Last week's episode, "Live Bait," finally reintroduced us to the Governor and revealed what he's gone through since shooting his own people in Season 3. While the last episode showed us the Governor's attempting to walk a new path, this episode reveals whether or not he can keep on it. Or, will he go back to his old crazy ways?
Just like with last week, David Morrissey's acting is what really sells this one. The dude does a superb job with the twisted character and makes ever scene he's in really engrossing. The character's path is handled well (even if some things are blatantly spelled out for us), but there's some nice scenes which help us reflect on all he's been through, where he's really at and what kind of man he truly is.
It's tough to really elaborate here since we keep review's spoiler-free, so all I'll say is I really dug the obstacles they put in his way and how his responses developed along the way. It's a bit of a shame it all had to be crammed into one episode, but it got the job done when it comes to character development. Everything that goes down with "Brian" serves as absolutely massive setup. Let's just say fans of the comic are sure to get excited and hopefully this will be the war we've been waiting to see (Season 3's finale totally doesn't count).
Unfortunately, the episode drags a bit when other (and, let's be honest here, pretty uninteresting) characters get the spotlight, but those scenes are relatively brief. Also, does anyone else feel like the zombies in the cabin were ninjas before they died? It's amazing how they resisted strolling towards all the noise until the last second, but it's a minor gripe. Lastly, that final zombie wins the "worst zombie ever" award. Seriously, way to go, walker.
"Dead Weight" may not be quite as solid as the last episode, but it does a mighty fine job moving forward with the Governor and hits us with some ginormous build-up. I'm really excited to see next week's episode, but hopefully this upcoming conflict doesn't completely shove aside or rush a proper reaction from the prison crew about Carol.