The Walking Dead’s ‘Hounded’: Ghost Phone and the Hunt for Michonne

Hounded — episode 6 of the Walking Dead’s third season — is on the complicated side, with many stories (and dynamics) wrapping around each other. It sure is interesting to look back at it!

For starters, you have Rick’s slipping sanity, as the phone rings in the prison boiler room. When this first happened, some viewers probably raised their eyebrows (much as I did). We asked questions like, “How is that even possible?” and “Even if the phone is operable, who outside the prison would know he’s there, especially at that very moment?” (Of course, this is a

show where the dead come back to life, but suspension of disbelief only goes so far!)

Fortunately, the episode didn’t head so far off the rails.  Watching it again, one knows Rick is simply having a breakdown. He’s hearing voices from the past and dealing with recent tragedy, as well as his own failings and doubts.

Of course, it should also be emphasized that he’s a bit crazy here, too. Lori’s death was indeed a turning point for Rick, and the Walking Dead in general. Rick’s grief is not merely his own, but a reflection of the world he lives in (and, oddly enough, possibly a reflection of the real world).

However, as Rick meets his daughter for the first time, it is a sign of a possible future, and perhaps gives Rick some incentive for sanity. After all, life has a way of rising from the ashes, of occasionally rekindling hope even during the worst trials.  It’s a rare moment for the Walking Dead — a gasp of fresh

Andrea’s Newfound Dependence?

This episode also saw an emboldened Andrea. Tired of feeling useless in the town of Woodbury, she pleads with the Governor for a job. He gives her the go-ahead to guard the town’s gate, from walkers or assorted riffraff. Almost immediately, Andrea breaks protocol. Instead of using a bow and arrow to quietly take down a walker, she

actually leaps the wall, lands in front of the creature, then swiftly dispatches it with a knife.

It’s a flashy moment, but such independence will cost her down the line, to be sure. But, for now, the Governor is turned on by it, and the two actually get it on. After all, Andrea has a habit of falling for the murderous, “alpha male” types.

As anyone might guess, Andrea is the type of character who — for whatever reason — becomes dependent on a man for guidance, even though she’s capable of independence at times. Even though it’s a Walking Dead character, I think most people know someone very much like Andrea.

On The Hunt For Michonne

While Andrea thinks Michonne left Woodbury without incident, the viewer quickly gets a different picture. Some distance away from the town, Merle Dixon leads a small band of hunters. Anyone with sense knows they’re out there to kill Michonne. She certainly knows this, and leaves a delightful little “biter-gram” (as Merle calls it), where the legs and an arm spell “Go” and the walker’s back obviously represents the word ‘back.”

When they don’t heed the warning, Michonne wastes little time in wasting a few of Merle’s men, with ninja-like efficiency. Unfortunately for her, Merle managed to shoot her in the leg, though she still manages to flee. What a trooper!

Not yet daunted, Merle acts as a trooper scooper, using his Elmer Fudd skills to track her. In little time, he finds her again — or, rather, she finds him — and their skirmish attracts an array of walkers. Just when it seems hopeless for Michonne, it all comes down to the classic zombie gut camouflage technique (as originally utilized in season one). Draping herself in th

e entrails, she blends in with the undead almost seamlessly, as she enters a so-called “Red Zone” (an area considered too walker-infested for light travel).

Now that she’s made her escape, Merle and the surviving hunter, Gargulio, are left to their own devices. This is where Merle makes a monstrous decision. Rather than admit that Michonne got away, he wishes to tell The Governor that he killed her. However, Gargulio want to avenge the hunters Michonne killed, and refuses to entertain Merle’s lie. Rather than debate the issue, Merle simply kills the guy. Bang! Down to the forest floor you go, Gargulio. R.I.P.

The question is: Was Merle “forced” to kill him? For me, all signs point towards “No.” However, it’s open for debate. One might theorize that the Governor may have severely punished or even killed Merle for failing to do his job. Others might argue, quite reasonably, that the Governor would have at least let Merle live, given how valuable the Governor has claimed him to be.

Woodbury and the Prison Begin to Merge

It’s interesting that, after being separated, the worlds of Woodbury and the prison merge seemingly by accident. Merle and Michonne are both stalking around a shopping center, with Michonne skillfully avoiding the Governor’s pet redneck. By sheer coincidence, Glenn and Maggie happen to be scavenging for newborn baby supplies. Recognizing Glenn from Rick’s group, Merle threatens physical violence and kidnaps them both, commanding them to drive him to Woodbury. Obviously, Merle wants to learn more about Rick and crew, and viewers should already know that the prison is in trouble.

While Glenn and Maggie are facing interrogation, Michonne finds her way to the prison holding the baby’s supplies, doing the infamous “blending in with them” routine. Meanwhile, Daryl and Oscar find Carol alive, if not well. It suggests that, although some will fall, Rick’s group are indeed striving to survive, and still willing to accept new people. The question is, can sanity be retained in the process? By this point in the Walking Dead, we know that Rick isn’t entirely unlike the Governor. If Rick is losing his grip on sanity, it implies a great deal about the insanity up ahead.

More from Undead Walking

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• Will Morgan Jones find Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live spinoff?
• Watch Tales of TWD actress Jillian Bell in Prime Video’s Candy Cane Lane

Once the prison and Woodbury worlds connect, we know it will not be pretty. Still, it will be pretty fun to watch!