I have to say that the truth behind last week’s The Walking Dead wonderful tease, in which a phone rang in the prison and Rick picked it up to hear a new survivor, in the end turned out to be nothing more than a manifestation of Rick’s tortured psyche. The ringing phone only a hallucination, along with the myriad of voices on the other end, all of whom represented one of the many people that Rick has seen die under his leadership. Rick’s tortured breakdown throughout the episode was well acted, yet I can’t help but wish that the phone really did work, and that there really was a whole new group of survivors out there waiting to be found. Sadly, it wasn’t to be.
When he realizes the voices of the dead on the other line are simply products of his fevered imagination, Rick realizes that he’s hit bottom and slowly tries to drag himself out of his pit of despair. It’s a good thing he’s come around too, because he’ll need to deal with the new crisis that a a wounded Michonne brings to his doorstep.
Merle and his improvised sword arm, along with a couple of of other red-shirt posse members, had been chasing down Michonne to kill her. I guess the Governor doesn’t appreciate anyone crossing him or his henchman. After a scuffle or two, one in which Michonne shows off her swordplay by severing one of the red shirt’s heads, Merle tracks her down to a nearby strip mall. Instead of his quarry, he finds Glenn and Maggie, both searching for ammunition and baby formula. He kidnaps them and takes them back to the Governor, while Michonne watches, hidden behind a car.
Andrea has spent most of the episode having plenty of sex with the Governor. I’m sure that when she learns that her old friends has been captured, she’ll think that her new-found intimacy with the man in charge means she can influence the Governor into letting Glenn and Maggie go; I expect she’ll be sorely disappointed. The Governor will tear as much information from them as he can, whether or not Andrea tries to stop him.
I’m glad to see the two storylines from this season finally coming together. I’m really interested to see how Rick deals with Michonne and the news about the kidnapping. How will his fresh grief, his recent mental breakdown, influence his response? Will he be more violent, brutal, and unpredictable? Only a few more episodes to go before the mid-season break. Hopefully we’ll find out soon.
