In Woodbury, all is quiet and the men are back on the wall. Philip has gone to see Andrea and says that she gave quite a speech. Andrea asks about the prison and Philip says that as long as they leave them alone he has no problem. Andrea says that she need to go see them and Philip replies that he thought Woodbury could be a better place and that he is not fit to lead the people but Andrea is. He adds that he believed that if he kept Penny alive long enough that Milton would find a cure. Philip says that the people of Woodbury need her and then he walks out of the apartment.
In the woods. Darryl and Merle are realizing that food is going to be scarce. Merle suggests that Darryl is trying to lead him back to the road to the prison and says that it wouldn't he a party for him. Merle believes that the governor has probably already taken over the prison.
Glenn and Carl are talking about where Tyreese came through the prison and realize that there is another breach. Michonne says that The Governor is definitely coming back. Glenn suggests that they go back to Woodbury and assassinate the governor. Hershel points out that the last time they went, the governor didn't know they were coming and terrible things happen, including the death of Oscar. He then adds that this is something Rick would never allow. Hershel says that if Philip is really on the way that they should leave but Glenn is adamant that they don't run. Maggie walks away from the conversation and Glenn says that they should stay put and defend this place pointing out that Hershel only having one leg and having baby Judith with them, would make going on the road to difficult. Glenn plans to find the breach with Carl, when he realizes that no one is on watch.
Philip has gone to see Milton, who is still working on a cure. Philip tells him that he has been invaluable and asks if he intends to stay. Milton replies that leaving has never crossed his mind. Philip says that he considers Milton a friend and that he counts on him. Philip adds that he counted on Merle and that Martinez would take a bullet for him, so Philip asks if Milton would do the same.. When Milton says yes, Philip says that he does not know where Andrea's loyalties lie and asks Milton to keep an eye on Andrea for him.
Andrea heads over to the wall looking for Martinez but Karen won't tell her where he is. Andrea then runs after Milton to ask where Philip is and Milton says that the governor is out on a run and is not sure where he is. Andrea asks for more specifics, but Milton again says that he is on a run, so Andrea walks off.
Glenn comes up from the basement and says that the boiler room area has been overrun by walkers. Hershel believes that they are running out of time and worries what will happen if a herd shows up. Glenn says that he is going to take Maggie to scout the far side of the prison to see the walker situation. Hershel asks if he is sure that Maggie is up to that. Glenn goes to see Maggie and asks where she has been. Glenn says that they need to find out how the walkers are getting into the tombs and asks if they are going to talk about what happened. Maggie starts to describe what happened and when Glenn asks if she was raped, Maggie says no and asks if he feels better. Maggie tells him that her choice was to take off her shirt or have Glenn's hand cut off. Glenn reaches out and says sorry but she slaps at his hand and tells him to go away.
Carol and Axel are reinforcing the fence. Axel says that he robbed a gas station with a toy gun and then Carol brings up the fact that he said Oscar was the violent one. Axel admits to Carol that he doesn't know how to use the gun he is holding, so Carol shows him that it is fully loaded. Clearly there is some chemistry going on between these two.
The Dixons are making their way through the woods still. They are not getting along well, when Darryl says that he hears a baby but Merle is convinced that it's the sound of racoons mating. They come across a family stuck on a bridge being attacked by walkers. Darryl goes running to help but Merle says that he is not wasting his bullets on a family that hasn't even cooked him a meal. Darryl gets right in the middle, even slamming a zombies head in a trunk. Almost singlehandedly, Darryl saves this Latino family. Merle digs into their car for supplies but Darryl puts a cross bow to him and tells him to get out. Darryl instructs the family to get in their car and leave. Alone now, Merle wants to know if Rick taught him to risk his life for others. Darryl turns in anger and says that he asked for the treatment he got up on the roof. It seems that Merle's plan was to rob the camp blind before he got left behind. In anger, Merle rips off Darryl's shirt and we find out that Darryl was beaten as a child. Merle is shocked to see it, because he thought he was the only one who got that treatment and admits that he left because he would have killed his father. Darryl walks off but Merle says that he cannot walk back with him because he nearly killed that "Black bitch and that Asian kid." Darryl says that Glenn is Korean and finishes with he may be the one walking away, but Merle is the one leaving.
Hershel catches up with Glenn and asks if he is going back to Woodbury. Glenn says no that he is just going outside. Hershel offers to go with him but Glenn says that he has got it. Hershel replies that it is not a good idea and reminds Glenn that when he went on a simple formula run, it lead someplace, though he doesn't blame him for what happened. Glenn says that with Darryl gone and with Rick in "crazy town" that he is the one in charge. Hershel calls out, "what are you proving?" as Glenn gets into a truck and drives outside of the prison.
Inside the prison, Beth tells Maggie that Judith is hungry and asks Maggie to feed the baby so she can make Hershel something to eat. Beth sits down next to Maggie briefly and then leaves her alone with Judith.
Ricks is still wandering around outside the prison, when he hears someone calling his name. It's Hershel and he is inside the prison gates. Hershel says, "you know I wouldn't have hobbled all the way down here if it wasn't important. Glenn's on the war path but smart as he is, he can't fill your boots." Rick says that if Hershel is so worried that he should lead. Hershel asks what he is doing out there and wants to know how much longer he needs. As Hershel is walking away, Rick calls out that he saw something - "Lori, I am seeing Lori. I know it's not really her but there's got to be a reason. It's gotta mean something". Hershel asks if it was Lori on the phone, and Rick admits that it was her and Shane. When Hershel asks if he sees Lori now, Rick says no and that he is waiting but he doesn't know for what. He just believes that there is answer, even though it doesn't make sense. Hershel asks him to come in again and says that he needs rest and that it's not safe out there. Rick replies that he can't and walks away.
Axel taps Carol on the shoulder and says that he has seen plenty of dudes crack on prison. Axel adds that he got on better inside because there were rules and life was more simple. Carol asks if he misses his brother and he says that his brother had a real money problem i.e he wouldn't give him any In the middle of their conversation, Axel is shot in the head by the governor. Carol uses Axel's body for cover, as Rick rushes back towards the prison. Carl and Michonne fire back at the governor. Maggie rushes outside and Beth passes her a weapon. The shooting stops when a delivery truck crashes through the gate. The backdoor opens, and walkers come rushing out. The governor gets back into his car and leaves, as Glenn pulls up. Michonne is running through the fields with her katana. Ricks is trapped against a wall but Merle and Darryl show up just in time. When all is said and done, Rick looks into the prison grounds and sees that it filled with roaming walkers.
I thought this episode was really kind of epic. What can I say? I'm a sucker for an episode which contains lots of zombie kills. When Darryl slammed the trunk on the head of a zombie I thought it was one of the best examples of special effects to date.
Okay, there were a few things worth discussing. Why is Andrea asking for permission to visit her friends? She has seen first hand what Philip is capable and knows for a fact that her friends might be in danger and yet she is hanging around Woodbury? They either need to do something useful with her character or get rid of her.
Once again we had another episode of Michonne saying next to nothing. The others seem to trust her now but that still does not mean her character has been developed at all. I don't know about you but did you notice that while Michonne might be deadly with her katana that she can't shoot for shit? At least they let Maggie get off one good shot but seriously when it comes to guns, they have given the women of The Walking Dead virtually no skill.
Glenn may be young and brash but to say to Rick outright that he can't feel his shoes is quite telling. It once again asserts that in a dystopian world only White men are even remotely capable of leading. Even more importantly, this could have been an opportunity for Carol or even Maggie to stand up. While I am glad to see Glenn take a more assertive role on the show, I can't help but wonder why one of the women wasn't even considered for a leadership role?
I know that there was some Twitter excitement when Darryl told Merle that Glenn is Korean but for me that was over shadowed by watching once again as a White man was put into a position to be heroic. Introducing new people of colour simply for Darryl to save them as proof that he has changed doesn't help The Walking Dead's race problem. Yes, Darryl might be different from his brother but not so different because he certainly didn't say anything about Merle's racist commentary about Michonne. Letting us know about the fact that both Darryl and Merle had been abused as children certainly gave us some great insight into the characters; however it seemed to imply a justification for their beliefs. Even before Darryl met Rick, he had a choice and what he choose was to follow his racist douchebag brother around which says as much about Darryl as it does about Merle.
Last night we said goodbye to Axel. This is a character that was much changed from the comic books. I didn't expect him to die the way he did and I loved that Carol had the presence of mind to use his body as a shield. It is worth noting however, that though his role on the show was short, he was still given more time and characterization than the two prisoners of colour who appeared on the show.
