Philip Blake (TV Series)


 * For the comic book/novel character, see Brian Blake.
 * For the victims of Brian Blake, see The Governor's Victims (TV Series).

"Welcome to Woodbury."

- The Governor to Andrea and Michonne.

Philip, better known as "The Governor", is a survivor of the zombie apocalypse who is leading the fortified town of Woodbury after the outbreak. Beneath the facade of a stern, just leader, he is actually a sinister and disturbed man.

Location Unknown
The Governor was a family man, having had a wife and daughter. His wife died in a car accident eighteen months prior to the outbreak, leaving him and his daughter to rely on one another.

Little else is known about his past life.

Woodbury, Georgia
Philip eventually arrives at the town of Woodbury where he takes over and becomes the leader for the township.

"Walk With Me"
The Governor arrives at a helicopter crash scene with a handful of men including Merle Dixon, Shupert, Martinez and Tim, in trucks. Unbeknownst to them, Andrea and Michonne were watching from a distance. While investigating, he finds one of the soldiers as a zombie. He takes his knife and stabs the bisected man through the top of his head. As they put the one surviving soldier in a truck, Michonne's pet walkers begin making noise.

He and his men look around, which causes Michonne to quickly take the pets out. Merle finds them and they capture them. He loads them in the truck and drives them to Woodbury. While Michonne and Andrea are in the hospital, he comes to check on them. When Michonne demands her weapons, he says they can't leave yet. Andrea asks about why they are being kept as prisoners, to which he tells them they're not prisoners, they're guests. He shows Andrea and Michonne around Woodbury. He gives them an apartment and tells them to spend the night so Andrea can rest.

He tells them to come over to his place tomorrow. Early the next morning, he goes to a hidden lab, where he has Milton experimenting on walkers. Milton tells him about Michonne's walkers, about how they had starved and were being used as camouflage. He enjoys the idea. Milton asks to meet the girls so he can ask them questions. At breakfast, he answers Andrea's question about Woodbury. He leaves early to check on the surviving soldier. The soldier tells him about a camp some military members are stationed at. He sets out to the camp/military convoy. When he arrives, he feigns being friendly, but then shoots a Soldier.

His men come out of the bushes and kill the others. He picks up an M16 and looks around the campsite for supplies. When he sees a soldier running away, he shoots the soldier, before ordering Tim to finish him off. Later, he and his men arrive back at Woodbury with supplies. He lies to the town, saying the soldiers were dead when he arrived. As he leaves, Andrea asks for his name, which he denies her. Later that night, after apparently having sex with Rowan, he goes inside a secret room, where he stores walker heads inside fish tanks. He watches them for entertainment.

"Killer Within"
Philip comes across Michonne, who is inspecting one of the army trucks stolen from the National Guard and driven into Woodbury. Philip keeps to his story that the men died fighting against zombies, and that the bullet holes were probably from fighting an enemy before. Philip has a parting drink with Andrea (since he has gotten news of her wanting to leave). Philip tells her about what happened to his wife, and tells Andrea that she can return to Woodbury at anytime. Merle talks to him, requesting his permission to go on a scouting mission to search for Daryl, as he now has the location of the Greene Family Farm. Initially, Philip refuses since it is too risky, but agrees to accompany Merle on the search if he can get more concrete evidence.

"Say the Word"
Philip is seen brushing the hair of his undead daughter Penny. When he accidentally tears a chunk of her scalp, she goes into a fit of rage. Philip restrains her, but notices that Michonne is glaring into the window at the two of them (although she cannot see Penny's face as Philip covered it). Philip admonishes Michonne when she breaks into his apartment to steal her katana, and slaughters several walkers in an industrial courtyard near Milton's lab. When Philip offers Michonne a spot on his research team, she grabs her katana and holds it to Philip's throat. Later on that night, he invites Andrea to a gladiator fight including chained-up walkers and a fight between Martinez and Merle. While Andrea is disgusted by it, Philip believes it to provide entertainment for the Woodbury citizens and a way to keep them from fearing walkers.

"Hounded"
Knowing that Michonne is dangerous, he sends Merle, Crowley, Tim, and Gargulio to kill her. Later, Andrea asks of she can help out. He says she can, and she asks to be on wall duty, and he agrees to it. However while on wall duty Andrea leaves the walls to kill a walker, causing him to scold her. She apoligizes, and also reveals to him she liked the walker fights, but was ashamed that she did. He tells her she doesnt have to be ashamed, because he loves them. They share a drink, and end up sleeping together. Merle interupts them, because he has vital information. He goes in the hall so Andrea won't hear. Merle tells him Michonne is dead (but in fact, she is still alive), and that he kidnapped two people from his old group: Glenn and Maggie, and that they are apparently held up at a secure location. He instructs Merle to lock them up for interrogation and not to tell anyone, especially Andrea, because she knows them.

"When the Dead Come Knocking"
Philip will appear in this episode.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Philip has killed:
 * Sean (Zombified)
 * Franklin (Before Reanimation)
 * Corporal Brad
 * National Guardsman (Caused)
 * Lieutenant Welles (Caused)
 * U.S Military Soldiers (Caused)
 * Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people.

Milton
Milton and The Governor are described to be close. Milton is one of The Governor's right hand men and Milton informs The Governor of his research and anything he has figured out about the zombies. Milton seems to be in The Governor's inner circle, along with Merle Dixon.

Andrea
The Governor showed interest in Andrea when they first met and eventually his charisma soon won her over to the point where she decided to stay in Woodbury rather than continue on with Michonne. In the episode "Hounded", Andrea and Philip are sharing a drink and end up kissing, beginning their romantic relationship.

Merle Dixon
Merle and The Governor seem to be close allies. Merle is Philip's right hand man, and Merle accompanies Philip when they go out to gain supplies. Merle seems to be in The Governor's inner circle, along with Milton. Although Merle is Philip's right hand man, some tension can be seen between the two. This can be seen in the episode "Killer Within", when Philip denies Merle permission to look for his brother unless he gets more solid evidence.

Rowan
Rowan and Philip are both close. Rowan is seen in Philip's bed at the end of "Walk With Me", hinting that they are having sexual relations. Rowan states that Philip is a good man and has made her, and the other Woodbury residents, feel safe behind the walls of Woodbury.

Penny
Penny is Philip's daughter and in episode "Say The Word", it is shown that Philip secretly cares for his undead daughter in his apartment. This shows that the two are very close.

Trivia

 * "He is a bad-ass, just as in the comic book. He scares me." Glen Mazzara quoted as saying within an AMC interview based on fan questions.
 * In the comic series and corresponding novel, The Governor, Philip/Brian Blake, was of partial Hispanic descent. It appears that the show has gone another way with the character's origin, or at least his ethnicity.
 * The Governor is one of the few characters with a continuing nickname.
 * In response to a fan's worriment about how the nature of the character would be, in the face of mainstream television, Kirkman offered a reassuring statement that he would not be watered down for the show.
 * An Entertainment Weekly article released on September 14, 2012 confirmed The Governor's real name to be Phillip, despite in the comic series, where his name was Brian. However, he could be Brian going under the guise of Phillip as in the novel.
 * The Governor will relate closely to his comic book counterpart.