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The Suicide King - Recap

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The episode begins and it's Daryl vs. Merle with the whole of Woodbury screaming for blood. Andrea runs out into the circle and pleads for Daryl's life. "He's my friend" she screams, in utter desperation. The Governor dismisses her appeals and tells Merle to prove his loyalty by dealing with Daryl. So Merle begins to kick and punch his brother, as per the Governor’s wishes. While they grapple, Merle whispers: "Just follow my lead little brother"; it seems Merle has a plan and hence all that he is doing is simply an act. So they stand back to back and begin to fight off walkers led into the ring by the Governor's goons. Suddenly, while they are at it, shots ring out, much to everyone’s surprise.

Turns out, it's Rick and the gang, firing from the ground and the wall above. A smoke bomb erupts and everyone scatters wildly, in absolute panic. Daryl and Merle escape with Rick, taking advantage of the chaos. Daryl grabs a crossbow on the way out. Merle leads the group out of Woodbury; while walkers make their way inside. Morning arrives and finds Glenn and Michonne waiting. Glenn and Michonne lose it when they spot Merle, and basically aren’t at all happy to see him. Michonne, in particular, would like to slice and dice the new member of the group as it turns out, but Rick won't let her do anything of the sort. Merle on his part taunts Michonne about Andrea getting really cozy with the Governor. All of them are shocked to hear that she is inside Woodbury, where the walkers have now gained entry. At the prison, Tyreese and Sascha get to know Hershel.

They explain that they stayed in the bunker of a survivalist neighbor until they ran into Alan and Ben and, eventually, caught up with about 20 others. "Our camp was overrun about six weeks ago" Sascha explains. Hershel believes they are good people, but warns that it's not up to him to decide whether they stay. The group will decide and the final decision can only be made once Rick and company returns. Rick, Glenn and Maggie on the other hand insist that Merle not return to the prison, as it wouldn’t go down well with the others. Daryl understands where they are coming from, but also makes it absolutely clear that he isn't going anywhere without his brother. "We'll fend for ourselves" he announces in the end. Rick tries to reason with Daryl but to no avail. He simply won't leave his brother’s side and in fact disappears into the woods with his big brother.

Rick then turns to Michonne, who the group apparently isn't too crazy about either. "We patch you up and then you are gone" Rick tells Michonne, making it clear to her that she isn’t welcome into their group either. They then head for the prison, where everyone else is. Outside the prison, Alan and Ben try to convince Tyreese and Sascha to take out the survivors while it's just a kid, a few women, and a one-legged old man. But Tyreese and Sascha refuse. "It's survival of the fittest" Alan yells, trying to argue with the two. But Tyreese won't budge. "We don't do that" he says, making his intentions absolutely clear. Later, on the way back to the prison, Glenn becomes furious at Rick for not only letting Daryl walk away after they went to so much trouble to save him but also letting the Governor live.

Harsh words are as a result exchanged and it is suggested that Rick has, once again, let down the group. Back at Woodbury, everything apparently has gone to hell. Citizens in an absolute state of panic are trying to scale the fence and leave, but armed guards won't let them. "Everyone calm down" Andrea screams. But, no one pays any attention to her, as they are more preoccupied with saving their own lives. It only gets worse when the crowd hears screaming from the opposite end of the street. Turns out, Walkers have begun chewing on flesh of live citizens. Andrea realizes this and races to the scene and executes the undead. A Woodbury man as it turns out has been bitten badly and lies shaking on the ground as a result. The man looks to be on the brink of death and everyone is shocked at the sight.

"Somebody do something" a woman in the crowd yells, in utter desperation. The Governor appears just then and shoots the man in the head, stunning everyone who is present. Then, without a word, the Governor turns back around and saunters back inside. Rick and company on the other hand return to the prison. Carol wants to know what happened to Daryl, as she doesn’t see him with the group. "He's alive ... but we ran into his brother" Rick explains. "They went off" he further elaborates, explaining the whole situation. Carol can't believe that Daryl is gone and is clearly not happy about it. Rick tries to comfort her. Andrea in the meantime confronts the Governor, explaining that the folks of Woodbury are scared and he therefore needs to take measures to calm them down.

She feels he should talk to them and give them courage. "They've had it easy" the Governor says. "We're at war" he adds. The Governor then claims that he didn't tell Andrea that he had Glenn and Maggie because she is "just a visitor, passing through" and therefore didn’t think she needed to know. Andrea refuses to be pushed out that easily. The Governor then reminds Andrea that it was her "friends" who just broke into town and killed seven people. The Governor refuses to go outside to calm the townsfolk as he doesn’t feel the need for it, so Andrea does it for him. She delivers a heartfelt speech about perseverance and hearts and minds. It apparently seems to have the desired effect, as everybody seems to buy into the words she has just spoken. The Governor watches the whole thing from the window above.

At the prison, Beth and Carol have a heart to heart. Beth, who has been taking care of the infant, worries that they’re weak without Daryl. Hershel in the meantime tends to the considerable wounds of Maggie and Glenn. He notes that both are holding something back and is curious. He wonders as to what exactly happened in Woodbury. "Don't disappear on me," Hershel tells his daughter rather emotionally. Father and daughter then hug apparently relieved to be in each other’s arms. Rick on the other hand goes to meet with Tyreese, Sascha, Alan and Ben. Tyreese offers to help in any way they can. Rick refuses, saying that it's too dangerous.

Hershel pulls aside Rick so he can reason with him. "I'm telling you, you're wrong on this" Hershel says. "You've got to start giving people a chance" he adds. Rick is about to say something when he looks up and sees the silhouette of Lori above. Rick suddenly begins to scream and rage at the ghostly figure, and it is scaring everybody in the room. It appears from his actions that he is losing it. The episode ends at this point.

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