The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 11: I Ain't a Judas

Should we stay or should we go?

We begin with the Grimes gang arguing about whether they should leave or fight for the prison.  Rick doesn't want to leave.  Merle wants to leave to fight another day.  He says they should be afraid of the Governor who has the guns and the manpower.  Rick starts to walk off and Hershel yells at him to get back here.  He quotes Rick about this not being a democracy and tells Rick to do something.  Rick walks out to check on what things look like outside.  A lot of walkers are around the only gate left. The prison has reverted to its episode 1 state: zombies everywhere. Carl comes up beside him.  Carl tells Rick that he should stop being the leader.  Good point kiddo.  Hershel and Daryl should handle things and Rick should rest.  No one needs a leader that is cray cray when you have to survive a zombiepocalypse. 


Glenn is still upset about Merle.  Daryl says he is one of them now and Glenn needs to learn to live with it.  Glenn wants to use Merle as a bargaining chip with the Governor.  I don't think that would work.  The Governor doesn't care about Merle.  He might even consider Merle as a threat.  He knows everything about Woodbury and can handle himself armed or not.  Hershel goes to talk with Merle to find out what kind of a man he is.  Hershel tells Merle that Rick cut his leg after he was bitten.  Hershel quotes the Bible about cutting off the hand that offends you.  Matthew 5:29-30 replies Merle.  Woodbury had a good library.  When the Governor returns he is going to kill Merle, followed by Michonne and the rest of the group, Rick will be last so he can watch everyone die.  That statement sums up the kind of man the Governor is, he holds a grudge and likes to be in control of everyone.  Carol goes to Daryl to say she is glad he came back.  She calls the prison a home but he calls it a tomb.  She tells him that Merle is not good for him.  He has come so far.  They laugh (ah, love).  When are those two crazy kids going to finally get together?

Woodbury's army = Star Trek red shirts

Milton and the Governor are discussing the population of Woodbury that can be trained to use weapons.  That includes kids 12 and older.  Andrea walks in and gets mad at him for retaliating at the prison.  She says she is sick of the lies.  She doesn't want to see the prison group and Woodbury kill each other.  He says it is too late.  She wants to save her friends and work this out.  She wants a car to go to the prison.  The Governor says if she goes to the prison she stays there.  The Governor is surveying the new recruits to his army.  He asks a kid with asthma if he can shoot a gun. Child soldiers (especially asthmatic child soldiers) are not a good idea.  The Governor says that adolescence is a 20th Century invention.  In a way he is right.  They no longer have the luxury to treat kids as kids.  This world is not safe and the only way to survive is to fight.  Andrea asks Milton if he knew about the fight at the prison.  She wants him to cover for her while she goes to the prison.  He doesn't want to be put in this situation.  She wants to take the risk to avoid a war with child soldiers.  She is trying to do something good for once.  With so few living people in a world run by zombies war seems even more ridiculous and pointless than ever before.  The Governor now has an eye patch. For a moment there I thought he was going to use the match to cauterize his wound.  Milton comes to report on Andrea to the Governor.  The Governor tells Milton to help her.  Milton thinks this is a test, but the Governor insists Milton should help her.  I'm not sure what his end game is concerning Andrea. 

Making zombie pets is fun!

Zombie walking through the woods alone Andrea and Milton knock it took the ground.  Milton holds it down while Andrea cuts off its arms.  The next scene is both the grosses and kind of the most awesome zombie mutilation on the show.  They use push the zombie's head down on a rock in order to break its jaw.  They are making a zombie pet a la Michonne.  A zombie comes out from behind and Tyreese kills it.  He gives Andrea and Milton a weird look.  Milton explains how the zombie pet keeps the other zombies away.  They tell Tyreese about Woodbury.  Milton offers to take them back.  Just say no Tyreese!  But I understand, after thinking they found safety in the prison they would be desperate to find a safe place. 

Welcome back Andrea! Well, not really.

Michonne is doing her workout.  Merle comes to talk to her.  He wants to clear the air.  Hunting her down was just business.  He wants to get past it.  Andrea walks up to the prison with her zombie pet.  Carl is on lookout duty.  He tells Maggie there is something weird out there.  She looks through her gun and tells Carl it is Andrea and to go get Rick and the others.  Andrea is making her way past the walkers to the gate.  Rick and the others come out armed.  Rick asks if she is alone.  Andrea yells at him to open the gate.  He frisks her for weapons and puts her on her knees.  She seems surprised by how they are treating her but she really shouldn't be.  They take her inside and she hugs Carol.  Carol explains that they thought she had died.  She asks where Shane is and everyone looks down.  Then she asks about Lori.  Rick tells her that Lori and T-Dog died.  She says she is so sorry.  Rick won't let her in the cell block because he doesn't trust since the Governor attacked them.  Even after finding out what really happened during the attack on the prison she is still on team Woodbury.  She tells them that she came as soon as she could that she didn't know that they were at Woodbury.  She gets mad about how they are treating her but they accept Merle.  Rick says they are going to kill the Governor.  She says there is room at Woodbury for all of them.  Hershel asks if the Governor is willing to negotiate.  Daryl says he is going to take the Governor's other eye (yes, please).   She tells them that they are gearing up for war and that they can't win against the Woodbury army.

Andrea tells Michonne that she poisoned them against her.  Michonne said that she could see Andrea was under the Governor's spell.  She tells Andrea that he sent Merle to kill her.  She chose a warm bed over a friend and that is why Michonne went back to Woodbury.  To expose the Governor's true self even if it hurt Andrea.  Michonne was the true friend.  Andrea is going to have to choose.

The Governor is giving Tyreese the spiel about Woodbury.  He lies about Rick rescuing the Maggie and Glenn and tells them they were attacked by a group of crazy people.  Tyreese tells them they ran into Rick.   That Rick was crazy but everyone else was cool.  They volunteer to help out in the fight against Rick.  Tyreese wants to help earn his keep.  Milton wants them to describe the layout of the prison.  Ruh roh!

Carol hatches a plan

Andrea holds Lil' Asskicker aka Judith.  She asks what happens to Lori and Carol tells her about Lori, T-Dog and Shane.  Carol tells her about how and why Rick killed Shane.  Andrea says Rick has become cold and unsteady.  Carol says he has his reasons.  Carol says Andrea needs to sleep with the Governor, give him the best night of his life, and end this (kill the Governor).  Rick gives Andrea a car.  We are assuming she is following Carol's plan to earn her place back with Rick and the gang.  Rick gives her a gun and tells her to be careful.  Andrea drives away and the group looks weak with all those zombies and just a handful of people.

Andrea drives up to Woodbury the group guarding the entry point their guns at her.  She walks into the Governor's house and tells him that she went to the prison.  She admits that Michonne and Merle are there.  He asks if Rick sent her back she says it was her call.  He asks why and says that she belongs at Woodbury.

Hold On

The gang is sitting silently in the prison.  Beth starts to sing.  "You gotta hold on, hold on."  Rick, Hershel, and Daryl discuss the situation.  Rick says he is going on a run tomorrow and Daryl wants to go with him.  Rick wants Daryl to stay and keep an eye on Merle.  He will take Michonne and Carl with him.  Daryl will stay and keep the fort.  The scene ends with Carl looking out on the yard full of zombies and Andrea in bed with the Governor while the song that Beth was singing plays (but this time it is the original Tom Waits version).  She grabs a knife and walks over to a sleeping Governor.  She can't do it. 

Some Thoughts

- I think Michonne was hurt by Andrea because they were more than friends during those months together.

- Carl is gearing up to become the group's leader.  He has already proven himself to be better able to deal with death than any of the adults (see his conversation with Daryl about their mothers from episode 6).  He sees the weakness in Rick and is trying to ease him out of the role of leadership.  This is definitely going to affect the father-son relationship.  I think that makes for an interesting story line that I hope the writers continue.

- Carol is turning into a really interesting character.  First, she became the gangs new sharpshooter and now she is creating plans to get rid of the Governor.

- Milton is really growing on me.  I know he creepy and weird but there is something about him.  He's kind of like Peter Saarsgard.  He's creepy yet you feel drawn to him for some inexplicable reason.

- Andrea could easily create her own plan to take over Woodbury.  After her speech some of the townspeople are turning to her.  The people of Woodbury have been kept ignorant of what the Governor does but they are still questioning his authority.  He abandoned them after the attack and now he is creating an army out of teens and old ladies (aka the first people to die when war breaks out).

- I'm not sure what the writers are doing with Merle.  It feels like he is suffering from multiple personalities.