AMC's The Walking Dead

I noticed both of those things, and I don't think they were red herrings. I'm guessing those prisoners will lead to proof that there's someone else in the prison, maybe an entire group.

As far as the tea, the Governor also praised the scientist's tea like it was something particularly special. My thought was the same as yours, that it's drugged with some uppers or something.

 

So, what was with all the heads at the end? Something scientific or just a creepo serial killer thing? It didn't seem necessary to kill the military guy ... if they told him the same lie that they told everyone else about his fellow soldiers being dead by the time they got there he could have been integrated into society.

 

The heads in tanks was a nice, yet creepy, touch. The Governor is fast becoming my favorite character. Such a bad ass, but there's so much we don't know about him yet. Can't wait till the confrontation between him and Rick.

This episode, for whatever reason, is getting reamed online -- especially Facebook. People are saying it was the worst so far in the three seasons, but it really was one of the best thus far. We finally get introduced to the Governor and Merle is back. Isn't that what fans have been waiting for?

 

Ya, the tea has to be significant in some way.

 

OMG! She killed her pets!

OMG! Merle!

OMG! The Governor!

OMG! Floating heads!

OMG! OMG! OMG!

That said...great visual at the end with the heads and The Gov. with a drink in his hand...

I bet that would make a GREAT drawing.

 

I hope the tea isn't significant. The Governor and Woodbury work for me a lot better as a metaphor for fascism than as some sort of nefarious "experiment".

To me, the Governor and Woodbury prove the adage that if you make people comfortable, they'll tolerate anything to maintain that comfort. Woodbury might as well be pre-World War II Germany.

In that case, the Governor -- who is clearly psychotic -- is a sort of doppelganger for Hitler.

 

I can't imagine anyone thinking the Governor is cool, so of course Rick likes him. I can't wait until he gets an arrow or knife to the skull.

 

Hitler's reign was full of scientific experiments, such as eugenics and the Manhattan Project.

 

The tea was just a inside joke for the crew. There is a writer that drinks a lot of tea...so they threw it in the show. It was mentioned on "Talking Dead" after the show.

 

Ah, damn, I was hoping the tea was laced with soma.

I really liked this episode. It introduced a character who's probably going to play a big role in this season and perhaps series, re-introduced us to Andrea and Michonne, brought back Merle and didn't make him an over-the-top racist redneck prick like he was on the rooftop, and got us away from the prison.

I agree schiezanc's comments on the rush of the National Guardsmen, but I agree with Versatile's follow-up that we could've at least seen the guys fire back or duck for cover or maybe show the Governor roll from some shots. But I can let that slide a bit.

 

Having Merle be subservient really gave the Governor cache as a badass. I think we all expected him to return and start kicking ass. Instead, he's just a lackey for the dictator, taking orders like he's nothing special.

 

I think the thing to remember with the soldiers is these are National Guardsmen, not Navy Seals or Army Rangers. Sure, in recent years Guardsmen in the real world have a lot more combat experience than they did in the past, but do we know the second war in Iraq ever even happened in the Walking Dead world? They may have training, but this might be the first time any of them were under fire. Heck, probably was. Remember, their slogan used to be, "One weekend a month, two weeks a year." If the Governor has guys who were full-time military (even a few full-time military with enough Southern militia-type folks), it's not that hard to imagine them mowing down a Guard unit without the Guardsmen getting off a shot.