The Walking Dead 3×10 “Home” wasn’t for the faint hearted. Daryl showed his scars, Rick faced his insanity, and there was another death. Warning, spoilers!

Episode 10 in season three of The Walking Dead titled ‘Home’ was as much about confrontation as anything else. Glenn, Maggie, Rick, the Governor, Daryl and Merle all showed their spots in this non-stop, hard hitting instalment of the series; and there’s a lot of ground to cover.

The Prison

This episode delved deeper into Rick’s mind as his hallucinations about Lori from the midseason premiere continued. Following the vision of a woman in a white bridal dress out of the prison’s safety, Rick sees Lori and is comforted by her when she cradles his face in her hands. Michonne having witnessed Rick caressing thin air, looks on at the solitary man almost pityingly.

Glenn, consumed by rage plotted and planned with the rest of the prison survivors how to attack the Governor and Woodbury, but also on how to fortify the prison should they be overrun by walkers, or should the Governor attack first. Hershel suggests that they flee as they’re sitting ducks in the prison.

In the contention, Maggie storms out of the main room to her cell where we later find her crying when Glenn goes to see her following a discussion with Hershel. We then find out Maggie was not raped by the Governor, but completely shamed and humiliated, and Glenn seems almost relieved, which spurs on Maggie’s anger when she asks him to go.

Carol and Axel spend time together up on the prison catwalk where they create a wall which they could duck behind out of metal sheeting and wood pallets. Following Daryl’s desertion of the group, could Carol have found her match?

Glenn filled with frustration following his spat with Maggie, and Hershel’s attempt to calm him down fruitless, jumps into a car a speeds off into the distance. Hershel then hobbles over to the fence to call Rick over. Rick reveals to him that he’s been seeing Lori, but that he knows “it’s not really her, but there’s got to be a reason.” Hershel begs Rick to listen, telling him that the group needs him now more than ever, but Rick unwaveringly walks back to the woods.

Woodbury

Meanwhile, Andrea was once again fooled by the Governor’s smooth talking. His insincere plea for her to take over control of Woodbury as he was not longer fit as leader, and his promise to live and let live left Andrea looking doubtful but almost grateful to him for his magnanimousness. However, she soon susses out that all is not that meets the eye when he’s unreachable, and a few of his best fighters are out of Woodbury too. She demands Milton to let her know where the Governor has gone when she can’t find him. Milton having previously sworn his allegiance to the Governor and promising to keeps tabs on Andrea, dodges her questioning and Andrea is left fearing the worst.

In the woods

Alongside all of this, Daryl and Merle are left walking through the woods with nothing but “mosquitos and ants.” Merle suggests they fish, and so the brothers make their way to the nearby creek. Merle chides Daryl for having lost his sense of direction as Daryl belives it to be ‘Yellow Jacket creek’ up ahead; but before they can carry on arguing about it, Daryl hears a baby’s cry and a family are stuck on the bridge surrounded by walkers, including a mother and her baby stuck in a car.

Jumping to the rescue, against Merle’s wishes, Daryl saves the family from the zombie horde (including some pretty brutal zombie head trunk smashing manoeuvres!) and Merle helps half-heartedly. Once all the walkers have been killed, Merle started rummaging through the family’s car, and Daryl, disgusted by his brother’s behaviour, aims his crossbow at Merle’s head and threatens him. Once the family are safely away, Daryl strides off, leaving Merle behind (also, Daryl was right, it was ‘Yellow Jacket creek’)

Merle then follows Daryl into the woods, and ridicules him for his show of courage, despite the chance that he could have been killed for the benefit of strangers. Sparking an argument, the brother’s tussle, and Daryl’s shirt is torn, revealing to Merle the scars of their father’s abuse. Merle is taken aback and apologises to Daryl for having left him when he was a child, but Daryl is furious, and tells Merle that he is going “back to where I belong.” Merle moans that he won’t be accepted by the prison survivors, but Daryl unmoved says, “I may be the one that’s walkin’ away, but you’re the one that’s leavin’.”

The Governor’s Revenge

In the prison’s courtyard, Carol and Axel chat idlely. Axel is then shot and killed instantly,  and all hell breaks loose. The Governor, at the tree line, raises his weapon to continue the bloodshed.

Whilst everyone at the prison runs for cover, the Governor and his men shoot persistently at the survivors. Then, a truck breaks through the prison gates and stops. The Governor smiles as he watches the back open and the undead stream out. Hershel, trapped in the area, is left to fend for himself as the Governor and his crew leave. Glenn arrives just as the Governor has left and collects Hershel and Michonne from the field, driving them to safety.

Rick, stuck outside the prison fences, is surrounded by walkers. Facing almost certain death he grapples with a biter, when luckily a crossbow arrow pieces straight through the walkers head. Daryl and Merle then emerge from the treeline and wipe out the remaining walkers. Rick acknowledges Daryl but ignores Merle, walks to the fences and stares toward the prison with a dark and dangerous look in his eyes; the yard swarming with walkers.

What do you think is next for Rick and co? Will the Governor be back to wreak havoc?

The Walking Dead 3×11 “I Ain’t a Judas” will be on AMC this Sunday, Feb 24 9/8 ET/PT.