Are they warring yet? Are they warring yet?
That's probably the first question any good Walking Dead fans have...if they missed tonight's riveting episode. Short answer: No, Team Rick and Woodbury have yet to launch into their much anticipated war. What we saw tonight, instead, was a mini-war between two key characters, and a terrifying defeat that, we hope, won't last long.
For Andrea's sake.
Let's get to recappin'!
WHAT WE LEARNED
Andrea Makes a Break for It: Milton (Dallas Roberts) tells Andrea (Laurie Holden) about the Governor's real plans: killing Rick & Co., whether they agree to give up Michonne (Danai Gurira) or not. From a safe hiding place, Milton and Andrea spy on the Governor as he sets up a torture chamber filled with shackles and nasty looking instruments. Finally—finally—Andrea gives up on the Governor. She decides to escape and tip off the prison group. She also warns Tyreese (Chad Coleman) and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) about the Governor on her way out, and then takes off on foot with nothing more than a knife for self-defense. Run, Andrea, run!
Woodbury Is Mobilizing: Under the one beady eye of the Governor (David Morrissey), Martinez (Jose Pablo Cantillo) is preparing the Governor's fiefdom for the planned slaughter meeting with Rick. For the Gov, of course, that plan means biters—lots and lots of captive biters. Being kept in a big ol' pit, just waiting for the chance to nosh on a human who tastes like prison. Talk about dirty warfare. Martinez seems to like working with the walkers, but...
Tyreese and Sasha Are Clutching Pearls: After hearing Andrea's warnings and witnessing Martinez's flair for zombie husbandry, the two newcomers begin to worry about just what the heck is going on around there. The Governor feeds them some dubious propaganda: Woodbury's captive zombies are there for show, see. Heh heh. Nooooo, nobody's going to feed anybody to anything—not anything dead, anyway. The speech seems to work. Tyreese and Sasha say they're sorry and get back with the program. But Milton? Not so much. At least, we think that Milton has a problem, because...
Oh No! Somebody Just Burned All the Pet Zombies! Someone—someone—sneaks up to the zombie pit, pours gasoline on the walkers, and lights 'em up. It's a clear attempt to keep the biters from being used as corpse warfare. The tactic works; by the end of the burn, the zombies are still alive, but essentially crispy and useless. The question is, who done it? The Gov first accuses Tyreese and Sasha, but all clues eventually point in Milton's direction. Milton's already in trouble with the Governor because he knew that Andrea was going to escape, and the Gov knows that Milton knew. Maybe Milty should start running too. And speaking of running...
Flee, Andrea! Flee! The Governor gets in a truck, determined to hunt Andrea down before she can warn Team Rick about the big slaughter meeting. After a tense chase through a field, Andrea seems to lose the Gov after he follows her into an abandoned building. She sics a bunch of zombies on him, and she's able to get away, but only temporarily. Just as Andrea nears the prison, the Gov pops into the picture, again, and drags her off. Off to where, exactly? It could only be one place...the Governor's shiny new oubliette. Are those shackle locks pickable?
Pick, Andrea, pick!