The Walking Dead – “Made to Suffer”

Season Three, Episode Eight

Grade: A-

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While there were no major surprises during the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead, a very solid episode was delivered with the much anticipated showdown between Rick’s group against Woodbury and the Governor. During the attempt to rescue Glen and Maggie from the confines of Woodbury, many characters had their own personal motives once they breached the walls.

Michonne was out to get the Governor, but also wanted to retrieve Andrea from Woodbury. I would’ve bet that after seeing the wall of heads in the Governor’s backroom, and if she would’ve seen Michonne with her former group, she would’ve left Woodbury. But Michonne does scuffle with the Governor in an intense fight, leaving Michonne scarred and the Governor without an eye. The biggest damage done though, was Michonne sticking her knife right through the Governor’s zombie-daughter. Now it looks like the Governor has nothing to lose, with any ties to his family all gone. He’s much more dangerous now than he’s ever been.

Rick’s mission was to stay the course and rescue Glen and Maggie, but once Glen told Daryl that his brother was there, you knew that he was going to seek him out. Daryl plays the hero by providing cover fire to allow the group to climb over the wall, but it doesn’t go all well because he gets captured. During the episode’s final scene, the Governor calls out Merle as the person who allowed “the terrorists” to attack the group and unveils Daryl as his brother who’s in the terrorist group. Andrea’s face when Daryl is revealed is priceless.

Back at the prison, we meet a new group of survivors led by Tyreese. They seem to be short on zombie-killing weapons, but know the rules on how people will turn after they are bit or die. Carl is the lone muscle of the group back at the prison, so when he hears noises inside and discovers them, he helps them fight off the zombies but has the right caution to keep them away from their own group. Tyreese is understanding and I can’t wait to see how this group of survivors interact when Rick returns.

So while Rick and company have proven to be a zombie-killing machine this third season, they now have to face a more dangerous threat, humans. The people at Woodbury, especially the Governor, are going to threaten Rick’s way of surviving for the second half. The characters are going to be faced with some awfully difficult decisions, but the immediate fear is what will happen with Daryl and Merle. Will Andrea step in and prevent their execution? How is Michonne going to mesh with Rick’s group and will we finally get some kind of backstory on her? How long will Tyreese and his group last? We have to wait until February to find out.