Arrow on the Doorpost

Arrow on the Doorpost is the thirteenth episode of Season 3 of AMC's The Walking Dead. It originally aired on March 10, 2013 at 9/8c on AMC.

Location Unknown
Rick enters a barn on an abandoned feed store while Daryl and Hershel stand guard outside. The Governor steps out of the shadows. "We have a lot to talk about," he says.

The Governor removes his weapon and sits at a table, inviting Rick to do the same. Rick holsters, but stays standing. Taped under the table on The Governor's side is a gun.

Milton, Andrea and Caesar arrive. Andrea realizes the meeting has started without her. She strides inside and tries to mediate, but Rick and The Governor ignore her. "I heard about the raids, "the heads, Maggie." Rick says, glaring at The Governor.

Outside, Milton introduces himself as The Governor's "adviser." Daryl and Martinez eye each other aggressively.

Back in the barn, Rick hands The Governor a map. "Woodbury takes west of the river, prison takes east," he proposes. The Governor laughs at Rick's proposal and demands his surrender. Andrea tries to calm them down but The Governor orders her out, to which Rick agrees they need to speak in private.

Rick challenges The Governor's leadership: "You're the town drunk who knocked over my fence and ripped up my yard," he says. The Governor asks if Rick ever misjudged someone, referencing Judith's unknown paternity and accusing Rick of "failing to see the devil beside you."

Outside, Milton scribbles in a notebook, explaining he's making a record of events post-apocalypse. A small group of walkers approaches. Daryl, Andrea and Martinez take turns killing them, competing in their combat skills.

Afterwards Daryl and Martinez share cigarettes taken from a walker's pocket. Martinez calls The Governor's meeting a "joke". "They'll do their little dance," he says, "but eventually they'll give the word."

Milton and Hershel bond as well, as Milton questions Hershel about how he staved off walker infection by amputating his leg.

Meanwhile, The Governor explains that he'll look weak if he leaves Rick's group alone. "That's your problem," Rick says. The Governor then shares a story about the day his wife died in a car crash. She had left a message on his voicemail asking him to call her back. "I sat there clutching that phone thinking, what did she want?" The Governor says, smirking as Rick becomes visibly rattled.

Andrea privately asks Hershel what The Governor did to Maggie. "He's a sick man," Hershel replies. Andrea despairs and says she can't go back to Woodbury. Hershel agrees that she belongs at the prison. "But if you join us, it's settled," he warns.

The Governor tells Rick that between the size of his army and the combat readiness of Rick's group, the fight between Woodbury and the prison will come down to the last man. Then he offers Rick a deal: "I want Michonne," he says. "Turn her over and this all goes away."

Rick asks The Governor why he'd waste time on a personal vendetta, then wonders if he can even trust The Governor to honor his end of the deal. The Governor gives Rick two days to decide.

Then The Governor, Milton and Martinez get in their truck to leave. Andrea joins them.

Woodbury
After returning from the meeting, The Governor gives instructions to surround the feed store and kill everyone except Michonne when the time comes. "What about the deal?" Milton asks. "We're going to have to eliminate Rick sooner or later," The Governor reasons. "No way we can all live side by side."

The Prison
Glenn gives orders to fortify their position. Merle suggests they ambush The Governor, but Glenn shuts it down, not wanting to risk putting Rick, Daryl and Hershel in the crossfire.

Merle packs a duffel bag full of guns and announces his plan to kill The Governor. "This guy cops a feel of your woman and you pussy out like this?" Merle asks when Glenn tries to stop him. The two brawl, in which Maggie and Michonne intervene, while Beth ends the fight by firing a single shot into the ceiling, without saying a word.

Afterwards, Merle tries to enlist Michonne on his assassination mission. Michonne hears him out but declines. While, Maggie joins Glenn on the loading dock. He apologizes for his recent behavior and abandon their guard post to have sex.

Rick's group returns to the prison, where Rick debriefs everyone: "He wants us dead, for what we did to Woodbury," he says. "We're going to war."

Rick privately tells Hershel about The Governor's offer for Rick to hand over Michonne, explaining he lied to the others so they'd be scared enough to accept it. "She's earned her place," Hershel says of Michonne. Rick asks if Hershel would sacrifice his daughters' lives for Michonne's.

"Why are you telling me?" Hershel asks. "Because I'm hoping you can talk me out of it," Rick replies.

Uncredited

 * William Tokarsky as "Woodbury Survivor"
 * Wilson Acedera, Ellie Decker, Jay Cavanaugh and John Jaret as Walkers

Deaths

 * None

Ratings
The original broadcast, on March 10, 2013, was watched by an estimated 11.46 million viewers, an increase in viewership from the previous episode.

Critical Response
Zack Handlen, writing for The A.V. Club, rated the episode B on an A to F scale, commenting "It’s better than the two episodes before “Clear,” and it brings Rick and the Governor together for their first (and probably last) face to face conversation. In a sense, this is a different kind of stalling, but it’s a much more interesting way to hold off a big battle than to just have people wander around aimlessly with occasional yelling." Eric Goldman at IGN gave the episode 8 out of 10, saying he enjoyed the interactions between Rick and the Governor, and praised David Morrissey's monologue.

Trivia

 * This episode was originally titled "Pale Horse" but was later changed to "Arrow on the Doorpost"
 * Which refers to a scene that supposedly be made into the episode before the final cut, where Daryl encounters a headless raider on a living horse.
 * In this episode, Daryl is shown wielding his new crossbow that Rick took from Morgan's weapon stash in the previous episode.
 * Norman Reedus actually picked out the new crossbow himself; it's a 380 Stryker.
 * The Governor reveals his last name to be Blake, similar to the Comics.
 * This episode marks the first time Rick Grimes and Philip Blake meet face to face.
 * The song playing when both groups return to their homes is called "Warm Shadow" by Fink.

Goofs/Errors

 * When Andrea appears to open the sliding door of the feed store you can see the shadow of the stagehand who actually opened it through the holes in the door.
 * When Hershel and Milton are seated and talking outside the barn (while Rick and The Governor are inside trying to strike a deal), you can see a hearing aid in one close up shot of Hershel. You don't see the hearing aid again.