Walk With Me

"Walk With Me" is the third episode of Season 3 of The Walking Dead. It originally aired on October 28, 2012 at 9/8c on AMC.

Synopsis
A military helicopter is flying when the engine starts to suffer mechanical problems after being caught in wind turbulence. The helicopter crashes in the forest with three soldiers on board. Andrea and Michonne spot the wreckage's smoke from a distance and go to investigate. Michonne wraps her pet zombie's chains around a tree, and hides Andrea in the foliage so she can go and investigate the wreckage. Two vehicles approach suddenly. Michonne retreats to the bushes with Andrea. From the bushes, Andrea and Michonne watch as a group of men rescue the pilot and stab the two soldiers who died in the crash.

Michonne's pet walkers rattle their chains, drawing the newcomers' attention. She decapitates the walkers to silence them, but, regardless, the two are still discovered by Merle Dixon, who is now sporting a bayonet-prosthetic hand. Andrea, still unwell and in shock of Merle's unexpected return, passes out.

Andrea wakes up blindfolded in the back of a car and overhears the group's leader giving instructions via a CB radio. Before passing out again, she witnesses the car approaching a massive wooden gate.

In an unfamiliar room, a doctor administers an IV to Andrea as Michonne watches. Merle joins them and recounts the story of his escape from Atlanta, saying he nearly bled to death after sawing off his hand. Andrea says his brother, Daryl, and Rick went back for him, and that Daryl was still alive when she last saw him months ago.

The group's leader — The Governor — arrives and quietly confers with Merle. Michonne demands their weapons back; The Governor assures her they're free to leave the next day, at which point their weapons will be returned. When Andrea asks why he knifed the dead soldiers, The Governor explains that anyone who dies turns into a walker, stating that he "put[s] them out of their misery."

The Governor escorts Andrea and Michonne outside to reveal a peaceful, torchlit street, saying, "Welcome to Woodbury." He shows them the reason for his confidence in their safety: a sturdy, heavily guarded wall. Andrea marvels as the guards, led by Merle, take out three approaching walkers.

The Governor shows them to their room, where fresh clothes are laid out. Michonne is visibly skeptical, especially when The Governor tells them one of his men will be stationed just outside.

The next day, Rowan, a Woodbury resident, takes Andrea and Michonne on a tour. Children happily roam the street as people go about their business. The guide reveals that 73 people live in the town and that there have been no casualties since the winter, thanks in part to The Governor's strict curfew.

Meanwhile, The Governor visits Lieutenant Welles, the badly-injured helicopter pilot. Welles reveals that he left ten men behind so he could scout ahead. "Tell me where they are," The Governor claims, "and I promise if they're still alive, I'll bring them here."

The Governor goes to his advisor Milton's lab, where he discovers Milton and Merle in a disagreement. The Governor chastises them and orders Merle to go learn more about Andrea.

Alone, The Governor and Milton study the still-living heads from Michonne's pet walkers. Milton remarks that Michonne removed their arms and jaws, saying, "Take away their ability to eat, they lose interest in doing so." He explains that the mutilated walkers acted as a repellent.

Later, Milton joins The Governor for breakfast with Andrea and Michonne. Milton explains his theory that walkers retain a trace of the person they once were, asking Michonne about her walker pets: "You did know them, didn't you?" Michonne stays quiet, speaking only to demand the return of their weapons. The Governor urges them to rest a while longer.

After breakfast, Michonne declares her mistrust for The Governor, but Andrea wants to stay in Woodbury longer. Picking up on Milton's query, Andrea asks Michonne about her pets. "Those walkers were with us all winter long, protecting us," she says, "and you took them out without any hesitation."

"It was easier than you think," Michonne replies. She leaves Andrea, visibly upset.

Meanwhile, The Governor tracks down Welles' squad and drives up alone, waving a white flag. He tells the squad leader that he found their pilot and offers to escort them to Woodbury. As the men relax in relief, The Governor draws a gun and opens fire. Woodbury men emerge from the perimeter and gun down the rest of the soldiers. The Governor orders them to collect all of their weapons.

The Governor and his men return to town with the military trucks, along with weaponry, medicine, and other desperately needed supplies. The townspeople gather as The Governor deceives them into thinking that the soldiers had already fallen to biters (their word for walkers) — leaving behind their trucks, medicine, food, and weapons. As the crowd disperses, Andrea asks The Governor for his real name. "I never tell," he says. "Never say never," Andrea replies. The Governor grins, murmuring, "Never."

That evening, The Governor looks over Woodbury from his apartment window as he sips from a glass of whiskey. He walks past Rowan, who is lying naked in his bed, and gazes at a framed photo of his wife and daughter before entering an adjoining, private room. Inside, he settles into a chair and stares numbly ahead, where three rows of aquariums are filled with live walker heads. Among them are the heads of Michonne's pet zombies and the head of the newly-decapitated Welles.

Co-Stars

 * Gary Weeks as Corporal Brad.
 * Lawrence Kao as Tim.
 * Troy Faruk as Sean.
 * Arthur Bridgers as Crowley.
 * Lindsay Abernathy as Rowan.
 * Dwayne Boyd as National Guardsman.
 * Mike Mayhall as Franklin.

Uncredited

 * Matthew Austin Murray as Wilson.
 * Andy Rusk as National Guardsman 2.
 * Scott Dale as National Guardsman 4.
 * Bob Fisher as National Guardsman 5 and 6.
 * Travis Love as Shupert.
 * Meaghan Caddy as Eileen.
 * Frances Cobb as Woodbury Citizen.
 * Moses J. Moseley as Pet Walker #1.
 * Theshay West as Pet Walker #2.

Deaths

 * Franklin
 * Sean
 * Corporal Brad
 * Wilson
 * Lieutenant Welles
 * Six U.S Military Soldiers.

Trivia

 * First Appearance of The Governor.
 * First Appearance of Shupert.
 * First Appearance of Caesar Martinez.
 * First Appearance of Crowley.
 * First Appearance of Tim.
 * First Appearance of Rowan.
 * First Appearance of Dr. Stevens.
 * First Appearance of Eileen.
 * First Appearance of Milton Mamet.
 * First Appearance of Lieutenant Welles.
 * First (And Last) Appearance of Sean.
 * First (And Last) Appearance of Wilson.
 * First (And Last) Appearance of Franklin.
 * First (And Last) Appearance of Corporal Brad.
 * This episode marks the introduction of The Governor, one of the main antagonists in the Comic Series.
 * This episode also marks the return of Merle Dixon after being absent for 11 episodes; his last appearance was in, "Chupacabra" (as a hallucination; his last physical appearance was in, "Tell It to the Frogs".)
 * Michael Rooker and David Morrissey are listed as TV Series regulars for the first time.
 * "Walk With Me", features the most absent TV Series regulars out of any episode of the TV Series, with eight not appearing. Andrew Lincoln, who portrays Rick Grimes, Sarah Wayne Callies, who portrays Lori Grimes, Norman Reedus, who portrays Daryl Dixon, Steven Yeun, who portrays Glenn Rhee, Lauren Cohan, who portrays Maggie Greene, and Chandler Riggs, who portrays Carl Grimes do not appear in this episode. It is the first time Andrew Lincoln and Sarah Wayne Callies do not appear in an episode.
 * This episode marks the first time a guest star is credited but does not appear. Melissa McBride, who portrays Carol Peletier, and Scott Wilson, who portrays Hershel Greene, are credited as guest stars.
 * This episode reveals that 8 months have passed since the events of, "Beside the Dying Fire."
 * The title of this episode, "Walk With Me", comes from a line spoken by The Governor as he shows Andrea and Michonne around Woodbury.
 * In this episode, as Merle proceeds to replace the prosthetic on his arm after showing Andrea his amputation, instead of seeing the stump, his entire right hand is visible towards the bottom of the screen for less than a second.
 * Milton states his belief that Michonne was carrying the armless walkers around to camouflage herself from more hostile ones using their scent. This theory was brought up by Andrea's actress Laurie Holden during her appearance on the Season 2 finale's follow-up Talking Dead segment.
 * The Governor mentions the fact that no matter how people die, they always reanimate. Rick revealed this after Andrea became separated from them, she was, up until then, the only surviving member of her old group who didn't know this, implying she didn't run into any similar situations with Michonne in the 8 months prior.

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