‘The Walking Dead’ Retro Recap: ‘Arrow on the Doorpost’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

War is often viewed in a supremely black and white manner. Where the enemy is seen as faceless and unrelenting, and the leader of that army is nothing more than a monster. One that is eager to dominate and is filled with pure evil and rage and of course, it is up to the right-side to stop them from inflicting harm on innocents and that is why the right-side fights. But the fact of the matter is, war is never that simple and its origins are often quite complex or pathetic in nature and it just so happens that the next episode of The Walking Dead, takes the time to explore some of the realistic and unfortunate reasons we go to war.
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A feat that ‘Arrow on the Doorpost’ accomplishes by allowing for the impossible to take place. For this is a story that sees Rick and Hershel and Daryl, swing by an extremely unique and remote location… so that Rick and the Governor can meet face to face. All in the hopes of deescalating the tensions between the Prison Group and Woodbury and for a time, it appeared as though this episode and this shocking and seemingly impossible meeting, was going to speak volumes to how our inability to find common ground, was what led to war. Since Rick and Philip couldn’t make any headway and spent a great deal of time throwing insults at one another and posturing. But once Rick lowered his guard just a bit and let the Governor talk, did it become clear that sometimes… the march to war comes out of ego and bravado. 

For every word that Philip sent Rick's way, spoke to the core of a man that is indeed eager to dominate and flex over others. Because he believes that his way is the right way and that his methods are the only proper ones and as Rick listened to him feed his ego and enjoy the symphony of his own voice, it became clear that men like the Governor, who hold themselves in the highest regard… will happily kill others to prove their point. Since that is the apex of the Alpha in their mind and nothing is braver or bolder than meeting an enemy in combat, even when such a move is wasteful and dangerous and costly for both sides. Not to mention, some men will also push everything to the brink, in the hopes of enacting a measure of revenge, as evidenced by big Phil’s demands revolving around Michonne.

Wherein he promised peace and prosperity for the Prison group, if they just handed her over and let him handle the rest. But while this made for a straightforward exploration on the more unsavory ways that the foundation for war is laid, it took the end of this tale to explain to us how bluster and bravado actually leads to war. As it turns out, that comes from the fact that men like the Governor, really don’t mean what they say when they talk about peace or make deals for it. Because they walk into situations akin to this one with their minds made up and merely want to size up their enemy before teaching them a lesson. And Rick knew this and that’s why he told his group they’d be fighting for lives and the show confirmed this reality as well… courtesy of what Philip had to say when he got back to Woodbury.

In this end, this was just a fascinating episode when all is said and done. Because not only did it have a lot to say about how conflict and war is sometimes handled and started by irresponsible men with egos that need to be fed, but it did also briefly explore the folly of having men like the Governor in charge of weapons and armies. Since the interactions between Rick’s team and the Governor’s made it clear that good people go to war under bad pretenses from their 'leaders' sometimes, and suffer because of it, and it is a shame that we don’t let the everyday folks negotiate peace since they would find common ground and broker a deal that all sides could agree to. But alas, that wasn’t the case here nor is it in real life and now that these two leaders have met, the march to war is on. But before the fight can arrive, there’s one more critical moment to Philip’s downward spiral that need to take place and that’s where we will pick up, next time. Until then.

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