When the Dead Come Knocking

"When the Dead Come Knocking" is the seventh episode of Season 3 of The Walking Dead.

Plot Synopsis
Marcelino binds Caramelo to a chair and interrogates him, demanding to know his group's location. Caramelo tries to reason with him by telling him that the group went back to Atlanta to rescue him (as Johanne told Marcelino when first arriving to Woodbury). Caramelo refuses to give up the location, wich enrages Marcelino further. In the next room, Maggie listens, terrified, as Marcelino screams with Caramelo.

Meanwhile, near the prison, Ruth and Sophia open the gates to let Alexis enter, while Cristiana, Mariana and Inês shoot some walkers to prevent them from entering the prison. The girls escort Alexis to Cell Block C and Ruth takes his shopping basket full of formula. While Inês takes care of some scratches a bruises, Alexis was going to tell them what happened to Caramelo and Maggie, but Daniel interrupts to summon the group to another cell. Inês sees Diana and embraces her, with tears on her eyes, followed by Mariana and Cristiana. Beth brings the baby over, and Diana realizes Cristina is dead.

In Woodbury, Milton, followed by Dr.Octavius alerts The Governor that a "Mr. Coleman" is "ready." Without offering details, The Governor asks Johanne for help.

Back at the prison, Daniel asks Alexis where were Caramelo and Maggie and Alexis finally reveals that Maggie and Caramelo were kidnapped. "Marcelino is alive," Alexis tells them, adding that Marcelino was the one who kidnnaped Maggie and Caramelo. Inês asks if they know where he took them and Alexis tells them about the town that Marcelino referred, Woodbury, a whole town, filled with survivors. Kiko asks Alexis why he wasn't taken by Marcelino and Alexis tells him that he hid inside one of the cars. Kiko calls him a coward but he defends himself by saying that there was nothing he could have done to help. Daniel, then, grabs a map to search for Woodbury, saying that "Carla would come in handy right now, she was good with maps and this kind of stuff".

A scared Caramelo tells Marcelino his friends are coming for him, boasting of the group's size and strength: "Daniel, Paquete, Kiko, Tiago, Gonçalo, Johanne," he says. "Is that right?" Marcelino replies, smirking at Caramelo's bluff, for Johanne's a resident of Woodbury for 8 months, and had informed Marcelino of Tiago's demise.

Daniel, Gonçalo, and Kiko decide to rescue Caramelo and Maggie. As they load a car with weapons, Cassandra and Leandra pull Daniel aside, telling him that, before her death, Cristina told them that she wanted her baby to be called Ben, or Vanessa if it was a girl. "Are you asking for my premission to name your friend's baby?" Daniel asks, telling them that they can choose the name. They decide that they'll stay with "Ben", to honor Cristina's wish. Alexis asks Daniel to go with them, but Daniel refuses, saying that he "did enough". Then, the rescue team departs.

Back in Woodbury, The Governor drops Johanne off at Milton's lab, where an elderly man — Mr. Coleman — lies in a hospital bed. After The Governor thanks Mr. Coleman for his service, Milton begins. He rings a bell and instructs Dr.Octavius to start a record player, addressing Mr. Coleman, "Please raise your right hand off the bed if you recognize any of the following statements to be true," Milton says. "Your name is Michael Coleman." Mr. Coleman raises his hand. Milton then asks about Mr. Coleman's family, and Mr. Coleman again lifts his hand.

Caramelo still refuses to reveal his group's location, Marcelino thinks about torturing him, but he couldn't do it since they used to be good friends, instead he just threatens to torture him. Caramelo keeps refusing to reveal their location. Furious, Marcelino leaves the room.

Back in the lab, Dr.Octavius tells Johanne the purpose of their experiment: "We've been trying to determine whether trace memory and human consciousness exist after the subject has transformed," he explains. Mr. Coleman is about to die from prostate cancer and will reanimate as a walker. When that occurs, Milton hopes he will still respond to the cues. "There is no conscious mind," Johanne counters. "When they turn, they become monsters. That's all."

Shortly afterward, Mr. Coleman dies. Dr.Octavius and Milton strap him to the bed.

Meanwhile, The Governor and Marcelino discuss Caramelo's unwillingness to cooperate, but Marcelino informs him that he's really scared and must be giving up the location soon. The Governor decides to question Caramelo himself.

The Governor enters the interrogation room where Caramelo and Maggie were, bringing a walker with him. He threatens that if Caramelo won't cooperate, he'll let the walker devour him.

Meanwhile, the rescue team encounters a herd of walkers in the forest and flees to a cabin. Inside, a hermit threatens to shoot them, but he is slowly talked down by Gonçalo. When Kiko grabs him, he breaks free and dashes for the door. Gonçalo stabs him through the back with a Machete. They throw his body to the walkers as a distraction and escape through the back door.

Back in Milton's lab, Mr. Coleman awakens as a walker and Milton recites the cues, but has no progress. When Mr. Coleman ambiguously moves his hand in response, Milton reaches over to undo the arm restraint, despite Johanne's protests. Mr. Coleman lunges, so Johanne stabs him in the head. Shaken, Milton asks to be left alone.

Back to the interrogation room, The Governor asks Caramelo if he's going to tell them or not.

"Prison" Caramelo blurts, revealing there are 17 survivors who set up camp after clearing the walkers inside. Marcelino believed the prison, located near Nunez, Georgia, to be impenetrable, but his theory had been debunked.

Back in his apartment, The Governor berates Marcelino about the prison. "This group has done something you told me couldn't be done," he says, questioning Marcelino's allegiance. Marcelino insists he will not side with his friend.

The Governor sends Marcelino and Ribau, a brazillian teenager who was probably one of the students rescued by the military along with the others, to scope out the prison. Meanwhile, Daniel and the rescue team sneak up to the Woodbury perimeter.

Deaths

 * Hermit
 * Michael Coleman

Trivia

 * First (and last) appearance of the Hermit.
 * First (and last) appearance of Michael Coleman.
 * First appearance of Ribau.
 * The title may refer to the small group of zombies "knocking" at the door of the hermit's cabin. Most likely, however, it refers to the multiple characters getting close to meeting who thought that each other were dead. This applies to Diana, Marcelino and Johanne with Daniel's group.
 * This episode's cover shows the hermit's cabin.
 * This cover might have been chosen to match the name of this episode.
 * According to Talking Dead, when walkers are devouring a human's intestines, such as the hermit, the intestines are made from silicone casing and stuffed with barbecue. Non-meat-eating zombie actors are accommodated with vegetarian stuffing.
 * "When the Dead Come Knocking" is the longest episode title in the TV Series to date.
 * This episode marks the first time Carla is mentioned since Season 1 in "Days Gone Bye".