Liars, Liars Pants on Fire: Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 13 (Arrow on the Doorpost)

David Morrissey as The Governor on The Walking Dead

The Governor (David Morrissey) on The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 13 Copyright 2013 AMC TV

Warning: This Walking Dead Season 3 post contains spoilers. Please wait until after watching, before reading further. Similarities and differences between the show and the comic are also discussed, but whenever possible, details of the comic are left ambiguous in case you decide to start it later on.

Summary: Andrea arranges for Rick and The Governor to meet on neutral turf so they can negotiate. While the two men try to hash things out, their companions unexpectedly find common ground. At the prison, Merle fights with the others about whether they should take the offensive against The Governor.

At first I had absolutely no idea where Rick, Hershel, and Daryl were at the start of The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 13 (Arrow on the Doorpost). It was pretty exciting to see them sweeping a giant complex on the lookout for trouble. Hershel looked slick leaning out the car window with his M-16 and his gun hidden near his stump. Although once I realized what they were doing I was surprised Rick brought Hershel along on such an important mission given his disability.

Based on the trailers for this half of Season 3, I knew Rick and The Governor would have a face-to-face talk at some point, however I wasn’t expecting it to happen in Episode 13. After the previous episodes, there was nothing to suggest either Rick or The Governor was truly interested in a sit-down. There were also no actual scenes prior to Episode 13, which showed Andrea discussing terms of a powwow with either person.

Once they actually meet, poor Andrea tries to talk sense by encouraging them to “Save the bullets for the real threat (walkers),” but she’s thrown out of the room, and instead of fighting to stay, she goes off to sulk. Apparently even during the zombie apocalypse men still treat leadership like a boys club.

I know I accused Season 3 Episode 11 (Ain’t No Judas) of being the talky-est episode to date in this season, but Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 13 easily takes the prize. It was extremely frustrating to me because I felt like Rick and The Governor talk without saying anything consequential; they just dance around in circles. The Governor reveals that he doesn’t want peace, only surrender, while Rick indicates he won’t kowtow to demands. They trade verbal jabs as The Governor tries to warn Rick about messing with Woodbury’s numbers, and Rick cautions The Governor over throwing it all away.

Outside the meeting there are amusing interactions between Rick’s men and The Governor’s. They almost come to blows, before Hershel assures them there will be plenty of time for that later. As Milton intelligently points out there’s no reason they can’t explore the issues in their own way. Daryl and Martinez engage in a hilarious game of one-upsmanship killing zombies and smoking cigs. And guess what? They’re not all that different. Neither are Milton and Hershel who discuss documenting their history (pretty smart) and the science of Hershel’s survival. Good call on not showing him your stump though Hershel. I’d make Milton buy me a drink too before revealing my leg.

At the prison Merle argues very strongly in favor of sneaking out to defend his brother and to kill The Governor while they have the element of surprise. Merle tries the hard way, which ends with him getting wrestled down by Glenn and Maggie, as well as the nice way where he tries to sweet-talk Michonne. Neither work and everyone stays put. At least Glenn and Maggie make up finally with a quickie. Plus Glenn drops the “L” word. Way to go buddy! However I wanted to slap them both for leaving their watch to get busy. I kept thinking it was a horror movie and something terrible would happen because they were having sex. Thank god everything was okay.

Finally the conversation between Rick and The Governor boils down to an ultimatum: Rick can make all his trouble go away if he turns over Michonne. Did anyone believe that lying bastard would keep to his word? Hell no. Rick doesn’t and neither do we. But none the less, Rick must consider the option if Philip isn’t bluffing. So both men go back to their respective camps while intense music builds up tension. We see both Rick and The Governor lying their asses off like Axel Foley might say in Beverly Hills Cop.

The Governor says he’ll play nice, but reveals to Milton that he intends to slaughter Rick’s people and Rick avoids telling everyone about the offer on the table to trade Michonne.  Instead he lets everyone know they’re going to war while the episode ends on a creepy crane shot as Rick and Hershel discuss whether they actually should dump Michonne. Hey at least next episode should be a lot more exciting!

Click here to take this week’s poll: If you were Michonne would you team up with Merle to attack The Governor?

Were you also worried something bad might happen while Glenn and Maggie were “distracted?” Would you surrender Michonne if there was a possibility for peace? Weigh in with your thoughts on Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 13.

Thoughts on AMC’s Interview with Scott Wilson (Hershel Greene)

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Earlier in the week, AMC posted this interview with Scott Wilson, the actor who plays Hershel Greene on The Walking Dead. They asked him about his how he thinks Hershel’s new disability will shape the character and about his increased hair.

I agree with Wilson that Hershel will have to prove to everyone else in the group that he’s not a liability in his new condition, and I’m hopeful as well that Hershel will be able to fashion a prosthetic to keep up. Personally I’m not too worried about him now that he survived the initial bite, since a character in the Walking Dead comic lived for a while after undergoing the same accident. I assumed however Hershel’s long hair and beard were something the producers requested to show the passage of time within Rick’s group, although I was surprised to learn that the additional hair was Wilson’s idea. Way to go on that one! Hershel looks much cooler rocking the beard and mullet. Now if only we can get him to wield a shotgun again.

Perhaps the funniest bit was at the end of the interview when he was asked about what the cast does to blow off steam. Apparently they play golf, which is amusing to picture. Not surprising that a refined British chap like Andrew Lincoln is getting pretty good. My first thought was everyone still in their wardrobe out on a course, but obviously that would be silly. It also reminded me of when the characters on Lost made their own golf course. And I think we all know how that turned out…