The Walking Dead Ep. 307: When the Dead Come Knocking

The Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 7: When the Dead Come Knocking

TV rating

TV-14

ZPAA rating

Teens and up

Gore level

9.5 out of 10--More boatloads of zombie kills, decapitations, blood splatter, etc.; one set of zombies feasting on a hapless recently deceased human; extended torture scenes with bloody wounds.

Other offensive content

Goreless torture scene involving the threat of rape; woman in her underwear scene briefly from the back; woman who is forced to remove her bra and is forced to walk around with her hands covering her breasts; some foul language; many menacing torture scenes.

How much zombie mythology/content

An experiment tries to find out if zombies have any memories from their previous lives.

How much fun

Just a few jokes lighten this heavy episode.

Synopsis & Review

Last episode, Glenn and Maggie were captured by Merle and brought back to Woodbury. Their torture then commences. Unlike the comics, Merle does most of the torturing while the Governor does other things (though he does his fair share toward the end). The torture isn't as brutal as it was in the comics, where Michonne took the brunt of the worst torments. Still it is rough to watch, especially when Maggie's turn comes.

Michonne is nowhere near Woodbury. She takes the baby supplies to the prison where Rick and company warily take her in. After some questioning of Michonne (including a brief flirtation with torture by Rick), they discover the whereabouts and the dangers of where Glenn and Maggie have wound up. That doesn't stop Rick, Daryl (who puts back on his angel's wings vest!), Michonne and one of the surviving prisoners from heading off to rescue the poor couple.

Meanwhile, Andrea is finally given some work by the Governor other than being his girlfriend. She helps a scientific guy with an experiment on a terminally-ill patient. The patient has volunteered as a test subject to see if memories still remain in a corpse after it has turned. The set up is rather eerie. Andrea is pretty sure the experiment will turn out negative, but will she figure out that Woodbury is also a big negative?

I for one was very worried about the torture scenes since they were so explicit in the comic book version of this part of the story. They are still very intense but not as bad as what went before. Maybe there's more to come but I hope not. Other parts of the drama, like the baby and the surprise return of Carol from last episode, are on the back burner while the high drama of Woodbury is worked out. Only one more episode until an extended break--I hope they wrap up enough loose threads so we are not left tied in knots about what will happen to everyone.