The Walking Dead, Episode 7: Torture for Glenn and Maggie, New Friends For Michonne

As Merle interrogates Glenn, rubbing the blade across his face and beating on him, we see Maggie tied to a chair in the next room, becoming increasingly distressed as she listens to her love getting punched senseless on the other side of the corrugated iron wall. We can only hope that she hears the part where Glenn headbutts Merle and breaks his nose -- because it's really, really satisfying.

Back at the prison, Rick has just discovered Michonne staring through the fence and looking desperate. She is attacked by the marauding zombies that surround her, kills a few, then collapses thanks to the Merle-inflicted gunshot from last week. Carl shoots a few walkers in the head (that kid sure is a good shot these days), Rick kills a few more and they drag Michonne into the prison, taking her sword from her, but assuring her that they aren't going to hurt her.

Shortly after, the freshly rescued Carol is reunited with the rest of the gang. She weeps when she sees the new baby for the first time and discovers that Lori died giving birth. Rick and Carl have a little cry as well. So sad.

Michonne and Rick get to chatting and, because she brought the baby formula that Glenn and Maggie dropped when they were kidnapped last week, it becomes clear that she can lead the gang to the lovebirds. She tells Rick about Woodbury and the Governor and says she knows a way into the town despite the tight security there.

In Woodbury, Merle is telling a very badly beaten and bloody Glenn that he's "tougher" than Merle remembers. No shit, dude -- Glenn's a bonafide badass now! "It's just a matter of time before they come looking," Glenn slurs. He goes on to say there's too many of them in Rick's gang for Merle to fight and offers up a padded out list of the group that includes dead folk like Shane and -- uh-oh --  Andrea, who Merle knows full well is down the street in the Governor's bedroom, getting busy (because now she's dumb and gross).

While Hershel stitches up Michonne's leg, the rest of the gang discuss how to handle Glenn and Maggie's kidnapping. Daryl offers to go after them, Rick points out that he can't go alone. The prisoners, Axel, and Oscar volunteer, as well as Maggie's little sister Amy. (Really. Who is she kidding?). Daryl loads up the car with supplies and weaponry and tells Carl he'll keep an eye on "yer old man."

Rick pulls Carl to one side before he leaves and tells Carl how to keep everyone in the prison safe "if anything happens." "I will," Carl says. (Ever since he shot his mom in the face to stop her from becoming a zombie, we really do believe him.) Carl tells his dad that he wants to call his newborn sister Judith, after his third grade teacher. "I think that's a fine name," Rick agrees. "Judith it is." (We prefer Daryl's choice of "L'il Asskicker" personally.)

Daryl tells Carol to stay safe (make out, already!), Hershel tells Rick to "Bring 'em back" and off the gang goes, in search of Woodbury.

Finally clothed, the Governor takes Andrea to a strange room with old-timey music playing and an old, bed-ridden man named Mr. Coleman in the middle of it. That lab geek we see occasionally (Milton) is feeding Coleman. The governor thanks the gravely ill man and says he's "doing a great service." The Gov takes off and leaves Andrea there to watch Milton ask Coleman various questions about his family. Coleman weakly raises his right hand to confirm "yes" at the end of each question.

Meanwhile, Merle's torture techniques have kicked up a notch, so he unleashes a zombie on Glenn in the room where our hero's being held. Glenn has to smash the chair he's strapped to, against a wall, into smithereens, to get his hands free. He uses a chair leg to stake the gnashing walker in the skull, then growls a lot, out of sheer frustration. It's clear now that Glenn will die before he reveals to Merle where the rest of his gang are.