TV Show Review

TV Review: THE WALKING DEAD: Season 3, Episode 8: Made to Suffer

Danai Gurira The Walking Dead Made to Suffer

The Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 8 Made to Suffer Review. The Walking Dead: Season 3, Episode 8: Made to Suffer housed the best hand-to-hand combat battle scene in the show’s history. It also housed possibly the best ending to a confrontation next to season 2’s mid-season ending, and it was the first time Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) and Daryle Dixon were on-screen with one another.

Made to Suffer was David Morrissey’s best performance on The Walking Dead to date, the viewer felt his fear when his Walker daughter’s life was in peril and his anguished cry when  Michonne (Danai Gurira) killed it. Their resulting fight was brutal and it was rewarding to see a woman hold her own realistically against a man. The fight was a grudge match, a title bout between two people that wanted the other dead. Bleeding, holding Penny at its conclusion, the viewer felt The Governor’s sorrow. Like the Greenes in season 2, The Governor (David Morrissey) believed that the person he loved still resided in the body of a person-turned-Walker.

Advertisement
 

The sub-text at the end of the Michonne (Danai Gurira) and The Governor (David Morrissey) fight was very good: the end of a friendship and the choosing of sides. Andrea has officially chosen The Governor and Woodbury over Michonne yet Andrea still owes Michonne her life, possibly the reason why she lets her go. Sword vs. Gun. Michonne is good with a sword but she is not Afro Samurai. Andrea had her.

Michonne shows that she is not just a cautious, silent warrior in Made to Suffer. No longer stone faced as she characteristically always was outside of Woodbury, she pleads with Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) to let her help. The human being on the inside stepped out from the shadows.

Also showing his less stoic side was Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), his longing to see his brother bubbling to the surface upon Merle’s name was mentioned by Glenn (Steven Yeun). Rick Grimes, usually the central character in an episode, had only a marginal presence in this one as team leader and unifier. He drove the point home that the group’s needs outweighs the individuals’ desire.

As was mentioned previously, The Governor may be the shrewdest character on The Walking Dead. He easily manages people and a crisis simultaneously, keeping the truth about the “terrorists” attacking Woodbury away from Andrea (Laurie Holden) and the townspeople. Now that Andrea knows some of those hidden truths (e.g. the head fish tanks), how will she handle them? I believe she will still chose The Governor and Woodbury. She doesn’t want to be on the run anymore. She wants what Woodbury represents: normality and a return to life the way it used to be before the outbreak.

For more The Walking Dead reviews, photos, videos, and information, visit our The Walking Dead page, subscribe to us by Email, follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.

FilmBook's Newsletter

Subscribe to FilmBook’s Daily Newsletter for the latest news!

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
Back to top button
Share via
Send this to a friend