The Walking Dead - S3E8 - "Made to Suffer" Recap of the mid-season finale

And here we are at the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead.  As I'm sure most fans know the episodes resume in February, so this episode needed to satiate the thirst for zombie slaying and human on human crime for two months... Lets see how they did!

The Recap

We start of this week with a nice visual of a southern sunset, which pans down to a walkers feet.  As the camera pans up we get a nice close up of a female walker shuffling through the woods with the screams of a woman in the distance.

Suddenly, A wild Tyreese appears!

For those unfamiliar with the comics, Tyreese comes into play much sooner in the story line   He is an ex NFL linebacker who likes to dispose of zombies with his trusty hammer which he uses right away to take out the walker wit a pair of swings to the face.

Stop... HAMMERTIME!

Also as we know on this show when it comes to black male characters, it's really a highlander spin-off...

So queue the countdown to Oscar's death...

Tyreese then runs through the woods when another girl jumps out at him with a shovel.  They quickly recognize each other and Tyreese asks Sasha where the rest of the group is.  She said they were right behind here so they continue to backtrack.  They come across a group of 3 people fighting off a larger group of walkers.  There is a girl wielding a crowbar which she uses to dislocate a walkers jaw, while a younger guy uses a machete to slice down the middle of a walkers skull.

Your supposed to take the weapon with you stupid

The third member of the group is using a bat to beat a walker back and they start moving toward Tyreese and Sasha.

Tyreese hammers another walker in the head clearing a path, but the girl who was using the crowbar is bringing up the rear and gets jumped from the side, getting her arm bit in the process.  We find out here that she is the mother of the boy with the machete, it was really subtle when he yelled "MOM".  The bat guy hits the walker who is biting her and helps her escape.

They come from all angles...

They run through a clearing and up to a fence.  They debate if they should take the bitten girl in, Sasha doesn't want to, but Tyreese says they need to keep her with them for the time being.  As the climb through a damaged part of the fence, the camera pans up to see a building that appears to have been halfway leveled.  As it continues to pan out, it becomes obvious they are entering the prison that Rick's group was occupying all season.

Next we find Andrea trying to pretty herself up in front of a mirror in the Governors apartment.  She looks down and finds a picture of the Governors family, and examines it. He comes in, walking up being her and Andrea says that she is off to help Milton create the remains of Mr. Coleman.  He says she doesn't need to do that if it's bugging her, but she says that is what people in Woodbury do, they help each other.  He mentions how he thinks Woodbury is growing on her, and she walks away.  We see him look down at the frame of his family picture and grit his teeth.

The Governor is in the aquarium room where he turns on some music.  He calls out for Penny after unlocking a cage that leads back into the wall.  She charges out, in the straight jacket and with the hood on being held by a chain.   He removes her mask, and begins to sing to her.   While this is happening, there appears to be a bowl of meat that she is growing at.  This angers the Governor and he begins telling her to look at him, eventually screaming it before caging Penny back up.

Can't count the amount of things that are wrong here

Skip down to the room where Glenn and Maggie are being held.  Glenn has taken off his shirt and given it to Maggie allowing her to cover up.  Glenn begins to ask what happened and she confirms that she was not raped.  Maggie talks about how they spend so much time being afraid of walkers, they forger how dangerous people are, which really has been the theme of the new season so far.  They hug, and then Glenn walks over to the walker he killed last week.  He rips its arm off, and then starts peeling off the flesh.   Eventually he has it down to the bones, which he hands to Maggie to use at a weapon.  Bone shanks for the win!

Outside Rick's little posse watches the walls.  Michonne disappears for a minute, and Rick tells them to strip down to the bare essentials to lighten the load.  When Michonne comes back, they follow her.

Inside the Governor is talking to Merle about the prison.  Merle asks if he wants to move Woodbury to the prison, which he doesn't.  He just thinks it's a good idea to take out any groups in their backyard so to speak. His brilliant plan is to do the same thing they did with the national guard, wave the white flag and shoot everyone.  Merle asks what to do with Glenn and Maggie.  The Governor says he doesn't want to risk Andrea stumbling into them, so take them to the screamer pits.

Meanwhile Michonne leads the group into a dark building.  They question if she is leading them into a trap.  Rick pulls Daryl and Oscar aside and tells them that if she is they need to be ready to kill her.  A guy patrolling the Woodbury streets hears noises and comes into the building, saying no one is supposed to be there.  Rick grabs him, puts a wadded up rag in his mouth while Daryl knocks him out cold.

In the prison Axel is in a cell with Beth, Carl and Judith.  Axel is doing his best perverted old man, hitting on Beth.  Carl looks like he is ready to put a bullet in Axel before Carol comes up and pulls Axel out.  She tells him to quit hitting on Beth, and he complains that everyone is taken or a lesbian.  Carol laughs, saying she isn't a lesbian.  Axel thinks that made things more interesting, and she says it doesn't and walks off.

Doesn't know Carl has dibs on Beth

Next we see Merle and a couple of his peons going to get Maggie and Glenn.  When they open the door Glenn and Maggie come out swinging.  Maggie uses the bone shank to stab the guy in front in the neck.

Apparently they didn't know Maggie has been in prison

An Uzi goes off when the other guy gets knocked down alerting everyone in town that something is happening including Rick's posse.  Rick and the others use the commotion to sneak out of the house.  Merle gets up and pulls a gun on Maggie, but Glenn grabs his arm.  In the tumble Merle ends up on top with his knife hand at Glenn's throat.  In the meantime though, Maggie has gained control of the Uzi and tells Merle to let him go. Merle smiles as he says "okay" and then two other guys come in and get the drop on Maggie.  Merle uses the distraction to stanch her gun, and he yells at Glenn to get up.

We see Ricks group sneaking through poorly lit hallways.  They stop at a corner and watch an armed man pass.  They advance behind him ducking under a window of sorts and peak through.  Inside we see Glenn and Maggie on their knees.  Glenn tells her to keep looking at him.  She tells him she loves him as one of the henchmen puts a bag over her head.  As Merle and his guys escort them out, Daryl uses a flash bang and a smoke bomb to provide a distraction   Rick and the others run in while Daryl provides cover fire to pull Maggie and Glenn out. Daryl and Merle narrowly avoid contact without knowing it.

Outside Andrea walks up to the Governor saying she heard shots and wants to go check it out.  He tells her not to worry about it, it's probably just biters getting in the side gate and he will handle it.  They overhear a girl yelling for help.  As they run up to her it appears she is helping the guy that Daryl knocked out earlier.  The Governor wants to know how many people, and he gets told it was at least 6-7 (counting is hard in the zombiepocalypse).  People are gathering around and freaking out.  The Governor tells them the best thing to do while the sort it out is everyone go to their home, lock doors and shut off lights.  As people disperse to follow his orders a few more of his little militant peons show up and ask whats going on.  He tells them the town is under attack, and they should shoot to kill, not capture.

Rick's group is running through a side street, and duck into a building.  As Oscar checks the windows, Michonne doesn't enter and instead shuts the door and takes off.  Maggie notices that Michonne is gone, Rick just indicates she is on her own now.  Glenn chooses this time to tell Daryl that Merle is the one who beat him.  Daryl asks if Merle is the Governor and Maggie tells him that he is more of his right hand man.  Glenn tells Rick that they gave up the location of the prison.  Daryl thinks he can go meet Merle and rationalize some type of agreement, but Rick says now isn't the time considering they are in hostile territory.  Rick pleads with Daryl saying how much they need him, and Daryl gives in.

Group from Woodbury in the room we first saw Milton doing experiments in.  Milton is asking what's going on, Merle says that people who want what they have are attacking.  Milton being the skeptical nerd he is asks if anyone has actually seen these people, Merle indicates they killed Warren.  The Governor wants to form a couple of patrols against these "terrorists", to which Andrea wants to join, but he won't let her.  Instead he sends Andrea to go house to house and check on the residents despite her repeated pleas to use her gun.

Michonne has ninja'd her way into the governors home, where in the dark she pulls out a chair facing the door, and draws her blade while sitting in it.  Patiently waiting.

Daryl tosses out another smoke grenade to use as cover so the group can make a run for it.  We see Rick take out a guy on a bus with his newly acquired AK.

Former Call of Duty champion

Andrea comes out onto the main street, and people are running everywhere.  She draws her pistol and approaches the commotion as people run past her.  Daryl and Rick each take out another guard.

Sometimes a crossbow just doesn't cut it

The smoke has filled the central part of the town and making it really hard for anyone to see targets.  The Governor spots Andrea and runs up to her while she is firing off pot shots in into the smoke.  We see Rick's group take cover at the front of a building.  Andrea says she saw one of the guys who is attacking, said he was in a prison jump suit.  The Governor immediately decides it's escaped convicts.

Daryl pulls another smoke grenade out, says he will provide cover while they make a run for it.  He tosses the grenade toward the area were a Merle and a few other guys are trying to pick them off from.  Rick and Daryl start laying cover fire as the group moves toward one of the buses being used as a wall.  Oscar starts lifting people up onto it.  Rick turns to his left and has a bit of a hallucination as he sees a guy that looks like Shane coming at him with a shotgun.

Shane as the new Wolverine

In the confusion over what he sees, he lets the guy get a shot off at Oscar (THERE CAN BE ONLY 1!!!!).  Rick finally realizes whats going on and shoots the guy in the head.  He then approaches the body for a closer look and realizes it's not Shane at all.  Too bad for Oscar though...  Maggie is calling for help, but realizes he is too hurt to help, so she finishes off Oscar with a shot to the head.  Rick runs to Maggie and the bus, while calling for Daryl to come. Daryl yells at him to go as he shoots at Merle.

Back in the prison Hershel is telling Carl and Beth that he just got Judith to sleep.  Carl asks how stocked they are on formula, learning they have about a month supply left.  Carl says at the end of the week he will do a run with Carol to get more.  Beth tells him not to worry because Rick and everyone else will be back by then.  Carl tells her they don't know that for sure and the Judith is his only family at this point.  Suddenly, they hear screaming.  Hershel's first instinct is to check the guard tower Carol was standing guard in, but Carl knows that's not where the screams are coming from.   Carl starts to take off, Hershel attempts to stop him but you can't stop Carl, you can only hope to contain him.  Carl begins searching the hallways of the prison following the noises.

Once you shoot your mom, you get to be a bad-ass

He sees the door to the boiler room, where he last was seen shooting his mom in the face.  A surprise walker pops up and Carl instantly head shots it.  He proceeds into the boiler room and finds Tyreese and his friends fighting walkers.  Tyreese hammers one down and moves to another.  One of them attacks Sasha at close range, and Carl uses his now elite pistol marksmanship to shoot over her shoulder and into the face of the walker.  At the same time MC Hammer takes out another walker and they turn to Carl.

The deadliest pistoler since Wild bill they say

Carl tells them to follow him, but the guy carrying the woman who was bitten earlier is stumbling while trying to support her.  Carl says they should leave her, but Tyreese won't do that.  Tyreese picks her up over a shoulder while Sasha fends a walker off with her shovel and Carl shoots another walker that is approaching.

50 points!

Tyreese punches one walker in the face spinning it around as Carl finishes it off and they take off down the hall.

COMBO!!

Back in the Governors house, Michonne hears a knock in the other room.  She kicks in the door to his little aquarium room, and sees the gruesome sight.

This isn't very feng shui!

She hears noises coming from the gate, so she approaches it and opens it up.  Penny comes out, hooded and chained.  Michonne takes the chain off first, and then rips off her mask revealing her to be a mini-zombie.  Michonne spins her around drawing her sword and is about to decapitate her, when the Governor shows up and yells "NO!" with his gun drawn on her.  Michonne quickly re-positions Penny between them as a shield. He asks Michonne not to hurt her, holstering his pistol and taking off his gun belt.  He tells Michonne that "it's me you want, no need for her to suffer"  Michonne responds with "She doesn't have needs!" and right as the Governor pleads with her to not hurt his little girl, Michonne does this...

You mad now bro?

The Governor screams and attacks her, starting a brutal fight.  He punches her, knocking her onto the ground where he mounts her and begins choking.

The Governor, played this week by Rick James

Michonne manages to reach the case of her sword and uses it to knock him off the top of her.  She gets up quickly, kicking him in the ribs and them climbing on his back while using her weapon case to choke him.  He stands up and backs into a wall, knocking Michonne loose.  He turns into her, grabbing her face and slamming her head into the wall twice before she clamps down on his thumb with her teeth.  He pulls her by her head across the room slamming her face into one of the aquariums.

OH HAI!!!

She grabs the shelf they are on and pulls it down as she backs out, causing all the aquariums to fall and break.  This leaves a few rather active zombie heads on the floor trying to nip at them.  The Governor drags her toward one, but she elbows her way free of his grip.

Nom Nom Nom!

Michonne notices her sword and goes for it, but the Governor mounts her from behind putting her in a rear naked choke.  She reaches up to one of the broken aquariums and dislodges a large shard of glass with her bare hands.  She uses it to stab the governor in the eye, breaking it off in his face.  As she gets up and pulls her sword to finish him, Andrea conveniently shows up. Gun drawn on Michonne, they have a wordless stare down.  Michonne gets her back to the entrance and turns to leave.  In the background, the Governor is crying to Andrea goes to help him.  She takes note of everything in the room, as she watches him go for Penny's zombie corpse and hold it crying.

A daddy-daughter moment, straight out of a Hallmark card

Back at the prison Carl leads Tyreese's group to the room they used to hold the convicts in earlier.  Tyreese puts Donna down as Carl locks the door they came through.  Carl walks up to Donna and puts the gun to her head, wanting to put her out of her misery.  Tyreese says they should take care of their own, apparently planning to hammer her face.  As Tyreese tells everyone to back against the wall, Carl goes through another gate and locks them in with Beth watching.  Sasha looses her shit, yelling at him that they aren't animals and they shouldn't be caged.  Carl tells her they will be safe, and he will give them food.  Tyreese calms Sasha, saying that this is the safest place they have been in months and it's Carl's house, so they will play by Carl's rules.  Tyreese tells Carl they don't want any trouble, and he heads back to take care of Donna.   Beth asks if they should help them, Carl says "I already did".

Logic, who needs that...

At the makeshift hospital in Woodbury, the Governor is getting his eye patched up.  Andrea asks why he and Michonne were fighting, and what the hell the fish tanks full of heads were.  He tells her he used them to prepare himself mentally for the horrors he would have to face outside the walls.  As weird as that sounds she seems to go with it, and proceeds to ask about Penny.  Milton and Merle show up asking what happened.  Merle says he will take a team in the morning to go after the group since it appears they got away.

Starting to look a bit more like the comic version

Outside Rick's group is running, but Glenn is hurt and they have to slow down.  Michonne appears like the ninja she is, and Rick pulls his gun on her asking where she was.  He takes her sword, and they have a quick conversation where she tells him that he needs her, like it or not.

Inside the town, everyone is gathering at the fighting pits.  The Governor comes out in his new gauze eye patch.  He tells everyone there hasn't been a night like this since the walls had been built, how it reminded him of the first days of the outbreak.  He says he failed to keep them safe, and that he is afraid of the "terrorists" who want what they have.  But he says, the problem is that one of their own is one of the terrorists.  Just when you think he was going to point out Andrea, a couple of his guys draw weapons on Merle.  He tells the crowd that Merle let them in, and blames the attack on him.  Next he brings out a guy whose face is masked, and unveils it to be Daryl.  Andrea and Daryl see each other, exchanging a WTF look.  Andrea finally realizes that Michonne was right...

Duh...

The crowd starts chanting for them to die.  The Governor walks up to Merle and says "you wanted your brother, now you got him"

Bo and Luke, or Daryl and Merle... 2 more months...

This weeks kill count

I haven't  had a chance to verify all of these yet, but one I put together the total kill counts for the season I'll review this one more closely

Rick - (3 humans) - possibly more, that's just what we saw for sure
Daryl - (1 - human) - again, possibly more but only one was confirmed
Michonne - (1 - Penny) - slow week for Michonne, but probably the kill with the largest impact
Maggie - (1 human) - zombie bone shank!
Sasha - (2 walkers) - rough estimate
Carl - (4 walkers, all head shots)
Tyreese - (5 walkers, 1 human) - he doesn't get credit for the one Carl finished off and though we didn't see it, we can presume he finished off Donna.
Woodbury Residents - (1 human - Oscar)

I think if we have learned anything so far in season three, its that this rule went right out the window.

Speculation and Comic Spoilers

So we are on break till February.  Merle and Daryl are left reunited in a very strange way, Andrea is in the middle of a place she is quickly realizing wasn't what she thought it was, and Carl is babysitting a bunch of strangers at the prison.

Soooo How have you been?

Speaking of the strangers it took long enough to get Tyreese in the show.  At one point I thought Oscar was actually going to be filling that role, but now that he is here we can speculate on how this is going to work because Tyreese is actually a really early addition to the cast in the comics.  He is with them as they take the prison and actually dies at the hands of the Governor toward the end of the story arc.  However with his late introduction and bringing his own group of people in, I imagine this won't be happening...

Tyreese's death scene in the comics.

We also have Axel acting a little bit like a sexual predator, and though that hasn't been played up much I'm sure they hinted at it for a reason that we will see later.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Merle somehow dies.  He has too much anger to fit in with Rick's group...

It's funny cause it's true!

And considering the Governor just turned all of Woodbury on him, it just seems like he has no where to go.  Maybe he sacrifices himself to save Daryl, but the bigger question is how Andrea possibly ends up back with Rick's group. 2 months...