“Made to Suffer” Episode 8 and mid-Season Finale of “The Walking Dead:” RECAP!

OH….MY…GOD!!!!  This might have been one of the best episodes of The Walking Dead yet!!!  The episode was titled “Made to Suffer” and suffer we did.  Tension, agita, twists and turns abounded.  Let’s get into it, shall we?

We open with a group of survivors we haven’t seen before battling it out with a herd of Walkers in the forest.  They are led by a strapping gentleman named Tyreese (Tyreese is a character from the graphic novels and fans have been waiting for his arrival for a very long time) and an equally strapping woman named Sasha.  They are followed by a mother, father and son and, sad times! the mother gets bit.  They still manage to escape and make for a ruined brick building.  There is some debate about what’s outside, whether they should take the mother with the Walker bite, etc., etc., etc.  In the end Tyreese (apparently a voice of reason) convinces them to go into the building as they know what waits for them outside, a herd of HONGRAY Walkers.  As the group makes their way up to the ruin, the camera pans back and surprise, surprise it’s the prison!

Meanwhile back at Stepbury, “LovesABadBoy” Drea is again staring at the picture of the Guv’Nor’s dead (well Penny is sort of alive) family in front of the mirror.  Why?  Who cares?  LABB Drea is just boring.  So you are fucking a guy who had a wife and child…big deal!!!!  The Guv’Nor comes in and they have an interaction about Stepbury growing on LABB Drea (like a fungus) and then she leaves to help Stepbury’s Nazi Scientist cremate the body of his latest test subject.  This leaves the Guv’Nor alone to have a tender moment with his Walker daughter, Penny.  The Guv’Nor loves Penny, plays some music and sings her a sweet lullaby but Penny is NOT having it.  She is just damn HONGRAY and if she can’t take a bite of Daddy she will take a bite of the meat on his side table.  The Guv’Nor is pissed that she is full on Walker and puts her back in her cage.

Down in Maggie and Glenn’s cage, Glenn tears apart the dead Walker and makes a prison shiv out of his arm bones.  Good thinking Glenn!  Although I might have gone with a leg bone as it would have allowed me to stab without getting too up close and personal.

Outside of Stepbury, Daddy Rick and his rescue team are trying to decide to rush the main gate.  Michonne, who is still and always NOT THE ONE, disappears which pisses off Daddy Rick then reappears and leads them to a side entrance.

Back inside Stepbury the Guv’Nor tells Merle of his plan to kill everyone at the prison and let the Walkers take back over.  Merle wants to make Daryl protected and the Guv’Nor agrees but I am not buying it.  The Guv’Nor doesn’t give a damn about Daryl and will only keep Merle around while he is useful.  He also tells Merle to eliminate Maggie and Glenn by taking them to the “Screamer Pits.”

Back at the prison Axel is getting all creepy with Beth asking her age while Carl looks on with a bemused scowl.  Carol intervenes and in the only comic relief of the episode, Axel explains he is hard up for some pussy and since Glenn and Maggie are together and she is a lesbo, that leaves Beth.  Carol laughs and says she isn’t a lesbo.  Axel says that’s interesting and Carol shuts him down with a “No…it’s not.”  No sexy times for Axel.

Back at Stepbury Maggie and Glenn make their escape attempt and Maggie puts her Walker shiv into the throat of a Stepbury guard ever so slowly but to deadly effect.  Gunfire erupts as Glenn wrestles with Merle and Maggie draws down on him.  Unfortunately more guards arrive and they are recaptured.

Daddy Rick, Oscar and Daryl (Michonne has slipped away again) make their way into Stepbury follow the sound of gunfire to the “Screamer Pits.”  They deploy their flash bang grenades and manage to get Glenn and Maggie out.

Meanwhile the Guv’Nor is rallying his troops and orders them to shoot to kill, duh.

Daddy Rick and team regroup in another part of Stepbury.  Glenn tells them that Merle is the one that tortured them and was going to execute them.  In a fine piece of acting Daryl has a mini-breakdown and wants to find Merle and talk to him.  Daddy Rick sets him straight and Daryl stays with the team.

Meanwhile we see Michonne waiting patiently in the Guv’Nor’s darkened rooms to execute him.

Daddy Rick then leads the rescue team in their attempt to get over the wall.  Gunfire erupts and LABB Drea joins in the fight, against the Guv’Nor’s orders.  She doesn’t identify anyone she knows and can only speak vaguely about a black guy in a prison jumpsuit.  The Guv’Nor tells her they must be escaped convicts.

In a scene that illustrates that Daddy Rick still has some mental issues he sees Shane emerge from the smoke with a shotgun.  Daddy Rick is paralyzed by the vision.  The vision shoots Oscar dead.  This snaps Daddy Rick from his ennui and he shoots Shane, who is of course not Shane but just some Stepbury drone.

We go back to the prison where Carl and Hershel hear human screams from inside the prison.  Carl, taking his role as man of the prison, seriously goes to investigate.  He finds Tyreese and his group in a desperate battle against yet more prison Walkers.  Carl saves them and leads them to safety.

Back in the Guv’Nor’s rooms Michonne discovers his collection of Walker heads ala fish tank and Penny.  At first Michonne thinks Penny is a real little girl.  This is a fantastic scene where Michonne conveys human emotions other than skepticism or rage.  When she takes off her hood she knows what is up.  The Guv’Nor then appears and pleads with Michonne to not hurt his “little girl.”  Not only is the Guv’Nor an evil SOB he is also delusional (he and Daddy Rick could be such great friends if they just gave it a chance).  Michonne isn’t having it and dispatches Penny with a katana thrust through the head.  The Guv’Nor explodes in rage and what follows is a knockdown, drag out fight.  The Walker fish tanks are smashed as Michonne and the Guv’Nor beat at each other.  The Guv’Nor almost succeeds in pushing Michonne’s face into one of the snapping Zombie heads but instead Michonne gets a shard of glass and puts out one of his eyes!!!  She grabs her katana and prepares to finish the damn job but who shows up?  Yup, it’s LABB Drea with gun drawn.  They face off but ultimately Michonne withdraws and LABB Drea lets her.  She turns into the room flabbergasted by the tanks of Walker heads and sees the Guv’Nor cradling the corpse of Walker Penney.

Back at the prison Carl leads Tyreese’s group to a safe room and locks them in.  Sasha bitches about this buy Tyreese calms her down and then they go to finish off the dead mom before she turns.

Back at Stepbury the Guv’Nor is getting his eye treated while seething with rage.  He is not having LABB Drea’s questioning about his fight with Michonne or the Walker heads and Penny.  Merle bursts in and the Guv’Nor can barely contain his hatred and gives him a one-eyed side-eye and explains that he was attached.

Outside Stepbury Michonne rejoins Daddy Rick who is pissed asks her if she got what she came for in a voice of high dudgeon.  Really, Daddy Rick?  Where’s the fucking gratitude.  Michonne didn’t have to lead you there.  She didn’t have to dissuade you from a ruinous frontal assault.  Where’s the gratitude?  Anyway Michonne reminds him that he owes her and they will need her help.  Daryl still hasn’t shown up.

We find out why Daryl hasn’t shown up in the next wand final scene.  Back in the arena the Guv’Nor has accused Merle of treachery and unmasks Daryl.  LABB Drea is stunned.  Merle is pissed.  Daryl looks frightened and the drones of Stepbury are screaming for blood…AND…SCENE!

Whoa!!!!  That was probably the most action packed, tense and amazing episode of The Walking Dead to date.  We have to wait until February for new episodes but I am sure the producers will keep us interested with teasers and video clips until then.

Here is what I hope happens in the next episode:

1. LABB Drea gets a clue

2. Daryl and Merle are forced to fight to the death

3. Daddy Rick continues to spiral into insanity

4. Carl gets a damn haircut

5. We find out why Carol’s hair doesn’t grow or where she keeps her styling shears

6. Glenn and Maggie have hot, post torture, PTSD sex

7. Hershel cooks up a batch of prison hooch and gets crunk with Axel

8. The Guv’Nor has Milton fashion him some sort of creepy glass eye

9. Tyreese’s character is developed

10. Someone important dies

Until then, dear reader, I will keep you up-to-date with rumors and speculation as to what the next episode will bring.  I will also be seeking therapy to deal with the anxiety this show creates in me every Sunday!