Now that the group of survivors has been reunited
after the chaos at Terminus, what are they to do?
The Walking Dead has spent plenty of time in
past seasons bottled up in one location or
another (the farm and the prison, notably) but it
looked like they were getting ready to hit the
dusty trails for good this season. Not so fast. In
the fifth season’s second episode, we get a
momentary glimpse of life on the road for this
unwieldy group before a new arrival (and an old
foe) turn a possible sanctuary into a probable
death trap.
As the smoke from Terminus settles, the team
takes stock. Rick talks to Tara about saving
Glenn, while Tyreese says he understand why
Carol did what she did back at the prison, ie
sacrificing the sick for the good of the group,
though Tyreese says they don’t need to tell them
about the girls though.
After a slo-mo shot reveals the entirety of the
group (it’s possibly the largest one we’ve seen on
the road and not in a settlement in the series so
far), Rick and Carol have a bit of an awkward
reunion. Carol returns Rick’s watch to him and
he tries to do the same, but she declines his offer
to … turn back time. While Rick somewhat
apologizes for sending her away, he surprisingly
asks if she’ll accept the group into her company,
which of course she does. It seems like
everything is copacetic for now … except for the
shady folks watching the group from behind the
trees.
While the group is making their way back toward
civilization, they hear a man screaming for help
and find an apparent priest on top of a rock,
scrambling away from a half dozen or so
Walkers. ( Seth Gilliam ) Father Gabriel Stokes
vomits and introduces himself. He asks for food,
and remarks that Judith is “a beautiful child” but
the group stares him down. Rick pats him down
and asks him how many Walkers and people he’s
killed; he says, “None, because the Lord abhors
violence.” Rick asks him what he’s done, and
Gabriel says he confesses his sins only to God,
not strangers. I’m sure the comic readers will
have lots to say about Father Gabriel, but it’s
pretty apparent at this point that he’s hiding
something that’s going to get the group in some
hot water before long.
At St. Sarah’s Church, the group finds the usual:
religious texts and iconography, a handwritten
copy of the Bible, ceremonial/ritual objects, tons
of empty canned goods, drawings of burning
bushes by little kids, etc. Ford finds a shortbus
behind the church that the can fix up, but Rick
needs them to go on a supply run first, and while
Ford disagrees, the rest of the team sticks with
Rick. Gabriel tells him a dozen or so Walkers
have overrun a storehouse; Rick wants Gabriel
with him and asks Carl to stay behind to protect
Judith and help Tyreese in case Gabriel has
friends.
On the supply run, Bob talks to Rick about
whether or not they’re accompanying Ford and
Eugene to Washington. Bob says it’s going to
happen, and it’s going to be the start of getting
back to the real world, which is why Rick is so
resistant to committing to it. Meanwhile, Carol
and Daryl fetch a few gallons of water and check
a car they come across. It won’t start, but Carol
finds a jumper back in the trunk and charges it;
they leave the car in case things go south at the
church.
Urgh, turd zombies… Probably the grossest
version of Walkers on the show so far, but it’s a
pretty cool change from the usual. The group
plans to use the shelves as barricades to pin the
Walkers and kill them so they can liberate the
food supply. Gabriel has a hard time watching his
former friends and followers having been turned
and now being killed. Rick shatters the Librarian
Walker Woman’s skull before she can get to
Gabriel, who is stunned because of, presumably,
his familiarity with her.
We get a little bit of background on Michonne’s
sword: she found it, in the very beginning. She
says that she’s had a good long time with
nothing else to do but practice her swordplay.
She misses her friends, but not her former life,
and not the sword. Sorry, fans.
Back at the church, Carl finds gouges on the
shuttered windows from the outside; he finds
something else that he’s not quite sure of:
someone has etched “You’ll Burn for This” into
the church. It’s party time back at the church as
they all feast in candlelight. Ford proposes a
toast to the survivors, but asks if that’s all they
want to be. Eugene tells them that DC has
enough infrastructure to offer an opportunity to
restart for the world of the living, and Rick says
he’s in because Judith agrees, and everyone
seems to be in good spirits.
So of course, this is the time Tara chooses to
confesses to Maggie about being at the prison
with the Governor because she didn’t want it to
stay a secret. Maggie forgives her and welcomes
her into the flock, which is a common theme in
this particular episode. Rick, however, makes it
plain that he’ll kill Gabriel if whatever he’s hiding
manages to hurt his friends/family.
As an aside, Carol’s now out on her own, starting
up the car; she kills a rogue walker but Daryl
catches her up. Another car flies by, a car with a
cross, the one that Daryl chased down when Beth
disappeared. Daryl busts the other car’s taillights
and he and Carol head after the car. I love the
adventures of Carol and Daryl, and it’s about time
that someone starts to follow up on Beth’s
disappearance!
Meanwhile, Bob’s out in the woods, watching the
party in the church but starts crying. Something’s
up with him, but before we can find out what it
is, a hooded assailant knocks him cold, and the
camera shows a horizontal slash mark on a
nearby tree… Bob comes to but is surrounded by
Gareth and his followers, one of whom sharpens
a knife. Gareth says that he didn’t want to scare
him or pull him away from his group, but they
have to do it because they took away their home.
While Gareth monologues, there are scenes of the
group back at the church. Gareth says that he
and his people have devolved into Hunters who
now have to eat people to survive. Bob’s leg is
revealed to be missing as Gareth chows down on
him. In the promo, Bob’s leg is last seen roasting
on an open fire. The Hunters are watching the
group at the church and taking them out one by
one. So much for a potential sanctuary…
Rating: A-
Odds & Entrails:
Michonne reaching for her sword and smiling
when she remembers she doesn’t have it; pretty
funny.
Bob and Sasha flirting on the walk was a nice
touch, but of course carried some foreshadowing
because no one in this world can be happy for
too long.
Heck yeah, The Wire reunion! Glad we got to see
Lawrence Gilliard Jr. and Seth Gilliam on screen
together, for a time…
Gabriel: “Maybe I’m lying. Maybe I’m leading you
into a trap so I can steal all your squirrels. …
Members of my flock tell me that my sense of
humor leaves something to be desired.” Daryl: “It
does.”
Rick: “Mind if we take a look around first? We
just want to hold onto our squirrels.”
I love Rick just walking up and down the aisle of
the church holding a rifle and a baby because
Georgia!
Rick: “You are not safe. No matter how many
people are around, no matter how clear the area
is, you are not safe. It only takes one second, and
then it’s over. Never let your guard down.
Promise me.”
Bob: “This is a nightmare, and nightmares end.”
Bob: “You can’t fight city hall.”
Glenn: “Found what we came for: three silencers
in a mini fridge. Rule # 1 of scavenging: there’s
nothing left in this world that isn’t hidden.”
Bob: “If a sewer could puke, this is what it’d
smell like.”
Michonne: “Stumbling around in three feet of
slime for some peas and carrots? That’s livin’!”
Gareth: “I just hope you understand that nothing
happening to you right now is personal.”
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