The Walking Dead 4×07 Review: Dead Weight

This week’s episode continued the Governor’s storyline; to nobody’s surprise. Was it good? Was it bad? It all depends on whether or not you find the particular character interesting. The only thing I got was that the Governor has daddy issues and The Walking Dead finally decided to be LBGT inclusive.

The episode wastes no time in telling that the Governor/Brian’s father wasn’t good to him. His old man wouldn’t let him win at anything. So, what does Brain do? He doesn’t let Megan win a game of chess… Go figure! We all knew it was a matter of time until Brian showed his true colors and that’s exactly what happened. Martinez brings the new arrivals to his camp and we can immediately see the Governor having “authority” issues. There was a scene in which he, Martinez, and two brothers go on a food hunt to a cabin in the woods. In the start it was quite interesting. We saw some beheaded bodies, one tied to a tree and the other to a chair in the woods. However, my hopes of a ‘savage group of survivors’ were flushed down the drain when the group reached the cabin. It turns out the whole scene was done to introduce another family, who also had a little daughter, which Brian had to kill, because she was a zombie. To me, the whole episode felt like filler.

However, that’s not to say that there weren’t a few interesting things that did happen. The Governor killed Martinez, and even the kind-hearted Peter, in order to take control of the camp. I liked the parallel between him and Rick. Rick stood down from his leadership role when it was “time” and came back because the others wanted him to. The Governor, on the other hand, forced his way into the role that was snatched away from him when Woodberry was destroyed. In his mind, he knows what needs to be done and he will take down any dead weight; hence the title of the episode. Anyone who doesn’t do what he wants, the Governor takes him down. So, good-bye Martinez and Pete!

There was a hint of guilt shown in the character. The Governor decided to drive Lilly, Megan, Tara, and her girlfriend (Yes, that happened!) somewhere safe when he killed Martinez. But a group of zombies stuck in mud caused a hindrance. Having no other choice, the Governor took things into his own hands. This escalated into him killing Peter and molding the camp’s survivors into his Woodberry clan (old habits die hard). Speaking of old habits, remember his zombie aquarium? The Governor has leveled up! This time he seems to be going for a whole lake of zombies. His first addition is a zombie-Pete, chained to the ground, moving (floating?) in the water, trying to reach the surface.

The episode ends with the Governor deciding to take over the prison because he wants to keep Lilly, Megan, Tara, and the others safe. We get a creepy scene with him looking at Rick and Carl doing some farming, and then moving his attention to Hershel and Michonne, who are burning walkers in the woods. Judging by the previews there’s going to be a full-on war between the Governor’s and Rick’s groups. I think that the Governor will take Hershel as a hostage. As the next episode will mark the mid-season mark, I think Hershel will die, for a big effect. His character seems to have reached his full potential. His death can give rise to many interesting storylines for Rick, Glenn, and especially for his daughters Maggie and Beth.

Remember when I mentioned the show being LBGT inclusive? As it turns out, Tara is a lesbian. She strikes a friendship with an army woman in the camp. There wasn’t much development, but it was a nice change after three full seasons of straight relationships. Was I surprised that the show paved the way with a lesbian couple? Not really. When it comes to catering to the straight-audience and trying to be LBGT inclusive as well, going the “lesbian route” is the safest bet.

So, what did you think about the episode? Glad that the story came back to the prison? Glad that we might just get to see Daryl’s reaction to Carol leaving? Please share in the comments.

Human Casualties: Martinez, Pete, and a group of survivors that was killed by some other group on a supply-run. The show doesn’t leave any opportunity to show how vicious humans can be.

Zombie Casualties: Not many. I guess a total of three.

Stupid Moment: A zombie magically appearing in the middle of the camp while Megan and Tara played tag. The whole scene reeked of “just for the sake of plot”. How did a zombie even make it into the camp when everyone was on look-out? Why was it standing still when everyone was talking or moving around in the camp?

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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