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Morality Discussion: Was Michonne correct in seeking out revenge?

Was Michonne correct in seeking revenge on the Gov?

  • Avatar of beowulf579

    beowulf579

    [1]Dec 4, 2012
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    I think that The Walking Dead has used up the morality questions such as killing Walkers or harming bystandards for the sake of the group. But what about what Michonne did.


    Yes the Gov tried to kill her but she got away. She could have just told Rick and company where Glenn and Maggie was and left it as that. But she decided to run a special side mission to attack the Gov. Thanks to that move, the Gov is down right livid with grief and vengence on the mind. Sure the Gov was going to be a threat to the prison but now they are his mortal enemies.


    Not only did she put Rick and company in danger, what if shedid kill the Gov? Would the town and the pseudo-peace there survive? In killing the Gov, she might have doomed all those ppl to death and destruction.


    So, was Michonne correct in trying to kill the Gov?

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  • Avatar of OdumC

    OdumC

    [2]Dec 4, 2012
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    I'd say yeah, she had every right to kill him after he tried to have her killed. she knew he was up to no good, knew he probably killed the National Guard troops, knew he was now taking prisoners from Ricks group, he needed to be stopped. now maybe if she'd open her damn mouth and SPEAK.. tell Andrea wtf is going on she might have succeeded.

    I'm kind of over her silent approach to everything when everything would be so much better if she'd only talk.
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    beowulf579

    [3]Dec 4, 2012
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    isn't it in the Bible where it says, "The Mime do not inherit the Earth."

    Lol...I agree, she should talk more. This whole thing either shows that she is motivated by negative means "revenge" or motivated by positive "ridding the world of an evil".
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    Helostwin

    [4]Dec 4, 2012
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    Of course she was right. The Governor has been planning to attack the prison from first finding out about it. My only regrets are that she didn't finish the Governor off and she didn't behead Andrea when she burst into the room. I actually despise Andrea as much as I despise Merle & the Governor.
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    Marburg66

    [5]Dec 5, 2012
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    Yes...imo, she was completely justified in goin' Gov huntin'

    Since society has completely collapsed in the show, standard pre-collapse societal morality is irrelevant on the whole & simply doesn't apply anymore.

    It was established from Mich's 1st appearance that she has the ability to function long-term in the field completely alone, so unlike Andera, she doesn't require a group to ensure her personal survival. What Mich does require though (as anyone would) is human interaction. In the 8 months or so since she adopted Andrea as a sidekick, it's safe to say that she has gotten quite attached. That's her motivation. She doesn't so much care about Team Woodbury or Team Prison, Mich simply wants to save her friend for selfish reasons, being that Andrea is the only person in the world that she trusts.

    The fact that Andrea doesn't want to be saved just complicates things for her.

    & the thing about mortal enemies is that the only thing required to actually have a mortal enemy is simply having someone who wants you dead & is willing to kill you. That's it. The level of rage or hatred doesn't matter. Dead is dead no matter how it gets done & the Gov made himself her mortal enemy the moment she discovered he ordered Merle to go snuff her out.

    As a result, The Gov is forced to watch his back and uh, always keep an eye out for her.

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    OdumC

    [6]Dec 5, 2012
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    I see what you did there...
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  • Avatar of MOSTCAPABLEONE

    MOSTCAPABLEONE

    [7]Dec 5, 2012
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    OdumC wrote:
    I'd say yeah, she had every right to kill him after he tried to have her killed. she knew he was up to no good, knew he probably killed the National Guard troops, knew he was now taking prisoners from Ricks group, he needed to be stopped. now maybe if she'd open her damn mouth and SPEAK.. tell Andrea wtf is going on she might have succeeded.

    I'm kind of over her silent approach to everything when everything would be so much better if she'd only talk.


    Couldn't agree with you more...on both points...

    Michonne obviously doesn't know all of the things us viewers know about the Governor, however, she has displayed that she is for the most part a very "instinctual" person and from the very beginning she did not trust the Governor nor his message to the Woodbury populice. Especially when she checked the army truck from the National guards and it was full of bullet holes. Since when has walkers begin shooting at people too? Also, she stated in the show that the Governor didn't want people to leave Woodbury as she saw through his evasiveness everytime she tried to leave and get her sword back. On the other point, concerning Michonne's quietness, I find that very annoying about her. At some point it became obvious that Andrea was a part of Rick's group but she has yet to tell Rick that Andrea is playing house with the Governor. Also, when she was about to kill the Governor and Andrea drew her gun at her, why didn't she tell Andrea at that moment that it was Rick outside shooting up the place because Glenn and Maggie was taken hostage by Merle on the Governor's orders? She makes that statement to Andrea and the whole entire scene turns out "gravely" different for the Governor. I even thought that part of the reason Michonne went back to Woodbury was to also rescue/save or pull Andrea out of there. Telling Andrea what she knew would have probably worked. There is no strong reason given so far why Michonne is so quiet and secretive. In the comics, I believe Michonne was a lawyer pre zombie apocalypse. A silent lawyer??? Those two words just don't go together.
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    beowulf579

    [8]Dec 5, 2012
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    Michonne's quietness is also a problem for me in regards to all this. She seems like the type to avoid trouble. When Andrea and her saw the helicopter go down, Michonne didn't seem like she wanted to go see what was going on as much as Andrea.

    I guess if there was something more than just revenge to make Michonne go back. If she had voiced that a friend of hers was there that she was really close to...that would have helped. Or if she vocalized how she hated tyrants...etc. Just plain ol revenge just doesn't seem right. After all, the Gov may have given the go ahead to kill Michonne but Merle made it into something a bit more personal than it already was. But Michonne didn't seem interested in going after Merle at all, just the Gov.
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    OdumC

    [9]Dec 5, 2012
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    Plus it made no sense that she goes to the prison carrying the baby formula... then refuses to answer questions about it or Glen and Maggie? wtf?

    What was the point of going to the prison? "Neener neener I have your formula!!"??

    And when she was talking to Andrea about leaving the first time, would it kill her to say "The National Guard vehicles are riddled with bullet holes and fresh blood and the gov is tossing out some pretty blatant lies about the whole situation"? instead she just says "somethings not right" no proof, no examples of things that are totally NOT right.. just her sounding like she's paranoid for no reason. if you expect someone to leave what must feel like paradise in that hellish new world you'd damn well better bring a better argument to the table than just "because"

    I agree that I find it hard to believe that after she's been laid up sick and been dragged around for months by Michonne she never talked about her group.. so Yeah, when face to face with Andrea over the governer, she should have just flat out said he took members of her old group prisoner and Rick and company are here to get them back. grab your running shoes, we're outtie.
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    danharr

    [10]Dec 5, 2012
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    No she wasn't right and so what if he was up to no good. Who the hell made Michonne the protector of the apocalypse are you guys kidding? As to the prison so what it had nothing to do with her and her revenge was a weak play given the little that had been done to her. Sorry guys without the events of the comic Michonne's actions are just plain wasteful.

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    Marburg66

    [11]Dec 5, 2012
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    OdumC wrote:
    Plus it made no sense that she goes to the prison carrying the baby formula... then refuses to answer questions about it or Glen and Maggie? wtf? What was the point of going to the prison? "Neener neener I have your formula!!"?? And when she was talking to Andrea about leaving the first time, would it kill her to say "The National Guard vehicles are riddled with bullet holes and fresh blood and the gov is tossing out some pretty blatant lies about the whole situation"? instead she just says "somethings not right" no proof, no examples of things that are totally NOT right.. just her sounding like she's paranoid for no reason. if you expect someone to leave what must feel like paradise in that hellish new world you'd damn well better bring a better argument to the table than just "because" I agree that I find it hard to believe that after she's been laid up sick and been dragged around for months by Michonne she never talked about her group.. so Yeah, when face to face with Andrea over the governer, she should have just flat out said he took members of her old group prisoner and Rick and company are here to get them back. grab your running shoes, we're outtie.
    It's frustrating to me too that Mich is so tight-lipped up to now, but while that's been bugging me for weeks, in show time, it's been only a day or so. That's no where near enough time to earn the trust of complete strangers. Sure Mich must have been aware that team prison is Andrea's group after seeing Merle take Maggie & Glen into custody after hearing their names spoken, but given that from Mich's perspective, Andrea has proven that she's a poor judge of character, it's perfectly logical that she would keep info strictly on a 'need to know' basis. (Plus, Rick's interrogation aggression was a big step backwards early on with the trustworthiness)

    Anyway, in my eyes, she clearly went to the prison with the formula as a peace offering for admittance. if I were on the other side of the fence in that world & someone just wandered up with nothing of value to offer, I imagine I'd not let 'em in. They'd probably just be a drain on resources as yet another mouth to feed. I'd feel bad about watching them become lunch & would probably suffer some inner turmoil over it, but in the end, it'd be more important to me to protect people I know than people I don't.

    Lastly, I can't really fault Mich for being inarticulate with Andrea about the smarmyness the Gov projects. That's just the way Mich is. You can't really tell a person something they're not yet willing to hear & expect that to be effective enough for them to truly listen.

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    ionee24

    [12]Dec 5, 2012
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    Yes.

    The Governor had it coming since the moment he sent Merle and the gang to kill Michonne.
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    OdumC

    [13]Dec 6, 2012
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    danharr wrote:


    No she wasn't right and so what if he was up to no good. Who the hell made Michonne the protector of the apocalypse are you guys kidding? As to the prison so what it had nothing to do with her and her revenge was a weak play given the little that had been done to her. Sorry guys without the events of the comic Michonne's actions are just plain wasteful.
    She already drug a half dead Andrea around for months protecting her. so she's established as someone out for more than themselves.


    And, at the end of the day, comics or no, the Governor still sent people to murder her. And believe it or not, some people are dysfunctional enough to look at "tried to have me killed" as a reason to want to kill someone back a whole lot.


    See: every Clint Eastwood western, and Kill Bill Vol 1&2

    Edited on 12/06/2012 3:25am
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    ionee24

    [14]Dec 6, 2012
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    OdumC wrote:

    And, at the end of the day, comics or no, the Governor still sent people to murder her. And believe it or not, some people are dysfunctional enough to look at "tried to have me killed" as a reason to want to kill someone back a whole lot.


    See: every Clint Eastwood western, and Kill Bill Vol 1&2

    To be fair, Bill had it coming too.

    The only differennce I see between the Black Mamba and Michonne is that Michonne didn't sleep with the Governor first.

    Therefore the Governor didn't really have a reason to kill her like Bill when she married somebody else.
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    OdumC

    [15]Dec 12, 2012
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    I was referring more to the "Wounded and left for dead" situation as opposed to the actual storylines as a motive for revenge.

    I also wasn't claiming she appointed herself "Protector of the apocalypse" just stating she had a personal reason and a moral one backing her up even if she wasn't acting towards that one. so yes, she had every right to try to kill the governor.
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    MOSTCAPABLEONE

    [16]Dec 12, 2012
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    OdumC wrote:

    danharr wrote:


    No she wasn't right and so what if he was up to no good. Who the hell made Michonne the protector of the apocalypse are you guys kidding? As to the prison so what it had nothing to do with her and her revenge was a weak play given the little that had been done to her. Sorry guys without the events of the comic Michonne's actions are just plain wasteful.
    She already drug a half dead Andrea around for months protecting her. so she's established as someone out for more than themselves.


    And, at the end of the day, comics or no, the Governor still sent people to murder her. And believe it or not, some people are dysfunctional enough to look at "tried to have me killed" as a reason to want to kill someone back a whole lot.


    See: every Clint Eastwood western, and Kill Bill Vol 1&2


    The Governor put out an order to have Michonne killed. If anyone of his men saw Michonne after Merle's lie about killing her, they would have probably tried to kill Michonne too. Also, Andrea and Michonne bonded during their months together on the road trying to survive. You would think that the Governor would eventually kill her as well. In that world it is a kill or be killed system of law.
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    OdumC

    [17]Dec 12, 2012
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    zomg. Who the hell made Michonne the protector of the Andreapocalypse are you kidding?
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    MOSTCAPABLEONE

    [18]Dec 13, 2012
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    OdumC wrote:
    zomg. Who the hell made Michonne the protector of the Andreapocalypse are you kidding?


    I guess not. lol.
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    OdumC

    [19]Dec 13, 2012
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    Couldn't resist. But yeah, also Andrea being left back with people that she now knows are killers could also be seen as a factor for taking out the trash. so far haven't seen a compelling argument for why she wasn't justified to be honest.



    And honestly, trying to compare this to the situation in the comics falls flat if you compare the scenes. in the comic she nailed his.. lil governor to a board, shoved a spoon up his... woodbury, lopped an arm off, cauterized it with a blow torch, yanked the spoon out then used it to gouge out his eye.. a slow deliberate torture designed as payback for the sexual abuse he repeatedly gave her.


    meanwhile in the show, he tried to have her killed, she went back to return the favor, a struggle ensued, she gouged his eye out with a piece of broken glass defending herself.


    Kind of apples and oranges trying to equate the scene from the comic with the scene from the show.


    Edited on 12/13/2012 4:30pm
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