When we last left the sad-sack survivors of zombie-dominated Georgia, things were kinda perking up. You know, for a post-apocalyptic scenario. Yes, Morgan (Lennie James) had gone crazy and refused to join Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) prison group.
But Michonne (Danai Gurira) had opened up enough to make Carl (Chandler Riggs) accept her as a true part of the family, and Rick's feverish mind seemed to be calming down.
Then came tonight. And the return of the Governor. No rest for the wicked, nope, no sir. Let's get to all the twists and intrigues in our weekly recap.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Andrea's Still Hoping for Peace: Our favorite optimist (Laurie Holden) sets up a summit between the Governor (David Morrissey) and Rick in a neutral location, hoping to avoid a war. Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Hershel (Scott Wilson) ride along with Rick. The Governor recruits his own muscle in the form of Martinez (Jose Pablo Cantillo) and, um, Milton (Dallas Roberts). Much side-eye all around: Rick and the Governor look askance at each other over a bottle of whiskey, while Martinez and Daryl wait outside the meeting place and try to one-up each other in the zombie-hunting department. Eventually the two weapon masters reach an uneasy rapport, but they carry no illusions of a future friendship.
Hershel Flirts! Well, not really. But when fellow science type Milton parks himself next to the doctor and asks for a glimpse of his severed leg, the reaction is priceless: "At least buy me a drink first!" We get the impression that these two definitely might have gotten along better...if not for the whole Governor problem.
Merle Makes a Play: Back at the prison, Merle (Michael Rooker) is gettin' squirrelly, worried about his brother and eager to take advantage of the summit. His logic: Why not sneak out to the meeting site and shoot the Governor while everyone is sitting around talking? Michonne and Glenn (Steven Yeun) nix this ill-advised idea. Then Glenn and Merle try to punch each other's lights out for a second before Merle gives up.
The Governor Floats an Offer, Rick Makes a Choice: So how might we avoid war? Easy. All the Governor wants is for Rick to hand over Michonne. Otherwise Woodbury will have to flatten everyone in the prison. The Governor gives Rick two days to decide. Upon his return to the prison, Rick assembles the group and says they're going to war. The leader privately tells Hershel of the Governor's offer and wonders whether he's making the right call.
Is he? Tell us in comments!