Live Bait inspired much brouhaha when it aired, mostly for not focusing on the usual group of protagonists and following instead the villainous "Governor", returning from the shaky Woodbury arc of the previous season. Ironically, it turned out to be one of the best episodes of the year.
It's not about "redeeming the bad guy" - he had gone so far off the rails, that was essentially impossible. It's about throwing the viewers a curveball, adding texture and nuance to a morally repulsive character. Watching this sociopath temporarily bond with a family of survivors and show some humanity is disquieting and strangely compelling; it adds another dimension to a character we thought we had completely figured out already. In any case, a huge improvement over the cartoonish monster of the comics.
Sadly, the following parts of this storyline would once again handle a character arc as smoothly as a roller-coaster crash - one of the series' trademarks, see also Rick's schizophrenic jumping back and forth between "Goody-two-shoes Rick", "The Ricktator", "Rick the farmer" and "Crazy Rick".
7,5/10
It's not about "redeeming the bad guy" - he had gone so far off the rails, that was essentially impossible. It's about throwing the viewers a curveball, adding texture and nuance to a morally repulsive character. Watching this sociopath temporarily bond with a family of survivors and show some humanity is disquieting and strangely compelling; it adds another dimension to a character we thought we had completely figured out already. In any case, a huge improvement over the cartoonish monster of the comics.
Sadly, the following parts of this storyline would once again handle a character arc as smoothly as a roller-coaster crash - one of the series' trademarks, see also Rick's schizophrenic jumping back and forth between "Goody-two-shoes Rick", "The Ricktator", "Rick the farmer" and "Crazy Rick".
7,5/10