I never got around to recapping Say The Word last week, but if I had one of the points I was going to make was that I had a suspicion that the telephone ring was all in Rick's feeble mind. That was confirmed this week, and the confirmation was well done. Rick has a lot on his conscience. Far more than an upstanding law enforcement officer should have. He's done most out of necessity, but he obviously believes the one death he would like to take back is the one he didn't directly cause; his wife's. if he would have been more of a husband, he could have prevented her death. He left her and feels his ambivalence was a leading cause of her death. I don't disagree with him.

This week the other theme is along the lines of “it's a small world after all.” Glenn and Maggie become the epicenter of the collision of the two worlds when Merle finds them looting a store as he is looking for a ride back to Woodbury. Merle discovers that his brother is holding out with Glenn's group and decides to take the two of them back to camp instead of going off to find Daryl. I was a bit surprised by that, but it is a good move from a strategic point of view. The two can be debriefed so Merle gets a mice lay of the land.

Meanwhile, Micchone stealthily observes the entire encounter, and shows up at the prison fences as the show concludes.

So, a couple observations.

Merle doesn't mind lying to the Governor or killing allies, traits that may come in handy.

I could not care less about Andrea, but I think her role is going to be vital as the two camps interact. I don't think Andrea feels that she was abandoned by Rick's group as Merle does. Having her so close to Gov will give her special access to do her own dirty work from the inside, perhaps.

And finally Carol. It's a good thing she's back because she is a potential anchor for Daryl. She is his line to Rick's group, loyalty to which he may lose once Merle shows up. Now I think it may be as much brother vs. brother as before I would have thought brother with brother.

I think there may be just two shows left this season. My guess is next week's penultimate episode sets the battleground and the finale will be the showdown between the two camps. I'm thinking the softies of Woodbury may have some trouble with Rick.

We'll see soon enough.