The Walking Dead’ season 3 brings to life its eighth episode of the season, mid-season finale "Made to Suffer," as Rick, Michonne, Daryl and Oscar mount a deadly mission to retrieve Glenn and Maggie, while new survivor Tyreese (Chad Coleman) leads his group into the prison, under Carl's guarded authority.

Last week’s ‘The Walking Dead’ episode “When the Dead Come Knocking” saw Rick learning from Michonne of Glenn and Maggie’s capture, mounting a rescue mission as the pair endure tortures over at Woodbury, and Milton enlisted Andrea’s help in his latest experiment, so what will the latest episode bring?

Read on for your in-depth recap of everything you need to know about ‘The Walking Dead’ season 3 episode 8, “Made to Suffer!”

Out in the woods, a muscled man bashes a walker in defense of his group, similarly beset by the undead.  The man, Tyreese manages to lead his group of Sasha, Allen, Allen’s wife Donna and their son Ben through the clearing, though not before Donna takes a bite to the arm.  The group makes it to a weakened section of the prison, and Sasha prepares to kill Donna, but Tyreese convinces her to relent.  Unsure if inside will be any safer, the group heads inside the prison, walkers in pursuit…

After Andrea and the Governor share a private moment, the man retreats to his private room and coaxes his chained and zombified daughter Penny out.  He attempts to pacify her with music, to no avail, and puts her back in the cage.  Downstairs, Glenn and Maggie comfort one another, and Glenn strips the bones of the dead walker to use as weapons.

While Rick and the others eye the exterior of Woodbury, Merle and the Governor plot out a course of action with the prison, and decide to have Glenn and Maggie killed before Andrea can find out.  Michonne leads the others stealthily through the town, holing up in one of the buildings, and tying up a guard alerted to their presence.

While Axel awkwardly attempts to flirt with Beth, then Carol back at the prison, Glenn and Maggie try to surprise their captors.  They’re quickly overpowered, but the resulting gunfire draws the attention of Rick and his group, who manage to enter the fray and recover Glenn and Maggie before their executions.

The Governor, Andrea and the Woodbury soldiers regroup in Milton’s lab, though the Governor denies Andrea’s offer to contribute to the fight.  Meanwhile, Michonne slips away and enters the Governor’s apartment, while Rick and the others hole up in another building.  Glen tells Daryl that Merle was the one to attack them, shocking the crossbow-wielding warrior, but Rick begs him to stick with the group for now.

Throwing smoke grenades, the fighting spills out onto the street, where Andrea manages to barely spot Oscar and his prison jumpsuit through the haze.  Daryl provides cover, as Rick sees through the mist a Woodbury soldier that he mistakes for Shane!  Rick kills the apparition, and makes sure it isn’t Shane himself, but not before the soldier manages to shoot Oscar through the chest.

Back at the prison, Carl, Beth and Hershel hear screaming coming from the prison, and Carl investigates to find Tyreese and his group attacking a number of walkers.  Carl leads them to safety, while Tyreese refuses to leave Donna and Allen behind.

Still in the Governor’s apartment, Michonne investigates sounds of movement, breaking into the Governor’s secret room to find the zombie head fishtanks and poor Penny, whom she mistakes for living.  When she prepares to end the zombie’s life, the Governor arrives and tearfully begs Michonne to spare Penny’s life.  Michonne puts a sword through her anyway, tand he the Governor flies into a rage.  The pair struggle across the room, shattering the fishtanks, and Michonne manages to get the upper hand by shoving a piece of glass in the man’s right eye.  She prepares for the killing blow, only to be stopped by Andrea.  The women circle one another for a moment, before Michonne leaves, and Andrea observes the scene, and tends to a wounded Governor cradling dead Penny.

Arriving in a safe room, Tyreese tells Allen that he’ll be the one to put down the dying Donna, but before he can, Carl locks them in the room adjacent the cell block.  Sasha angrily demands to let them out, but Tyreese calms her down, accepting that Carl was right to take control for the moment.

Dr. Stevens treats the Governor’s injury, as he explains to Andrea that he kept the heads as a way to prepare himself for the dangers outside each and every day.  Merle arrives, having been caught in his lie about killing Michonne, though the Governor doesn’t call him on it just yet.

Outside the walls, Michonne rejoins the other survivors, who worry that she led them into a trap.  Michonne tells Rick that like it or not, he’ll need her now and in the future, especially to recover Daryl.

The whole of Woodbury gathers in the arena, where a one-eyed Governor addresses them by apologizing for having failed to keep them safe.   Branding Rick’s group terrorists, the Governor declares Merle to be a traitor who led the invaders in, and brings a captive Daryl into the arena.  Andrea sees her old friend for the first time, as the Governor propositions the crowd for what to do with the men, and the roars demand they be killed.

Truly, has there been a more exciting episode of 'The Walking Dead' than "Made to Suffer?"  Not only do we have lots of new characters to interact with, but the action sequences within the town were some of the best scenes the show has ever done.  The sh*t has hit the fan all around, and we're going to shamble and rot in anticipation of the second half of the season.  All in all, "Made to Suffer" was anything but.

Did you get your fill of thrilling zombie killing?  What did you think about the finale? Check out all our other ‘Walking Dead’ season 3 coverage, and join us next year for all-new episode recaps of ‘The Walking Dead’ season 3 on AMC!

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