In this week’s The Walking Dead, entitled Live Bait, viewers got a glimpse into where the Governor had been “hiding”.
The Breakdown
This week on The Walking Dead, the Governor made a full return to the show. The episode picked up in the past. After the attack on the prison, the Governor shot his own people in the street before taking off with two of his men. That is how Live Bait began.
After setting up camp for the night in small tents, the Governor awoke to find his men had abandoned him. He found a large truck, drove it through the gate of Woodbury, and burned his once safe haven to the ground.
The Governor then wandered about for a couple of months before stumbling upon an apartment building. He looked up to see a little girl in one of the windows, which seemed to draw him inside. He ended up meeting the family living in the apartment which consisted of an older man, his two daughters and granddaughter. While one of the women (Tara) claiming to be a cop took the Governor’s gun and made sure he knew who was in charge, the other woman (Lilly) showed the Governor some warmth.
As he made his way to another apartment for the night, Lilly brought him a plate of food.
The Governor soon found out that the older man (David) had stage four lung cancer and did not have long to live. David asked the Governor if he would go to one of the apartments to obtain a Backgammon set that would brighten his granddaughter Meghan’s spirits and the Governor agreed.
The next day Lilly asked the Governor if he would go to a nearby nursing home to get more oxygen for her sick father and again, the Governor agreed. Once inside the nursing home, he passed several walkers and was careful not to make any noise. He found a cart full of oxygen tanks, but by the time he was working his way out of the home with them, more walkers appeared. He grabbed only a couple of tanks and made it back to the apartment safely.
Soon David passed and his daughters were mourning their loss in his room. It was obvious to the Governor that they had no idea he was about to turn into a walker. Before he could get the women along with little Meghan out of the room, David turned. The Governor grabbed one of the oxygen tanks and slammed it into David’s head again and again. Although the women learned why, Meghan was then scared of the Governor whom she had actually grown a little attached to in the days previous.
The next day the Governor decided he should move on, but Lilly insisted they travel with him – sure that there must be a better place. He reluctantly took Lilly, Tara, and Meghan with him as they traveled away from the apartment complex in a food truck. The Governor and Lilly grew even closer.
Soon the truck broke down and the group had no choice but to travel on foot. On their way, Tara hurt her ankle just about the time the Governor spotted a hoard of walkers around the bend. Lilly helped Tara while the Governor grabbed Meghan and the foursome took off. The Governor and Meghan got a ways ahead of Lilly and Tara and then fell into a walker pit. The Governor fought off the walkers inside the pit, hugged Meghan, and looked up to see a familiar face – Martinez – one of the men who had abandoned him.
The Analysis
Well, Live Bait was the Governor and only the Governor. We did not even get a glimpse of the group at the prison. I have to say that this was pretty disappointing to me. Although I do appreciate the character, an entire episode dedicated to the creepy Governor was just a little much for me. I wish they had worked in his story along with the stories of the main group; perhaps in the background somehow.
That being said, it was interesting to see the once bigger than life leader on his own and struggling to survive. His affection for little Meghan was an obvious one. He looked at the picture of his wife and daughter when he was alone and we can all recall how he had kept his daughter even after she had turned into a walker. So, there were no surprises there with his interest in Meghan.
I really cannot say more about this week’s episode. There were no real surprises, no revelations, no Daryl/Rick/Carol conversations, and from me – no real interest in Live Bait.
What are your thoughts on this week’s episode of The Walking Dead? Did you enjoy this episode? Will Lilly and Tara survive? Or, will the Governor be travelling alone with Meghan?