Walk with Me

"Walk with Me" is the third episode of the third season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC in the United States on October 28, 2012. The episode primarily focuses on Andrea (Laurie Holden); having been separated from the rest of the group at the end of the previous season, she and fellow katana-wielding survivor, Michonne (Danai Gurira) find themselves in the company of Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) as they are captured and brought to The Governor (David Morrissey) in a small town called Woodbury. Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker), who was previously seen physically in season 1 and as an hallucination in season 2, returns in this episode as a series regular. Plot Michonne and an ailing Andrea witness a military helicopter crash into a nearby forest. They find all but one of the crew dead, and the survivor, Welles, badly injured. On hearing the approach of vehicles, Michonne, her enslaved walkers, and Andrea hide nearby. They observe a group of men rescue Welles and execute the other crewmen as they reanimate. Michonne's walkers make noises that alert the men to their presence, and though Michonne decapitates the walkers to stop them, Michonne and Andrea are captured. Andrea is surprised one of the men is Merle, Daryl's brother who Rick's group had left handcuffed to piping atop an Atlanta skyscraper. Merle was able to escape by sawing off his own hand, which he has replaced with a makeshift bayonet prosthetic. Andrea faints from the shock. They are taken to Woodbury, a well-supplied, fortified town and sanctuary for around seventy survivors. After securing away their weapons, Merle interrogates them, explaining how he found his way from Atlanta to Woodbury, and now has become the right-hand man to The Governor (David Morrissey), the man who runs Woodbury. Andrea recounts her own escape from the Greene farmstead and separation from Rick's group, for whom Merle still holds contempt. They later meet The Governor, who offers to let them stay. Michonne is uneasy and asks for her weapons back so they can leave, but Andrea wants to learn more about the town. Over breakfast, The Governor introduces them to Milton (Dallas Roberts), his chief adviser, and attempts to learn more about Rick's group from them using his charisma.