‘The Walking Dead’ season 3: Robert Kirkman reacts to The Governor’s arrival

Sunday night’s new episode of “The Walking Dead” definitely served as a game-changer for the whole series, largely in part to the fact that we now have someone who should be feared even more so than the walkers themselves: and it just so happens to be a man who is leading (or governing, as you could say) a small town that appears to be a utopia on the surface.

So what really makes The Governor tick? We talked a bit about this in our review of Sunday night’s new episode, but ultimately there is just a certain something about David Morrissey’s character that is almost impossible to place, but still strikes fear into the hearts of everyone who meets him. This is something that comic writer Robert Kirkman (who also serves as an executive producer for the show) tries to explain to Entertainment Weekly through the lens of Merle, a character who traditionally has really not been afraid of anyone:

“We know that everyone knows about Merle and everyone knows that Merle is threatening and he’s a little bit of an ‘X factor’ when thrown into certain situations. Because of what you know about him, his reaction to the Governor informs what you should be thinking about that guy. In the episode, before the Governor takes his turn and ends up shooting those guys, there’s a lot of undertones between him and Merle that should be informing you this is a guy to be looking out for and this guy is definitely dangerous.”

What we are more excited about than anything else is the inevitable moment where The Governor comes across another alpha male within this world in Rick, who certainly has had his moments of darkness while maintaining some of his humanity. You know that this battle is going to be epic, and perhaps open for so much more great storytelling since it is a different sort of force than a zombie horde.

Did you enjoy Morrissey’s debut?