For the past couple of episodes we’ve been teased with the inevitable showdown between Rick and the Governor, each time expecting the next episode might bring some action. Most of the time we got that action, but this episode reminded me of the meandering episodes of season two where people mostly stood around talking about their feelings. On top of that, Andrea was pretty much front and center here and that’s like serving plain white bread as a main course.
In case I haven’t made myself clear, I didn’t like this episode very much. In fact, I fell asleep while I was watching the first time. I’ll admit I was more tired than usual, but I rarely fall asleep in front of the TV and never have I done so with The Walking Dead, even during season two’s angst-fest episodes. There were some good moments, like Andrea “Michonne-ing” a walker, but they were sprinkled sparsely throughout making this not much more than a filler episode that firmly cements the fact that Andrea is the most idiotic character the show has brought us so far.
Before watching “I Ain’t A Judas” I was still on the fence about Andrea. I definitely wasn’t in the “Andrea needs to die” camp and honestly thought she was going to redeem herself any week now. After this episode I’ll be leading the charge for Andrea to be the next regular character to go bye-bye.
“I Ain’t A Judas” opens with everybody at the prison arguing with each other (sound familiar?). Someone finally tells Rick he’s being a worthless nutcase. Thank you, Hershel. Thank you. Then Carl tells his father he should step down as the leader because he’s earned a break.
Grandma’s Got A Gun
Back at Woodbury the Governor is recruiting every-damned-person as soldiers, even kids. It seems the Hitler Youth program is alive and well in the Governor’s kingdom. Andrea is disgusted, just plain disgusted! Against the Governor’s instructions she plots to go to the prison anyway to broker peace. Heck, all it took was a greeting card speech from her to settle the irate community of Woodbury after Rick’s gang ruined their picnic. She’s the fracking Mob Whisperer, man!
She asks Milton to help her get out without the Governor knowing, but of course the little buttoned-up weasel is tattling to Daddy the whole time. Gov tells him to go ahead and help her, so he does. Andrea and Milton capture a walker with some of those nifty Zombie Tongs that were so handy in the arena. They remove the bulk of his arms with a hatchet then disable his jaw with some creative use of a large rock and Andrea’s boot. Just as they’ve gotten this dude prepped for duty as cover another biter shambles along, but is taken out by the magically appearing Tyrese and company. We knew they’d be back.
Let’s kiss and make up. Not so much.
There was a moment I found funny when Merle tries to make peace with Michonne while she’s working out. He says it’s smart to stay fit and adds, “Don’t leave out the cardio.” Kudos to the writers for tossing in a Zombieland reference. It made me chortle and I damned near guffawed. Merle’s apology was the weak excuse that he was just following orders. Michonne, barely breaking stride in her workout, replies, “Like the Gestapo.” Merle replies, “Yeah, exactly.” Whoo boy, that really showed us how clueless Merle is. Not that we needed reminding.
Andrea arrives at the prison with Stubby her pet walker and doesn’t get the warm welcome she probably felt she deserved. Rick has her put her hands up, slams her against the fence, then shoves her to the ground. Carol is the only one who seems glad to see her.
The gang tells her how the Governor attacked first and about how they lost Axel. Even after that she seems unable to grasp that the Governor is one evil bastard. She insists they can make peace, but everyone else knows better. Andrea is blind, stupid, and clueless. She insists there are innocent people in Woodbury, but thinking back all we’ve seen of the town are the thugs and a citizenry who enjoy zombie fights and even human fights to the death. Nothing innocent about that at all.
Michonne gets a chance to tell Andrea just how things really are. She tells Andrea she could see what kind of person the Governor really was from the start, but that she, Andrea, was “under his spell” from the moment they arrived. Michonne’s best line was, “You chose a warm bed over a friend.” That sums it up perfectly. Andrea is really only concerned with herself even though she tries to convince people otherwise. If this were the Brady Bunch, Andrea would be Marsha.
Welcome to Fantasy Island!
Tyreese and his small band are given the “Friendly Governor Show” and told, just like Andrea and Michonne originally were, that they’re welcome to stay and enjoy the food and water. They reveal that they were at the prison and told the Governor that Rick chased them away, then offer to help fight. It’ll be interesting to see how and when Tyrese discovers just what kind of person the Governor really is and how he reacts to the revelation.
Carol tells Andrea she needs to take out the Governor to end this fight. Carol tells her to sex the Governor to sleep then prison shank his ass. The prison gang give Andrea a dusty Crown Vic from the prison’s motor pool so she can return to carry out her mission of sexy death. But like the Mission: Impossible crew, will she decide to accept it? I think by now we all know the answer to that question, but The Walking Dead has been known to blindside us every so often. Although this is Andrea we’re talking about.
Knife shadows don’t kill people. Knife blades kill people.
Back in the loving arms of Philip, she admits her jaunt and he welcomes her back fully believing she’s on his side. The snogging begins. As the episode’s final scene plays out, we see Philip and Andrea in bed with him in a love coma wearing only his pirate patch. Andrea slinks out of bed wearing even less, grabs a hefty knife, and quietly glides up beside the sleeping psychopath. The shadow of the blade falls on his neck and she’s got the perfect opportunity to end this. So what does she do? Wimp out, of course.
Andrea needs to die. Horribly. At least Philip is interesting.
