Article first published as THE WALKING DEAD Recap Season 3 Episode 14 Prey on Seat42F.
Grade: 93%
Grade: 93%
This week’s installment of AMC’s THE
WALKING DEAD, “Prey,” is by and large a Woodbury-centric episode, even
when it leaves the confines of the town. Andrea (Laurie Holden) is
warned by Milton (Dallas Roberts) that the Governor (David Morrissey)
plans on killing the prison group, no matter if they do as he has asked
or not. And what he has asked for is Michonne (Danai Gurari), so he can
torture her. It’s enough to make Andrea sick, and she flees town.
Setting off without a gun, with only a
small knife for protection, in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by
Walkers is insane. It is a measure of just how terrible a place Woodbury
has become, now that Andrea sees the type of man the Governor really is
in full light, that she attempts such a thing. Most stable people would
not flee relative safety, but when that safety comes at a very high
price, one that Andrea cannot live with, she makes her escape.
If anyone can survive with only a knife,
it’s Andrea. After all, she only has to make it to the prison, so it’s
not like she’ll be out wandering around for weeks. However, the Governor
doesn’t make that easy for her, knowing that Andrea will warn her
friends about his plans, thus spoiling them, and so he sets out after
her.
I do think it’s a little thin that the
Governor is able to so easily track Andrea down several times. Seeing
her in the field is happenstance; I get that. But why doesn’t he pursue
her on foot into the trees? And why doesn’t Andrea pick a different
point to leave the trees at, instead of going straight through them, as
she must for the Governor to be waiting on the other side? How does the
Governor know which building Andrea goes into? Does she have to approach
the prison from that exact spot, the one the Governor tracks her to?
Why doesn’t she circle around? Why doesn’t Andrea take the Governor’s
truck, or sabotage it, after dodging him in the building? Why does the
Governor go after her alone, when taking Martinez (Jose Pablo Cantillo)
and others will better assure Andrea can be found and stopped?
Some of this can be explained because
the Governor and Andrea are both very smart, and they do what makes
sense. After the building encounter, one of the creepiest scenes ever
for THE WALKING DEAD, she may even be forgiven for thinking that the
Governor is dead, and thus not needing to vary her path. But when the
hunt is taken altogether, it does play a bit into bad horror movie
conventions, where the villain has an uncanny ability to track his
intended victim, no matter what happens.
“Prey” is the episode where we see the
depth of the Governor’s insanity. He sets up a torture chamber in
Woodbury, and stalks Andrea with a single-minded ruthlessness. The fact
that he whistles while doing so and scrapes the shovel, alerting Andrea
to his presence, is not only silly, because it allows her to avoid him,
but cruel, intended to strike fear into her heart (and succeeding). Only
a true psychopath, without any empathy for anyone else would act like
this. He is a monster, plain and simple.
Andrea is one of the toughest characters
on THE WALKING DEAD, and definitely someone who survives. Her play of
letting loose the Walkers on the Governor is brilliant, bold, and brave.
But I worry about her, now that the Governor has her. THE WALKING DEAD
television series verges quite a bit away from its comic book roots, and
so no one is safe. While I desperately hope that Andrea survives the
season, for once she will not be able to do so alone, as she has become
helpless. It’s a strange situation to see her in, but one that really
ups the ante.
Andrea’s best shot is with Milton, but
his days are numbered, too, and I really expect him not to survive the
last two hours of the season. He has gone against the Governor, warning
Andrea and quite possibly setting fire to the Governor’s captured
Walkers. The fact that he knew the Governor before he was the Governor
has given Milton a pass thus far. But as the Governor moves further and
further away from being a person, losing his connection to humanity,
this won’t save Milton anymore. Just when the doctor grows a spine, he
is liable to get it ripped out.
Milton could still let Andrea go before
being killed himself, though. Yes, the Governor will be keeping an eye
on Milton, as the trust is definitely lost between the two men. However,
the Governor can’t watch Milton at all times, so there could be a
window of opportunity. If he manages to save Andrea, it will redeem
Milton for being complicit in the Governor’s previous activities. First,
though, Milton must learn that Andrea is being held captive.
Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman) and his
sister, Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green, The Good Wife), are the unknown
factor. They are also beginning to see the true nature of Woodbury,
after going out to the Walker pits, and hearing the Governor lie about
Andrea. Tyreese plays it cool, acting like he’s on the team, but I feel
like at this point he is only doing so to save his skin. I’m not sure if
he’ll make a break for it, maybe with Andrea, or if he’s so scared of
the outside world that he intends to stay and keep faking it. Tyreese
does not trust the Governor, though, so he is not a happy citizen. And
he’s a good man who seems like he will stand up for what is right when
the chips are down.
THE WALKING DEAD does a fantastic job at
character development, and the past three episodes in a row have shown
that. When the series focuses on a small number of people per episode,
allowing the scenes to dwell on them, lingering on their thoughts and
motivations, we get a picture of the person. It’s how, in just a short
amount of screen time, we already know Tyreese. This really works for
the show, and they should mostly stick to this formula, other than when
it’s time for the big action episodes, such as season finales.
The weak spots in the Governor’s hunting
bring this episode down a little in my estimation, compared to other
entries. But it’s still far better than most other series on television,
and I think that “Prey” wonderfully sets up a two hour finale, which
will sadly be split over the next two weeks. THE WALKING DEAD airs
Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.
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