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This week, Hershel takes center stage as he fights to keep the infected alive in quarantine. Also, Maggie and Rick try to keep the outside prison fence from failing under the weight of all the gathering walkers.

Spoilers below.

Major Things That Happened:

1. Hershel is a hero. With Glenn, Sasha and the good Dr. Caleb deep in the throes of the demon flu, Hershel takes care of everyone in the quarantined cell block. Let’s just call it Walker Row. He tries to maintain a positive attitude for his patients and in doing so, makes questionable choices about how to dispose of a sick person once they die and turn into a walker.

Now, most of us would think time is of the essence and stab them in the head right away. Not Hershel. With the help of Glenn and Sasha, he puts the deceased on a gurney and rolls them out of sight before Glenn or Sasha puts them down. When faced with having to do it himself, he first puts a sheet over the deceased because Hershel is still a gentleman after all this and can’t stab a man in the brain while looking into his super dead eyes.

Hershel also distracts creepy kid Lizzie (you know, the one who likes walkers) by telling her everyone has jobs and hers is to read Tom Sawyer that day. It’s definitely a better idea than having her run loose in the cell block, befriending the dead while no one’s looking.

Hershel even cracks jokes. After intubating a deathly ill man on Walker Row, Hershel comments on how it’s been “some council meeting” to the very sick Sasha and Glenn. Sasha points out two council members are out on runs. Hershel: “I think we should make some new rules before they get back. I hereby declare we have spaghetti Tuesdays every Wednesday. First we have to find some spaghetti.” Sasha and Glenn didn’t laugh, what with being 75-85 percent dead but I did.

2. The fence collapses. Maggie tries hard to stabilize the fence before Rick gets back from giving Carol the boot. Together, they try bracing the fence with wood. That doesn’t work for long either. Finally, the walkers break through and it’s Rick and Carl against the hundreds of walkers. More on that in a minute.

Whoever is feeding the zombies, this fence collapse is on you. I’m positive it’s Lizzie. Or Bob, the alcoholic that causes destruction and death wherever he goes. You were in two groups before this and both times you were the only survivor? By all means, join our group.

3. Rick and Carl join forces with big ass guns. Realizing he needs help with the fence walkers and all his regular go-tos are either out, sent away or in quarantine, Rick calls on Carl, who used to seem unhinged before Lizzie showed up. Rick and Carl blow away the hoard of walkers. It turns out Carl is super good to have in such an emergency. Good on you, Rick, for finally letting Carl help you do what he does best: shoot people.

4. Glenn almost dies. Like it was really close. Hershel and Maggie intubate him with the tube they pull out of the previous borrower, who died and went full blown walker on them. It’s okay. Hershel threw him over the railing like a champ and nobody cares about sticking walker blood down Glenn’s throat. We’re all infected, right?

But seriously, it gets so close with Glenn that I wasn’t sure he’d make it. He does, thankfully, because that’s not how Glenn should go out, coughing up blood and gooey stuff on the floor. Speaking of–

5. Lizzie is super messed up. Pro: She managed to lead a walker away from Glenn, saving him. Con: She does it because she thinks there’s still hope for walkers. Also, she trips and Hershel has to rescue her (see: over the railing zombie). After Glenn is stabilized, she plays in his blood puddle with her foot, almost like she’s painting with it. She’s not right and crazy is a liability you really can’t afford to have in the zombie apocalypse.

6. Success! Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese and Bob bring the medicine back. This ensures no one else should die of the demon flu. That’s it. It’s a good thing!

7. The truth about Carol. Rick tells Maggie what really happened with Carol. She agrees he was right to send her away. Maggie says this before the entire fence system goes to hell and people start dropping like flies on Walker Row. Carol would have come in handy in either situation. Just sayin’. While Rick is honest with Maggie, he and everyone else that knows avoids telling Daryl. Hey, I wouldn’t want to tell Daryl either. Remember when he got all in Bob’s face last week? It’s not the best idea to get on Daryl’s bad side.

8. The Governor is back. No kidding. I thought he’d show up in another few episodes from now, right before the mid-season finale but no. There he is, like a creeper, keeping his one eye on the prison from somewhere just outside, in the woods.

How long has the Governor been watching them? Does he have anyone on the inside? I’m looking at you, Bob. I’m just saying, if I was Bob and I had an alcohol problem, then was sent to befriend and infiltrate a pretty nice group, I might start feeling mega awful about my eventual betrayal and want to force my guilt down with booze, too.

Clearly, next week is going to erupt in madness, with the fence down, people recovering from the demon flu and the Governor continuing to obsess on the prison. Will the group be able to fix the fence before straight up mayhem breaks out? Will it even matter once the Governor makes his move? What do you think? One thing’s for sure. You’re not going to want to miss next week’s episode.

Until then, I’ll leave you with this exchange between Daryl and Hershel about the recovering Glenn:

Daryl: “He’s a tough sumbitch.”
Hershel: “He is.”
Daryl: “You’re a tough sumbitch.”
Hershel: “I am.”