Scott Wilson is arguably the strongest actor on Walking Dead, so a Hershel-centric episode like "Internment" certainly had lots of promise. In the end, "Internment" turned out to be a strong episode and a great showcase for Hershel, even if it did provide little in the way of forward progress for the show. Hershel isn't my one of my favorite characters on the show, largely because I find him a little one-dimensional, but there is no denying the power of his story arc throughout this season. As good as Wilson has been though, the real star of the show remained the"superflu" that is knocking off prison inhabitants left and right.
Walking Dead is, of course, a show about zombies. However, it can't be a show only about zombies because, frankly, that wouldn't be very interesting. In the first season, much of the conflict very much centered around zombies and questions like what are they, how do we stop them, is there a cure etc. By the start of the second season, though, we were dealing with characters who have become pretty accustomed to living in this zombie-occupied world, and know how to handle themselves accordingly. Thus, the zombies, while still omnipresent, became somewhat less of a threat.
At that point, obviously, some new conflict had to be created. Over the intervening seasons, Walking Dead has explored all sorts of conflict from within the group (the endless debate and moralizing of season 2, as well as the various pissing contests between Shane and Rick) and without (most notably with The Governor and Woodbury). Each of these story lines has had a varying degree of success, but the deadly virus in this season has been one of the very best "antagonists" this show has had.
First of all, there is something very primal, and very real about the threat of a virus in a post-apocalyptic scenario. Killer diseases have plagued mankind since the beginning of time, and it's only recently with modern medicine and technological innovations have we gained the upper hand in that struggle. But in a world like the one in Walking Dead, all that goes out the window. A virus or infection that may have been totally innocuous at one time suddenly becomes life threatening. And there is almost nothing that you can do except hope for the best. That makes for great drama.
And so I've really enjoyed these last few episodes. So much so that I hope the virus angle doesn't simply disappear just because Daryl returned to the prison with some antibiotics. Yes, the Governor returned this week, but I hope that show doesn't just become "The Governor Hour". The virus story line is a good one, and it deserves some more time to play out.
As for the return of The Governor, I have mixed feelings. I found the character promising at the onset of last season, but gradually lost interest. He is a monumental bastard, but for seemingly no good reason other than that he is written that way. I would definitely like to see a little more depth given to the character this season. It should be interesting, though, to see how exactly he reveals himself to our heroes, and how much he is responsible, if any, for previous events this season. Not to mention Carol is still out there somewhere, presumably. With the midseason hiatus looming, there are a lot of directions Walking Dead could go in, and I'm excited to see what happens next.
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