The Walking Dead: Is This the Governor We Know?

More than one fan has chimed in, either via ComicBook.com's social networks or on other forums I frequent, to say that this week's episode of AMC's The Walking Dead featured a version of the Governor -- distrustful of his allies, vicious to his foes, paranoid of outsiders -- which was the first time they've seen the "real" Governor, per the comic books. "The smirk The Governor gave Glen near the end of last night's episode of The Walking Dead...THAT is The Governor," wrote Kevin Conn, creator of Unemployed Skeletor and I Hate Earth, on Facebook. "For those who haven't read the comic....you ain't seen nothin' yet." Given the mass murder of a group of National Guardsmen during the character's first appearance on television, I hadn't really considered that his personality hadn't fully developed yet, but it seems to be the consensus that we've crossed through a doorway with last night's episode. Robert Kirkman has said in interviews that viewers are meeting up with the Governor "earlier in his journey" (or words to that effect) than we did in the comics. I've taken this to mean that the first episodes of the season are taking place around the time of the Kirkman-Bonansinga novels (Rise of the Governor and The Road to Woodbury), when he's somewhat more relatable. But things are starting to go bad and for a guy who likes to play God that's when the true colors will come through. "The Governor Finally Gets Evil" was the headline at io9 following last night's episode, showing that it's not just the fans but also those covering the series who were expecting more, earlier, from David Morrissey's twisted antagonist. They explain, "Here's my problem with the TV Governor - I have no idea who he is. I know he's OCD and a bit crazy, although his crazy seems mostly limited to his leisure hours. All the other horrible stuff he's done can at least partially be attributed to being for the good/safety of Woodbury. But how does he decide who to accept and who to kill? Are his moments of kindness all fake? Would he really have raped Maggie, or was he merely acting to get her to talk? What is he actually doing for Woodbury, and what is he doing for himself? I don't mind the Governor being all over the map at this point, but I hope there's an actual core in there that we'll get to see in the second half of the season." What do you think?