Surprised that was the violence that pushed people over the edge. They've had that level of violence and gore quite a few times, only difference is it happened to a longtime character. You'll get your character development in every other episode this season.
What about Neagen is like the governor? The governor was a completely different type of a hole. He was deceitful, manipulative, and tried to rule by being smarter than everyone else. Neagan is about ruling through brute force and fear, he's not trying to fool anyone about what belonging to his little gang means.