Welcome to Woodbury

Written by:  John Edward Betancourt

I must say that I am still in awe of last night's episode of The Walking Dead.  Not because of the awesome kills, or what Michonne brings to the table, oh no.  The highlight reel last night, was the Governor.  

But for me it went beyond just the fact that after being a fan of the comic for so many years that I finally get to see him in the flesh if you will, for me the performance was key.  

It's damn important, that's for sure, especially with such an iconic role as this.  I say that simply because the wrong person in a role can utterly change the feel of a film or a show.  A great example is the debacle that was Hannibal and the changing of the guard from Jodie Foster to Julianne Moore.  Granted there are other problems with the film, but its biggest is that Foster was Clarice Starling and no one else would do.

That was exactly how I felt about the Governor when they announced his arrival on the show, and while I trust in the folks that run The Walking Dead there was still that glint of worry as to who would play this character and what they would bring to the table.  The wrong actor would mean disaster, and that's unacceptable for someone almost as important as Rick Grimes.   Suffice it to say that after watching the show last night, the end result actually exceeded my expectation.  

Sure David Morrissey doesn't have the fu manchu and jet black hair that the Gov did in the comics, but I don't care.  Mister Morrissey made the character his own, and that's the most impressive part, he made me uncomfortable watching him on screen.  

Throughout the show last night, the subtle performance that David put on my TV left me with chills.  While he flashed a lovely smile and said all the right things, you could see the fire building in his eyes waiting to be unleashed.  Go back and watch and you'll see what I mean.  Anyone who challenged him, or had something a little sharper to say, his eyes instantly lit up with rage.  You can see the internal fight to restrain himself, even in the way he replies.  

But what impressed me the most, were the final moments of the show.  Without a word to be spoken, David brought out exactly what we wanted from the Governor; absolute madness.  Those last five minutes in his private study left me utterly terrified.   Not because of what we saw in the room, but because of the look on the Governor's face.  The eyes gone wild, the jaw clenched with confusion, rage and terror.  This is a man on the verge of snapping, and we are all going to be witness to the fire storm that will arrive when he finally decides to let loose.  

What we have on our hands here folks is a complete and utter monster and I'm not sure that there will be another walker on this show that will ever disturb me as much as what we are about to see in David Morrissey's portrayal of the Governor.  Welcome to Woodbury everyone, I don't think we are going to enjoy our stay.  

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