Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

It was a roundabout route to get here, but this is the big war showdown that fans have wanted to see. Once we saw that tank, it was clear that this is where things were headed, the question was: Who are we going to lose? As to that, the show didn’t pull any punches. The Walking Dead continues to both meet and play with our expectations, offering its own twist on the storylines from the comic. “Too Far Gone” is no exception. Their alterations don’t always work, but with this episode the series managed to capture the essence of that storyline without repeating it beat for beat. We’ll likely talk about those shifts and why they worked so well in a later post. For now, let’s just say that these were the right choices for where the show is today. They were hard choices, but that’s why they packed a punch.

He'll never get to raise her right.

He had it coming.

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Carl and Daryl: Taking care of business.

Hershel’s death was heartbreaking, and it should be. If they’d chosen a character that we were less invested in then as viewers we wouldn’t feel the weight of the loss. Clearly with intent, they gave Hershel a remarkable episode with “Internment” to make the sting of his death all the sharper. He truly rose to the occasion when the prison was in a crisis from the illness, demonstrating a way to lead that didn’t end with blood on his hands – a way that Brian selfishly decided was all but impossible. Feeling good about his “tough son of a bitch” self, he left the safety of the prison with Michonne. I think we’re meant to feel that bittersweet sadness too.eWhen “don’t call me the Governor” raised his sword I yelled at the screen, “Why? Why would he go for Hershel and not Michonne?” (Not that I’d want to see Michonne go, mind you, she just seemed like a more likely target considering their past.) One-eyed, no soul, Brian chose him because he knew it would hurt them the most, as the writers knew that this would be a good (but let’s face it, not riot inducing) choice to hit home with us, the audience. More to the point, Hershel is everything that the Governor isn’t. He himself called Hershel a better man than Rick. The Governor proved to himself that he is incapable of becoming a better man with his failed attempt to transform into “Brian”.So when Rick told him that they could all change, that more than anything sent him over the edge. That oh-so-chilling whispered “Liar” and his decision to stalk after Hershel to make sure the job was done…Just. Brutal. It needed to be, though. There could be no Kumbaya conclusion. The show absolutely had to make a bold choice at this stage in the game or risk losing us entirely. This is not an easy world. This is a world of sacrifice and losses that hurt. Rick seems to have taken all of Hershel’s lessons in just in time for the man who was the show’s moral compass to die.Some may take umbrage with Rick and the Governor’s personal showdown, but it seemed entirely fitting that eyepatch had Rick dead to rights. We knew that Brian was a vicious hand-to-hand fighter and Rick has spent this season coming back from the brink of being a broken man; he simply doesn’t have it in, not the bloodlust, not the overpowering will to live at all costs. He tried, twice, to get out of being the one to make the decision about how to proceed with the confrontation, deferring instead to the council. It was leadership forced by the barrel of a tank, though. Of course, Rick had no such qualms about making a decision on his own when it came to Carol.It also seemed right that Michonne couldn’t even be bothered to take the Governor out in those final moments. It’s as if she was saying, “You’re not even worth it, good luck getting eaten alive.” She let go of her need for vengeance weeks ago and though she promised to kill him – in an amazingly hilarious moment – she didn’t feel the need. Lilly did. Lilly took Brian out because of his greed. Because he was the one that knew, that told her, that some danger would already be lurking anywhere that seemed “safe” and yet in his obsessive quest for more, he left she and Megan unprotected. Immediately shooting Megan in the head demonstrated that the only way that Brian was really able to change is to entirely lose hope. He manipulated to truth, to himself and to others and in the end, he destroyed everything he said he hoped to gain and all he hoped to protect; just as he did before.It did seem appropriate that there was an effort made to bring in elements of the “reformed” Governor with the man we’ve grown to love to hate. He did make an attempt to take over the prison with limited bloodshed, theoretically. He knew the attempt would fail, though. We mentioned Jim Jones last week and that is essentially what he is; a manipulative, but charismatic liar. He lies to himself and others. Note his twisting of the truth in his opening speech.There was one badass moment after the next in those last twenty minutes: Carl with the rifle once again saving his dad and showing us all what he’s made of; Daryl with the walker shield and “Hey tank, meet grenade” moment (where’d he get a grenade?); Maggie’s will to fight and remembrance of her father with her insistence to Beth that “everyone has a job”. Little Lizzie was the big WTF moment for me, though. I’ve read the comic and there are certain sequences that I was actively waiting to see, but I must confess that Lizzie dispatching Alisha – Right. In. The. Freaking. Face! – had me out of my chair. It was a great, surprising, yet very appropriate choice for that character. Girl may be a psychopath, but she’s an excellent shot.As to Lizzie, we finally saw the Daryl/Rick confrontation over Carol’s banishment, which I’d almost forgotten that we needed to circle back to. From what Tyreese found, and given Lizzie’s behavior tonight, it seems possible that we may be back on the “did Carol or didn’t Carol do it yo-yo.” As Daryl said, “That ain’t her.” What’s interesting, though, is that at the end of the day, even if that little girl was the responsible party, Carol seems to have – at least to some degree - forged her into a killer with her very special storytime lessons. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of that when the show returns.Judith and Beth are still a question mark for me. Yes, there was blood, but we didn’t see the baby and I’m not convinced that the series is willing to go all the way there. It seems possible that Beth could have made off with her. What do you think? EDIT: I'm told Beth got away with Daryl...Missed that, still wonder about Judy...