“ | I'm gonna tell you a secret. There's a threat, you end it, and you don't feel ashamed about enjoying it. The smell of gunpowder, and you see the blood, you know what I mean. Means you're alive. You won. You take the heads so that you don't ever forget. You kill or you die. | „ |
~ The Governor torturing Milton. |
“ | In this life now, you kill or you die... or you die and you kill. | „ |
~ The Governor leaving a dying Milton to turn into a walker and infect Andrea; his most famous quote |
Philip Blake, better known as The Governor is the main antagonist of the prison arc of the AMC survival horror TV series The Walking Dead, serving as the main antagonist of Season 3 and the first half of Season 4. He is the leader of the settlement of Woodbury during the apocalypse. Though initially appearing as a benevolent and well-meaning individual, he is eventually revealed to be a hypocritical and perverted sociopath. He is Milton and Rameriz's boss and the archenemy of Michonne.
He is portrayed by David Morrissey.
Personality[]
Little is known and less is shown about the man The Governor was before the zombie apocalypse, but what from he himself admits, it can be deduced that Phillip Blake, while not a perfect man, was far from the unstable lunatic he would become. He endured a miserable and unfulfilling job for his family, and held scorn for his much younger boss.
As the leader of Woodbury, Phillip presents himself as a charismatic and benevolent leader, extremely concerned with the wellbeing of his people and intending to create a society akin to before the apocalypse. He is kind to people such as Andrea and puts on a mask of congeniality. However, in actuality, the Governor is a highly psychopathic individual. He relishes combat, against both walkers and humans, showing glee at shooting at the prison and openly admitting to Milton his bloodlust. He keeps a group of walker heads in his house, which he claims was to help numb him to the sight of walkers, presumably playing a big part in his lack of empathy. He also forces Maggie to undress and threatens to rape her after capturing her.
Despite his appeared benevolence, he clearly cares little for his people, massacring most of them in a fit of rage after they retreat from the prison, and torturing and killing Andrea despite his sexual attraction towards her. This implies that his attempt to protect Woodbury is simply an attempt to maintain power, after having lacked it in most of his life, an idea further supported by his choice to massacre the remnants of the US military rather than work alongside them. The sole person he cares about his infected daughter Penny, brushing her hair and keeping her hidden from the rest of Woodbury. To some extent, The Governor knows Penny is truly dead, but refuses to acknowledge it. After Michonne kills Penny and gouges out the Governor's eye, he becomes wildly fixated on eliminating her, even destroying Woodbury in the process.
History[]
TV Series[]
Before the zombie apocalypse, Phillip Blake was a presumably normal man who lived with his wife and daughter Penny. At some point during the apocalypse, his wife died, and his daughter was infected. Phillip then took charge of Woodbury, a civilization of survivors. He would come to be known as the Governor, with no one knowing his true name. He kept a group of Walker heads in his room in secret, and spent his nights staring at them, in order to numb himself to the sight of the zombies. He also kept the infected Penny in a cage, and had his head scientist Milton attempt to figure out a cure. He also saved Merle Dixon from death, and took the latter as his right-hand man.
Season 3[]
One day, nearby Woodbury, a military helicopter went down. Blake and his men went after said helicopter, and encountered Andrea and Michonne, taking them back to Woodbury. The Governor discovers the military base the helicopter came from, and murders all the personnel there, claiming they were dead when they got there. While Michonne becomes suspicious of the Governor, Andrea becomes happy in Woodbury, and eventually begins a relationship with the Governor. Michonne eventually leaves Woodbury, causing the Governor to send Merle after her, with him failing to kill her, but instead kidnapping Glenn and Maggie. During an interrogation, The Governor forces Maggie to undress and tortures Glenn and Maggie to find out the location of the prison.
Rick and the gang attack Woodbury to recapture Glenn and Maggie, while Michonne goes to the Governor's house and kills Penny. When the Governor arrives, he and Michonne get into a fight that culminates with Michonne stabbing the Governor's eye with a piece of glass and escaping. Driven insane by the event, the Governor accuses Merle of having betrayed Woodbury, and forces him to fight Dale in one of his cage fights, only for Rick and Maggie to allow them to escape.