In what seems to be customary now, “The Walking Dead” opened with another heart-pounding scene with Glenn being brutally interrogated by Merle.

Merle has no mercy with Glenn, delivering blow after blow and leaving his face a bloody pulp. After getting nowhere, a walker is brought in to entice Glenn to talk but instead is let loose to kill him. In an amazing display of strength and ingenuity, Glenn takes down the zombie using his surroundings to slow the walker and then deliver the final blow with a broken piece of his chair. Mind you, he does all this while his arms are tightly taped to the chair.

Maggie, on the other hand, is met by The Governor himself. Humiliating her by stripping her down and threatening her with rape, she ultimately gives up the location of the survivors at the prison.

Back in the prison, Michonne joins the group and tells Rick and the others about the kidnapping of Glenn and Maggie. Knowing they have to do something, Rick, Daryl, Oscar and Michonne head out to Woodbury and find a comical scene with a crazy man proclaiming he will call the cops because they are trespassing in his house.

Something prevalent throughout this season is the opposite viewpoint of the two camps: Woodbury and the prison.

In Woodbury, we see a warped reality where people seem to forget about the threat that surrounds them. We also see a corrupt leader with ultimate power on everything with a hidden agenda of killing outsiders and a sick obsession of keeping the heads of the people he kills.

It’s a fake world where everything bad is good and deplorable behavior like murder and rape is rewarded.

However, in the prison, we see the reality of what an apocalyptic event can produce. The main cast has suffered nothing but constant dearth and death.

Rick is the leader, yet he will include others in the decision making, showing the need to work together. It brings verisimilitude to the show and makes it seem believable. It’s this kind of contrast that has made season three very entertaining.

This episode did a great job showing that contrast with its handling of Michonne, Glenn and Maggie.

In Woodbury, Glenn and Maggie are interrogated and treated as if they were war criminals on trial by getting beaten and humiliated. Michonne, however, is brought in to safety and given food, water and aid. Even though Michonne can be perceived as a threat, she is welcomed in as a survivor like the rest.

The end of the episode sets the stage for what could be a huge battle when Rick and company find Woodbury. This episode really had no down moments and hopefully the momentum keeps up for the mid-season finale next week.