. There’s a certain respect that comes from what she did, removing their ability to kill which made them docile (and serve as pack horses) while also using them as cover since their presence would keep other walkers away. There’s definitely some respect there, but also the curiosity to see what else they know.
As pleasant and in control as the governor seems, we do see just how far he’s willing to go to get what he needs. In learning where the military group is that the chopper group came from, they head out easy enough to find them and to take them out. It’s kind of surreal and not exactly the best executed moment of the show for a number of reasons. But it does illustrate just what he’s really after with more weapons, more security and more people that can be held under his control. Soldiers certainly don’t seem like they’d fit the part, which makes it easier for him to eliminate them when he finds them.
In Summary:
The full on introduction of Woodbury certainly ramps up the game a bit compared to what Rick and the others have been doing. While they’ve had the small, personal slog to take the place, we’re seeing something further down the line to how a community of sorts could survive in this new world. There’s a sense of normalcy to be sure, but also a lot of control and a kind of fear that’s just below the surface. The Governor certainly has an interesting presence and persona here, especially compared to the comics, and he presents a new way of looking at it that’s certainly realistic, much as the comics were for its interpretation. I like where this arc is going, and knowing where it’ll go to some degree as well, and has me wondering what secrets remain and what new secrets will be part of this Woodbury. It’s definitely got a lot going for it and adds a great new wrinkle to the story.
Grade: B+
