I was surprised too, but the extra time to leave you wonder about that group isn't a bad thing either.
They definitely made a great choice in casting the Governor, he's already made that guy into a great character. Your thought on his killing the troops matched what CDJ and I were talking about. He doesn't want any strong willed people questioning his power.
Like I said earlier, the scene with the heads in the aquariums was a badass scene, along with the music that they played. It was just awesome. At first I thought he had his family chained up and he was just watching them. Because he was so intrigued about the pets having their arms and jaws cut off....part of me thought that he did the same with his family that he kept alive. I surely didn't expect a wall of heads :D
I'm so stoked that Merle's back. That arm is badass.
My thoughts on who was peeking in the bushes. A crony of the Governor (still my first guess), maybe it's one or both of the father and son from the first season that clobbered and then housed Rick. Maybe it's Shane :D that son of a bitch won't die! (j/k)
I wonder what the agenda of the Governor is with the scientist, and why they were so interested in the pets. I honestly think there is more to it then just them being interested in the pets being protectors, so I'm curious to see if there are any further developments with the scientist's studies.
So is the Governor basically nailing all the women? Is he trying to impregnate all of them so they have all his seed? We know he is already killing the strong and "brainwashing" the weak. Andrea is already falling for his tricks.