Walking Dead Season 4 episode 6 “Live Bait” opens right where we last saw The Governor in Season 3.
As you recall, The Governor was on the streets gunning down his disciples from Woodbury,
He then drove off with his two faithful henchmen.
When night fell, The Governor sat staring at the camp fire. Could he possibly be reflecting on his depraved behavior? He looked as if he was in a trance. He sits unresponsive to the imminent danger as a Walker approaches him.
Carlos takes matters into his own hands and shoots the Walker. Carlos’s expression is nothing less than frustration and disappointment in his great leader. To no surprise, The Governor awakes the next morning to find his men gone.
The Governor is truly lost and returns to his only home. He breaks through Woodbury’s barriers only to find the place is overrun by Walkers. He watches his beloved town burn.
Abandoned and lost, The Governor begins to wander the countryside.
He staggers around looking very much like a “Living Walker.” He is a broken man and cares about nothing. He is nonchalant as he passes Walkers on the street.
He wanders for months. A mere shell of his former self, which is evident from his over grown beard and aimless expression.
Then one day he spots a little girl staring at him from a window.
The Governor explores the building and finds Tara, the tough-talking wannabe cop; single mom Lily, her adorable daughter, Megan, and the sisters’ dying father.
He explains that he came from a group that “the leader lost it, I barely got out alive.” Could The Governor actually realized somewhere along the way he lost he’s humanity?
The Walking Dead continues with the theme of change in Season 4, and the Governor’s storyline seems to be a part of that. The Governor is brought back to life while living with this little family.
He reinvents himself as Brian Harriet and becomes a protector of them. It is unclear how The Governor was as a man before the zombie apocalypse, but from his relaxed demeanor with Megan, it is clear that she brings out the best of him. We perhaps even get glimpses of his former self while his daughter was alive.
She obviously reminds him of his daughter Penny (remember how tenderly he would interact with her in Season 3, despite the fact she was a Walker in a straightjacket in a locked closet?).
The Governor clearly has replaced Penny in his heart, which is symbolized by him erasing his past by burning the family photograph. We can guess that losing his family was the traumatic event that brought about the rise of The Governor.
After the father passes away, Lily convinces The Governor to help them find a better location. A romance is developing between him and Lilly — it’s clear that sentiment is coming from a real place.
His protecting of his new found family starts off as soon as they hit the road. The truck breaks down and the group must walk. Of course, Walkers appear and they all run for cover. Brian (aka The Governor) scoops up Megan and runs pass the struggling sisters hobbling along.
Brian and Megan fall in a walker trap and he must kill all of them to protect the child. Megan clings to him. He promises to always keep her safe. Ironically, at the end of the episode The Governor finds out the trap was made by his once loyal henchman, Caesar.
Can someone walk away from the worst parts of themselves in order to live a renewed and good life?
Is The Governor, the embodiment of evil in Season 3, becoming a new, maybe even a good, man?
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