‘The Walking Dead’ Retro Recap: ‘Dead Weight’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

When we last settled in to discuss the iconic AMC series, The Walking Dead, we talked at length about the nature of redemption and absolution and whether or not a person can find those things when they’ve committed genuinely horrible and disgusting acts. A feat that ‘Live Bait’ postulated is possible, provided the person in question is open to reflection and observation of their actions, the kind that makes it clear what kind of lines they crossed, and revisiting that aspect of the previous episode is important today, because next chapter in what we could call… ‘The Governor Trilogy’ digs deeper into these notions. To explore what could actually prevent someone from finding redemption and absolution, despite having an open mind and heart in regard to obtaining it.

Which is an exploration that at first glance, doesn’t appear as though it is going to be the focus of ‘Dead Weight’. For when we catch up with Philip Blake/Brian Heriot and his new family in this tale, they’re getting by with their new group and Martinez has accepted Phil as is and has let the past go and it just seems as though, the Governor will be redeemed in this tale. And that title will never mean a thing again and watching him help and keep a low profile and take care of Lily and Meghan really does make it seem as though he’s learned the error of his ways and genuinely wants to forge a better life, free from the horrors he conducted. But a singular moment, one where Philip Blake is challenged in a manner he didn’t expect, changes the course of everything and brings forth the lesson in question.

For he brutally murders Martinez without giving it a second thought and once Martinez’s blood is on his hands, he is quick to let the Governor return and seize power of this camp in the bloodiest and fearful ways imaginable and it isn’t long before he’s back to his old self. In fact, he even goes so far as to rebuild his menagerie of the living dead in a nearby lake and of course, he uses lies and fear and control the populace and at the end of this tale… we see him fully commit to the anger and darkness within. Since he pulls his gun on Hershel and Michonne and makes his way over to them, leaving all of us to wonder… what went wrong? Why would a man on the cusp of a fresh start, suddenly decide to return to his old ways, the kind that were deceitful and dangerous and downright destructive? Well as it turns out, the answer to those questions was quite simple in nature.

In that, simply reflecting upon our mistakes and acknowledging them, isn’t enough to properly bring redemption and absolution into our lives. We also have to look at the root cause of our mistakes in the first place and learn why exactly we made the moves we made. Because without that understanding we cannot separate ourselves from the past and properly forge a future or live in the moment nor we can resist trigger moments and we’ll struggle to shed bad behaviors. We’ll just return to a cycle of never-ending sorrow from which it seems there is no escape and that’s precisely why, this episode took the time to offer up some parallels from the Governor’s time in Woodbury. To teach us that lesson, by way of the cycle that was being built before our eyes. All because Philip did nothing to address those root causes, and what’s wild… is that there is still another component regarding this grand concept waiting in the wings for this saga to explore.

But before we dive too deeply into that, we can bask in the majesty of what turned out to be an extremely dark and unsettling tale. One that unraveled before our eyes as Philip faded away and the Governor returned and that really did make for some chilling moments. That kind that helped us to understand how he took control in Woodbury so easily, and how he maintained power with minimal fuss. Because he really did use his charm and his guile to lead and influence and now, things are going to get ugly. Because he’s ready for revenge and ready to lead in the manner he knows how and that will spell sorrow and bloodshed once more. For what awaits us now is a brutal showdown, one that would leave tears and devastation in its wake, alongside that complete understanding of what brings us absolution. Until next time.

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