The Walking Dead Recap: Daryl in the Doorpost

Did anyone think that the story about the Governor’s wife was 100% hooey designed to make him seem like a human being? I haven’t read the source material, so maybe it was true, but something about the way the Guv peered at Rick to gauge his reaction to the story made me think “bullshit!”

It’s actually, “Arrow on the Doorpost”, likely a reference to the Bob Dylan song “Blind Willie McTell”. This season of TWD has been much more reliant on musical references, including adding a lyrical song to the end of each episode.

Seen the arrow on the door post saying “This land is condemned”
All the way from New Orleans to Jerusalem
I traveled through East Texas where many martyrs fell
And I know one thing, nobody can sing them blues like Blind Willie McTell

Ahh interesting, thank you!

Rick and the Governor crossed paths before everything turned to hell too, right? Wasn’t there a brief mention of the Governor’s drunken destruction of Rick’s fence?

The Governor was trying really hard to maintain his charm but over this whole season, his true nature is being revealed to everyone, one moment at a time. I’m sure Rick could see through the sleazy smiles and laughs for what they truly were. I like the character of Andrea, but i’m kinda tired of seeing her constantly trying to prove to everyone that she is this great leader or mediator. She seems to have ambition but its almost an air of desperation for recognition of her skills at this point.

As far as giving up Michonne to the Governor for their safety, Rick knows this is complete BS. He may use that as a ruse in a bigger plan but I think Rick is still a man of honor and would not think so little of what Carl thinks of Michonne to just give her up to a sociopath in order to secure a “possible” truce. The people of Woodbury deserve a better leader, and that could be Andrea, but its going to take nothing less than the Governor dead for this to happen. Even deposed and exiled, he would just be a later threat.

Nevermind. From what I’ve read elsewhere, I’m reading too much into this line of dialogue.

Shouldn’t people call Darryl “Bolt” ?

I agree on your comment. I questioned the entire ‘history’ with his wife.

Honestly, I think the episode dragged. It feels uneventful and we’re all left staring at the television saying “that’s it?!” as far as Rick vs. Guv but the interesting parts were what was happening on the sides. Like the article mentioned, similarities between the everyday folks. Rick even said that if he gave up Mischon, the Guv would probably come in and kill them anyway. Talk him out of it? Come on, Rick… what happened to your balls and decision making? He’s so worn down, someone else needs to step up. (And not Merle)
Andrea could come to be very useful if she’s going to do what I think she is. I hope I’m right.
Let’s hope next week proves to pull some whoop ass energy back to the watchers!

The Governor of the comics was far more one-dimensional than David Morrisey’s Governor, and you know what? I miss that. He was like a hand-grenade thrown straight at the prison storyline (which, given they’d been at the prison for ages before they went to Woodbury, is another thing they’ve fumbled), and the explosion was fascinating to watch. There was a moment, a very singular moment, where I realised that ‘The Walking Dead’ is a very poor show masquerading as something special, and that was when Morrisey was trying to seduce Andrea in a lovely garden, and I realised that the character I had been waiting for, the one who would make actual stuff happen, was instead being given the emotions and feelings he didn’t actually need to have. The Governor of the comics would have killed her and sent her head back to Rick in a box by now, with a piece of paper with the words, “you’re next” scrawled on, which is horrible, but kind of the point of the character.

I guess this just goes to show that “complex and multilayered” works can suck just as much as superficial twaddle, too. During the last season, they just talked and talked and talked about surviving, and this season they’ve just done stuff… But very little of it is actually about surviving. In the comics they were planting crops and reading books and trying to make life worth living…

Here, they’ve gone from trusting everyone they meet (and Rick met four separate groups in season one), to randomly deciding everyone was out to get them with no real evidence halfway through season two, to starting a war with their neighbours the moment they find somewhere halfway secure to stay. Urgh. I think it has become very clear at this point that they are trying to take a storyline from the comics for each season, and then just do it regardless of whether or not it fits the characters and their actions, focusing on plot over character, and doing that American TV thing of making the shows unsatisfying because you can never understand why “Character #A” is behaving so out of character to advance “Plot Point #1″. Really, both have to work together for it to work, which is largely why Andrea has been sold so short. If they’d had any common sense, The Governor would have been seen in two-to-four episodes, where he was basically as psychotic as can be, but otherwise was off-screen. Did we really need to get to know Woodbury, given that the show will probably jettison that whole storyline next year?

And you just know Merle is likely to one to get Ned Stark’d by the Governor’s troops, as doing that to the actual character who has that done to them would be a colossal waste of an actor who is far, far too good for this show. Btw, isn’t it interesting that they said they don’t have anything against black actors, and immediately shuffled Tyrese and co’ off, leaving Michonne as the only black protagonist on the show? The race politics of this show are something you could probably write a long, long essay about.

Whatever. Thanks for the recaps. I’m interested enough to read these, but not to spend 45mins watching the show.

If he had any common sense he wouldn’t agree to a sit down. Merle was right, and the Rick of the comics would have made sure The Governor needed a second eyepatch if he wanted an open casket. The whole point of this is to bide their time, which is usually evidence a show is spinning its wheels. Meh. Yet another time that having a Lannister in charge would have solved all the problems by now.

“Andrea better redeem herself by the end of the season and in a big way. This behavior is exhausting to watch especially as someone who’s read the comics and knows her true potential.”

YESSSSSSSS. The writers really have taken what was one favorite characters (at least one of my favorites) from the comic and just ruined her. Season one Andrea had potential but they just are letting other characters crap on her too much. But I haven’t been too impressed with the way most of the lady characters are being treated and as the seasons go on I’m no longer expecting much from the writers. Michonne is the one trying to get my hopes back up after last episode tho, so fingers crossed for Andrea’s big redemption.

I have only read the first book of “The Walking Dead” comics, so I don’t have a really good grasp on the character of the characters (ha) at this point. However, I have been disappointed with Andrea up until this episode. I am now pissed at Andrea. I have been a huge fan of Laurie Holden since her Magnificent Seven days and she does a lot of strong female roles and that’s what I thought Andrea was going to be. That does not appear to be the case. Like others (and the author) have stated, I am sincerely hoping she redeems herself or….well I can’t actually DO anything but I want to. LOL

P.S. I always thought back in wild west days that an arrow in the doorpost meant a truce. I did not know there was a song. LOL

Same here. Rick also didn’t drink with the guy either. That’s the last thing anybody in a leadership(Rick’s) position should do, especially if the victuals are possibly contaminated… I was just waiting for that to happen…

Are we sure about that? I read on a site (sorry, cant remember the link) that it was a reference to a Japanese story- long and drawn out story but the short of it was there were two shogun warriors trying to one up each other, and after a while one of them pegs a doorpost with three arrows. There is a line by Merle in the ep where he says, “you should go shogun on his azz..”, which supposedly is a nod to this.

Because a Lannister in charge always works out well? I’m unsure as to which Lannisters you refer, as those family members in “Game of Thrones” tend to have the exact opposite effect of “solving problems”.

Y’know what else is getting tiresome? People flogging the by-now skeletal horse about comparisons between the comics and the series. It’s ridiculous. It’s hilarious how the “hardcore” comic lovers gripe about how AMC is ruining the story, but then turn around and sing hosannas to Daryl and/or Merle – neither of whom are in the comics. Quite hypocritical.

Not hypocritical at all actually. Daryl is a great character, hence the reason no one complains about the fact that he’s not in the comic. Andrea is not a great character, hence the complaints and comparisons with the awesome version of the comics.

I disagree. To condemn the show for daring to alter the comic canon, then turning around and praising the show for making changes to the comic canon, is hypocritical. As for “great” characters, Andrea is written just as well as any of the other roles, but as her actions are disliked by most viewers, she gets labeled a “bad” character. Hogwash. She’s a fully-realized, three-dimensional, complex human being thrown into Hell, and trying to make it out. How many of us would make some really bad decisions in the same circumstances? Show of hands? Yup, pretty much everyone. The main difference between her and everyone else in Rick’s group? She’s alone. Everyone else has someone from which to seek comfort, but Andrea doesn’t. Even now, in the raggedest of times, Rick has Carl, Maggie has Glenn, Herschel has his daughters, Carol has Daryl. Everyone whom Andrea had the slightest connection with has been killed since the show started: Her sister, Dale, and even Shane. If she felt a connection with anyone currently at the prison, she wouldn’t hesitate to go back and re-join Rick’s group – even after they abandoned her – but there’s no one there for her, so she’s torn. Andrea’s arc thus far has been consistent and realistic, yet because fans think she makes poor decisions, she gets vilified. Look… Andrea is not a hero – she’s a scared woman in the middle of a zombie apocalypse who’s making it up as she goes along, while trying to keep her sanity and survive to the next day – just like everyone else. But again, people get their panties in a bunch because she’s not the “Bad-Ass Andrea” of the comics. *sigh* Just because you don’t LIKE someone doesn’t mean that they’re not a great character.