The Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 14: Prey

This week TV Andrea and the Governor play cat & mouse.

• So we start out with a really pointless flashback to when TV Andrea and Michonne were touring together. I thought Michonne was finally going to reveal the fact that her "pets" were her boyfriend and his buddy (as readers of the comic have known for years), but instead we got one of her patented uninformative non-answers. 

Her response that her pet walkers were "never human to begin with" kind of hints that their origin may be different than in the comic... maybe this was a setup for some future Michonne-centric episode, who knows?

• Finally, the scales fall from TV Andrea's eyes and she sees what a creep the Gov really is. So what brought on this revelation? The fact that he regularly holds zombie gladiator events in the town square? No. Fish tanks full of zombie heads? Nope. Zombie daughter on a chain? Laws no. Hearing that he ordered Glenn beaten and almost raped Maggie? Uh-uh. None of that stuff caused her to see the Governor for what he is. All it took was hearing that he plans to attack the prison. That's great that TV Andrea's still loyal to her friends there, but cheezus... plotting to kill the prison group is probably the least crazy thing he's done so far.

• The Governor cheerily prepping his torture room was very disturbing. Especially if you know anything about the comic book.

• TV Andrea finally grows some balls and comes thisss close to shooting the Gov in the head, but Milton stops her. When she asks him what the hell, he confesses that he knew the Governor in the before time. Does Milton love the Governor? Not that there's anything wrong with that! I'm just speculating.

• What's up with the Governor's creepy whistle? Is he just doing it because he knows it makes him sound insane and therefore intimidating, or is it supposed to be a walker call?

• TV Andrea asks Milton to come with her to the prison but he declines, saying he doesn't know anyone there. He knows Herschel, doesn't he? I thought they became BFFs last week. Daryl gave him a Sawyer-esque nickname, so he kind of knows him. He knows Michonne. And he knows TV Andrea. There's four people right there.

• I wish Tyreese and his group had stayed at the prison so we could get to know them better. Tyreese was a cool character in the comic and it feels like he's being wasted here.

• So Tyreese and Allen decide the best time to air their dirty laundry and have a slap fight is while on an assigned mission and they're six inches away from a pit of hungry walkers. Got it.

Their little tiff seemed like it came out of nowhere and had little or nothing to do with anything. I'm guessing the writers were laying some groundwork so that when Allen turns on Tyreese sometime in the next two weeks it won't seem like it came out of left field.

• I get why Andrea jogged rather than drove to the prison. It's been at least a year, maybe two since the zombie outbreak and most of the world's cars are probably dead. It's a shame that there apparently aren't any bicycles in this world.

• So who set fire to the zombies in the pit? I don't think it was Tyreese or Sasha. The obvious culprit is Milton. He sure seems guilty when the Governor questions him about it. That's not necessarily proof though, as Milton sounds guilty when he says "Hello." 

I'm thinking Milton is a little too obvious though and it'll turn out to be someone else. Who that may be, I have no idea.

• I think this is the first time we've seen roasted zombies on the show. Roasted zombies that are still "alive." Nasty, effective and disturbing. 

• I really enjoyed the game of hide and seek between TV Andrea and the Governor. Very tense and effective.

• TV Andrea gained a lot of points in my eyes (and almost made me like her again) when she unleashed a walker tsunami on the Governor. Now THAT'S the bad ass Andrea from the comic that we all know and love! 

• Alas, she lost all the points she gained when she calmly strolls out of the factory, walks right past the Governor's SUV and continues jogging to the prison. Jesus Jet-skiing Christ! I thought I was gonna have a stroke when she did that. Let me say it again, loudly and through cupped hands: She left her murderous boyfriend's ride sitting outside so he can use it to resume his hunt for her. I've never wanted to slap a fictional character so much in all my life.

• It happened again! TV Andrea finally reaches the prison and makes the fatal mistake of looking happy. Of course she's immediately captured by the Governor, who somehow escaped the zombie horde. Anytime someone on this show experiences even a tiny sliver of happiness or pleasure they're killed, captured or worse.

• Not sure how the Governor dragged TV Andrea back to his SUV and secured her inside without her making any noise to alert Rick. I guess he could have knocked her out.

• At the end of the episode I was sure the Governor had been bitten. The way he was holding his arm made it look like it was hurt. I half expected him to go to his torture room and chop off his forearm in order to survive. Maybe he just sprained it?

• That last scene with TV Andrea strapped into the chair was chilling. Would not want to be her next week.  

• I wonder if the Governor will end up getting killed in the season finale? I'm torn on this-- on the one hand he's a great villain played by a great actor and I'd hate to lose him. They'll never be able to top him. On the other hand if they keep him around for three or four seasons we're gonna get bored with him. If I had to guess I'd say they'll kill him-- always leave the audience wanting more. 

• This episode brings up something I've always wondered: Do actors get paid for episodes in which they don't appear? Rick was the only character from the prison to pop up this week. Did the rest of the cast get paid this week? Do their contracts specify they get compensated for 16 episodes even if they're not in every one?