All the pieces are in place for the real civil war to begin in the Commonwealth. For the better part of 20 issues Rick has been attempting to solidify a working arrangement with Governor Milton as to where both his group and Governor Milton’s can thrive. Yet while in the Commonwealth Rick has become the catalyst for the Commonwealth citizens to rise up and attempt to overthrow their government numerous times. On the second attempt the citizens led by Mercer have succeed in doing just that, but not before Rick could get Governor Milton to safety in Greenville. This has allowed Governor Milton to organize troops in Greenville to reclaim the Commonwealth. Upon arriving there, with her new army, she is met by a unified force of the citizens and the Four Communities army and orders her troops to attack, which began the civil war within the Commonwealth.
The Good:
It is clear to both Rick and Mercer that the Commonwealth cannot be managed by Governor Milton. Mercer wants Rick to lead them in order to bring about a government similar to the 4 Communities. In response to this Rick makes it clear that he cannot do that as it takes time to establish trust between leaders and civilians. While attempting to explain this to him Eugene and Stephanie warn Rick that a herd is coming. This forces Rick to immediately take charge of the situation and order everybody to clear the streets and get inside to let the herd pass. This shows why Rick would be an excellent leader for the Commonwealth, despite not wanting to lead, as he knows how to properly assess and react to different situations to save his citizens from a variety of threats. As he is waiting the herd to pass Maggie, backed by the Four Communities’ army, begins to drive the herd away from the Commonwealth. This action captures how valuable Rick is as a leader as Maggie is willing to risk any negations or agreement between the Commonwealth and the Four Communities in order to ensure Rick’s safety. Maggie’s actions also highlight how effective a leader she is. She is able to make hard decisions knowing that they will have consequences for her both within the Four Communities and outside of them as well. With the herd broken up Mercer and his men, with back up from Rick and the Four Communities Army, clear out any stragglers from the herd. This effort solidifies the relationship between Mercer and Rick and their respective groups as they both want the people of the Commonwealth to live under better and fairer conditions. In witnessing this clean up by Rick and Mercer, Governor Milton assumes Rick has been plotting to take over the Commonwealth and orders an attack on him, thus kicking off the real battle for control of the Commonwealth that has been teased for the better part of 20 issues.
The Bad:
Everything up to the last panel where Governor Milton orders an attack on Rick, Mercer, and the people they led has been inferred within the last few issues. Due to this, the issue brings no new events or information to the comic rather it creates a segue to the next major showdown within The Walking Dead universe that will change the way the Commonwealth and possibly the way the Four Communities will operate.
The Verdict:
The whole point of the comic was the last panel which finally has Governor Milton ordering an attack on Rick to determine who will be in charge of the Commonwealth. This is important as it puts the Commonwealth arc into its final stages where one ideology will emerge while the other will fail impacting over 30,000 people. Yet, this issue only sets that up to occur in the next two or three issues (issues 191, 192, and 193) and as a result leaves readers hanging and feeling empty as nothing new was put forth besides setting up the showdown in the final panel.
