Philip Blake

NOTE: This page is currently under development for an undetermined amount of time. Philip Blake is the main antagonist of Season 3 and first half of Season 4 of AMC'sThe Walking Dead and is the main protagonist of Through the Eyes of the Governor. He was the leader of the fortified town, Woodbury before becoming the leader of a military camp in Season 4.

Overview
Both before and several months into the apocalypse, Philip was a kind and caring man, putting family and friends before himself. He struggled with the idea of heroism in his youth, as his father often beat on him and his brother when he felt they needed to be punished for a bad deed. Regardless of the consequences though, Philip tended to get into a lot of trouble in his youth, and at one point, stole his father's Lucky Strike cigarettes to smoke with his younger brother, William. In the years that followed; however, he slowly began to drop the idea that "heroes are fools" and became more accepting of the idea of heroism and became kinder to people, as his father began to slowly hurt them less and less (with the aid of his mother, Rose.) After meeting Nick Parson's girlfriend, Sarah, he slowly began to have feelings for her. Sarah returned these feelings and eventually left Nick, as a result. Feeling terrible about hurting his friend, Philip decided to talk to Nick about what happened with Sarah, showing he cares about Nick and greatly valued their friendship. After his daughter, Penny, was born, Philip vowed he would always be there for his little baby. After losing Sarah, Philip became depressed, but tried his best to keep Penny happy and they comforted each other through the rough months of loss after. During the first few months of the apocalypse, Philip was still kind-hearted and caring, but had to juggle morals with what had to be done to keep his family alive.

(More to come as Through the Eyes of the Governor continues.)

TV Series Overview
In Season 3, The Governor played off a facade of a congenial man, but, in reality, was a volatile and depraved sociopath and a cold-blooded murderer. He was a smooth talker, easily able to talk his way out of situations using his "charm", and was able to use his manipulative abilities to coerce others into doing his own bidding. He was obsessed with protecting the people that he cared about by taking charge and doing what he saw as the only way of survival for his people, which included killing anyone who was a potential threat to them without hesitation. He also had dark secrets, such as keeping his zombified daughter in a closet and having fish tanks filled with walker and human heads.

Throughout Season 3, he gradually became a much more cold-hearted and barbaric person. His dark personality was only exacerbated when Michonne broke into his apartment and killed his zombified daughter, thus triggering severe homicidal desires within him. From then on, he lost most of his sanity and only desired to be on a warpath, seeking retaliation on Michonne and Rick Grimes's group and setting out to slaughter them all (the latter having attacked him and "taken" Woodbury away from him). The Governor's desire to destroy Rick's group was so strong that he slaughtered almost every member of the Woodbury army when they refused to aid him in his quest.

In Season 4, after being abandoned and wandering alone for months following the fall of Woodbury, The Governor adopted a "makeshift family" that he found whilst wandering and retains much of his old self. However, he lied to them, keeping his past and his violent nature a secret, while convincing himself that he is doing this to protect them (which is true). According to his actor, David Morrissey, The Governor was genuinely fighting himself in a "Jekyll-and-Hyde" manner. This battle with himself ultimately proved to be fruitless, as he returns to his old actions to protect his new family by killing Caesar Martinez and later Pete Dolgen to re-establish his position as leader and attempting to take the prison from Rick's group by holding Hershel Greeneand Michonne hostage, eventually brutally killing Hershel and almost succeeding to kill Rick. He dies a cold-blooded, unremorseful mass murderer, and is put down by one of the very people he swore to protect, yet failed to.

Part 1: Before the End
Philip Blake was born in a small town and lived with his brother, William, his mother, Rose, and his father, John Blake. He often got into mischief at a young age and would urge his brother to do the same (to his brother's often reluctance.) At one point, he stole his father's Lucky Strike cigarettes to smoke with William in the garage. Smelling the smoke, John found them in the garage and swung at Philip, only for William to step between them and get hit instead. John then proceeded to beat Philip anyway. Philip saw his brother as a hero for that, but hated how he got hurt in the process, resulting in him believing that "heroes are fools." However, his home life later improved over time with the help of his mother and this father not beating on him and his brother as much, and he began to slowly drop the idea of heroism being pointless and in turn, accepted the idea of heroism and helping others when they need it.

In his later years, he met his future wife, Sarah Blake, at his friend Nick Parson's birthday party. After getting to know her, he slowly developed feelings for her, which she returned, causing her to later break up with Nick. Feeling guilty about hurting his dear friend, Philip confronted him on the matter and (after discussing what happened), Nick told him he was fine with him dating her, believing he's a better match for her than he is. Philip thanked him for this and proceeded to date Sarah for several years before marrying her. The couple later had a daughter together, whom they named Penny. Eight years later, when Philip was at work, he received a call, telling him that Sarah had just died in a collision with a semi-truck. Shocked at this, he goes home and talks to his brother about it and William offers to stay there with him when Penny comes home. Philip thanks him, but tells him he can tell Penny himself. After telling Penny of her mother's death, the two cry in a strong embrace, knowing that Sarah is gone.

Part 2: A New World
(This page will continue development in the near future) :)