Another excellent issue. It is finally revealed that Michonne is really a badass. Rick gets to know some of the better characters in this new community that will almost certainly come back with them when they get out. There is a lot more drama building as this issue comes to a close and I can't wait to see where the next issue takes us.

Gratuitous violence is an interesting issue to explore in this next chapter. It’s easy to condemn the Governor for offering his Woodbury followers some entertainment in the form of violent fights between two willing (or in some cases not so willing) participants. However, staged violence as a form of entertainment has been a mainstay of our society for centuries. Yes, we can certainly go way back to the Roman colosseum, but more modern examples exist as well. WWE wrestling, televised boxing matches, Liam Neeson movies, and even public executions are all valid instances where even our modern and enlightened societies turn to violence as a form of entertainment. Some even read rather violent comic books such as a certain series I myself am rather partial to. We all have a threshold for violence that we deem acceptable for entertainment, but any display of violence beyond that “safe” threshold we tend to classify as “too much,” “inappropriate,” “barbaric,” or “just plain wrong.”

So where does the line get drawn? Do staged and relatively controlled fights in a biter-adorned arena fall on the safe or inappropriate side of the violence threshold? Should a post-apocalyptic mother of two impressionable boys be comfortable with taking them to see these staged fights only to wig out when an actual decapitation occurs? Can one court violence without the very real threat of getting more blood than one bargained for constantly looming overhead? How much violence is too much violence when it comes to entertainment consumption? Such questions can make for lively theoretical debates while one resides in a fully functioning society. But in the zombie apocalypse those same questions can be the difference between life and death. Just ask Harold and Eugene.

As for Michonne, what she did was pretty badass (though potentially very risky as well). It was a clear message to the Governor that she is unbowed, unbent, and unbroken (yes, I borrowed that phrase from Game of Thrones) despite every attempt of the psychotic Governor to do just that. He can rape her and beat her to a pulp, but she sent the resilient message that her spirit cannot be touched. It speaks to the Governor’s gross arrogance that he believed she could truly be controlled so easily. The episode also hinted at the first real crack in the Governor’s charismatic armor. He is used to everyone around him rolling over and giving in to his demands. This has fed his ego to the point where he believes all opposition will wilt so easily before his whims. But he is starting to realize that some people are not broken so easily. Some people will not just let him take without consequence. Some people are simply too much like Michonne, Rick, and Glenn. And some people like the Governor may be biting off more than they can chew. more