Arrow on the Doorpost

Arrow on the Doorpost is the thirteenth episode of Season 3 of The Walking Dead and the fifth episode of the second half of the season.

Plot Synopsis
Daniel enters a barn on an abandoned farm store while Sophia 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 Daniel to do the same. Daniel holsters, but stays standing. Taped under the table on The Governor's side is a gun.

Milton, Johanne and Renato arrive. Johanne realizes the meeting has started without her. She strides inside and tries to mediate, but The Governor ignores her. "I heard about the raids, "the heads." Daniel says, glaring at The Governor.

Outside, Milton introduces himself as The Governor's "adviser."

At the prison, Mariana and Gonçalo advise the group to fortify their position. Marcelino suggests they ambush The Governor, but Bruno shuts it down, telling him that Marcelino would only put Daniel and the others in danger. Marcelino tells him that he doesn't take orders from a kid but Maggie and Beth defend him.

The Governor demands Daniel's surrender. Johanne tries to calm them down but The Governor orders her out. Daniel accuses The Governor of starting the war, telling him that they only wanted to get their friends back.

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

Afterwards Renato 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 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 Daniel's group alone. "That's your problem," Daniel 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.

Sophia shares the conditions of the members of the group. "Beth, Inês and Diana are very attached to the baby, Ruth is now friends with Mariana, and so am I, and I think there's something going on between Ruth and Fábio." Johanne tells Sophia that Woodbury is amazing but that she's afraid of going back with The Governor. "Please, come with us", Sophia pleads. Johanne tells Sophia that her friends are in Woodbury and that she can't leave them there. "You'll have to decide who you want to help, them, or us, I'm sorry." Sophia tells her.

At the prison, Marcelino wants to kill The Governor but Gonçalo shuts him down. "You're a pussy, he's gonna kill you all if he's not stopped", Marcelino tells the group, while he heads to the exit. Marcelino and Gonçalo brawl, in which Maggie, Inês and Cristiana intervene, while Beth ends the fight by firing a single shot into the ceiling, without saying a word.

Johanne privately asks Hershel what The Governor did to Caramelo and Maggie. "He's a sick man," Hershel replies. Johanne 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 Daniel that between the size of his army and the combat readiness of Daniel's group, the fight between Woodbury and the prison will come down to the last man, but tells him that Woodbury will win, since Daniel's group is constituted by children. Then he offers Daniel a deal: "I want Marcelino," he says. "Turn him over and this all goes away." Daniel 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 Daniel two days to decide.

In the prison, Cassandra tells Leandra that Daniel told her that he saw his former PE teacher when he went to scavange for supplies with Cristiana and Bruno, referring to the hitchhiker. Leandra wonders what is happening to them. Caramelo tells her that they need to take care of themselves if they want to survive and they can't help everyone. "That doesn't make it better" Ruth appears. Cassandra agrees with Ruth, "We could use more people". Ruth tells her that that was not what she meant. "Don't you get it? We're so busy trying to survive, that we are becoming worse than those things."

Meanwhile, The Governor, Milton and Renato get in their truck to leave. Johanne joins them.

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

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

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

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

Deaths

 * None

Trivia

 * The Cover of this episode features The Governor.
 * In this episode it's revealed that Ruth might have a crush on Fábio or vice versa.
 * This episode marks the first time Daniel and The Governor meet face to face.
 * The song playing when both groups return to their homes is called "Warm Shadow" by Fink.