"The Walking Dead:" Andrea's Choice

This episode was a little slower than last week’s, but there was a lot of good character development. Below is a very detailed description of tonight’s episode of The Walking Dead, titled, “I Ain’t No Judas.” Be warned, spoilers ahead!

“We’re not leaving,” Rick is telling the group. Glenn backs him up. Merle is  in one of the cells, and he talks about how the governor’s only just begun. “We ain’t scared of that prick,” Daryl says. Merle tells them they don’t have a chance against the man. Hershel wants to leave, insisting they can’t just sit there. Rick starts to walk away. “I put my family’s life in your hands. So get your head clear. And do something,” Hershel orders.
Rick stares through the fence at numerous walkers trying to get into the prison yard. He looks through a pair of binoculars and sees movement, but can’t figure out what it is. Carl joins him outside. He asks if Rick will be mad if he says something, and Rick assures him he won’t. “You should stop,” Carl tells him. “Stop what?” Rick asks. “Being the leader.” He tells him Rick should let Daryl and Hershel handle things and take a rest.
The governor and Milton are talking, and counting up how many people there are over 13, and talk about arming them. Andrea comes in, and wants answers for the governor storming to the prison, and tells him she’s sick of the lies and she’s not going to watch her friends kill each other. She says she’s going to the prison to see them. “Andrea. If you go to that prison, stay there,” he tells her.
“The governor wants everyone who’s old enough to hold a gun in front of the town hall now,” one of the governor’s men is saying. Andrea is startled.
“Merle’s staying here. He’s with us now,” Daryl tells Glenn, who calls his brother a snake in the prison. Hershel stands up for Merle, saying he has military training and they shouldn’t underestimate his loyalty to Daryl.
Hershel goes to see Merle, and they talk about living without limbs, and how that happened. He holds up a bible and tells Merle he found it in one of the cells, and that for awhile, he’d lost his way. Merle admits he misses the library at Woodbury. Then he warns Hershel that when the governor returns, he’s going to kill Merle, Michonne, and Daryl, then all the rest, leaving Rick for last, to feel the loss of everyone he cares about.
The governor is surveying everyone who showed up at the town hall, deciding who among them will be learning to fight and shoot.
Carol goes alone to Daryl’s cell and tells him she’s glad he came back. “This is our home,” she tells him. “This is a tomb,” he responds. She admits that’s what T-Dog called it, and said she agreed until Daryl found her. “He’s your brother, but he’s not good for you. Don’t let him bring you down. After all, look how far you’ve come,” she tells him, pride in her voice. They smile at each other.
Andrea is looking at the wall and Milton walks up. He tells her they’ve sealed it thoroughly–no one’s getting in or out. She questions if he really didn’t know about what the governor did at the prison. When he says no, she tells him she has to go to the prison and the governor can’t know. She says she needs to make her way to the prison and talk to Rick, to help stop things from spiraling out of control and to make sure more people don’t get killed.
“You asked me to keep tabs on her,” Milton says to the governor. “She’s going back to the prison, and has requested my assistance in escaping. Her words, not mine.” The governor tells him to help her. The governor says she asked for help, so help her. The governor tells him good work.
Out in the woods, Andrea and Milton are trying to catch a walker. Andrea cuts its arms off, and stomps his teeth out with a rock and her boot. Another walker approaches and she kills it while Milton holds down the first. Andrea puts the walker on a “leash” just as Tyreese shows up with his group.
Michonne is working out, and Merle tells her it’s smart to stay fit. She doesn’t respond. Carol listens as Merle tells her that whole hunting her down thing was just business. He says he’s done a lot of things he isn’t proud of, both before and after, and he hopes they can let bygones be bygones. Michonne glares after him as he leaves.
“It’s a diversionary tactic. Keeps the walkers away,” Milton tells the group. He asks if the place takes people in, and he says they do, and Milton offers to take them to Woodbury. Andrea takes off with her captive walker on a leash and heads toward the prison.
Carl is watching through binoculars on look-out and he spots “something weird out there.” Maggie takes aim, and sees that it’s Andrea with a walker on the leash. She tells Carl to get his dad and the others. Andrea makes her way into the yard, slashing at walkers who get too close as Rick and the others take up arms just in case.
“Are you alone?” Rick demands. When they see she is, they unlock the gate and they search her for weapons. “I asked if you were alone.” Andrea is stunned, and says she is. “Welcome back. Get up.” They take her inside the prison and she looks around, shell-shocked. She and Carol embrace silently. Carol tells her they thought she was dead. Andrea asks where Shane is and Rick shakes his head. And then she asks about Lori. Hershel tells her that Lori had a girl but didn’t survive. She looks at Carl, but can’t find words to speak.
“You all live here?” Andrea asks. Rick won’t let her see the cell block. Rick tells her that her boyfriend came in shooting, and killed an inmate that was with them.
“I didn’t even know you were in Woodbury until after the shootout,” she says, turning to look at Michonne and asking what she said. Michonne says she didn’t tell them anything. Andrea insists they need to work things out. “There’s nothing to work out,” Rick informs her. “We’re going to kill him.”
Andrea tells him there is room at Woodbury for all of them. Andrea says the people in Woodbury are terrified, and they’re gearing up for war. Daryl tells her to tell “Phillip” that next time he sees him, he’s going to take the governor’s other eye. Rick tells her if she wants to make things right, to help them get inside. She says no, because there are innocent people. He walks off without looking back.
Andrea and Michonne are walking outside. “You poisoned them.” Michonne says she just told them the truth. She says Andrea fell under the governor’s spell from the second she laid eyes on the man. “He sent Merle to kill me. Would have sent him to kill you, too, if you’d come with me.” She accuses Andrea of choosing a warm bed over a friend. She says that’s why she went back to Woodbury, to expose the man for what he was. Andrea turns to stare at her, silent.

 The governor is welcoming Tyreese and his group to the town. Tyreese says he’s sorry when the man tells him about the attacks. Tyreese tells them they had taken shelter in the prison before Rick chased them off. Tyreese says he can probably remember the prison’s layout. The governor says they can talk about it tomorrow.
Andrea goes upstairs to hold “little ass kicker.” Carol tells Andrea that the girl’s name is really Judith. She asks what happened to Lori. Carol says that Lori died during a C-section, and that T-Dog died leading her to safety. She informs Andrea that Rick called Shane after Shane tried to kill Rick. “Rick’s become cold. Unsteady,” Andrea comments. Carol advises her to sleep with the governor and  give him the greatest night of his life. “And then when he’s sleeping, you can end this.”
Rick and the others give Andrea a car to use to get back to Woodbury. She looks around at the group she’d spent so much time with, and tells them to take care before climbing back into the car and shutting the door. “Andrea,” Rick says. He hands her a gun and tells her to be careful. “You too,” she says quietly. They watch her drive away.
Andrea arrives back at Woodbury in the car. Everyone trains their weapons on her. She pulls up close enough that they can see who she is.
She makes her way to see the governor. “I went to the prison,” she tells him. She says they’re broken, living in horrible conditions. He asks if Michonne and Merle are there, and she says yes. “And Rick?” She says yes. He asks if he sent her back here. She says no, that was her call. He asks why. He moves closer to her, touching her face. “Because you belong here,” he says. She hugs him tightly, and they kiss.
Back at the prison, everyone is silent. Rick emerges, holding Judith as Beth begins to sing softly. Merle stands apart from the others and Rick moves to stand by Hershel and Daryl.
“Some reunion, huh?” Daryl comments. Hershel says Andrea’s persuasive. Rick says he’s going on a run, and tells Daryl to keep an eye on his brother. “I’m glad you’re back, really. But if he causes a problem, it’s on you.” He says he’ll take Michonne, and Carl with him.
Outside, Carl is standing guard once more, peering through the fences at all the walkers.
Back at Woodbury, Andrea watches the governor sleeping and slowly gets up, picking up a knife. She moves back to the bed, staring at the governor and raising the knife. But she can’t go through with it, and she backs off, moving to stare out the window instead, conflicted.
Did you watch tonight’s episode? What did you think? Comment below, or follow me at @WalkinDeadAngie on Twitter! I want to hear your reactions!
“The Walking Dead” (2010)
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Laurie Holden
Creator: Frank Darabont