The Walking Dead - Midseason Finale - Recap: Don't Look Back

Credit: AMC

From start to finish, the episode plays as one long, grim march towards the inevitable war with the prison, and The Governor's subsequent death. There's hardly ever any doubt about those two elements: despite The Governor swearing up and down that it will be a peaceful takeover of the prison -- especially now that he's captured Hershel (Scott Wilson) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) as hostages -- there's just no way this doesn't end in bloodshed. And no matter how assertive The Governor is in telling Michonne that she can't harm him, we know it's her blade that will end up skewering his heart by the end of the hour, even if it's ultimately not what kills him. But the point of the episode isn't in how it ends, it's in how we get to that ending. "Too Far Gone" is stocked with tragic inevitabilities, moments of potential change that were only ever going to go one way.

Credit: AMC

Credit: AMC

"Too Far Gone" plays out a bit like an abbreviated version of last season, with all the big-battle build up occurring over the course of about twenty minutes: we have The Governor assuring Lilly (Audrey Marie Anderson) that he'll do everything in his power to keep her, Meghan (Meyrick Murphy), and Tara (Alanna Masterson) safe, even going as far as to tell her he loves her. He then gets a goodbye hug from the little girl, not expecting it to be a goodbye in the way it inevitably becomes. Meanwhile, it's Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie's (Lauren Cohan) anniversary, and although Glenn is still far from 100%, he at least appears to be on the mend. As does Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), who thanks Bob (Larry Gilliard, Jr.) for his role in helping her pull through. But it's not exactly all peaceful, as Rick (Andrew Lincoln) finally tells Daryl (Norman Reedus) about having exiled Carol (Melissa McBride) for her role in the deaths of Karen and David. Daryl is understandably furious, but decides to back Rick for the inevitable confrontation with Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman). Yet the confrontation isn't what either suspects, as they find Tyreese in the basement, mulling over evidence he's found of more mutilated rats, which he believes to be the work of Karen and David's murderer. It's clear, at least, that the rat mutilator can't be Carol, so suspicion should probably fall to little Lizze (Brighton Sharbino), given her contrasting unease and aggressiveness. Could Carol really have been covering up for someone after all? It's an interesting question to ponder, but it has to take a backseat once The Governor's tank begins battering the prison fortifications.

Credit: AMC

The Governor demands a meeting with Rick, and what we get is an argument of contrasting ideals: change vs. stagnancy. The Governor presents Rick with an ultimatum: vacate the prison by sundown or watch Hershel and Michonne die. Rick proposes an alternative, that the two groups share the prison and simply live in different cell blocks. Hershel affirms that this is possible, as neither group will ever have to see the other. Rick even appeals to the other members of The Governor's new group, theorizing that death isn't really what any of them want. In a poignant moment, Rick explains that while they've had their differences, it doesn't have to be this way. After Woodbury, they took in The Governor's people, and those people became one of them. There's no reason now that the same principle can't be applied, that they can't all become one people. As Rick declares, no one is "too far gone." Hershel recognizes the change in Rick, ascending to the noble leadership role he'd been so keen to reject just a few episodes back, and a smile crosses his face. It seems for a moment that Rick may be right, that there really is no such thing as being too far gone...until The Governor calls Rick a "liar" and slices Hershel's neck with Michonne's katana, igniting all-out war. And the gruesome part is hardly even done, as the show gives the tiny hope that Hershel might still be alive: the old man crawls away to safety, the gash in his neck bursting with blood, only for The Governor to catch up and finish the job with the hilt of the katana, repeatedly bashing Hershel's head in until it comes rolling off its body. Merry Christmas, From The Walking Dead.

Credit: AMC

Credit: AMC

Credit: AMC

The next half hour is basically a wall-to-wall setpiece, broken up only by a riverside tragedy, as Lilly (back at camp) is distracted by a walker in the river, and doesn't notice Meghan being attacked by a walker buried beneath the earth until it's too late. It's a harrowing bit of business, particularly when Lilly finds The Governor on the battlefield to present him with Meghan's body. It's a moment that's sold almost entirely by the look of despair and resentment in Lilly's face, as if to say, "If you'd just left this prison alone, this never would have happened." Amid all the gunfire and explosions, it's a deeply affecting, human moment that characterizes at least one significant change for The Governor: while he's clearly devastated at losing another daughter figure, he has no delusions about what Meghan is/will become following death. Instead of chaining her up indefinitely, he immediately puts a bullet in the little girl's head, in front of a horrified Lilly. And then, strangely, it's back to business as usual (peculiar, given how much narrative weight was given to the attachment between The Governor and Meghan as a surrogate father/daughter pairing, but "Too Far Gone" perhaps had too much story ground to cover with not enough time. Still, this felt oddly perfunctory).

Credit: AMC

Credit: AMC

During the battle, most of Rick's group retreats to the bus, while the others continue the fight...or not continuing it, as Tara decides to quit, looking both confused and stunned. Meanwhile, Tyreese is rescued by Lizzie and Mika (Kyla Kennedy), who are apparently every bit as good at headshots as the adults, taking out both Alisha (Juliana Harkavy) and her gun-wielding partner. The girls had been watching over Judith, but the baby is now nowhere to be seen, and this becomes a bit of a puzzle for later. As for now, the fight continues with Daryl using a walker-shield to get close enough to incapacitate the tank, and then kills Mitch (Kirk Acevedo) very nonchalantly with a well-placed crossbow shot. But in one of the episode's most climactic moments, Rick and The Governor finally have their one-on-one fist fight.

Credit: AMC

Rick and The Governor's fight is a grueling, bloody affair, and The Governor eventually gets the better of it, strangling Rick and trying to put an end to this entire mess -- until Michonne steps in and puts her katana right through The Governor's heart. Rick stumbles off to look for Carl (Chandler Riggs) while Michonne simply leaves The Governor writhing on the ground for the walkers that are heading their way, instead of finishing him off and letting his death be relatively quick. It seems like a torturous end for The Governor, but then Lilly shows up and makes it a quick end for The Governor anyway, shooting him in the head with his own gun. It would have been enough for the episode to end here, but Rick eventually finds Carl, and together, they find Judith's empty, bloody baby carriage. Both men break down in an exhausting moment of grief that both Andrew Lincoln and Chandler Riggs play beautifully, with Carl emptying his cartridges into the nearest walker while Rick implores him to run. They make it up the hill, past the smoking ruins of the prison, with Rick telling Carl "don't look back." After spending almost two seasons here, it's going to be pretty hard not to.

Credit: AMC

"Too Far Gone" is a battle against inevitability: can people change, or are they locked into the same roles they've always had? The same ideologies? The same neuroses? At least in Rick's case, he continues to grow as a leader, while The Governor continued to devolve, until this world no longer had patience or use for him. And that's a fairly telling indictment of The Governor's militaristic approach to survival in the zombie apocalypse. Rick played defense, and while his group isn't exactly better off now, the majority of them continue to be alive, which is more than could be said for any rival group that has crossed their path (well, other than the walkers, who are too numerous to count). It's tough to know where Rick's group could be headed, or what, if anything, they'll have learned from the prison arc. However, I'd argue that, over the course of four seasons, the prison arc has represented the show at its best. I'm excited to see where the show goes following this extended arc, yet I'm also a bit sad to see it come to an end. But really, I'm mostly just excited. Bring on February!