In the prison, Carl pauses to look at the picture of him and his parents before packing up his bag and then heads outside. Rick reaches to take the bag from Carl and he pulls away. Glenn approaches Rick and says that he has never seen Carl this mad, even with Lori and Rick replies that he's still a kid and that it's easy to forget that. Rick goes to have one last look at the prison and Michonne tells him that he had to think about the deal the governor offered them. Rick apologizes saying that he came real close. Michonne answers that she never thanked him for taking her in and Rick admits that he wouldn't have if she didn't have the baby formula. Michonne points out that he could have just taken the formula and Rick responds that it was Carl who made the call and that he said she belonged there.
Back at Woodbury, the governor is attempting to rial up the citizens for an attack on the prison. Tyreese tops him and says that they are going to have to count them out and that he and Sasha will fight against the biters but not other people. Tyreese offers to stay there and defend the children and adds that when Philip returns, if he wants them gone, then no hard feelings. Philip grabs a gun and hands it to Tyreese saying thank you before walking off.
When the residents of Woodbury get to the prison, they start shooting all of the zombies out front and even blow up the watchtower. They drive through the gates and get no response, but still push forward into the prison.
Back at Woodbury, Milton is dying on the floor and tells Andrea about the pliers he left on the ground for her. Andrea says that she is going to get them both out of there but Milton replies that when Andrea gets free, she is going to find something very sharp and then stab him in the head.
They're continuing to investigate the inside of the prison and Philip calls for silence when he hears something. At Woodbury, Sasha and Tyreese are continuing to watch the children. Sasha wonders what is going to happen when they return and Tyreese points out that Andrea got out. Sasha suggests that if Andrea is at the prison, it didn't do her any good. Andrea has finally reached out for the tool, and pauses when she thinks Milton is dead. He opens his eyes and asks why she stayed, when she found her friends were out there. Andrea replies that she wanted to save everyone, including Philip for awhile and admits that she had a chance to kill but tried to stop it another way because she didn't want anyone to die. Milton says that he is still there and still alive but he encourages her to hurry.
Inside the prison, flashbombs go off causing panic and the Governor orders the people to stand their ground. When they run outside the shooting starts, as Carl and Hershel watch from the woods. The people from Woodbury beat a hasty retreat and one of them goes running through the woods. Hershel tells him to drop the weapon, but before he can comply, Carl shoots him.
Now that they have the prison back, they begin debate whether this is really the end, or if they should take the fight back to Woodbury. Carl comes back with Hershel and Beth. Carl tells Rick that he took out one of the Governor's soldiers but Hershel says it was just a kid running away and that the kid was handing his gun over. Rick defends Carl and says that it was in defense. Hershel replies that he was there and that Carl gunned that kid down.
Philip meets up with the rest of his group and tells them that they need to dig in but with the exception of Alan, they don't want to go back and believe that Rick and crew are psychopaths and declare that they are done fighting to get the prison. The governor starts to gun down his own people and Allan pulls a gun on him. Before Allan can pull the trigger, Philip shoots him in the head, leaving on Martinez alive. Karen lies underneath a dead body and plays possum. Philip returns to his vehcile and Martinez and the Bowman (Cause bit part Black actors don't get real names) join him.
Andrea is still struggling to get free but when she finally gets her hands on the pliers, Milton is dead. As she begins to work on getting loose, Milton moves his hand. He did warn her but she seemed more interested in chatting.
Rick approaches Carl and tells him about what Hershel said and asks if the boy was handing over. the gun.. Carl replies that he had just attacked them. Rick is not satisfied and then asks again if the boy was surrendering. Carl admits that he was and says that he didn't kill the walker and then it killed Dale. Rick says that this is not the same thing but Carl is not convinced and says that Rick didn't kill Andrew and then Lori died and that he didn't kill Philip when he had the chance in the barn and then The Governor killed Merle. Carl then tells Rick to go, so that The Governor doesn't kill anymore of them and drops Rick's badge on the ground before walking away. Maggie and Glen say that they are staying because they don't know where the governor is, but if he comes back, they'll hold them off. As Rick, Michonne and Darryl drive away, Carol and Beth take out some zombies at the gate. This is the first time we have seen Beth actually kill a walker and do something beyond looking after Judith and singing songs.
When Rick, Michonne and Darryl find the governor's truck, they discover all the people Philip killed have turned to zombies. Karen is hiding inside the truck and when Rick points a gun at her, she hops out.
Andrea is still struggling to free herself and Milton has completely turned and quickly gets to his feet. Who at this points wasn't thinking please eat her?
They make their way back to Woodbury but as soon as they arrive, Sasha and Tyreese start shooting. Karen yells out that she is okay and says that the Governor killed everyone. Tyresese asks why she is with the people from the prison and Karen says that they saved her. Rick calls out that they are coming out and lowers his weapon, as the group approaches. Tyreese asks what they are doing there and Rick says that they were coming to finish this until they saw what The Governor did. Rick tells Sasha and Tyreese that Andrea never made it to the prison and so they head to the area where Philip held Glenn and Maggie. There is blood coming out from under the door.
When they open the door, they find Andrea and she says that she tried to stop them. Michonne runs to her and Andrea says again that she tried to stop them and reveals a bite on her neck. Andrea asks about the rest of the group and Rick says that they are all alive. Andrea tells Michonne that it's good she found them and that no one can make it alone now, Darryl adds, "we never could." Andrea says that she didn't want anyone to die. Andrea adds that she can do it herself but Michonne says no and starts to cry. Andrea adds that she has too while she still can and that she knows how the safety works. Rick places a gun in her hand and Michonne says that she is not going anywhere.
They leave the room and wait outside giving Andrea time with Michonne. There is a single shot. The next morning, they all return to the prison with the last of the residents of Woodbury. Carl asks what is this and Rick says that they are going to join them.. He walks off as the former residents of Woodbury enter the prison single file.
Okay that was the season finale folks and if I do say so myself, beyond Andrea finally dying, I found it a bit anticlimactic. Much effort was placed in comparing Carl and The Governor. I think we all knew that Carl was no longer a child the moment he chose to shoot his mother so that she wouldn't become a walker. He has also learned that actions have consequences and it's clear that he no longer believes in mercy. The idea being that is something that does not change and Rick does not get through to his son, that Carl will one day become exactly like Philip. I believe that Carl's dropping of his father's badge indicates that he no longer believes in laws and that it's every man for himself.
Given what it's like outside, Michonne didn't really have much option but to return to the prison but I am not at all pleased with her gratitude towards Rick and brushing aside that he even considered handing her over to Philip given what Rick knew about The Governor. That Michonne needed approval from Carl - a child for acceptance speaks volumes. I further did not appreciate having Michonne cry over Andrea. I know that they were alone together for months but Andrea very quickly dumped Michonne the first chance she got. It made her look like the long suffering servant desperate for approval and love. Michonne spent most of this season grunting, and playing the angry Black woman, so to see her almost servile now that she has been accepted into the group is yet another trope that they are exploring - the mammy.
Andrea's big death scene was much appreciated by me and it brought an end to a character I have come to despise. The Andrea of the show did not even remotely resemble the Andrea I have come to adore in the comics. She was petulant, cold and callus. None of her actions made sense this season and though Rick claimed that she was always part of the group, in my opinion she did nothing to deserve that kind of loyalty. To be clear, Andrea continued to stand behind The Governor long after she knew what he was, so what kind of person does that make her? I shed no tears and felt no sorrow over her passing. Andrea represents just one of the ways in which The Walking Dead has continually failed its female characters.
One of things I didn't understand from last night's episode was Philip thanking Sasha and Tyreese for agreeing to stay behind. I found that out of character for him. There was a lot of hype about Tyreese joining the cast this year and yet he was extremely under utilized. I can only hope that now that he has joined the prison along with the rest of the residents of Woodbury that his character will develop and he will take on the traits given to Tyreese from the comics. Is anyone else curious whether they will allow Michonne and Tyreese to become a couple? I sensed some chemistry between Michonne and Rick last night and I am not sure how I feel about that. I am also curious to see what happens to Sasha though I must admit that I am worried about her survival, given The Walking Dead's treatment of people of colour.
Last night we saw Philip ride into the sunset with Martinez and The Bowman. This is not what happened to the Governor in the comics and I highly suspect that they are not done with his character yet and will most certainly see him again. The Governor was absolutely a fan favorite and I highly suspect that he will be brought back at a later date, as I cannot for a moment imagine the writers allowing the series to settle in on the prison as a permanent location.
I found it interesting telling that the residents of Woodbury quickly broke ranks and left the prison call Rick et al psychopath. It made perfect sense that they would leave. Up until that point that lives has been about lemonade and normalcy. Woodbury sheltered them from the realities of the world and when they had to face it, they simply were not prepared. This in part is why I think we saw Martinez, Philip and The Bowman take off. When we do finally see the return of The Governor, I suspect the people he will amass will be much harder.
What were your thoughts of the season and the season finale?
