Sam Eckmann

You should be very happy you don’t live with me or next door to me, because my shouts of “Morgaaaaan!” at the opening of last night’s season finale of the “The Walking Dead” were probably heard down the block.

After small teases here and there, Lennie James’ Morgan returned to the series with a tense standoff to begin the episode. It also gave us our first terrifying look at the Wolves, hinted at for the past several episodes. The wolf is menacing in his calmness, but Morgan has apparently taken some ninja and/or Jedi training. Morgan takes out his captors with his walking stick but leaves them alive, tied up in a car. I’m already wondering how this new badass non-lethal version of the character came to be, and how will he eventually gel with the new badass but very-lethal Rick.

Back at Alexandria, Michonne tell Rick she delivered last week’s knock out punch “for you, not for them”. Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln have a nice scene that shows how dedicated their characters are to each other, even when viewpoints differ. Though the fact that Rick excluded Michonne from his plans was for nothing sort of squashed some of the tension last week seemed to be building towards.

Leave it to Carol then, to be the tension torch-bearer. In another “I-am-not-to-be-trifled-with” moment, she brings one of her (now signature) sadness casseroles to Pete. Despite his towering stature and threats, she pulls a knife on him. “I could kill you right now, I will” she says, calmly showing him who is boss. Interestingly, our resident Cookie Monster doesn’t kill the scum bag, but gives him the chance to redeem himself. And if not, she’ll gut him later. Melissa McBride has created the most dynamic character arc of the series. This is the reason we watch TV.

The most successful sequence of the episode was the editing of the various side plots happening alongside Deanna’s town hall meeting. Rick is tracking down the zombie infiltrators, Glenn and Nicholas are battling in the woods, and Sasha’s frustrations come to a head in a confrontation with Gabriel.

As we cut to the three life and death battles, member’s of Rick’s clan share stories of his bravery and stick up for the leader of their family. It was important to emphasize that despite Rick’s frightening actions, the gang was still united behind him. And as Alexandrian’s like Jessie began to back him up as well, Deanna’s argument grew weaker and weaker.

I was a tad disappointed that none of the altercations built towards a death. Perhaps that says something about the effect the show is having on my moral compass, but come on. Nicholas and Gabriel need to go. I am glad that Glenn was able to hold on to some of his humanity and spare the coward Nicholas. But the writer’s continued efforts to make me sympathize with Gabriel are growing more annoying by the minute. Oh he’s crying in the street? Don’t care. If Maggie knew what was best, she would have let Sasha pull the trigger.

The climatic death came in the form of Pete’s accidental murder of Reg. It didn’t quite register as too emotional for the viewer considering his limited screen time, but Tovah Feldshuh once again stepped up to the plate for a brilliantly executed scene. Her angry and vengeful “Rick, do it” was chilling. She at last comes to terms with the kill or be killed mantra, but had to lose her husband to get there.

Aaron and Daryl provide most of the Walker action of the episode. While trying to follow and recruit a man in a red poncho, they stumble upon an enclosed grocery store. Obviously this type of set-up is too good to be true and I was furiously yelling “Trap!” at my TV, but alas, my new favorite odd couple didn’t hear me.  The resulting fight is full of some of the most creative zombie kills of the series. Aaron chops one walker with a license plate (poor guy just can’t keep his plate collection together), and smashes another’s head apart with a car door. I genuinely thought both of them were goners when they found themselves trapped in the car. Morgan showing up in the nick of time was awesome, but I won’t lie: I was a pretty excited for the Thelma and Louise moment Daryl and Aaron were planning. Either way I’m happy the odd couple lives to fight another day.

I can’t wait to find out how Deanna and Rick lead the town together, now that the two are on the same page. They’ll need to be on their game for the crafty and dangerous Wolves now interested in taking Alexandria. This season has been the best so far in my opinion. Season six can’t get here fast enough.

Other Thoughts

• Did anyone else see the “Little Red Riding Hood” reference in having the man in the red poncho captured by the Wolves? I guess in the apocalypse, “Little Red” doesn’t get a happily ever after.
• Who was it leaving all the markings for Morgan to follow? The Wolves? Exiled Alexandrians? We will have to ponder this til next season.
• How many Wolves are there? We only get to see two of them in the finale. Could it be possible there are just two people in the group, using stealth and their army of walkers to gain the upper hand?
• Best Line: “I want my dish back clean when you’re done”. Carol, leaving a terrified Pete with a casserole of shame.
• Walker Kill of the Week: Lots of great zombie slaying this week, but Daryl’s triple decapitation via chain whip absolutely takes the cake.  I don’t even care how improbable or unrealistic it was.

Well you guys, I’m frustrated. I’m worked up. I’m anxious. And it’s all because of a damn TV show. Good job “Walking Dead”.

After last week’s brutal deaths, I wanted Nicholas to be revealed for the coward he truly is. I wanted Deanna to learn how ill-suited her people are for the world. I wanted Rick’s take on survival to resonate with the Alexandrians. I wanted someone to smack Gabriel and toss him out on his ass. But, none of these things happened.

We see Deanna interview Nicholas (henceforth: Dickolas) about the events leading up to her son’s death. He spins a tall tale of his heroics. A tale where Glenn is a murderer only looking out for his own well-being. She replays the tapes over and over, but she doesn’t have Glenn’s side of the story. Glenn confides in Rick, the truth spoken but not recorded. We will have to hope Deanna isn’t messing around when she tells Dickolas “I see a great deal”. Perhaps she knows he’s a lying son of a bitch and waiting to act on it.

She certainly knows about Pete beating his wife. Rick confronts her over the issue and she replies “I was hoping it would get better”. Deanna brings up an interesting point that Pete is the only doctor in town, he has saved lives. So, like Dawn from Grady Memorial Hospital, she lets certain things slide for the benefit of the group.

I could watch Andrew Lincoln and Tovah Feldshuh go at it for an entire episode. Both actors give each respective leader strong convictions as to why their methods are best. “What happens when Pete doesn’t want to do that” Deanna knowingly asks after Rick’s suggestion of separating him from Jessie. “I kill him, we kill him” is the reply. Killing is a fact of life for him. But Deanna is content to exile evil-doers with the hope that the world beyond the walls does the killing for her. Though she says “we don’t kill people here”, she knows exactly how to wash her hands clean of unsavory characters. The content in these Alexandria episodes is fast becoming the most fascinating arc in the history of the show.

One must wonder what Deanna wanted of Rick and Co. Wouldn’t their tactics and instincts be naturally suited to standing up to an abuser like Pete? Rick can do what Deanna cannot.

We see just what Rick is capable of when he comes face to face with Pete. A drunken Pete lumbers into the house after Jessie has finally agreed to accept Rick’s help. Pete shouts for him to get out, Rick says lets leave together. It isn’t hard to see where this is going.

The two men come to blows in what is one of the most intense knock down, drag ’em out fights we’ve seen on the series. I found it a little odd the Pete was an equal match (he was inebriated and this isn’t Rick’s first rodeo), but it provides some great set pieces, with the two of them crashing through the living room window into the streets of Alexandria. Jessie and Carl get smacked while trying to stop the brawl, as the entire town gathers to witness the brutality.

When Deanna arrives and orders them to stop, Rick hits a breaking point. When Dickolas and other men rush forward to grab him, Rick pulls his gun on the crowd. He is bloodied, a wild look in his eye, gesticulating wildly with the gun. Andrew Lincoln allows himself to become completely unhinged, like a wild animal. “You’re ways of doing things is over” he spits out. “From now on, we need to start living in the real world”. It seems like the gun is going to go off, his rage boiling, and that’s when Michonne swoops in and knocks him out cold. Mic drop Michonne.

The running theme in every encounter this week was “you fight or you die”. Even inside the walls that keep you safe. Did Rick overstep in his attempt to get his point across. Foaming at the mouth like a mad man is not the best way to gain support, no matter how good the intentions. And after this very public conflict, it seems like Alexandria is poised for some infighting and civil war in the season finale.

The episode does fall into the trappings of a “set-up” episode in many regards, but it did a great job of making me anxious for the final episode. As the potential for a civil war in Alexandria arises, Daryl and Aaron make horrific discoveries in the wild: Dismembered limbs and woman tied naked to a tree, “W” on her forehead, left as walker food (did someone listen to Carol the Cookie Monster’s plan? Carol you have an admirer!). The light Daryl and Aaron see in the distance implies that the Wolves are coming for Alexandria at the moment they are most divided.

Other Thoughts

• I loved the opening with the Nine Inch Nails song from Aiden’s mix CD. Especially Carol baking an “I’m Sorry” casserole for Deanna’s family. Deanna promptly burns the card and leaves the casserole on the doorstep. Tovah Feldshuh has no time for sad casseroles.
• Sasha is a hot mess. Sonequa Martin-Greene does her best to bring gravity to her story, but the escapade hunting down walkers in the woods mostly served as a catalyst for Michonne. Killing walkers helps her remember what its like to be out in the world, even if she isn’t with her katana. (How many times can the writers use her Katana as a symbol? I think we are done here, let’s move on please).
• The mystery of the blender-gun is solved! The thief is…Dickolas? Well that doesn’t make much sense right now, but does make me nervous that he is going to shoot someone next week.
• Could Glenn be his target? Steven Yeun gets a fantastic scene where he steps up and tells Dickolas that he gets to walk around with the deaths of Noah and Aiden on his back forever. And he forbids him from ever leaving the walls again. “Are you threatening me”, “No” Glenn smirks, “I’m saving you”. Get it Glenn.
• Enid and Carl have some nice flirtatiousness in the woods that mixed up the pace a bit (though I maintain a hollow tree would be a terrible hiding place). It’s all going fine until Enid takes out a knife and begins carving in a log with her dead mother’s knife. Is she carving a “W”?! Dammit Carl, why didn’t you look at what she’s carving? Enid is totally a “Wolf”, and Carl is totally going to have to put her down.

If last night’s dynamite episode of “The Walking Dead” taught us anything, it’s that Alexandria is comprised entirely of jackasses and woefully inept survivors. How any of them have survived this long, even taking their big steel walls into account, is beyond comprehension.

This episode was the most ambitious hour of the season thus far. It juggled five different storylines, each giving a glimpse as to how Rick’s gang and the Alexandrians intermingled. For better or for worse.

Firmly in the “for worse” column is Father Gabriel . Words fail describing what a piece of garbage he is. The episode begins with him having a meltdown and ripping pages out of his bible. Though he disappears for pretty much the rest of the episode (save for looking at others judgmentally from afar) he reappears with one final act of hypocrisy.

Completely selling out his saviors to Deanna, he implores her that allowing them inside was a mistake. There’s some contrived biblical babble about Rick being Satan in the disguise of an angel before he suggests the group will put themselves before the citizens of Alexandria. If ever there was a character for Carol to chain up in the woods to be eaten and forgotten about, it’s this guy. Other actors have made morally corrupt characters compelling, but Seth Gilliam has played the same note since his first scene on the series.

Thankfully the other threads of the story are successful in making the audience care for side characters who have been kept out of the spotlight. Abraham is given a job on Tobin’s construction crew (they’re expanding the city wall). Abe is visibly struggling with the mundane work. So when a walker horde approaches, a thrilling energy rushes over him. “Mother Dick!” he exclaims, happy to be battling the undead again.

When Tobin orders his group to leave poor Francine for walker bait, Abraham jumps in to clear the fray. He and Francine annihilate all zombies, Tobin gets a right hook to the face from the woman he left to die (Tobin can join Gabriel as one of Carol the Cookie Monster’s victims), and Abraham finds himself the new leader of the construction crew. I find Michael Cudlitz a fascinating actor to watch and I hope these recent developments spell more screen time for Abe.

Outside the town’s gates, a supply run for spare parts turns tragic. Glenn, Tara, Noah, Aiden, and Nicholas bring Eugene along to a warehouse so the genius/liar can find pieces needed to fix broken solar panels. Aiden is still a hothead, but willing to listen to Glenn’s advice on checking the perimeter before entering the building blind. It also provides a nice lull before the action and a nice interaction between Tara and Eugene. Tara’s eternal warmth is wearing thin with him, and she tells him he needs to buck up and fend for himself.

The show plays a cruel trick on us once inside. An armored walker in riot gear approaches, and of course the idiotic Aiden fires his rifle at it several times. Why he thinks his bullets will pierce the bullet proof helmet and body armor, we will never know. A bullet hits a grenade on the walker’s belt and the explosion knocks out Tara and impales Aiden on a metal rod.

Even though Glenn and Noah try to lift him off the rod (his friend Nicholas quickly bails to save his own skin), zombies close in and we are treated to some good old fashioned zombie gore as they rip open his stomach and devour his entrails. The crowd cheers, because we never like this dude anyway.

But when Glenn and Noah catch up with the fleeing Nicholas, the three become stuck in a revolving door (who the hell invented those deathtraps anyway?) with zombies on either side. After a heroic Eugene lures walkers away with the van and some terrible rap music, Glenn attempts to break the glass to get out. But Nicholas is again only concerned with himself and shoves his way out of the revolving door, exposing poor Noah to the group of zombies behind him. Glenn can only watch in horror as his new friend’s face is ripped off his skull. Game of Thrones’ Oberyn vs. The Mountain moment has nothing on this. I’m also now horrified at myself for cheering at a death just moments before. Noah did nothing wrong and deserved better than to be ripped apart so some coward could live (Hey Carol, I’ve got another woods person for ya!).

The final story thread with Carol back in Alexandria is quite successful. Her blunt line delivery with Sam is good for a laugh. It mixes up the pacing well when inter-cut with the chaos of the supply run. But when Sam asks for a gun Carol stole the resulting twist provides the most tension of the episode, no undead needed. “Who’s it for” Carol asks, suddenly recognizing signs of abuse in the young cookie fiend. She knows the answer even as Sam runs away without telling her.

And once again Melissa McBride gets the best line of the episode. Informing Rick of Pete’s abuse towards Jessie, she states with measured voice “there’s only one way it can go. You’re going to need to kill him”. With this brewing conflict, “The Walking Dead” proves it can create compelling drama even with out zombies present.

Other Thoughts:

• Lovely moment when Glenn discovers the first page of the late Noah’s diary: “This is the beginning”. It’s devastating because Noah won’t get to experience this new life behind walls, and also echoing the reoccurring theme of the group in uncharted waters with Alexandria life.
• Loved Eugene’s redemptive arc in the episode. Finally realizes that this group protected him and finds the courage to risk his life for them several times.
• Deanna is expressing some hesitancy and perhaps regret over giving Rick’s group positions of power. She wanted survivors, but is gradually seeing her grasp on the community slip away. Expertly played by Tovah Feldshuh. I’m expecting fireworks when she discovers her sons is dead next week.
• Carol’s last line is great, but I’m hoping she is the one to take out Peter instead. Wouldn’t it be a great full circle moment for her if she were to take out an abusive father and save a family the way she couldn’t save hers?
• Walker Kill of the Week: Aiden’s silly mistake with the grenade. Because it rid us of his presence and displayed the incompetence of most of these Alexandrians. If only Gabriel had found himself in the blast radius.

It’s a welcoming party at Alexandria for Rick and company. Some suburban style bliss awaits them. Or is it? In an episode that is light on action and big on talking, “The Walking Dead” asks its harried group if this idyllic town is too good to be true.

The smartest part of the episode is the claustrophobic manner they present Alexandria. Unlike the massive expanses of Woodbury or the prison, the rusted steel walls of this community are always in view. The space is secure, but its small size is a constant presence. When the gate closes behind the band of survivors, they appear like caged animals.

Attempting to welcome the group and manager their doubts is former congresswoman, Deanna Monroe (Tovah Feldshuh). The actress balances both warmth and sternness as the leader of the town.  Her rules for permanent residency include turning over all weapons and sitting for a videotaped interview (yes they have electricity and running water here!).

Director Greg Nicotero utilizes Deanna’s interviews as a recurring framing device, displaying how each member of the group reacts to their new abode. Some survivors are honest about their experiences. Carl reveals how he killed his mother. Rick warns Deanna that she shouldn’t just let anyone in, and discusses being a sheriff. Carol on the other hand puts on the façade of a happy housewife, completely underplaying her role as the group’s resident Terminator. Watching actress Melissa McBride wax poetically about missing “that man of hers” Ed (who enjoyed beating her to a pulp) as she beams ear to ear is completely unnerving. Daryl displays a different approach to keeping his guard up. It mostly includes sulking at a distance and brooding, which frankly, is getting super old super fast.

“Becoming soft” and letting one’s guard down became the overarching themes of the week. Deanna reveals that the Alexandria survivors discovered the safe zone early after the outbreak. Most residents have spent the majority of the apocalypse safe from the dangers lurking beyond their borders. Many of Rick’s crew are hesitant to settle down in the same manner. In fact Deanna appears to recognize that her community doesn’t have what it takes to withstand conflict with an outside group. She wants muscle. She wants survivors. Carl points out “I don’t want us to get weak too”.

The Alexandrians’ short comings in the world beyond their walls are most evident when Glenn, Tara, and Noah accompany Deanna’s son Aidan on a scouting mission. In just one episode Aidan has rocketed up to first place on my “Please-Feed-This-Character-to-a-Zombie-Now” list. Instead of killing a walker that killed his friends, he chained it up to a tree. Because reasons. It escapes and almost takes a bit out of Tara before Glenn puts a knife through its head.

This leads to a bizarre conflict (I guess you don’t just kill attacking undead in Alexandria?) where Aidan puffs out his chest and confronts Glenn about who is in charge. When the cocky pretty boy lunges at Glenn, he ducks and knocks Aidan to the ground with a single punch. Even the group members on the lower end of the badass spectrum are scrappy and not to be messed with. #TeamGlenn #Aidanisatool

The show of strength, combined with Rick’s subsequent mediation prompts Deanna to officially establish them as residents. Rick is made Constable (along with Michonne) so he can take up the mantle of who he used to be. Unlike our survivors, who you were before the outbreak is important to Deanna. It may be too early to tell, but our experience on the road has me thinking this belief could be her undoing.

Which reminds me, I’ve almost forgot the best part of the episode: Clean shaven Rick. Andrew Lincoln’s beard has basically become another character on the show. Watching him shave that man off and suit up in a sheriff uniform is powerful. He almost doesn’t recognize himself, and his group doesn’t either.

There are other examples of Rick assimilating back into a civilized world (aligning his watch when Deanna announces the time was a nice touch). But is he really going to breath easy and relax? Despite being given two houses, Rick’s group sleeps together in the same room on the first night. Our sheriff stands on his porch with fellow doubters Carol and Daryl wondering what happens if they have mistrusted Deanna and Aaron, and if their new neighbors are too weak to survive. “If they can’t make it, then we’ll just take this place” Rick utters. It seems like the attitude of other ruthless leaders the group has encountered. But, in the world of roaming dead, there’s a fine line between hero and villain.

Other Thoughts:

• Rick’s group behaves a bit like PTSD victims, ignoring the comforts of the homes and sleeping on floors all together. It sort of reminded me of the scene in “Cast Away” where Tom Hanks finds himself unable to sleep in a bed after being rescued. It definitely hit home the theme of “family” though.
• Both Rick and Carl find potential love interests. Jessie (AHS’s Alexandra Breckinridge) is married, but shares awkward sexual tension with him when Rick knocks over her art sculpture. Carl seems to fall for the quiet moody girl Enid.
• Did anyone else notice the comic book Carl picks up is titled “Wolf Fight”? Is this an easter egg referencing the “wolves” who attacked Noah’s home? The comic belonged to Enid, who was seen snooping outside the walls several time. Could Nicotero be cleverly foreshadowing that she is a spy for sinister forces beyond the walls of Alexandria?
• Carl had a heartbreaking moment when the other teenagers asked him what he wanted to do, videogames or play pool? Tears start to well up in his eyes and he has no idea how to respond to something that would have seemed so trivial and ridiculous only yesterday. A needed reminder that he hasn’t been able to enjoy the lack of responsibility usually given to children.
• Andrew Lincoln looks great shaved…but did he really need to shave his chest too? Sigh.
• The walker fight with Rick and Carl beyond the wall seemed extraneous. The writers should trust their characters enough to know they don’t necessarily need a big battle. Though seeing the glimmer in the father and son pair as walkers approached worked well, they were keeping themselves from being weak. It also raises the question: who stole Rick’s gun from the blender hiding space? (I’m looking at you Enid).
• Walker Kill of the Week: Not particularly gruesome this week. But I loved Rick’s whispered “Sasha” command, and her resulting spin-aim-headshot move. It immediately set the group apart from the Alexandria residents.

Fear and doubt surrounded our struggling group of Survivors this week.  When Maggie and Sasha bring the new “friend” Aaron into the barn at gunpoint, Rick is offered up his most important decision ever for the group. “I have good news” says Aaron. A safe community, with houses and reinforced steel walls awaits them. For the first time in this apocalyptic wasteland, Rick is brought face to face with the chance to give those he cares about a safe life. Hope walks right up to his door.

And Rick punches that hope in the face. The description and photos of the Alexandria Safe Zone do nothing for Rick. Trust in strangers after dealing with the likes of the Governor is at an all time low. “What would it take!” Aaron inquires after recovering from the right hook. Rick later replies, “I’m not sure if anything could convince me to go in there”. The episode charts the ways in which Rick has reverted back to what Michonne used to be.  A crazed wanderer of the world, cut off, un-trusting and isolated. Michonne by contrast, has emerged as the more level headed thinker of the group. I found myself questioning if Rick was still a suitable leader, and if perhaps he should forfeit the title to the samurai wielding badass.

Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln are excellent in their scenes when the two fiery personalities butt heads. Michonne has pined for a new home for a while now, and can see members of the group fading into her past lifestyle. When Glenn ponders why Aaron would want “people like us”, she puts a positive spin on the group’s past brutality. “People like us saved a crazy lady with a sword. He saw that”.

The unfortunate side effect of Michonne’s hopeful, pragmatic attitude is that Rick comes off like an stubborn child in several instances. After a scouting party verifies Aaron’s claims of vehicles nearby, they bring back a stock of needed food and supplies. “These are ours now!” the fearless leader screams at Aaron. Uh yeah Rick, you have the dude tied to pole. I think he gets it.

Rick’s trust issues actually lead the group into a near fatal situation. He fails to heed Aaron’s advice on the best route to take to Alexandria. Rick insists on driving through an alternate highway, one not yet cleared of zombies. And for reasons that can only be explained as “because the director wanted creepy looking cinematography”, they make the drive at night.

If you always wondered, as I did, how a car would fare if plowing through a horde of the undead; the answer is: not well. Dismembered walker limbs and blood render the engine inoperable. The group abandons the car and flees into the woods. I was thrilled to see “The Walking Dead” tread into genuinely frightening territory in this sequence. Not an easy feat when zombies are a regular occurrence. Walkers are only illuminated by gunfire, so we get just glimpses as to the overwhelming numbers swarming around the group. A clever lighting trick that heightened tension. Glenn also makes a pivotal choice to save the still tied-up Aaron from being walker food, showing that his humanity is still intact.

The most powerful moment came at the very end, and it made all of Rick’s stubborn decisions worth sitting through. After previously asking Michonne “What did you hear outside of Woodbury?”, she replies”Nothing”. “Outside of Terminus?”. “Nothing”. No matter how good a situation seems, danger has always lurked underneath. But, in a tight shot of Andrew Lincoln’s eyes as the car roles up to Alexandria, the sound of children playing rings gently through the air. His face in one moment begins to melt, and we see a Rick in a state he hasn’t been in since perhaps season one. He hears hope, the sounds of life. And finally we seem him let his guard down. My god Andrew Lincoln is a smart actor.

As the group prepares to enter the Alexandria Safe Zone, Carol tells Rick “even though you were wrong, you’re still right”. I’m interested to see if Rick can function in an organized society anymore. Will he have it in him to give up the life on the road and relax? We will have to wait until next week to see if Rick’s fears were warranted.

Final Thoughts

• Ross Marquand brings a welcome dose of humor as Aaron. I do wonder how he and boyfriend Eric wound up as the recruiters, and how many times he’s had violent dealings with survivors. I mean, “recruiter” has to be the worst job in Alexandria. They must have lost some lottery.
• Speaking of his boyfriend, Eric is introduced with a broken ankle…which is not a good sign. Especially considering any relationship outside of Maggie and Glenn often results in death.
• This episode often came across as a live action version of TellTale’s “The Walking Dead: The Game” (If you haven’t played this, download it immediately). Rick seemed to be playing a choose your own adventure story. Feed Judith Aaron’s applesauce? Have Aaron test it first to make sure its not poisoned? Make baby food yourself by smashing nuts? The weight and danger behind each decision was palpable.
• There was a wonderful shared moment between Rosita and Abraham when DC and the Washington monument come into view. Their relationship has been strained since Eugene’s revelation, and it was sweet to include a mini-arc for them.
• Walker Kill of the Week: When Rick’s gun runs out of bullets during the night fight, he reaches for Aaron’s flare gun and delivers a head shot that lights up a zombie skull like a Jack O’lantern. Brilliant.

After the Terrence Malick style fever dream of the midseason premiere it was inevitable that The Walking Dead would simmer down this week. The entire group is featured, but after two traumatic deaths the episode focuses on how Maggie, Sasha, and Daryl deal with their grief.

Maggie cries alone in the woods, staring blankly at a walker caught in some tree branches. Sasha lashes out at her fellow survivors, resorting to anger in her mourning. A sulking Daryl chooses to become distant and cut off. Normally I am all for the introspective, slower paced episodes the series frequently thrives on. It allows for nuanced character development and gives the actors time to shine. But this episode covers overly familiar territory for most of its run time.

This episode does highlight an oft forgotten element of supplies, and how fast they are dwindling. In the beginning of the zombie apocalypse, food and ammo were easy to come by. Well over a year in, the world is picked apart. The group is low on food and water and frequent scouting trips for rivers and animals to eat prove fruitless. It doesn’t make their sixty mile trek down a road towards Washington very easy. The survivors closest to the departed Beth and Tyreese begin to wonder if they have the strength left to live in the world. “How long have we got?” Maggie asks, referring not to their destination, but time left to live.

An early establishing shot clearly defines the group in their current predicament. They walk down the road, haggard and dehydrated, as a pack of walkers stumble behind them in the distance. Death is stalking them, but none have the energy to turn back and clear out the horde. Instead they amble forward as if zombies themselves.

This is our survivors at their lowest. This is a group who consider themselves lucky that a pack of feral dogs emerge from the woods for them to kill. Lucky, that they get to eat dog while the camera pans to Fido’s bloody collar next to their fire. It is scenes like this that skirt to close to hammering home points already made. Carol tells Daryl “You’re not dead”. Maybe Daryl hasn’t felt this way before but I think we have already covered this emotional beat multiple times with multiple characters over the past few seasons. Michonne is right, they need to find a home quick.

The “survivors-are-walkers” theme comes to a head as the group takes shelter from a storm in a small barn. Rick recounts asking his grandfather if the Nazi’s ever tried to kill him during the war. His grandfather responded cryptically that he was dead the moment he entered enemy territory, but “after years of pretending he was dead, he finally made it out alive”.  Then Rick does the unthinkable and says the name of the show IN the show: “We tell ourselves we are the walking dead”.

Andrew Lincoln sells the moment surprisingly well (and I prefer this title drop compared to the way it occurred in the comics). Its actually the most resonant aspect of the episode, and makes the earlier shot of the trailing horde of walkers more symbolic and immediate.

Daryl is having none of Rick’s assessment on how to to stay alive. And not content with just one title drop, he firmly declares “we ain’t Them”, before moving to the opposite side of the barn for sleeping…and more sulking. This leads into the climactic moment of the episode where an overwhelming number of zombies sneak up on the barn while everyone is asleep. By the dozens, the walkers pour against a weak wooden door attempting to force themselves in. The entire group awakens and presses themselves against the barn door, a very obvious metaphor for keeping “Them” out.

The sequence is thrillingly shot with a myriad of quick cuts, and it genuinely appears like this could be the end. We don’t see the aftermath until the following morning. The horrors of the night jarringly jump to a pleasant morning with everyone safe and sound (was anyone else confused and thought this was a dream sequence?). Maggie and Sasha step out of the barn to reveal the massive storm felled the entire walker horde with many downed trees. They take in this blessing in disguise and bask in the morning sunrise. Faith is restored now you see. They’ve learned to live again. Are you getting all the symbolism? Are you? In case you aren’t, a broken music box found earlier in the episode suddenly starts playing music in the last frame. Hey writers: we get it.

Other Thoughts:

• The mysterious “Friend” introduced in the last scene is Aaron, the series’ first gay male. Comic fans know he will thankfully take the group to their next safe-haven, which is bound to change up the pacing and story.
• Did anyone notice the angry Sasha slash Abraham’s arm with a bloody knife in the ravine scene? That’s walker blood, girl! Be careful.
• How on Earth did lil baby Judith survive the long trek with little food or water? Per TV rules, she basically doesn’t cry the entire episode. I sense a time jump at season’s end to grow her up quicker.
• I thought this episode did a great job at pairing up characters who rarely get scenes with each other. The Michonne vs. Sasha dynamic was great to watch, and the actresses play well off each other.
• Walker Kill of the Week: This one goes to the storm for the several tree-limb-impaled zombies in that epic wide shot. Good job storm.