‘The Walking Dead’ Retro Recap: ‘I Ain’t a Judas’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Ask anyone what they would do to ensure the safety and security of their family and/or their closest friends… and you’ll get the same answer. One where the person in question will quickly declare that they will do whatever it takes to keep them as safe as can be, and if someone were to ask us that question… we’d give the same answer as well. Because we understand that the people, we genuinely love… are one of a kind and losing them or seeing them come to harm is more than we can bear and that’s why we firmly believe we will go to any lengths to care for them. But while that is a heartwarming answer and one that reaffirms our love of our inner circle… for some… the answer to that question isn’t so clean cut and dry.  
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Because some people, find themselves in supremely unique situations. Where the people they love are at odds with one another and standing with either side would create stunning conflict and new problems in the lives of everyone involved. Which means that folks that are stuck in that messy situation, really cannot go the extra mile to keep everyone safe and secure, and they’re stuck trying to figure out what common ground looks like, so harm comes to no one. If anything, that particular conundrum is top of mind today, simply because it served as the focal theme/exploration of the next episode of The Walking Dead. A feat that ‘I Ain’t a Judas’ accomplished, by having Andrea be plunged into that exact conundrum and that led to some powerful moments for certain.

Because at first, Andrea truly thought as though she could broker peace between Woodbury and the Prison. So much in fact that she felt the need to go behind the Governor’s back to gather the resources she needed to make it to the prison, and while she was indeed able to do so and was indeed reunited with people, she considers to be family, the truth that came her way… created the conflict in question. For she came to understand that the man she loved, one Philip Blake, wasn’t the clean cut… beacon of hope she believed him to be. Instead, he was in fact, a monster. One that went to great lengths to harm other people and that really did leave Andrea beside herself.

After all, she was expecting to find a broken group of friends that lashed out for reasons she thought she could solve by bringing two worlds together. Only to discover that they were hurting badly for other reasons and had to react because ol’ Philip had dictator tendencies and well… that presented her with a difficult choice. One where she could end the life of the Governor, per Carol’s advice, and usher in a new era of peace between these two colonies. Or do nothing and hope that peace would hold, and she could have the best of both worlds and sadly… Andrea chose the latter option. Giving the Governor a new lease on life and a chance to cause more chaos, and such a choice left her in what was seen at the time, to be a cowardly and weak place, since she had the chance to end this without question.

But in keeping with the theme, such a decision isn’t easy. Because anytime love comes into play, real love… we do stupid things, and we see potential over reality and that’s what she did here. Granted, it is a costly move, but it speaks volumes to the fact that sometimes the objective we have in mind isn’t so simple and is a monumental task. If anything, the decision to stick with a status quo is one of the most human decisions ever made on the series and this episode in retrospect, deserves credit for giving us an honest and complex answer to a question that so many think can be solved easily, and well… now that we’ve reached the end of this fascinating exploration, it is time to turn our attention to another powerhouse look at the human condition. One so raw and so visceral that many still regard it to be one of the finest episodes that The Walking Dead has ever aired. Until next time.

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