Too Far Gone (TV Series)

"Too Far Gone" is the eighth episode of Season 4 of AMC's The Walking Dead and the mid-season finale. It aired on December 1st, 2013 at 9/8c on AMC.

Plot Synopsis
The episode starts out with the Governor rallying whatever forces he has, motivating them to follow him to the prison as it shows him knock out Michonne from behind a tree and capturing both Hershel and Michonne. The group, convinced by the Governor that the camp is no longer safe, eventually agree and go off to prepare. Lilly walks out from behind a tree, having heard the whole thing, and the Governor tells her that most of the people at the prison are killers. She asks him if she is with a killer, implying him. He tells her that his only concern is hers and Meghan's safety and confesses his love to her.

The Governor then goes into a trailer and starts conversing with Michonne and Hershel, talking about how he wants to take over the prison for his "family" to live there. Hershel tries to convince him by stating that Rick's group and Phillip's group can live together, but Phillip was adamant in saying that it is impossible. Phillip also adds that he doesn't intend on hurting anybody and that their capture is just a means to force Rick's group out of the prison. Michonne shows absolute hatred towards Phillip, exclaiming that she was definitely going to kill him. Hershel tries one last time to persuade Phillip, reminding him that they are both fathers. The Governor states he would not have any problem killing Hershel's daughters because they aren't his.

At a camp set up by the river are Lilly and Meghan, along with several other children, elderly, and women. She makes one last attempt to stop Phillip from hurting others at the prison. Phillip converses with and hugs Meghan goodbye before she runs off to play in the mud.

Back at the prison, Glenn and the other sick are recuperating. Glenn and Maggie share a moment as Glenn teases about their anniversary coming up. Sasha thanks Bob for helping to save her while he hides his bottle of whiskey. Rick finally tells Daryl that Carol killed Karen and David. That in her head she felt she was protecting the group and that she was not sorry. Regardless, Daryl is upset that Rick banished her and then decide that he and Rick should tell Tyreese it was her. However, Tyreese calls them into the Tombs, showing them a dissected squirrel's body, then reminded them of the rats that were found by the fences. Tyreese believes the person who killed Karen and David is the same person who has been feeding the rats to the walkers. Rick disagrees, but before Rick can say anything, the prison is rocked by an explosion. Running outside, they find the Governor standing atop a tank, surrounded by his militia outside the prison walls.

The Governor demands that Rick talks to him. Rick does not want to  at first as he reveals that there is a council who makes the calls and that he no longer makes decisions. The governor shows no concern for that and makes Rick come to talk to him anyway by revealing that he has Michonne and Hershel kidnapped. The governor then gives Rick an ultimatum: Leave the Prison by sundown or he will kill them all. Rick tries to reason with him while the prison inhabitants prepare to fight. Daryl and the remainder of the council also prepare for the possibility of fleeing, despite a lack of supplies, as they no longer have the numbers to hold the milita off.

By the river, Meghan is still playing in the mud. Lilly sees a walker trying to cross the river, but it fails. Meghan digs out a flash-flood warning sign. However, she loosens the dirt enough that a submerged walker is able to break through and bite her on the shoulder. Lilly grabs Meghan and shoots the walker. The Governor shoots several walkers, telling Rick that the sound will draw more of them and that he should leave soon. Carl mentions to Daryl that he has a shot on the Governor, but Daryl tells him not to take it or it could start something.

Rick tells the governor that the prison could be shared. The governor disagrees due to the events that happened at Woodburry. Rick states that his group isn't leaving, and that if the walkers come, then they'll tear down the fences and no one would be able to live at the Prison. Enraged, the Governor jumps down from the tank and holds Michonne's katana to Hershel's neck. Rick tries to reason with Tara and the others, asking them if this is what they want. He says that they can either live there together or not at all, and that no one is "too far gone," and they could work out their differences. Hershel smiles as he realizes that Rick has made the attempt to forgive his enemy and accept others into his group. However, The Governor mutters "liar" and slashes Hershel's neck. Enraged, Rick and the prison inhabitants open fire, managing to hit The Governor in the arm. A bullet from the returning volley hits Rick in the thigh and he drags himself behind the overturned bus.

A still-alive Hershel tries to drag himself away, but the Governor takes the katana and hacks his head off, to Beth and Maggie's horror. Tara is shocked by this brutal act. Just then, Lilly pulls up in a car with Meghan's body, witnessing this brutal act of violence. Phillip takes Meghan and shoots her in the head before ordering his forces to move into the prison as Lilly watches him in disgust and fear.

The Governor then says, "Kill them all", as his men start pushing forward with the tank. The Governor's forces move into the field, destroying the crops in the process, with the Governor trailing behind. Rick jumps out from the overturned bus and tackles the Governor before engaging in a fistfight with him.

With the tank blasting holes in the prison, the inhabitants begin evacuating. Lizzie and the other children ignore the evacuation and run to grab guns, leaving Judith's baby carrier behind. Maggie and Beth oversee the movement of the elderly to the escape bus before Maggie runs back into the prison to grab Glenn. When they returns, Beth is missing, having gone to find Judith. She leaves a protesting Glenn on the bus, telling him to leave if she isn't back in time to take the bus and leave. She runs into Sasha and Bob, who pinned down. Bob is hit, luckily it is a through-and-through, and as they examine the wound, the bus drives off.

The tank plows down the gates and stops in the courtyard. Terrified by the gunfire, and by a grenade from Daryl, Tara runs. The prison forces are overwhelmed. Tyreese is pinned down by Alisha and another soldier, but Lizzie and the children show up and gun down the surprised Alisha. Tyreese chases after them as they run off in the opposite direction of the bus. Daryl manages to destroy the tank by throwing another grenade down the cannon barrel, and shoots Mitch when he jumps out of the tank. He runs into Beth and tells her that it is time to go.

Rick is overwhelmed by the Governor, but before he is strangled, Michonne stabs the Governor through the chest and helps Rick up. She contemplates killing the Governor there, but decides to leave him to die of blood loss. Rick stumbles back into the courtyard, where Carl finds him. They search for Judith, only to find her bloody baby carrier, implying that she was possibly eaten by a walker in the chaos. Devastated, the pair limp off from the prison. Meanwhile, the Governor lies dying in the field as walkers, among them a zombified Clara, move into the prison. Before he loses consciousness, he sees an angry Lilly, who shoots him in the head.

Carl and Rick walk away from the prison, as hundreds of walkers stream in through the destroyed ruins. Rick tells Carl to keep walking and not to look back.

Special Guest Star

 * Kerry Condon as Clara.

Co-Stars

 * Juliana Harkavy as Alisha.
 * Santiago Cirilo as Julio.
 * Sherry Richards as Jeanette.
 * Luke Donaldson as Luke
 * Kennedy Brice as Molly

Uncredited

 * Will Martin as Sick Teenager.
 * Emily Chandler Westergreen as Prison Walker.
 * Steve Bowlin as The Governor's Militia

Deaths

 * Meghan Chambler
 * Hershel Greene
 * Julio
 * Alisha
 * Mitch Dolgen
 * Philip Blake
 * 20 of Philip's followers

Trivia

 * Last appearance of Hershel Greene.
 * Last appearance of Meghan Chambler.
 * Last appearance of Alisha.
 * Last appearance of Mitch Dolgen.
 * Last appearance of Philip Blake.
 * Last appearance of Julio.
 * Last appearance of Clara. (Zombified)
 * This is the fourth episode of the TV Series to share a title from the Comic Series. The others being "Days Gone Bye", "Made to Suffer" and "This Sorrowful Life".
 * This episode shares the title of the 13th volume of the Comic Series.
 * In an interview regarding the mid-season finale's size and impact on the show with Yahoo!, Gale Anne Hurd has stated, "Oh yeah, absolutely. It's a nine‑day [production] episode, as opposed to our typical eight. It's intense. It is incredibly intense."
 * This episode had the most scenes adapted from the Comic Series volume, "Made to Suffer".
 * The Governor decapitates Hershel with Michonne's katana, similar to Tyreese in Issue 46.
 * A tank was used during the prison assault.
 * The Governor says his infamous line from Issue 42 and 43, "Kill them all!"
 * The episode ends in the same way it did in Issue 48, Rick and Carl escaping the destroyed prison, and Rick telling Carl "Don't look back".
 * The Governor is shot in the head by a woman named Lilly.
 * Coincidentally the show was on season 4 episode 8, similar to the prison massacre on issue 48
 * This is the second mid-season finale to have a battle between Rick and The Governor's groups. The third season's mid-season finale battle happened at Woodbury, but this one happened at the prison.
 * This marks the end of the prison arc, however it is confirmed in the promo for 4x09 that the prison will apear.
 * The title of the episode is spoken in a line by Rick during his talk with The Governor. Rick believes that they are not "too far gone" to come back from the things they have done.
 * Rick talking about that people can come back from the things they have done is reference to his encounter with Clara, who told him that people don't get to come back from the things they do.
 * With The Governor's death, Jeanette and Ms. McLeod are now the only known living survivors of Woodbury.
 * This episode features the deaths of the most living characters in the TV Series, with a total of 31 living characters dying. The second most being "Welcome to the Tombs".
 * Clara is seen amongst the walkers in this episode.
 * This is the episode where Rick's group finally get driven out of the prison by The Governor and a swarm of walkers and the first time ever in the series where they lose their new home in a mid-season finale.
 * This is the third time where a character who is a little girl died in the mid-season finale.
 * In season 2, Sophia died in the mid-season finale, Pretty Much Dead Already
 * In season 3, Penny died in the mid season finale, Made to Suffer.
 * In season 4, Meghan died in the mid season finale, Too Far Gone.
 * On the day of shooting, the cast members came in suspenders to honor Hershel.