The Walking Dead, “This Sorrowful Life”
The Walking Dead, “This Sorrowful Life”The horrors and indignities at Woodbury continue as the Governor puts Michonne into the arena to fight for her life, only to quickly and ruthlessly behead her opponent and all the zombies in the ring. In a strange display of compassion, Martinez, the guard who brought Rick, Glenn and Michonne into Woodbury, launches a bold escape attempt. After freeing his two friends, Woodbury’s two medical specialists, Alice and Doc Stevens accompany the escapees out of town. The escape doesn’t go without incident, as Michonne turns back to confront the Governor and Doc Stevens is attacked and killed by a zombie.
While Rick, Glenn, Martinez and Alice flee into the woods, Michonne finds the Governor in his home and proceeds to violently torture the the man, putting him through such horrible indignities that really can’t be discussed here. She does cut his arm off, but a missing arm soon becomes the least of his worries. Needless to say, she gets her revenge for the experience he put her through. Afterwards, she meets up with Rick and together they head back to the prison, only to find the gates open and zombies making their way inside. Reconnecting with the remaining survivors allows for the group to re-secure the prison, exterminate the remaining zombies and burn the corpses. Just when things are starting to look normal, Rick discovers Martinez has left the prison and fully intends to reveal the location to the Governor, but is stopped by Rick slamming Dale’s RV into him, forcing the officer to experience another instance of grief over killing another human being.
Survivors
Adults: Rick, Lori, Allen, Donna, Carol, Shane, Jim, Andrea, Amy, Glenn, Dale, Tyreese, Julie, Chris, Hershel, Billy, Maggie, Otis, Patricia, Axel, Michonne, Alice, Doc Stevens, Martinez.
Children: Carl, Sophia, Billy, Ben
Thoughts
When I first read through “This Sorrowful Life,” I forced myself not to skip through Michonne taking revenge against the Governor. While it was warranted and I wanted her to have this moment, it is incredibly brutal and hard to stomach. This time, however, I skipped it because, frankly, it is just too much! Seeing people getting eaten by the undead is one thing, but in this case, the story goes a bit too far for me.
Artwork
Did I say the last volume’s artwork was disturbing? THIS one is FAR worse! The Governor’s torture scene at the hands of Michonne? Ugh.
