The Walking Dead Season 3 Mid-Season Finale Review: Tyreese Enters The Scene, As The Governor Loses Grip Of His Sanity

Disclaimer: Full season 3 spoilers follow

The Walking Dead's mid-season finale conceived the Governor that comic purists have been waiting for. Unrestrained by attachments, physically scarred, and unashamedly manipulative, the antagonist has fragmented Rick's group and turned on his own ranks, visibly losing grip with his own sanity.

Robert Kirkman's inception of the original 'Prison Arc' for the Walking Dead graphic novel was a breakthrough moment for the series, and has gone on to define the franchise's uncompromising fictional world. Part of its appeal, I believe, is the stark contrast between Rick and the Governor. Both men must grieve the loss of a loved one and struggle to remain tethered to reality, tend to a band of survivors, and struggle to procure supplies, but only one of them is able to push through with their identity intact. With the help of a strong support system and the demands of his leadership, Rick emerges as a figure of morals, albeit flawed, in a world defined by relativism.

"Made to Suffer" kicks off with the long-awaited introduction of Tyreese and a new band of survivors entering the prison, on the run from walkers outside its walls. Carl follows his father's example and rescues these survivors from an infested wing, safely securing them in a caged off cell block.

Rick, Michonne, Daryl, and Oscar survey Woodbury as they attempt to retrieve Glenn and Maggie from the Governor. Once the group is inside the town's walls, Michonne splits from the group and awaits the Governor in his office. Glenn brilliantly crafts a weapon out of a dead biter's arm bone in preparation for an escape attempt with Maggie. The rest of the episode is impressively paced an interconnected, as Glenn and Maggie take out a few guards, before being subdued once again, only to be freed by Rick's crew moments later. With the town now on full alert, a firefight ignites between the two groups, taking the life of former inmate Oscar. Daryl provides covering fire for the group, but is captured by the Governor's forces. When the Governor returns to his home, a brutal hand-to-hand match ensues between him and Michonne after the sword-wielding loner kills his undead daughter, Penny. A shard of glass guarantees that he will never see out of his right eye ever again, as he dons the infamous eye patch comic fans are sure to recognize. Andrea remains unaware of the intruders' identities until the very end of the episode, when the Governor invokes the rage of a mob against his captive, Daryl, and accuses Merle of aiding the enemy.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect the finale was the Governor's use of the term "terrorists" as a label for Rick and his band of survivors. Just an episode prior, the group murdered an innocent man to ensure that he didn't endanger anyone else, and used his body to distract nearby walkers to escape. Survival demands a sacrifice of integrity from the characters we know and love, and "terror" has become internalized. Rick's group has already learned to cope with terror, and they, along with every other human living, must embody it if they hope to live another day.