Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 8 Recap: “Made to Suffer”

Usually, I would only start going through my weekly withdrawals from The Walking Dead but this week is different. Now I have to wait until February to watch my favorite zombie apocalypse. While you join me in the pain of a “mid-season break,” let recap what happened in the mid-season finale episode titled “Made to Suffer.”

Head past the jump for the recap but be warned that it will contain SPOILERS!!!

Our last bit of The Walking Dead for a few months and it knocks it out of the park. The first half of season three has hit on all cylinders.

We had previously heard news of Tyreese being cast and possible appearing soon. I had thought they meant he would maybe be part of the cliffhanger for this episode or appear in the next half. Instead we are introduced to him right away.

We find Tyreese with a group of survivors fighting off a large gathering of zombies. Tyreese’s group is trying to get away and have noticed a tower in the distance of the woods. Unfortunately, the wife of one of the male survivors has been bit but he will not let her go. The group carry the woman to a building with a broken wall that collapsed on a fence. As the camera pulls back, we see that Tyreese’s group has made it to the prison.

Over at Woodbury, Andrea pays attention to a family photo in the Governor’s home. It is apparent by the flirting and comments of burying Mister Coleman that Andrea is falling for the Governor and Woodbury itself.

After Andrea leaves, the Governor goes to his locked room with the aquariums filled with decapitated heads. Behind a locked steel door is Penny, the Governor’s zombie daughter who is hooded and chained at the neck. The Governor plays some music for her and tried to get her to recognize him. But he soon becomes upset when Penny ignores the Governor and instead focuses on a bowl of flesh.

Meanwhile in a stripped down room with the dead walker, Glenn asks Maggie what the Governor did to her. Maggie talks about how she forgot what evil men can commit but confesses that he barely touched her. Glenn then comes up with an idea and rips off the walker’s arm. He uses the bones in the forearm as a sharp object to attack anyone on the other side of the door.

Outside of Woodbury, Rick and his group stare at the walls and the guards. They can not see a way to enter the town unnoticed. Michonne leaves without saying a word but soon returns to show the survivors a way into Woodbury.

The Governor is convening with Merle about what to do with the prison. The Governor wants to wipe out the prison and allow the walkers to retake it, thinking that the citizens of Woodbury would prefer the town than the safety of the prison. Merle states that he wants to save Daryl from the attack. The Governor agrees then says to take Glenn and Maggie to the screaming pits to prevent Andrea from ever finding them.

The survivors are hiding out in a storefront, trying to figure out a way to find their people when they are walked in by a Woodbury citizen. The citizen does not know anything about Glenn and Maggie, but the survivors tie him up to prevent him from alarming anyone else.

Over at the prison, Axel creepily tries to learn about Beth with Carl keeping an eye on the two of them. Carol is quick to tell Axel to stay away from Beth. Axel retorts that there are no other available women since he thinks Carol is a lesbian. Carol tells him that he is wrong and walks away.

When Merle and another guard come for Maggie and Glenn, the couple attack the two men. Maggie using the bone shank kills the guard as Glenn struggles with Merle. Merle is able to fight off Glenn and with the help of other guards, they subdue Glenn and Maggie.

As the Woodbury men walk Glenn and Maggie out with their heads bagged, the survivors throw a few flash grenades to blind the men. The survivors rescue Glenn and Maggie. While they are beginning their escape, Glenn tells Daryl that Merle is in Woodbury. Daryl wants to stay to talk to Merle but Rick convinces him to help bring Glenn and Maggie back to the prison.

Recovering from the flash bang, the Governor then calls for a counterattack by calling the survivors terrorists. He tells Andrea to head to her home because he fears that she may spot someone she knows.

Michonne takes the time to position herself with her sword inside the Governor’s home waiting for him.

A large battle on the streets of Woodbury commences as the survivors throw out smoke grenades and begin to fight their way out of the town. During the commotion, Andrea is able to see Oscar but no one else while she takes a few shots with her handgun in the smoke. Daryl offers to stay back a bit and cover their escape. During the firefight over the wall, Rick imagines Shane coming towards him. This hallucination causes Rick to hesitate, fake Shane shoots Oscar to prevent more than one male black character from being on the show. Rick retaliates and realizes that it is not Shane after he is killed.

Inside the prison, Carl and the others hear screams. When Hershel attempts to stop him, Carl replies with “my father would go.” With his silenced gun, Carl proceeds to save Tyreese and his group. Once back in the visiting area, the guy’s wife dies. Carl is about to kill but Tyreese says that they will take care of their own. While everyone is distracted, Carl locks them inside and says the same things that Rick said to Michonne and the prisoners when he locked them away.

While Michonne is waiting for the Governor, she hears thumping coming from the next room. When she heads over to check it out, she finds the wall of heads including her walkers and the dead pilot. She then finds Penny, but believes she is alive at first. That changes quickly as Michonne pulls the hood off Penny’s head. Michonne is about to kill the zombie girl when the Governor yells for her to stop. He disarms himself, begging for her to let the girl go. Michonne then kills Penny.

Filled with rage, the Governor attacks Michonne. They struggle for quite a while, the Governor beating her mercilessly until Michonne is able to get a hold of a piece of glass. With the glass, Michonne stabs the Governor in the eye. Then Michonne grabs her sword and is about to kill the Governor but is stopped by Andrea pointing a gun at her.

After Michonne flees, Andrea confronts the Governor about what is in the room and what is happening.

The survivors wait outside of Woodsbury for Daryl. Michonne comes back beaten. Rick grabs her sword and questions her if this situation was a trap. Michonne practically begs to be part of the survivors’ group and wants to help.

In Woodbury, the Governor holds a town meeting to explain the night’s events. He claims the terrorists from the prison were responsible and that they have a traitor in their midst. The Governor points at Merle as Daryl is brought out hooded. When the hood is removed, Andrea sees that it is Daryl.