After two weeks of methodically establishing the context for The Governor’s arrival at the infamous prison, it was clear “The Walking Dead” had major plans for Sunday’s midseason finale.
Those major plans included high-profile character deaths and the destruction of that central prison.
Sunday’s episode opened with the reveal that The Governor captured Hershel and Michonne as part of a plan to seize the prison from its current occupants. After uniting the entire camp behind his plan (the only ones even remotely skeptical were his new “family members” Lilly and Tara), The Governor led the heavily armed group towards the prison.
Upon making his group’s presence felt, The Governor called Rick out for a unilateral discussion. Using his hostages, his tank, his manpower and his weaponry as a show of strength, The Governor commanded Rick to lead his group out of the prison by nightfall. If everyone left, no lives would be lost.
Rick, however, attempted to convince the attackers to join his group. As eloquent as it was, the speech only further angered The Governor, who also had to fear the possibility that Rick’s words might sway his team to accept the proposal. The Governor retaliated by slitting Hershel’s throat with a sword. A gunfight ensued, and in the midst of everything, The Governor continued his savage beating on Hershel until the character was completely decapitated.
With everyone–from Carl, to Tyreese, to Beth, to Daryl, to Lizzie and Mika–chipping in, the survivors managed to fight off the attackers (and the approaching Walkers). Their prison, however, was rendered completely destroyed and vulnerable by the attack, which meant their only option was to head for the hills.
While the fight was going on, Lilly and Meghan stayed back at their home base. Meghan ended up getting bitten by a Walker, devastating a mother who was already furious with the carnage her lover initiated. She brought Meghan’s lifeless body to the site of the fight, where The Governor proceeded to put a bullet through his adopted daughter’s head.
Shortly after that pivotal moment, Rick engaged The Governor in a brutal fistfight. The Governor got the better of Rick and nearly choked him to death, but Michonne saved the day with a sword shot right through the back. Content to let him suffer, Michonne walked away. Lilly, however, would eventually finish the job by shooting a bullet through the head of the man she thought she could trust.
In the episode’s final moments, a brutalized Rick and a confident Carl found Judith’s empty babyseat. Presuming they lost another family member (her death was not confirmed, and it seems likely she survived), both had to fight themselves from breaking down as they escaped the warzone.
“The Walking Dead” deals with the aftermath of the battle when it returns in February.