Sorry, that comment was for events that happened up to but not including this episode. And since she's supposed to be so tough, why couldn't she have done it? And since she did, doesn't that put her more squarely on the Gov's side? And as I put in another post since this one - maybe Andrea would have turned on Maggie and the group for saying that. If she didn't believe them she wouldn't be any different than all the women who turn on a cop for coming to her help in a domestic violence dispute. This is on Andrea for not having seen the Governor for what he truly is, I think.
A bit confused... are you referring to why Andrea couldn't kill the Gov at the time? I think its better for the story that she didn't, not just because it would be anti-climatic (at least 3 episodes ago when she first had the chance it would have) but then we would have to deal with another mental illness story line most likely if Shane and Rick are any indication. Shane was deteriorating but the straw that broke the camel's back was him killing Otis. Although Rick killing Shane wasn't what sent him over the edge, its what pretty much put him on the borderline (Lori's death was that final push). If it happened to Rick and Shane, it would happen to Andrea as well I think and that story line is a little played out imo.
If she had listened to Michonne, trusted her, none of the Woodbury people would have died. Can you imagine that Michonne vs Merle & the gang scene would have had a much better outcome. They'd have gotten away. I don't like Couda Shoulda Woulda but we are talking about supposing Andrea blames herself at some point. And that doesn't count what happened to Glenn and Maggie or even Axel and the future casualties in this coming war. She's kind of like backpack guy. She put her life into the hands of some random dude because he looked good, smelled good and said the right things. Yes, she doesn't know all he did but she's also a little late coming to her senses. But unlike backpack guy she's not paying with her life but the casualties around her.
I'm not an Andrea fan but I'm not a hater, either. I like to accept the characters for where they are coming from and think about how they might act in the future. But I have to admit, her ego is pretty hard for me to understand. She is the most unlikeable of all and that includes Lori for me. She goes on feelings so maybe she thinks those count as accomplishments? I dunno.
I speculate it wouldn't have gone down that much differently, I don't think Michonne would have been as hurt in the scuffle with Merle but I don't think they would have just walked away so easily either. Merle still would have had to kill the remaining guys left as to keep quiet about Michonne and Andrea escaping which would have still led him into the town to find a car where he would have still ran into Maggie and Glenn. The only thing is there is really no guaranteeing Michonne and Andrea would have still came upon the town. Merle seemed to know where he was going while Michonne and Andrea wouldn't have a grasp of the lay of the land like he would. It seemed to me more Michonne stumbled upon the town by chance. This way the group would have no idea what had happen to Maggie and Glenn. So no, you are right about no Woodbury people dying but Maggie and Glenn probably would have died then.
Andrea isn't my favorite character, nor even my favorite woman character but I find I spend more time defending her actions because shes been getting a lot of unfair flack imo from fans because we can see things they can't and people have dissenting opinions on whether she should have trusted Michonne vs a seemingly safe place. I agree her ego can be annoying but I don't fault her for it because I believe that sense of self-importance she has comes from her genuinely wanting to help rather than being power hungry or controlling. Not to mention in this case the Gov mentioned to her previously that "he wasn't fit to lead" and that she is what the people need. Of course she is going to feel some authority from that, even if he was spouting pure BS at the time. At least this episode she finally realized how little influence and authority she has with him. While I do think her seeing the light of the Gov has been a real long time coming now its more due to the dragging out of the Woodbury story line rather than her own character's fault.