The Governor (David Morrissey) chose to kill Hershel (Scott Wilson) instead of Michonne (Danai Gurira) during a tense scene in The Walking Dead season 4 for an understandable reason. The sadistic antagonist was first introduced a season prior as the leader of Woodbury, a fortified community of survivors. Upon learning about Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and the man’s shelter at a nearby abandoned prison, The Governor had a new enemy. He was also in rampage mode after Michonne saw past his facade and ousted him as a monster.
When The Governor embarked on a warpath to take down Rick’s group, his Woodbury army was reluctant to join in on the fight. He killed those who rejected his plan and wandered around by himself for months. The Governor, now going by the name of Brian Heriot, found a group of vulnerable survivors that would follow his lead. He effectively painted Rick’s group as the true villains and vowed to take the prison. To help his campaign, The Governor captured Hershel and Michonne as a way to convince Rick to back down from the fight.
Before taking his hostages to the prison with his new army, The Governor claimed that he wouldn’t hurt Hershel or Michonne. Neither of the characters believed him — and rightfully so. The pair were presented at the prison’s gates with the demand that Rick’s group leave the area or the hostages would be killed. Rick attempted to state that the two groups could live in the prison in peace. The Governor answered by taking Michonne’s sword and decapitating Hershel, much to the horror of the man’s family and friends. The sequence of events was one of the most heartbreaking scenes in The Walking Dead‘s history, but Hershel’s death proved how important he was to the group, and The Governor knew that fact.
Hershel Was More Vital To Rick’s Group At The Time
The Governor was well aware that Hershel was more integral to Rick’s group at that point in time. As the group’s elder, Hershel was well-spoken and the voice of reason. In just the short encounters The Governor had with Hershel, the man realized that he wasn’t a physical threat but his absence could potentially crush the prison survivors. Killing someone that carries innocence like Hershel was a symbolic decision.
It’s very possible that The Governor planned to kill both Hershel and Michonne as a way to force out Rick’s group. He clearly wanted to get revenge on Michonne for his eye injury and killing his zombified daughter. The katana-wielding woman was obviously more of a threat, and there was no way that she could have lived in the same vicinity as someone like The Governor.
In the end, The Governor’s victim didn’t matter because he greatly underestimated Rick’s group. Hershel’s death set off a chain of events that resulted in an all-out battle on the prison grounds. Rick’s group fired on The Governor’s militia as Michonne escaped from her bindings. She was then able to impale The Governor through the chest with her katana, leaving him to suffer a slow death. The survivors then fled from the prison, splitting into groups and developing a series of key subplots featured in The Walking Dead season 4 and beyond.
