Rebel Girl Deadies go to our fave womyn warriors, Rosita (who, I predict, will fire the first bullet of the Ricksistance), and to Michonne, whose aim is always true. ❤ ❤
What I am lack in wordcount in my worship of TWD Season 7, dear readers, I more than make up for in playlist. If you don’t have access to the playlists via Spotify, I encourage you to compile them in your preferred music sharing site, and give them a listen. Each playlist is carefully and lovingly crafted, sequenced, and fine-tuned to pay homage to each TWD episode. ❤
One love, TWD Family, and for those who celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving.
I give many thanks for all of you in my TWD Family. ❤
Be safe, be well, and please enjoy the Property Of Negan Playlist. ❤
(All images used in this post are screen caps fromAMC’s “The Walking Dead” and“TalkingDead” unless otherwise specified.)
Well, that was fun!
Sad…yes.Dark, yes.Haunting…god, yes.
Admittedly, it is with some real trepidation, and assorted beverages, that I set out to craft this post, and face, at some point, the inevitable moment when I must revisit the harrowing scene where Sam, Jessie, Ron, and Carl each meet their respective, tragic fates amidst the swarm of savage walkers invading the streets of Alexandria.
I know that in the rewatchings, there will be many moments, and images, from that scene that will cling to me like burrs, imbed themselves into the depths of my psyche, and stay there for a long while.
This episode’s definitely going to leave a mark or two to remember it by.
Since Episode 609’s airing, there has been a constant stream of social media postings celebrating many of the key moments of “No Way Out” as we in TWD fandom strive to process the constantly-unfolding “new classic” moments of this iconic episode. We, the obsessed fans, show our devotion to the TWD creators, cast, and crew by shipping our favorite show, (and the characters we love so well) with the unparalleled devotion they deserve, in the form of screenshots, memes, videos, blogs, fan fiction, interviews, articles, etc.
This, of course, is as it should be.
Lucky for us, dear readers, great love, lasting love, is reciprocal. Real love, when it’s got the flows, is a mutual, symbiotic exchange, an ever-evolving dance of give and take between two (or more) parties. That, people, is how real love do.
And, lucky for us, dear readers, Robert Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple, and Greg Nicoteroknow this.
They are worldly men, with big hearts & mad skills.
They know when to bring the love, and with TWD‘s Season 6’s action-packed, chock-full of spills, thrills, and cold, ghostly chills (OMG, the Sam chomp scene…and then, Jessie…and Michonne skewering Ron…and Carl’s eye….and Rick…and Michonne…and OMG, Richonne!..and that Rick and Carl scene…and Daryl…and Glenn and Maggie…and Carol and Morgan….and Denise and The Wolf…and the epic Battle For Alexandria…and Rick Smash! taking on all the walkers, berzerker-style… I cannot…but I must, and I will, dammit, I will!) mid-season premiere, Episode 609, “No Way Out,” Robert Kirkman,Scott M. Gimple, and Greg Nicotero gave everyone in TWDfandom a big, red heart-shaped box, tied with a pink satin ribbon, like:
“Here you go, guys. Happy VDay.“ ❤
And we TWD fans receive this love offering joyfully, grateful for the respite, because we know that as we celebrate the victories and post the memes, trouble is brewing, and hard times are coming for Rick and the gang.
We know soon enough, dear readers, that we are going to get our asses kicked, but good, and we’re ok with that.
It is, of course, as it should be.
So, let us seize the day and celebrate some of the highlight scenes and pivotal moments from The Walking Dead’s Episode 609, “No Way Out.”
When we left Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham in the first four minutes of “No Way Out,” Daryl had just been roughly escorted to the back of the fuel truck, at Snidely’s orders, by one of Negan’s biker goons, “T,” while Sasha and Abraham were looking down the barrels of their own handguns as they were held at gunpoint by Snidely, who had just informed them that he was basically done talking…
Then, suddenly, Snidely brings the weapons down, by his sides, slumping into his bike’s seat, looks down, as if reconsidering...
Snidely looks up at Sasha and Abraham with a sheepish grin…
…then rolls his eyes upward…
“I’m not gonna kill you,” he tells Sasha and Abraham in a joking, friendly manner.
Sasha looks at Snidely, nods, unsure of how to interpret this…
…and turns to Abraham, questioningly, like, “Is this a sick joke, or what?”
Abraham seems to be wondering the same thing, does not take his eyes off Snidely.
“Wait,” Snidely says, as if reconsidering…again.
“…wait…”
Snidely looks up at Abraham and Sasha. “You know what? Yes, I am,” and with that shitty statement, Snidely starts to lift the handguns, ready to shoot Abraham and Sahsa…
We hear a hissing noise, and then a huge explosion engulfs Snidely and his crew of biker dicks in a huge fireball.
Later, dicks.
Hey Snidely, did anyone ever tell you that you have quite the combustible personality?
Well, rather, you had quite the combustible personality…
…because you, and your shitty crew, and your snide comments are in the past tense, now…
…thanks to our man, Daryl Dixon. ❤
Holding the smoking rocket launcher, Daryl surveys the burning remains of Snidely and his charred posse.
Daryl’s like, “Whoa!”
He looks down at the smoking weapon as Sasha and Abraham ease their way back to standing from where they dove for cover.
Coughing, sputtering, ears sure to be ringing, Sasha and Abraham survey the burning, blackened remains of the men who, just one minute before, almost killed them.
I love this look on Sasha’s face as she steps towards Daryl. She’s beaming at Daryl, and nodding, and dazed, and so stoked, like, “Well, how about that? Hell yeah, Daryl Dixon!“
Daryl turns away, says, “Sonuvabitch was tougher than he looked,”(which is pretty funny,because that guy, T, looked pretty tough). As he walks away, we see that Daryl has a bleeding stab wound on his left shoulder, leaving a bloodstain on his left angel wing. This image really saddened me, on many levels, one of them being how it seems to symbolize all of the wounds Daryl has taken right to the heart in his life. ❤ We love you forever, Daryl Dixon, and we are with you, always, every step of the way. ❤
“Did he cut you?” Sasha asks. “A little,”Daryl replies.
Daryl turns, and classic Daryl Dixon style, says, “What a bunch of assholes!”
Sasha laughs, delighted, lays her hands on Daryl’s shoulder, causing him to wince slighty, probably both from the shoulder being tender and Daryl’s general cageyness about letting others touch him. Sasha, however, is family, and this is the first time we have seen her smile like this since, well, Bob…and certainly since Tyreese.“C’mon, let’s get you fixed up athome,” Sasha says, getting to play the role of bossy, loving, sassy sister once again. ❤
“Yes ma’am,” Daryl agrees. Still beaming, Sasha follows Daryl as they take one last look at dead-ass T and climb into the truck.
Abraham turns to take one last look at the blown up bikers and in classic Abraham-style, tosses out the last word:
“Nibble on that.”
Standing ovation, cheers all around to that incredible scene, especially to our man, DarylDixon, for proving his constancy and resourcefulness by saving the day, and the peeps, once again.
Deadie of highest order, The MVP Award, to our man, Daryl Dixon, and to the fine, fine actor who plays him, Norman Reedus.
How we love thee, Daryl Dixon/Norman Reedus!❤
There will be more star players awarded by the end of this post, but we have to take a moment to show the love, “right out of the gate.” ❤
We can only imagine the awesomeness of Daryl’s silent, stealth takedown of T behind Patty the fuel truck’s back bumper. God love him, because we sure do! Five or six minutes into the S6 mid-season premiere, and we are already awarding our man mad props and highest accolades.
I am also loving seeing Sasha blossoming once again, jolted back to life after her and Abraham’s brush with death. That beaming smile…so great to see that again! The banter back and forth between her and Abraham spoke to a deepening connection between the two. Very interested to see how this all plays out.
And, while we rejoice, I do feel the need to point out that there are speculations online about this scene, about the sight of a far-off car way down the road behind Snidely and his fellow “chodes on choppers” as he goes through his comedy routine of, “I’m not gonna kill ya, oh, wait, yeah I am.”
My WD buddy sent the following link to myself and our new team member, The Rookie. (Very cute and fabulous and fun, loves to research TWD, loves The Reedus…welcome tothe fold, Rookie! <3):
When I rewatched, I kept watching back in that corner, and I did see something that gleamed like a faraway car appear in the distance. As the article in the link says, there is speculation that the car may be Negan himself, or perhaps one of Negan’s scouts, who speeds off as the explosion happens.
It’s a compelling theory, and there is definitely a car back there if you watch the link’s video footage. At the first watching, I had wondered about their leaving the burnt remains of Snidely and the biker gang behind, seeing that the road where Daryl, Abraham, and Sasha meet up with Snidely’s road block was probably a well-known and well-utilized road & route for Negan and his operation, and that sooner or later, somebody was going to come up on the charred remains of the biker gang and report back to Negan, who would start sleuthing who the perp(s) were and get to plotting his revenge.
Because it just seems like Negan isn’t the kind of guy who lets such insults slide. Negan feels like he might just be the reigning Godfather of the PZA…and if he is that guy, then I don’t think that guy lets shit like blowing up his motorcycle scouts slide.
Negan be like, “Oh, no they didn’t!“
<Sipping Stella, trying not to have a bad-boy crush on Negan.>
Replace. ❤ There, that’s better. In this post, I am going to feature some of my favorite recent offerings from various TWD-loving IG accounts. ❤ Enjoy, and if you aren’t already, give them a follow!
Meanwhile, back at Alexandria:
When the gang is able to break away from the walker herd, they duck behind a bush for a brief rest. Rick turns to the others and outlines a new plan: there are too many walkers, too spread out, for the few weapons and flares in the armory to take care of. Rick lays out a plan to head out to the quarry and recover the vehicles there, come back, and I guess, lead the walkers away from Alexandria. As Michonne watches out (looking majorly badass while doingso), Rick tells the group that they need as many drivers as possible.
Jessie, after a moment’s hesitation, agrees with Rick’s plan…Rick sees the hesitation, waits, then listens as Jessie voices her concerns about Judith’s safety if they set off for the quarry. As always, excellent boyfriend behavior exhibited by our man, Rick Grimes, and good looking out once again by Jessie.Props. <3<3
Rick turns, thinking, and we see that Gabriel has overheard this conversation, and a light has turned on inside him…this is his chance to step up, to redeem himself. Gabriel recognizes the opportunity immediately, says:
“I’ll take her…keep her safe in my church until you all lead the walkers away.”
Rick looks into Gabriel’s eyes, measuring this.I looked into Gabriel’s eyes as well, and after a brief wave of creepiness and trepidation, I did believe Gabriel would keep his word and do his best to protect Judith…and as we’ve seen in previous episodes, Gabriel def has some walker killing skills…time to put that shit to good use, son!
Mama Michonne is not taking any chances. “Can you do this?” she asks softly, like, ‘I will fuck you up if you fuck this up, got me?’ Gabriel gets her, says, “I’m supposed to…I have to.”
Gabriel turns to Rick. “I will,“ he vows. (Well, alrighty then, Gabriel. Don’t fucking blow it…or else.)
Carl passes Baby Judith to Gabriel…what a horrible, scary world to be a sweet little baby in! 😦
Jessie and Rick look on as Gabriel gathers up the baby, covers her in his cloak slimed with walker guts…one of the things that really worked for me with Jessie and Rick’s connection was that they both knew what it was really like to be a parent, and could understand/support each other in that. Jessie would have been a good mom figure to Judith and Carl. 😦 ❤
As Gabriel turns to go, Jessie has, voices the idea, “Take Sam.” Sam protests, and despite Jessie’s insistence that he would be safer in the church, with Gabriel…
…Sam insists on staying with her, continuing on to the quarry. “I’m not leaving you,” Sam tells his mother.
After Sam’s repeated assurances that he will be ok, that he wants to continue on, Jessie,God help her,relents to her son’s wishes (despite not looking too convinced…the shot pans around to the others, and they are not looking too convinced either)…
…but, Jessie gives in to Sam, thus sealing her fate, and her sons’, as well. 😦
Gabriel turns to Rick, vows, “I’m going to keep her safe.”
Rick looks at Gabriel, says simply, humbly, “Thank you.”(One of the first things that I fell in love with about RickGrimes was his impeccable good manners when someone did him a solid.The man is just solid gold, always. <3)
As Gabriel begins towards the church, Michonne shoots him a final stink eye, like, “I’m watching you, got that?”
They all watch as Gabriel walks away with Judith concealed under his cloak, making his way quietly, evenly, into the throng of walkers. He is doing well, not calling attention to himself.
Awwwww…. <3<3
Jessie looks Rick in the eye, tells him earnestly, “Hey, he’s going to make it, ok? “ Jessie gives Rick’s hand an extra squeeze.“I know it.”
After a moment, Rick takes Sam’s hand, and one by one, they begin to make their way back into the flow of walkers. Carl looks towards Ron, who hangs back, hesitating, and offers Ron his hand…
Again, Ron hesitates, looks down at Carl’s proferred hand a moment…
…before taking it in a rather dickish and aggressive fashion (Ithought,anyway). (Ugh, you’re such a chip off your dickhead dad, McSlappy!)
Meanwhile, in another part of Alexandria, Tara is peering through the barred window of the home that she, Rosita, Eugene, Carol and Morgan is safely encased in…you can tell she is peering out for any sign of poor Denise, who was taken against her will by the dark-haired young Wolf.
Outside, countless walkers pass, some lurching along in a slow, plodding fashion, others zigzagging in a shuffling sidestep, heads jerking discordantly as long-dead nerves fire intermittently in the most basic arc. a mere brain-stem connection.
There are so many walkers pouring past the barred window.
Tara turns from the window, says, “We have to try.“ (Man, poor Tara is having some pretty horrible luck dating women in these postapocalyptic times!)
Rosita, who is ever-so-hot, and ever-so-wise, sez no way, there are too many of them.
The girls go back and forth, Tara saying that the Wolf will kill Denise, and Rosita countering that they won’t even be able to get to her (through all those walkers).
Like a boss, Rosita lays it down, hard truth delivered firmly, but with love: They have one gun, and there are too many of “those things” out there. The Wolf needs Denise, as he’s sick, and she’s a doctor. (I hadn’t really thought about that angle of it, but that does make sense…he would have a vested interest in making sure Denise made it with him through the walkers.) Rosita points out that the Wolf knows how to survive out there, and that she, Tara, and Eugene need to stay back and make sure Carol and Morgan are ok…when they wake up, then they can make a plan.
A noise from the other room startles them, and they go in to see Eugene helping Carol come to standing. She’s pretty jacked, you can tell, after Morgan threw her down on that concrete floor (thereby earning himself quite the drop in approval ratings from my corner of the universe).
Like, I empathize and all, and I have love for Morgan. I know that he is trying to apply Eastman’s style of kung fu quite literally to his own life, to help him have a code to live by, but Eastman’s methods apply way more in theory than in actual practice around these parts.
Eastman had indulged his deep bloodlust desire for vengeance to the max, building a prison cage inside his mountain home to imprison the man who killed his family, and destroyed Eastman’s life, and exacting his vengeance by watching the man starve to death in that cage, Eastman keeping him alive enough to prolong the man’s suffering while watching it, 24/7 if he wanted to…like bingewatching your revenge.
I have thought about that Eastman storyline, and I tried to imagine what that would have been like, how long it would have taken, what kind of interactions he and the man had while the man starved to death, day after day without food, and Eastman had total access to watch the whole horrific day-to-day process unfold.
Basically, people, like I’ve said before, I know it isn’t real, but I still obsess, and I have formed a personal theory that Eastman was able to indulge his darkness, his obsessive desire for revenge, fully, and come out the other side, perhaps sobered and sickened by the reality of what he did to the man who killed his family. Dude, starving someone to death who is imprisoned in a cage that is basically right in your living room, where most people’s tv’s would be, is some pretty burly shit.
So, Eastman indulged his darkness, fully, and was living in isolation, so he had time, space, and distance to then immerse himself in his quest for peace and quietude: reading, meditating, practicing with his staff, working in his garden, practicing nonviolence, vegetarianism, embracing life as something precious. Those lofty ideals that Eastman espoused were much easier to practice safely removed from others, especially in the days after a zombie apocalypse.
The way I see it, Morgan’s path is vastly different from Eastman’s. Every time Morgan hesitates in killing someone, or something, who is clearly a threat and who will remain a threat, well, that hesitation seems to come back and bite him, or someone close to him, in the ass. Little Duane was killed, in a horrible twist of irony, by his undead mother, Jenny, who Morgan remained unable, or unwilling, to rekill, though he had many opportunities to do so, and knowing, deep down, that he needed to.
The Wolf boys who Morgan refused to kill found Aaron’s man purse, and came and slaughtered many residents of Alexandria, and then, those selfsame Wolf boys that Morgan continued to spare tried to ambush and kill Rick Grimes in the RV, and now, one has taken Doctor Denise as a hostage and is trying to cross the sea of walkers to scramble up and over the fence…to do something, I’m not sure what, but I’m pretty sure it involves making Denise a walker, herself, at some point. (Honestly, I am still not sure what these freaking Wolves actually believe in…for a sect of humanity that seems to devalue life so much, that dark-haired Wolfboy sure didn’t seem to be in any hurry to become a walker himself, am I right? Like, hypocrite much?)
Anyhow, not sure how all this rant got started, but basically, I think Morgan is full of crazy beans and needs to get over it, like yesterday, or he can just go free-agent or some shit and get traded to another community, because I do not think the chemistry is there if he continues on this foolhardy crusade of his.
Carol seems mos def in my camp, as she looks down at Morgan’s unconscious form, asking Rosita if she can borrow her gun, so she can take a sweep around the brownstone and see if there are “any other surprises” waiting for them in there.
And then, Morgan wakes up, looks around…
…asks, “Where is he?”
Nobody has the heart to answer right away. Morgan then asks, “Where’s Denise?” to which Carol guesses, immediately, “He took her,” (while actually managing to hold herself backfromadding,“You fucking idiot,” to Morgan). I thought this omission showed some real restraint on Carol’s part. Props, New Carol.
“Didn’t he?” New Carol presses Rosita, who answers without words, slowly coming to standing, looking at Carol and nodding, then pulling out her handgun, silently handing it to Carol, who stalks off angrily to take a sweep of the rest of the house.
Morgan’s eyes register his dismay as he realizes the truth of what has happened, while Eugene, no stranger to fucking shit up royally for others, gently encourages Morgan to stand, and offers his assistance in helping Morgan up off the floor.
While that hot drama unfolds in the brownstone, we see an ariel shot of two figures, fleet of foot and nimble of mind, dart across the expanse between the fence and the church in short, well-timed dashes, ducking behind bushes, signs, undetected by the milling walkers, until they are able to scramble up the church steps and get inside safely.
We recognize these figures, with their speed and savvy, as Glenn and Enid. #superteam
…while outside, in another part of town…
The young Wolf looks over as Denise bravely tries to keep her calm, and composure, as they hunker down and wait for an opening in the steady stream of walkers, just an iron railing away, while taking momentary refuge in the downstairs bricked-in porch/patio of one of Alexandria’s brownstones. The Wolf narrows his eyes and smiles at this, touches his gun to Denise’s back, says, softly, “Easy.”
Meanwhile, once safely inside, Glenn bars the church doors and instructs Enid to look for anything that may have been stashed or hidden, even inside torn-out pages of a bible. As Enid looks up at a proverb painted on the church’s wall, Glenn continues, instructing Enid to look for any cloths or robes, curtains that could be tied together for Maggie to climb down off the platform she is trapped up on, while a swarm of walkers press and paw at her from below.
Honestly, at the first watching, I was kind of bored with Enid’s process…sorry, but I was like, “C’mon, Enid, didn’t we do this already, like in that town, in that apartment, then out in the bushes, outside the wall, in the tree, climbing up to the wall? “ Like, I don’t know, didn’t versions of this conversation happen like ten times already, or am I being very creative with my memory (again)? I was like, “Boring.” My friends were more tolerant with Enid’s process, so I shut up and sipped champagne and tried to emulate their good example. And they were right. Sorry, Enid. I have a shot attention span. I know you are a young girl and Glenn had an important message to impart.I’s a dick.
“Faith without works is dead.”
Meanwhile, crouched outside the brownstone as countless walkers stream past, just above their heads, Denise has her eyes closed, breathing through bursts of fear, and panic, that bubble up. The Wolf regards her closely.
“How things turn,” muses the Wolf, watching Denise like a movie.
Glenn finally turns around and is like, “WTF Enid?” and Enid’s all like, staring and mopey and like, “When I wanted to run, you said that’s how you lose people…” and then it was all like, wah, wah, wah, blah, blah, blah, my parents died, everybody dies, what’s the point? and Glenn was like, “You do it because you’re here, they’re not, and so you do it for them,” and Enid was like, “Ohhhh…”(and I was like,“Come on, already!”) and Enid’s all like, “Who were your people ?”
And Glenn’s like…
“Who are my people? Girl, I’ll tell you who my people are…”
And then, Enid finally fucking got it, and I was like, “OMG, finally!” and Enid was like, “Oh, look, I found a gun in the bible!” and Glenn was like, “Good job,” and I was all like…
“Oh, YAY, Enid. You go, girl. Now, can we please move the fuck along to the other storylines? Thanks!“
So, moving right along, to other storylines…
The Wolf begins to prepare Denise for the next step of the plan, “When there’s an opening…”
“…we’ll make a break for that tower, over there.” Denise tries to convince the Wolf to leave her: “No, I’ll just slow you down…”
Poor Denise is not to be let off the hook that easily, however. The Wolf leans in to her. “Denise?You’re here…with me.”
“I need you.”
The Wolf pauses, then smiles horridly, “Maybe I want you to stay…because I’m enjoying your company so much.“
Enid, meanwhile, flips the script on Glenn when he tries to order her to stay behind in the church while he goes to rescue Maggie…
Back in the church, Enid basically pulls a classic Glenn Rhee manuever on Glenn and tells him, “You were right, and I’m here now, so I’m going out there, and I’m helping you!” Enid then hatches a pretty brilliant plan involving Glenn distracting the walkers while she helps Maggie, who is injured and needs help, over the wall. “We do it together,” Enid says. Then she laughs, shakes her head with a shrug. “I’m just going to follow you anyway.”Glenn looks at her like he’s looking in the mirror. (Well, alrighty then, Enid! I like you so much better when you’re not being totally annoying.)
Meanwhile, the Wolf continues to chat up Denise. “I liked what you said before,” he says, by way of opener.
“That I wasn’t born this way?” the Wolf continues. “You’re right…I changed.“
The Wolf looks at Denise intently. “And now, I want to help you change.” (Oh, fuck, it’s some bad, bad fucking news when the dude with reanimated torsos hanging from meat hooks in the truck trailer says that line!)
The Wolf continues, telling Denise that she’s being given “a gift.” The young Wolf looks upward, muses aloud that, maybe, one day, Denise will realize that…or maybe she won’t.
Denise be like, “Well, I don’t know about all that, but I do know one thing…your breath smells like a walker ate a dead, decomposing skunk, and then shit it into your mouth. Seriously, dude, keepfucking breathing on me like that, and I’m gonna jump up and run screaming into that sea of walkers out there, just to get the fuck away from those mossy-ass teeth and that Breath of Death of yours.”
In the next scene, night is falling, and the walkers continue to swarm the streets of Alexandria. Their hissing and snarling fill the air.
Rick leading the way, the gang makes their way carefully through the savage walkers.
At first, Sam is holding it together pretty well, until some particularly messed-up walkers come snarling close by…
Butterface Walkers be like, “Yo, young homie, looking good, son! Looking fresh.“
And then, Creepy Carol’s lilting voice begins to fill poor young Sam’s head, reciting the fairy tale that is both a promise and a curse:
“The monsters will come…”
“…and you won’t be able to run away…”
“…when they come for you.”
These images seem like they are straight from the nightmares poor Sam must have started having that very night after Creepy Carol terrorized him into keeping her secret about stealing guns from the armory…
(Damn, Creepy Carol, did you have to get so jiggy with your scary tale? That poor kid never had a chance…all he wanted was the cookies, Creepy Carol. All the poor kid wanted was the cookies!)
Creepy Carol’s voice over continues, “The ones out there, and they will tear you apart…”
“…and eat you up…”
“…all while you’re still alive.”
And with those words, the curse was cast upon the doomed young Sam…
…for once the words fell from Creepy Carol’s lips, they imbedded themselves into Sam’s fertile young mind, and black vines of terror and foreboding began on grow wild…
…until they choked out the light inside the young boy, leaving only darkness within.
Sam stops short, staring at the walker child, and when Jessie looks into her son’s eyes, she sees his terror, his paralysis…and the fear in her eyes grows because she’s seen this before with him…she knows this is bad.
As Carl looks out, alarmed, Jessie tries to coax her son, “Sam?Come on…come on.Sweetheart? Sam…”
But Sam does not, cannot, heed his mother’s quiet urging...he is frozen with terror.
Jessie pulls at her son’s hand, but Sam does not respond, does not budge, will not move…
Rick joins in, and we hear his voice, Jessie’s voice, softly calling to Sam in alarmed whispers… “Sam? Sam! Come on, honey, come with me.” But poor Sam is in the grip of his worst nightmare come to life…
To his credit (which is limited at best), Ron tries to encourage his brother, “Sam! You can do it! Sams, look at Mom!“ But Sam shakes his head, becoming more and more upset, agitated, starts to cry…his heart pounding, body temperature rising, blood surging to the skin’s surface and to extremities to be ready to fight, or flee…and predators, like the walkers, can sense, smell, prey in distress…
Jessie kneels down to Sam’s eye-level, says more firmly for Sam to come now, come with her…
Poor Sam, paralyzed by his fear, whimpers, “I want to.”
This shot really gets me…it felt to me like Sam had already resigned himself to his unspeakable fate in the moment before the walkers’ attack…
And then…oh, God! OH, GOD, oh, God, oh God.
OMFG.
Like, seriously, people…
…I may need to go on antidepressants after rewatching this scene. OMFG, is that a chunk out of Sam’s shoulder in Take A Bite Outta SamWalker’s mouth? Jesus Christ…
At this point, I usually insert a technical factoid to distance myself from the horror of what is happening in a scene, so here goes: On Talking Dead, Greg Nicotero explained how the special effects crew designed special dentures for the walker actors in this scene. The dentures contained fake blood capsules that burst when the actor bit down on them, creating the effect of the blood streaming from poor Sam’s head as the walker bites down on it.
As the walkers engulf the little boy, poor Sam unleashes a blood curdling scream that has haunted my dreams, as well as some of my waking hours, since…
And, of course, the horror is just beginning…
Poor Jessie… 😦
…ughhh…
I…cannot.(Honestly, of all the gnarly and heartbreaking screenshots I have ever posted on this site, I think this shot, of Jessie holding her son’s hand as he gets eaten alive by walkers, has gutted me more than any other image I have posted.I am so glad this shit isn’t real, that Major Dodsonand Alexandra Breckenridge are alive and well. (Andp.s., Robert Kirkman, Scott M.Gimple, and Greg Nicotero, I will be sending you three the bill for all the therapy I am going to need after watching, and rewatching this scene in the writing process.Bravo,sirs…well played, wellplayed.)
Ron looks on in disbelief as Michonne’s eyes register the horror and gravity of their situation.
And, when a walker looks up a moment, tearing away a bleeding piece of her son’s flesh, muscle…
…Jessie unleashes a primal scream of a mother’s anguish as Rick, in shock at the sudden, horrific turn of events, looks helplessly on…
This scream, of course, gets the attention of nearby walkers…
…as Carl (whose hand Jessie still grips) and Ron realize, with growing alarm, what is surely about to happen…we her Rick’s voice, sounding so far away through her echoing screams, “Jessie...Jessie!“
As her son’s hand slackens in her grip, Jessie’s gaze deadens as she stares, fixated, at the grisly sight before her, of a group of walkers feasting on her youngest son, tearing him apart before her very eyes.
Carl, pale, panicked, sweaty, calls to Jessie in a frantic whisper, tries to pull her away, but she cannot, does not, heed him…
“You have to come!” Carl begs her. Jessie pulls back, in shock, seems unable to process this horror, this nightmare.
The walkers pounce on Jessie so quickly…
…it takes Jessie a moment to register what is happening to her.
By the time she realizes, it is already too late. The walkers descend on poor Jessie.
“No,” Rick keeps muttering, in dull shock and grief, watching the lovely, good woman who he cared so deeply for suffer such an angonizing, cruel fate…
Carl’s voice cuts through Rick’s reverie: “Dad…Dad!” Rick looks over, dazed, to see Carl’s hand still held fast in Jessie’s death grip…
As if in a dream, Rick lifts the axe he is holding, and after the barest hesitation, brings it down on Jessie’s arm…
…and begins to hack away at it to save his son.
With a final swing of the axe, Rick severs poor Jessie’s arm through, freeing Carl. The walkers pile savagely on Jessie, pulling her down to the ground in frenzy of feeding.
Through all this, a handgun (I forget whose gun this is…anyone?) falls into the grass, unheeded by Rick, Carl…but someone, someone who has now lost everyone closest to him, and who blames Rick Grimes for this, notices the gun, lying there.
Carl whirls at the sound of the handgun’s safety being released, sees Ron, who is clutching the gun, pointing it at Rick, behind Carl. “You…” Ron grinds out, staring at Rick with unbridled hatred.
“You!”Ron says, again, pointing the gun at Rick.
Rick says nothing, does not try to defend himself, or talk Ron down.
Before Ron can fire the gun at Rick, Michonne comes from behind, and in one quick upward thrust…
…and skewers the shit out of Ron McSlappy, son of an abusive a-hole, bearer of a legit grudge against Rick Grimes, but…we can’t have you killing our main man, McSlappy.Michonne no likey when some dicknuts is trying to kill her man, Rick Grimes…remember that time when the Gov was beating Rick almost to death at the Battle Royale for the prison?
Then, suddenly, Snidely brings the weapons down, by his sides, slumping into his bike’s seat, looks down, as if reconsidering…
Ron, in his dying throes and jerks, does manage to squeeze off one shot, involuntarily, as he goes down. Michonne pulls her blade back quickly, silently, as Rick nods his thanks to her and walkers fall upon Ron’s dying body.
Rick then turns to his son…and sees…
“Dad?”
“Carl!” Rick gasps, stricken at the sight of his son, blood pouring out of the hole where Carl’s right eye used to be.
Carl collapses to the ground. Rick rushes to his unconscious son and quickly scoops him up into his arms.
Wild with anguish, Michonne hacks a clear path through the swarm of walkers as Rick runs behind her, Carl bleeding out in his arms.
Holy crap, gang, I tell you…there isn’t enough wine in the world to make that shit go away anytime soon.
(Side note, I was still working on this scene when TWD’s Episode 609 aired this Sunday. It did my soul good to watch the next episode, and celebrate the classic Rick/Daryl hotness, as well as the new man talent (I ❤ Jesus), but it definitely was surreal to have to go back, after the watching of that frolicsome episode, and taking part in the Richonne celebration, and reimmerse myself into recounting this dark scene.
Honestly, t kind of messed me up, and I actually woke up the next day exhausted, run-down, fighting off a cold, and asking myself, for the umpteenth time, “Why the hell am I putting myself through this?”
I know why, loves…I think I do, anyway. It’s inexplicable, but it’s something bigger than me. It’s like some kind of Field of Weird Dreams:“If you write it, it will come.”
What will come, I have no idea, but this crazy project has been a life-changing endeavor, as it keeps me writing, and creating, and the readership is ever-increasing, at an unprecendented rate, with views from all over the world.
And, thanks for that, gang. Thanks for reading my crazy-ass blog.
It means the world…it really does. ❤ <3<3<3
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Now, where were we? Ah, yes, having survived the Jessie/Sam/Ron/Carl scene portrayal, let us step back and enjoy a couple of related IG postings:
This post features the amazing makeup and technical effects that went into creating the illusion of Carl’s eye wound.The makeup effects team created an incredibly realistic dummy in Chandler Riggs’ likeness, complete with eye wound, which was used in certain scenes, like the scene where Rick is running, carrying his wounded, unconscious son through the walker horde. An image of the eye wound was also digitally superimposed onto Chandler Riggs’ face (shown in the last panel) in the final edits of the scene where Carl looks up Rick, immediately after getting shot by Ron.
And this post (by the always-hilarious @therickygrimes ) is one of my personal favorites in regards to the character of poor, doomed Sam.
And, mad props, and a round of Deadies to:
1) Alexandra Breckenridge, the lovely and talented actress who plays Jessie Anderson.
Jessie, girl, despite my initial resistance to your coming on the scene, I did grow to have love for you. Respect. You did not deserve what you had to endure, both in your life, and inyour death. I am glad you got to kiss Rick Grimes, and hopefully, you were able to knock out a quick one with him in that garage before all the shit went down.
RIPJessie Anderson ❤
2) Major Dodson, who plays Sam Anderson, the sweet, doomed boy who went in search of cookies, and found himself a world of shit, instead…sorry, little buddy. That’s some rough breaks, right there. I love me some cookies, as well, and I could see myself getting into some similar trouble in the PZA in my endless quest for tasty night snacks.
Chris Hardwick posted this hilarious IG posting comparing a childhood picture of himself next to the talented young actor, Major Dodson, with the hashtag #IAmSam
RIP Sam Anderson ❤
And, finally:
3) A very special Deadie to Austin Abrams, the handsome and talented young actor who plays the complex character of Ron Anderson(a.k.a. Ron McSlappy).
Austin, it is not an easy thing to play a character who is generally disliked by an overprotective, somewhat obsessive fan base, but you really did an amazing job. Baller, truly. ❤
May your young star continue to rise…you’ve def got the goods, son.
And, Ron, well, you started out sweet, then downward-spiraled pretty quickly into becoming a bitter young D-bag.
Carl said it best, when he told you, straight up, that “Your dad was an asshole.”
He was, and for that, I am so sorry. And, your beef with Rick Grimes was definitely understandable, but we can’t have you shooting at the man, Ron, and we certainly cannot have you shooting out Carl’s eye.
That aggression simply will not stand, Ron McSlappy.
(I think, once again, Talking Dead’s In Memoriam said it best):
RIP Ron McSlappy
____________________________________
Meanwhile, back at the brownstone:
As Tara tirelessly keeps watch out the window for any sign of Denise…
…and Morgan mopes…
…Eugene ponders the machete he holds in his hands.
Sporting both a game face and the Front Lines mullet, Eugene looks up at Rosita, who is watching him with narrowed eyes.
“Sooner or later, we’re fightin’ our way out of here,” Eugene says. Rosita regards Eugene a moment more, says nothing, then turns her gaze away.
“I am fully aware that you know that we will,” Eugene continues, in classic #EugeneSpeak.
Rosita looks back at him. “Yeah,” she confirms, arms crossed, “We will.” Rosita then narrows her eyes at Eugene. “Not you,“she says, somewhat bitterly, and begins to move past him.
Eugene protests, “Well, by my reckon…” Rosita cuts him off with a sharp hiss. “Eugene!” she says, arms crossed and eyes shooting daggers down at him. “Come on!” Rosita stalks off angrily…
…leaving Eugene sitting there, holding the machete and rocking the Butt-Hurt mullet. She’s right…how many times did she, Abraham, and so many others fight off walkers to protect him in the past, while he faked having the key to curing the walker epidemic? (Gotta say, really loving this shot of Eugene.)
Meanwhile, the dark Wolf peers through the railing at the walkers moving away, en masse. “They’re moving towards the gunfire,” he says, then muses, “I suppose someone thought they could put up a fight…I guess you all thought that.“
“We did put up a fight,” Denise replies. “That’s why your friends are dead.” (Oh SNAP,Doctor Denise!You throw some shade at that bad man, girl! )
Denise cuts a sideways look as the Wolf agrees easily, “Yeah…we should have waited, and watched a little longer. I was selfish.” The Wolf smiles, remembering, as he moves behind Denise to her left side, watching the flow of the walkers. “But, if I hadn’t been so selfish, I wouldn’t have gotten that I.V.”
Clocking the walkers, the Wolf tells Denise, “We’re gonna find a gap, and GO…up that guard tower, and over the wall.”
The young Wolf then turns to Denise, looks at her intently, grabs her arm.
Denise turns to look at him, afraid.
“You don’t need to be afraid,” the Wolf tells her. Denise turns her eyes back to the steady flow of walkers in front of them, turns back to look the Wolf in the eye.
“Go to hell,” Denise tells him.
The Wolf replies, “You need to know, it’s safer out there than it is in here.” Denise does not reply. “Start moving,” the Wolf commands her, “Start moving.” Denise is left no choice but to nod, wordlessly, and starts moving towards the stairs, the Wolf right behind her.
As they slowly make their way up the steps, the Wolf instructs Denise, “Straight up the guard post, and do not stop…go!“
Using Denise as a human shield, the Wolf pushes her forward as they begin to dash across an opening in the stream of walkers.
They zigzag past the walkers, but see that there is one walker blocking their way to the ladder, and another walker or two turning towards them…
Post Blocker Walker be like, “Hey, y’all know where the dang all-you-can-eat dinner buffet is? I been lookin’ all over the place for it, and I cain’t find it anywhere!”
“Owww!Goddam, now that hurts like a sonuvabitch! Y’all young people nowadays got shit for manners, you know that?”
Early Bird Special Walker grabs Denise and starts shaking her. “You gonna tell me where that damn all-you-can eat buffet is, you hear?“
“I got all dolled up for the fancy party, wore my purtiest dress, got my hair did and everything! Now, I’m a gonna get me somma that all-you-can-eat buffet, so you better just start talking, missy!”
After killing Post Blocker Walker, the young Wolf turns around, looking for Denise, and sees her trying to fend off Early Bird Special Walker. Now, the Wolf has a clear path to the ladder, is right there, but he rushes back to help Denise, stabbing Early Bird Special Walker in her rotting skull, rekilling her.
“Aaaahhhh! That ain’t no way to treat a lady, no sir!Lookit what you gone and done…you done ruined my fancy hairdo!”
As soon as the she-walker slumps down, dead for good, You Had This Coming Walker takes a bite out of the Wolf’s left arm.
Gnarly! As You Had This Coming tears a huge chunk out of the Wolf’s arm, the young man howls with pain and rage and rekills the walker with a downward stab to the head.
As the young man’s arm begins bleeding out, Denise stares down in momentary shock, then she looks up at the Wolf. “You get me to the infirmary,” she tells him, “and I’ll save your life.” He looks at her in shock. “I’ll save your life,” she says, again.
The Wolf and Denise begin to run back towards the infirmary...
Meanwhile, Carol has done a sweep of the brownstone, and looks out the window, upstairs, down at the streets filled with walkers. She sits down heavily, her head in her hand. She looks so over it.
Carol hears a noise, jumps up, gun raised, sees it is Morgan, who approaches slowly, looking somewhat shamefaced.
Carol’s face, as she registers who it is, shows her anger. She lowers the gun, turns back to the window. Morgan comes into the room cautiously, towards Carol, not taking his eyes from her.
“You had a child…right?“ Morgan guesses, astutely.
Carol does not reply. “A husband?” Morgan guesses, again, and Carol’s eyes close a moment at that. “I didn’t want to hurt you,” Morgan explains, by way of apology. “I had to stop you.”
Carol calls Morgan out, her voice shaking with anger.. “You saved him for you, not us.”
“If it was for us,“ Carol continues, “you would have-…” and she lets the thought trail off, unsaid.
“I should have killed you,” Carol says, looking a little shaken at this realization. “I should have…”
“You can’t,“ Morgan replies, before turning and walking out of the room.
Meanwhile, Denise and the Wolf duck into an office. The Wolf stares ahead in shock as Denise unbuckles his belt to make a tourniquet for his bitten arm.
“The infirmary is right across the alley,” she tells the dazed Wolf.
“We need to get you there, now.“
The Wolf continues to look dazed with shock. “Hey!” Denise says, trying to bring him back to the present. The Wolf looks at her, then looks away, his brow furrowing with confusion. “The ladder was clear,” he says, wonderingly. “We could have made it.”
“You turned back for me,” Denise reminds him, tightening the tourniquet around his arm. The Wolf turns to look at her, remembering. “Maybe it was because you needed a doctor,” Denise says, looking at the Wolf significantly..
“Or, maybe you changed.” The Wolf looks at her, stunned at this. Denise turns to go, then turns back to the Wolf. “You ready?” she asks him, and after a moment, he follows her out of the office.
Once outside, the pair must start fighting off many walkers. The Wolf is able to shove a few nearby walkers away and clear a path, but one walker makes straight for Denise.
Sub Pop Walker be flyin’ the flannel and the ferocity.
The Wolf pulls the walker away from Denise, just in time, and calls to her to “Come on!”when a couple of pops sound out from above…
The Wolf is hit by one bullet, then another, as Denise stops and stares, in shock, first at the Wolf, then up where Carol is standing above them, on an upstairs balcony, pointing a gun at the Wolf. “Go!” screams Carol to Denise.
Denise hesitates, and Sub Pop Walker lurches forward for another go at her. The Wolf clasps his arms around the walker from behind, dragging it down with him as he echoes Carol’s command, yelling for Denise to “Go!”. Denise looks back at him a moment more, as walker upon walker descend upon the young Wolf, before turning and running.
Carol watches the young Wolf, whom she had wanted to kill, and who just so clearly intervened to save Denise’s life, get taken down by walkers. Carol’s face shows her conflict, and her sadness as she watches this.A very special Lupine Deadie goes to Austrailian actor Benedict Samuel, who plays the dark haired Wolf, and who, thankfully, is as handsome and delightful as he is talented. Well done, mate!
Denise rushes into the infirmary as Heath and Aaron quickly bar the door behind her. (And, where the hell has Heath been this whole time? I haven’t seen that dude since before the Wolves attacked Alexandria. Heath’s all like, “Whoa, man, I was totally bingewatching Gilmore Girls dvds, and then I musta fallen asleep, because next thing I know, this crazy noise wakes me up, and I look out the window, and there’s like a shit-ton of walkers everywhere!”)
Aaron peers out the infirmary window, whispers, “Oh my God!” at what he sees outside…the others peer out and see:
Rick and Michonne running, Rick carrying his unconscious, bleeding son in his arms, as Michonne hacks a path through the walkers to clear the way. They are hauling ass to the infirmary.
“It’s the kid,” says Heath. “Is he bit?”
Denise closes her eyes, takes a few deep breaths to steady herself, then replies, “No.” She then starts to order the men to gather the needed supplies, meds, IV, gurney. They rush to do her bidding. Doctor Denise is in the house!
Denise opens the door and points Rick towards the waiting gurney. He rushes through the doorway, Michonne behind him, both looking frantic with worry for Carl.
Denise immediately begins assessing the situation. “Gun shot wound?” she asks. “Handgun, close-range,” Michonne replies. As Denise gets to work, Rick pleads, softly, humbly, “Please save him…”
“Please!“ (And how about those eye wound effects? So super duper gnarltastic!)
Denise’s voice, and the others’ voices, begin to drone out, sound further and further away as it all begins to close in on poor Rick: His son is gravely wounded, eye shot out, he just watched his girlfriend and her son get eaten alive by walkers, and to add insult to injury, Rick had to hack off his doomed gf’s arm with an axe to free his son…and then, poor Carl took a bullet in the eye that was meant for Rick, and now, he’s watching a capable woman, who is an untrained doctor, begin the procedures to try to save his son. #shittiestdayever
My WD buddies and I loved this tender gesture on Michonne’s part, taking the walker guts cloak off Rick for him. ❤
Rick turns away, head in hand, then turns back as Denise begins to operate on Carl, ordering Michonne to apply pressure to Carl’s head, above the eye, to try to keep him steady during the procedure, and to limit blood loss…
Rick peers out the window, and as feared, the light that Denise is using for surgery is indeed drawing the attention of nearby walkers, who are shuffling en masse towards the infirmary.
Rick Smash! has some serious rage that he needs to work out, and so our man pulls out his trusty hatchet, goes to the door, and begins to open it.
Time to get to work, Rick Smash! (P.S. I love you. <3)
As he saunters out the door, ready to fuck shit up, we can hear Michonne’s voice calling after him, “Rick! What are you doing? Rick…Rick!”Rick Smash! does not hesitate as he out the door and closes it behind him. <3<3<3<3
Rick Smash! is not fucking around.
Our main man is all about the business of fucking some walkers UP.
Rick Smash! be like, “I am most ill and I’m axin’ and slayin!'”
(On a side note, my hubby’s been teaching me how to split logs, and I’ve been wielding the axe a lot lately, chopping a lot of wood. I have a long way to go with my building my strength and skillz, but I have been thinking that the axe might be my signature weapon in a zombie apocalypse. Just a lil FYI.)
As Rick Smash! kicks Why Don’t You Ax Him? Walker‘s rekilled ass away, Phil Side Walker looks on in dismay all the harshness going down, like right in front of him.. He’s all like, “Hey, man!Hey,man,that’s not cool!That’s not cool, bro…so not cool!!”
Phil Side Walker continues his conscientious objections: “Dude, your agro is totally harshing the collective mellow…don’t you know, like, it’s all connected, bro? We are all onewith theuniverse, man!”
But, of course, Rick Smash! doesn’t care about any of that shit. He just wants to smash him some of these undead fuckers that keep ruining his life and fucking everything up for everyone he loves. And so, he does, looking completely sexy and baller while doing so.
He gets jiggy with that shit, and we likey. ❤
At this point, Phil Side Walker feels it is his karmic duty to call out, “Dude, bro, violence is never the answer!”
❤ The Rick Smash! angels in my head are singing, “Hallelujah!” ❤
Back inside, Michonne keeps looking towards the door, getting frantic. “Rick’s out there,” she says, in a rush.. “Hold on,” says Doc Denise, calmly, stitching Carl’s wound.
“He needs my help!” Michonne presses. “Just one more suture,” Doc Denise replies, steadily working. “He’s out there!“ Michonne cries.(OMFG, were you fellow Richonners out there just loving the shit out of this, or what?I was sooo dying! ❤ )
Doc Denise is all like, “Girl, I know you gotta get out there to your bf and all, but first things first…”
Doc Denise says calmly, firmly, “This is his son. Give me a second.” Really becoming a major fan of Doc Denise, and busting out a love offering right here, right now by awarding DocDenise both a barnfullawalkers Weird Science Deadie Doctorate and naming her as one of the three MVP‘s of TWDEpisode 609…Daryl Dixon, Doc Dense, and our third MVPwill be named soon enough, loves, and I am sure you know who it is already. 🙂 ❤
Even Michonne, in her panic, is like, “Yes, Doctor.” Behind her, Aaron marvels, “He’s taking them all on…we have to go get him.“
Spencer’s like, “Say what?”(Yeah, that means you. too, pretty boy, so grow a pair, arm yourself, and get out there and get to rekilling STAT.)
Heath (who is well-rested and reinspired after his long nap and Gilmore Girls marathon) turns to Spencer, agrees with Aaron. “Wehave to.” Heath turns to the others, taking deep breaths, readying himself for battle.“This is it.”
Doc Denise announces, “Got it,”and Michonne bends down to give Carl a quick kiss on his forehead…
…then grabs her katana, rushing out the door, with Heath, Aaron, and after a moment’s hesitation, Spencer, following right behind her.
The walkers are coming full force towards Rick, who is still hacking away at them, berzerker style.
The others, Michonne, Aaron, Heath, and Spencer, join Rick, and the gang forms a kill circle, back to back, facing the oncoming walkers head on…
…as other residents of Alexandria look out from the safety of indoors, and see the small circle of warriors battling for their town… (I think this is Fax 2 Cleveland guy from the Abraham/Francine walker attack construction site. Go, F2C guy, go on with your bad self and help Rick Grimes take back this town!)
Go, Olivia!
Go, Eric! You can do it!
Heath got some mad rekill skillz…
Rick-In-Charge orders his band of warriors: “Knock “em away, drive ’em down.” He then turns to see…
…the second string, machetes in hand, running down the steps to join the fight! Yahoo!
Couples who rekill together, stay together! ❤
Spencer’s starting to get the hang of this…
“We can beat ’em!” Rick exhorts his troops.
Aerial view, as the Battle For Alexandria rages on.
From inside his church, Father Gabriel peers out the window at Rick and the others fighting. We can hear Rick shouting orders, encouragement from outside.
Judith begins to fuss, and Gabriel takes her over to a female parishioner, asks her to take the baby.
Gabriel then walks over, picks up a bloodstained machete, and walks over to the door. Tobin follows him, asks, “Gabriel, what are you doing?”
Gabriel turns to the his parishioners. “We have been praying, together, praying that God will save our town…”
“Well, our prayers have been answered. God will save Alexandria…”
“…because God has given us the courage to save ourselves.” (Can I hear a “Praise the Lord!”?)
As Rick Grimes and his merry band of Badass Berzerkers go to town on the walker herd…
Tara tells the others, in the brownstone, that the walkers outside are starting to thin out…Carol comes in and informs them that Rick, along with Michonne and some others, is making a stand against the walkers. “We need to get out there,” Carol says, heading for the door.
Carol tells Tara that Denise made it back to the infirmary safely, then tells the others that she’s going to help Rick.
Morgan chimes in, says that he is going, too. The others, one by one, voice their support. They are all in, even Eugene.
Rosita turns to Eugene. “Eugene, you don’t have to,” she tells him.
“That’s incorrect, I do,“ Eugene replies. “Nobody gets to clock out today. And, hell, this is a story that people are gonna tell.“
And so, the story of the Battle of Alexandria continues, as the invading walkers stream towards the fight…
Rosita and Eugene leading the way, the others join the seige.
The first blow Morgan delivers with his staff sends a walker to the ground, and as it rears back up, snarling, Morgan sees it is the young dark-haired Wolf.
Morgan looks down at the Wolf Walker. “I’m sorry,” he says, before swiftly delivering the fatal blow.
Meanwhile, Operation Rescue Maggie is underway, with Glenn and Enid sprinting past walkers…
…to the lookout post Maggie is trapped up on. To Glenn’s horror, the walker horde is charging the posts, and the makeshift wooden structure is rocking as Maggie hangs desperately on. It will not hold much longer.
Glenn orders Enid to “Go get her,” and when Enid hesitates, Glenn barks out the order again. “Go get her!”
As Enid rushes forward towards Maggie, and the swarming walkers…
…Glenn begins firing his handgun, screaming to the walkers, “Over here! Over here!“
Hearing Glenn’s voice, Maggie looks up to see her man for the first time since before he set out to redirect the quarry walkers and was feared dead.
Maggie immediately sees the danger Glenn is putting himself in. “Glenn!” she cries.
“Glenn!” Unbeknownst to Maggie, Enid is scaling up the side of the tower to help her. Glenn continues shooting, calling to the walkers, to draw them away from Maggie, going hand-to-hand with the ones that get too close to him. “Over here!Hey!Over here!“
Maggie helps pull Enid up, and they both watch helplessly as the horde of walkers begin to stream over to Glenn, who continues shooting, yelling, fighting them off.
The walkers continue to swarm around Glenn, backing him up against a wall. He continues to fight, and that this point in the inital watching, TWD fans’ cortisol levels were rising…
Maggie raises her gun, aims, and pulls the trigger, but the telltale click signals that the gun is out of ammo. “Shit!” she swears, then in a last-ditch effort, she bangs the gun against the railing, trying to draw their attention away from Glenn, to no avail.
Glenn Rhee continues to fight, to the very end if he has to…
…and the walkers continue to close in on him.
Maggie watches, helpless and distraught, as Enid takes advantage of the clearing to tie her makeshift rope to the railing. It is what Glenn would want her to do, and she knows it.
Maggie cries, frantic, watching the walkers close in and around Glenn.
Suddenly, the sound of shots pepper the air, and the walkers closest to Glenn go down, one by one.
Glenn drops for cover as the walkers around him go down, one by one, in a spray of undead blood and guts.
It’s the sexy sharpshooters, Abraham and Sasha, come to save the day!
As Glenn looks up dazed, he sees Abraham looking down at him.
“Can you get the gate?” Abraham jokingly calls to Glenn. “Appreciate it, pal!” And with a laugh, Abraham returns to one of his favorite pasttimes…
…blowing away some walkers.
Later, fuglies.
As Abraham, Sasha, and Enid help Maggie down onto Patty the fuel tanker…
…Glenn climbs into the shotgun seat,. Daryl asks him, “What the hell happened?” Glenn replies that he doesn’t know, he just got back there, himself. It’s crazy to think of all that has happened to each of them since they first set off for the quarry, to lead the walkers away from Alexandria.
Glenn voices the idea of leading the walkers away, but Daryl has a better plan. He bangs on the ceiling of the truck, signaling the others on top.
Meanwhile, in another part of town, Rick and the others continue to go hand-to-hand with the walkers. (I found myself admiring Eric’s sporty style of walker killing…those Alexandria cardio kickboxing classes have really paid off!)
However fearsome and badass each warrior is in holding his/her own, the walkers’ sheer numbers continue to give them the advantage as they press onward towards the living.
Meanwhile, Daryl backs the fuel truck up to Alexandria’s mini lake in the center of town…
…and while Glenn, Sasha, and Abraham fight off walkers, Daryl opens the hose and unleashes a large spray of gasoline into the lake.
The warriors of Alexandria continue to face off with the press of walkers…
…who keep backing them up…
…until they are nearly up against the walls.
The next day…
“I was wrong.”
“I thought after living behind these walls for so long…”
“…that maybe they couldn’t learn.”
“But, today…”
“Today, I saw what they could do…what we could do…”
“…if we work together.”
“We’ll rebuild the walls…we’ll expand the walls.”
“There will be more; there’s gotta be more.“
“Everything that Deanna was talking about…”
“…is possible. It’s all possible. I see that, now.“
“When I was out there, with them, when I knew it was over, I had this feeling…”
“It took me a while to remember what it was…”
“…because I hadn’t felt it since before I woke up in that hospital bed.”
“I want to show you the new world, Carl. I want to make it a reality for you. Please, please, Carl…let me show you.”
In response, Carl’s fingers close gently over his father’s hand.
Ladies and gentlemen, our third and final MVP for Episdoe 609: Rick Grimes.<3 ❤ <3<3
Well, kids, there it is. I wanted to pay homage to this incredible episode and reconnect with my fave show with a super tweaktastic post. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy the playlist as well. Next couple of posts will def be breezier, more scaled-down, but def showing the love and celebrating TWD.
Until next week, loves, and enjoy the playlist.
❤
Playlist:
Aerosmith,“Back In The Saddle”
Judas Priest,“You Got Another Thing Comin'”
Van Halen,“On Fire”
Misfits, “Last Caress”
The Smiths, “This Night Has Opened My Eyes”
Mob Deep (Nas, Raekwon),“Eye For And Eye (Your Beef Is Mines)”
Before we begin, tribute must be paid to a legend.
Rock In Paradise, Scott Weiland. Thanks for changing our lives forever. ❤
RIP (Rock In Paradise), Scott Weiland Playlist ❤
Much sadness with this passing of a true artist, and much love to Weiland’s family and friends. The world lost a great one, and we are lucky to have the lasting gift of his music to remember him by, and to dream to.
STP Forever ❤
Now, darlings, this initial post on “Start To Finish” is going to be regrettably brief, due to necessity and the onslaught of the holiday season. I had wanted to rewatch Episode 608, capture (& post) the many iconic photo moments, and celebrate the beauty, bravery, and delicious mayhem of it with you all, but such things will have to wait until after the new year.
I do promise that when the “Start To Finish 2.0” post comes, it will be super fabulous. We will get in there, loves, and we will rake the muck, muddy the waters, and hash all that shit out.
And, above all else, we will give the love to all the sweet peeps: Rick, and the gang (which now includes all of Alexandria), Glenn and Enid, and especially to Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham, who have driven up onto a motley biker gang, and a world of shit. Sending love, Daryl, Sasha, Abraham. Stay strong, stay together, if you can! ❤
Most of all, much love and mad props to Deanna Monroe (and to TovahFeldshuh, the incredible actress who played this character to perfection.<3)
While I am feeling of touch of the ol’ Post Dick Guilt Syndrome(PDGS)from my lack of belief in the method to Deanna’s temporary madness in Episode 607, we all know that I have been heaping praise upon Deanna’s (and Tovah’s) badassness ever since we met her in Season 5’s “Remember,” after Abraham bellowed Chris Hardwick’s fave line, “Who’s Deanna?” and we TWD fans witnessed the first of many epic exchanges between Rick Grimes and Deanna Monroe.
Who’s Deanna? Deanna Monroe is a badass, full of strength, heart, and wisdom, who left Rick, Michonne, and the sweet gang, including her community of Alexandria, a legacy of love, of family, and of hope for a future…a life worth living, beyond mere survival…a chance, perhaps, to flourish, to finish the dream that Deanna and Reg Monroe started.
In Memory of an incredible mid-season finale episode, and an amazing woman, Deanna Monroe, I present to you, dear readers, the “Who’s Deanna?” Playlist,which features a bevy of badass female musical artists, as well as Louis Armstrong, who could always abide and hang with the ladies.
To follow the continuous worship of pop culture through the holiday break, find and follow barnfullawalkers on social media:
After summoning the bravery, charging the phone, and purchasing the 12-pack of Negra Modelos (and the lime) required for the endeavor, I sat down last night to rewatch TWD’s Episode 603, “Thank You.”
It was not a journey I was looking forward to taking again, as the first go-around with it left me pretty messed up for about 24 hours after… as the week progressed, this feeling downshifted to a lingering feeling of hauntedness and melancholy.
My WD buddy and I talked, texted back and forth, shared and tagged each other in social media postings, trying to process this episode.
We, along with an entire world of TWD fans, had many burning questions in our hearts and minds that needed answering, so when the opportunity presented itself, I charged up, beveraged up, and went in.
A couple of hours later, I had watched, rewatched, rewound, paused, photographed, and posted about the episode, and I came away shaken, buzzed, and somewhat clearer about some points in the storyline of “Thank You” while being just as unclear, and uncertain, about others…there were a few key questions I was watching again to find answers for, the main question, of course, being, “Did Glenn die, or is there a chance he’s still alive?”
I still do not know, dear readers, with any certainty if Glenn Rhee survived his “untimely lot” of being knocked off the dumpster by Nicholas’s lifeless body, into the horde of walkers waiting below.
After watching, pausing, rewinding, and rewatching this shocking, harrowing, heartbreaking scene, I came away with the same feeling that I had upon watching Episode 603 for the first time…it felt to me that the scene was deliberately, artistically crafted and filmed to leave a real question, a real possibility that the gushing blood and innards that we saw the walker horde tearing into, feasting upon, were Nicholas’s, and not Glenn’s.
Call it wishful thinking…I am totally owning that shit. I did strive to be objective in the rewatch, and this is what I saw: After Nicholas and Glenn fired at the oncoming walker horde, emptying their chambers (or so we thought) and scrambling up on top of the dumpster, I made a note that both men were wearing grey t-shirts under their jackets/outerwear. Nicholas was wearing a khaki/grey jacket over his t-shirt, while Glenn had on a similarly colored button-up flannel-type shirt over his.
After Nicholas succumbed to his growing panic, he turned to Glenn, who was screaming at Nicholas (“Look at me!”), shaking him by the shoulders, trying to get him back…but when Nicholas turned to Glenn, with those dead, glassy eyes, it was clear that Nicholas was already gone. Nicholas thanked Glenn, pulled out his gun, put it to his temple, and shot himself, falling forward into Glenn, knocking Glenn down off the dumpster, and both men fell into the waiting horde. The entirety of the fall was not shown, but the angle in which the men fell suggested that Nicholas’s body would land, more or less, on top of Glenn’s body.
When Glenn landed, he landed on his back, and in the shot of his landing, we see his face, registering his pain, his shock, his horror, as the realization of what just happened, and of where he was, fully hit him. When we see that first shot of Glenn on the ground, we also see the top portion of Glenn’s chest, which is exposed, not shielded by Nicholas’s body at that angle.
If Glenn had the presence of mind, through his shock and horror of what was happening, to use Nicholas’s body as a shield, it could buy him a moment of time to perhaps block the walkers’ initial attack. He would really only have the smallest buffer to work with, as there were hundreds of walkers in the that horde, waiting eagerly for the men to fall so they could tear into them.
In that first shot of Glenn’s face, as he lay on the ground, there is no evidence of Nicholas’s body that we, the viewers, can see, and in that moment, Glenn’s face, throat, and chest are open, exposed, and vulnerable to the walkers.
Then, the angle of the shot changes, and we see Glenn’s face and whatlooks like his upper chest from above, as if we, the viewers, are looking down at Glenn’s face as if straddling him high on the belly, diaphragm-level. We see Glenn’s face in anguish, crying out, throwing his head back with eyes closed, as the walkers begin to tear into a grey shirt-covered-surface that looked, to me, to be at a higher level than Glenn’s chest would be.
(Let’s face it, while Glenn has definitely gotten more buff and manly looking since his days in TWD Season 1, he is still of a slender build, and the surface level that the walkers were tearing into looked, to me, to be much higher than the surface where Glenn’s chest or belly would have been. The level shown would have been the chest or belly of a bigger, stouter individual, like Abraham.)
This detail raised the question, to me, that perhaps the walkers were tearing into Nicholas’s body, rather than Glenn’s. In addition, the walkers on top of Glenn were shown eating intestines, which would have been lower in Glenn’s body than his chest area. We saw walkers’ fingers tearing into a grey surface that looked like it could be Glenn’s t-shirt at his chest-level, but it looked like the walkers were clawing at at a more elevated surface, and the innards the walkers were pulling out and eating were intestines, which would not be at chest level, but lower in the belly.
This second detail, the intestines, raised the possibility, for me, that the walkers were tearing into Nicholas’s lifeless form, which was on top of Glenn, and not into Glenn’s body…yet. And this slight chance, inspired by deliberately ambiguous camera angles, too many Negra Modelos, and a huge dose of wishful thinking, unleashed a wild hope in me that if Nicholas’s body was on top of Glenn, it could provide, perhaps, a momentary shield for Glenn…and Glenn, being ever-resourceful, could maybe capitalizeupon this momentary reprieve to orchestrate the most insane, superhuman escape from certain, unspeakable death that anybody has ever pulled off in the history of television.
I watched Glenn’s face closely, his reactions, his anguish, the way he was screaming. It yielded few clues…it could be interpreted either way. Glenn could have been crying out in pain and terror, being eaten alive, or he could have been reacting to the sheer horror of watching Nicholas’s dead body being torn apart and eaten right on top of him, knowing he would be next.
The scene ends with the shot panning out, so we see an overhead view of the walker horde closing in over Glenn’s face. The dumpster is right there, only a foot or two away from him. While many TWD fans have speculated on social media whether Glenn would be able to get underneath the dumpster for refuge, protection from the horde, I cannot say for sure whether I personally saw any crawlspace underneath that dumpster.
Did any of you see a space under the dumpster when you were watching this scene? Please leave me a reply, give me a shout if you did. I so want there to be a space under that dumpster for Glenn to get to safety!
The only ways I can think of for Glenn to come out of this dire scenario are: 1)Nicholas’s body provides a shield and buys Glenn some time to get under the dumpster, 2)Glenn figures out a way to use Nicholas’s blood and guts, or a walker’s blood and guts, to disguise his smell (can he quickly slash a walker’s leg with his knife, undetected, and get some walker blood onto him?) or, 3)somebody else comes, making noise and creating a big, loud diversion to draw the horde’s attention away from Glenn. It would have to be someone who has seen the whole thing go down, who knows that one dude just shot himself and knocked the other guy down with him, and who has the both the desire to help and the skills to do so.
(Haven’t we been hearing about the imminent arrival of another character from the comic book series, Jesus, who is due to come on the scene at some point in Season6?Jesus, buddy, if you’re coming, come quick, please, like, right fucking now, because some of our most beloved characters are in some real shit in the moment: Glenn, Rick, and Michonne, basically in that order of immediacy!)
Jesus, help us!
Another key question that was burning a hole in my heart, and still is, is what happened to Rick’s hand…look, I know when we last left him, he had just shot and killed, in pimp deputy style, like 5 Wolves (the blond dicknuts and his mini “pack” that Morgan let go back after they massacred Alexandria…and, btw, Morgan, dude, I love you, and I am looking forward to watching this upcoming 90-minute episode that seems to feature your backstory, but the fact that you let those murderous misfits of malignant malice & malintent go once again, to fuck shit up for our peeps once again, is starting to grate on my fucking nerves…like, seriously, dude, you’re killing me here. Please. Just. Stop. Doing. That.)
Anyway, as I was saying, before I went off on another parenthetical tangent (and speaking of, am loving how Edgar Allan Poe was not afraid to deploy the parentheticals in the sonnet I included at the beginning of this post), I know that Rick is in all sorts of deep shit right now…he had to shoot and kill the mini-pack, and the walkers are swarming in, and the RV won’t start, and Rick’s face is actually showing the emotion of fear right about now, which tears at my heart like, well, like a horde of walkers…
I know all this, and all this is seriously sending my cortisol levels through the roof. I am bugging hard about all of it.
But, I am seriously bugging about our man’s hand right now.
I rewatched that scene, replayed it many times, and while my initial fear, that Rick had gotten bitten in his knife battle with the walkers (and, Rick, sweetie, the machete…your red-handled machete is the weapon of choice in that scenario, not your trusty Swiss Army Knife!) was allayed, what I saw was Rick’s knife breaking at the handle, and his having to use said handle, and his fist, to break open the walker’s skull.
I am horrified to report that I think what I saw was Rick’s hand getting cut open from this blow, and possibly the knife break, and the way he examined it, I think some walker blood may have gotten in there…
Noooooooooooooooooo!
I swear, it took me chugging like two Negras to calm down after this realization, and while the beer didn’t really calm me down, it did numb the roar of panic and dread that filled my heart and mind at the thought of this perfect specimen of man, my most favorite pretend boyfriend, Rick Grimes, being infected in any way by tainted walker blood.
I think this realization is hitting Rick, along with everything else, in that moment when he is frantically trying to start that damn RV as the swarm of walkers closes in around him, that awful moment when his face is actually looking really scared.
If Rick does manage to get out of this RV/walker debacle, and actually get back to Alexandria before the walker horde does, is he going to be at the mercy of Denise, Ph.D., psychology docotoral student’s medical ministrations? While I completely endorse Denise as Eugene’s potential gf, I do not endorse Denise to be the one to diagnose and treat/amputate my man, Rick Grime’s, beautiful hand!
This simply will not do, people!
Deep breaths, deep breaths…let us look at something beautiful to calm our frazzled hearts and minds, shall we?
Just look at the beautiful man, like you’re supposed to… ❤
Kirkman, Gimple, & Nicotero, Inc. have really put TWD fans through the slapping machine with this episode.
Glenn may be dead, Glenn may make it out alive and intact, or Glenn may become a walker, Rick is trapped and about to be overrun, Rick probably has putrid walker blood coursing through his hand right now, Michonne almost got pulled from the fence, into the walkers, and is now trapped, along with Heath, Scott, maybe someone else…I am really so stressed, I can’t even remember it all right now.
I do remember how Michonne, Heath, Scott just stood and watched that poor guy, David, get chomped from the other side of the chain-link fence…hey guys, maybe you can stop gaping and put at least onebullet to good use and do poor David, the “nevercoming home” newlywed, a solid and put a fucking bullet through his brain to end his suffering instead of just watching him get chomped to death, huh?
And because this snarking is actually relieving some major stress, let me continue on a couple of other points…remember, darlings, when I told you in my “About”section of this blog, that there would be random ranting? Well, here goes:
This rant goes out to all those Rick-haters out there, specifically the Plan-haters, who have been whining online about how “Rick’s plan was a bad plan, it got people killed, and it killed Glenn.” Seriously, there are whiny a-holes actually being paid to write that crap, and this is what I have to say about that shit:
Plan-haters, please…if Rick Grimes hadn’t found, and sleuthed, the walker horde in the quarry, you know what would have happened? Those walkers would have knocked over the tractor trailer truck blocking them on the one ledge anyway, and many of them would have found their way to the hallowed walls of Alexandria, sooner rather than later, with no forewarning of any kind.
The Wolves were on their way to attack Alexandria, no matter what, so while Rick and the others would have been there to fight them, there still would have been casualties, shit would have still been fucked up, and once everyone rekilled the fallen and went to dispose of the bodies, guess what they would see, coming en masse towards the walls…a huge-ass horde of quarry walkers, swarming towards the hallowed walls of Alexandria.
Rick Grimes’s plan was actually really fucking brilliant.
The man thought it through, step-by-step, conferred with others, got the barrier wall constructed and buffetted, got all the gang organized and mobilized, all the while saving his newson’s stupid ass, mending relations with Morgan, squelching a mini-rebellion in a fair and benevolent manner, and communicating righteously with his girlfriend. (Um, and what the fuck did you do today, Plan-haters? Wrote another shitty article, posted some tweets, did 20 minutes on the elliptical, and reheated some leftovers for dinner? Oooooo, standing ovation, douchebags.)
And if you remember, the plan was working, and while poor Carter met his inevitable, horrible demise (oh, and Rick Grimes also quickly and humanely put Carter out of his misery, and got Tobin to fire some rounds to redirect the walker horde back on track), the casualties were pretty minimal.
The plan was working, and as with even the most brilliantly constructed plans, there is always the possibility of something completely unplanned, unexpected, coming into play to fuck it all up. And that is what happened when the blare of the truck horn screamed out through the woods, and kept going, and going, and then the plan was fucked.
Not Rick Grimes’s fault, dicks.
Put that blame on Morgan, and Aaron, if you’re going to assign blame to anybody.
Rick Grimes then singlehandedly risked his life, and probably his hand, to go alone to get the RV and draw the walkers away from Alexandria.
So, there, Rick-haters. Go sell your shit-talking elsewhere, because I will always step up to serve up on behalf of my main man, Rick. Fucking. Grimes. ❤
<3<3<3<3
And, since I’m going off, one more thing…this whole “Flight 462” business, the snippets of webisode AMC is showing in commercial breaks during TWD, is not really doing it for me. Like, dudes, I usually am totally the AMC/TWD cheerleader, but it’s been like three weeks, and we haven’t gotten very far in this whole “Flight 462” storyline.
Each segment is, like, only 2 minutes, and at this point, all we’ve seen the kid checking his phone, trying to text his mom, and looking around, all spooked, at the other passengers. We see some guy across the aisle, sweating, arching back, loosening his collar. I am definitely voting that guy “Most Likely To Keel Over And Reanmimate.”
There’s also that one Asian lady looking around like she knows some shit that nobody else does. ZombieApocalypse secret agent or some shit? Maybe she’s a sky marshal trained in the zombie kill. At any rate, she’s looking around like, “Just wait, fuckers, until that sweaty guy over there has a heart attack, dies, and reanimates…then the real fun begins!“
All I’m saying is, if that bitch knows something, she better be ready to rumble and get to rekilling when that sweaty dude dies and turns. Maybe she could grab one of the knitting needles that lady next to the spooky teenager is crocheting with and jam it into the heart-attack guy’s temple…and, um, about that…since when does TSA allow knitting needles on flights? That’s like, 1997 shit, guys.That shit is a few decadesbehind the reality of the times. We can’t even bring a 4 0z bottle of fucking lotion on a flight nowadays, let alone knitting needles. Your viewing audience has all flown in the 21st century. We’ve all had to endure the laborious TSA screenings, going through the metal detectors, taking off our shoes, and emptying the contents of our bags and purses for the world to see when trying to get on even a domestic flight. We’re not a bunch of idiots.
Tighten that shit up, please and thank you.
And, pick up the pace already...I am beyond bored with the whole thing. Three weeks into it, and we haven’t gotten off the runway. I’m with that one lady who’s ordering the alcohol from the flight attendant…over here, please, Miss, and make mine a double!
P.S. Heart Attack Guy = great name for a band
Wow. Sorry, gang. So snarky. You know that’s not like me. I am not myself in the moment. Super worried, super stressed about Glenn, Rick, and all our sweet gang. I have been paying a lot of lip service to coping with the TWD related-stress, but I am actually having a hard time putting my preachings into practice. Send me some love. I need it.
Deadies to: Steven Yeun, Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, Greg Nicotero (for another amazing walker cameo in Episode 603, Scott M. Gimple (for kicking our asses and putting us through the slapping machine, hard), Robert Kirkman(for making it all happen, and for said Gimple reason ^^^^)
A very special and heartfelt Deadie to Michael Traynor, who delivered a haunting performance as Nicholas, a cowardly, tormented young man who falls in the Rick Grimes category of those who “aren’t going to make it,” and who will be sure to fuck it all up for somebody, or everybody, because “that’s just who they are.”
I felt real compassion for Nicholas, and in his brief, destructive, tragic run on the TWD storyline, his character went through such transformation. Glenn was right on one hand, when he tells Nicholas, “That’s not who you are anymore.” Sadly, on the other hand, Glenn was wrong, and it may have cost him his life.
Michael Traynor delivered one of the most haunting performances I have seen, well, anywhere in that moment when, on top of the dumpster and looking down into the horrible siren song of unspeakable death, the sea of leering walkers (headed by our man Nicotero, with that special gleam in his eye that he has when playing a walker…that dude has the most fun at his job of anyone I’ve ever seen!), their teeth bared, faces rotting, eyes wild with horrible anticipation. We see it in Nicholas’s face, the growing panic, then the shift, the horrible, pulsing soundtrack as his eyes deaden, and he turns to Glenn.
“Thank you,” he says, thickly, and puts the gun to his temple. And, in that moment just before he pulls the trigger, his face... I got an incredible picture of his face in that moment, of the bloody hand holding the gun to his temple. After some reservation, I did decide to post it on Instagram. It’s horrible, and beautiful, all at the same time. Bravo, Michael Traynor. May your star continue to rise after this iconic performance.
And, finally, to Glenn Rhee. I have cried so many times. I love you, Glenn Rhee, and I think I speak for all of TWD fandom when I say, We are not ready to lose you.
And Rick, if you have to lose your hand to maintain comic book cred, please may they outfit you with the most badass, sexy set of post-apoc prosthetics the post ZA world has ever seen!
Send Glenn, Rick, and the gang the love, enjoy the playlist, and have a safe and happy Halloween!
Much love, Glenn Rhee. I am keeping the faith!
And, Rick Grimes, hand or no hand, you are still my #1 pretend boyfriend…my devotion will never waver.❤
Glenn Rhee’s Perfect 10 Playlist: xoxoxoxoxo
The XX, “Intro”
Rush, “Working Man”
Mudhoney, “Flat Out Fucked”
Fugazi, “Promises”
alt-J, “Hunger Of The Pine”
Kid Cudi (w. King Chip), “Just What I Am”
Led Zeppelin, “Thank You” (for Glenn and Maggie <3)
Hello again, and much love, dear readers.We atbarnfullawalkers hope that you all are having a lovely summer, full of fun, frolic, naps, and shenanigans. May there be lots and lots of shenanigans.
Speaking of shenanigans, if you are among the lucky folk who are en route to San Diego, as I write this, for this week’s #SDCC2015, congratulations! A few years back, I was able to go to the SDCC, and it was the funnest, ever. As soon as I walked into the San Diego Convention Center, I felt like I had finally found my natural habitat, and immediately got to the business of having one of the best long weekends of my life (thus far).
Memories include: riding in an elevator with Gene Simmons (my friend said he checked me out); seeing Mix Master Mike spin at a club on the beach (and skinny-dipping in the Pacific ocean, afterwards); going to the “Marvel Party”with a friend who had done artwork for a few issues of different Marvel comics;walking behind David Cross and a girl that I think was Amber Tamblyn (not sure if they were together yet) and eavesdropping on their adorable fake-argument-debate; setting off on foot across the city in search of the Buffalo Exchange with my adventurous friend, Amy…we had only a vague idea of where we were going, and we shared stories along the way, browsed in stores, stopped at coffee shops and cafes, climbed trees and meandered for many hours (and about 80+ blocks) until we found the store we were looking for. After an epic shopping spree, we treated ourselves to a bus ride back to the convention center (which took all of about 25 minutes) as the fellow passengers, upon learning of our day’s journey, exclaimed over us for being crazy enough to actually walk that far, anywhere.
I also tried my first, and last, Bikramyoga class on that trip, after a night of hard partying…an ill-advised move, dear readers. I do not recommend anyone doing that, ever, unless one is both a seasoned partier and a seasoned Bikram yogi.
While, sadly, I will not be in attendance at the SDCC this year, I will bask in the memories, and I will be there in spirit. For those who are going, have a blast, be safe, and blow a kiss to the TWD and the FTWDpanels for me. ❤ ❤
One day, SDCC, I’ll be back, and the adventures will be many, and epic, indeed.
While I do entertain fantasies of being on a plane bound for San Diego, I am, in reality, exactly where I belong…at home, with the kids finally asleep, sitting in front of the laptop, drinking wine, simultaneously texting my WD buddy some mad gossip and getting ready to hash it with you all about just what the hell is going on with Rick, Morgan, our gang and the Alexandrians in this first image of TWD Season 6, the #TheWalkingDeadSDCCSeason 6 promotional poster.
Like, seriously, people…we need to talk about what is going on in this picture.
Let us begin our discussion with our two favorite frenemies in the forefront, locked in a terse moment of exquisite manly tension…Rickand Morgan.
When we last left Rick and Morgan, in the final moments of the TWD Season 5 finale episode, “Conquer,” Morgan’s journey to find Rick Grimes ended in a most unexpected fashion, when, in yet another classic TWD moment, the brains-and-blood-spray hit the proverbial fan…
Rick Smash! was all, like, BANG! and McBeaty’s face, head, and brains were all like, SPLAT! all over Deanna Monroe’s fancy courtyard.
And then,Bloody Rick looked up, and saw his old friend, Morgan,standing there, and Morgan was all, like, …
“Rick?!”
And, stone-cold busted, Rick was all, like, ….
<D’oh!>
The way I imagine it, later that night, Daryl set out in search of a missing Rick, and found him drunk, in Alexandria’s soundproofed recreation center, taking long pulls from a handle of bourbon, stumbling around, and singing karaoke to:
I mean, right? Honestly, people, watching that ending scene just reinforced for me the inescapable, irrefutable truth that timing is everything. It really is. Sometimes, timing works out, and it’s all like, “Oh, what perfect timing!” and shit’s all beautiful, and everything just seems to fall into place. Those are good, good times.
Savor those moments, people, because other times, timing is not your friend. Other times, timing will kick your ass, hard.
The “Bloody Rick looks up from blowing McBeaty’s brains into the bricks, and sees Morgan standing there, looking horrified” moment would, in my humble estimation, fall into the latter category.
Now, the way I see it, Morgan has been out there, in the feral open, for quite some time, and has most certainly seen some shit go down these past two years since the inception of the walker apocalypse. (I am, of course, hoping that Season 6 will give us TWD fans some Morgan backstory, a la Season 4’s “Live Bait,” which caught us up with the Governor’s whereabouts, and gave us one of our most beloved TWD characters, Tara.)
So, I have a couple of questions, here:We haveMorgan, flanked by Daryl and Aaron, coming up on a scenario where he sees, on one end, a man bleeding out from a gash in his throat, dying, as his sobbing wife holds him…over on the other end, Morgan sees Rick, who is dressed in a cop’s uniform (and yes, is covered in blood, I know, but it’s walker blood, and these are some crazy times, so you never really know what you are going to see when you turn a corner) standing over another man who has been wrestled to the ground…then, Morgan sees Rick shoot said man, wrestled to the ground,in the head…and, while it’s all a bit startling, I ask you, dear readers, is it really that shocking, in these times, to come up on a scene like that?
And, upon taking in the whole scene, is it really that hard for Morgan to put the pieces together and realize what events may have transpired to lead up to McBeaty’sbrains being splattered all over Deanna’s nice courtyard?
Seems pretty simple to me: Domestic abuser goes all crazy, slashes an innocent man’s throat, has to get put down like a rabid dog…seems to me that that shit goes into the “crazy fucker had it coming”category.
All I’m saying is, while this strange reunion may lead to some awkward moments when Rick and Morgan run into each other at the commissary, is this fateful first encounter, with its clash of idealogies, really going to be a friendship dealbreaker for Rick and Morgan?
I certainly hope not, especially since we know what’s coming for Alexandria…the Wolfboys, flanked by their Walker Army!
They found Aaron’s man-purse, they’ve seen the pictures, and they are coming, people.
As we study this first #TWDSDCC promotional poster image, we see Rick, standing close to Morgan, looking intensely at him, as if imparting crucial information to Morgan, or awaiting Morgan’s response to said information. We see Morgan’s gaze is fixed outward, towards the horizon, as if he is studying the walls surrounding Alexandria, and considering the threat that is coming from the outside.
(Um, yeah, Morgan, about that…remember those wacky, weirdo wolfboys sporting W’s on their foreheads? The ones that tried to kill you? The ones that basically told you, straight up, that they find and kill innocent people they come across, or they trap them, or they run through their camps and communities, massacring the innocents, turning them into walkers, and bringing them back, somewhere, in their new, “not exactly alive” state? Remember those guys, the ones you didn’t kill? That mean, nasty shit they do, and bragged to you about, is like their fucked-up hobby, their life’s purpose.
And after those wolfboys woke up from their kung-fu coma nap in the back seat of that abandoned car you so kindly tucked them away in, they found their way back to the trap you rescued Daryl and Aaron from, “walkerized” some poor dude in a red poncho, fashioning themselves another member for their undead army, and then, they found Aaron’s man purse, pulled out pictures of your new community, and now, they are coming to your new home, Morgan. They are coming, with their walker army, to kill people and fuck shit up, and I ask you, my friend…do you think that maybe, in retrospect, that some lives are a little more precious than others?
Sorry for the diatribe, but that shit needed to be said, and btw, I am also saying. right here, right now, that I just know that Kirkman, Gimple, and Nicotero are going to have a scene where we (and most likely, Daryl and Aaron) see that red poncho guy, who will now be Red Poncho Walker, sporting a W on his decomposing forehead, snapping and slavering amongst his fellow troops in the undead infantry…mark my words, dear readers. That shit is coming, to a walled community near you.)
Anyway, back to the poster…Morgan really does seem to be listening, thinking, processing what Rick is trying to tell him, which, judging from the grim expressions on both men’s faces, seems to be a matter of great importance.
Life, death, walker army…that kind of shit.
We see the others behind Rick and Morgan, divided, which is interesting, but not really so surprising, you know? A lot of shit has gone down in a short time in Alexandria, and everyone’s still trying to get their bearings. Everyone’s expressions are so serious, grim. (Which really did bum me out, when I first saw this poster. I was like, “Wait, what about the fun playdates at the Grimes’ house? What about Friday Night Dance Troupe?” Tragic, all this unrealized potential for fun, flirting, and frolic. Such a waste of hot, sexy talent. As we have said before in this blog, Damn you back to the hell that spawned you, cruel, cockblocking walker apocalypse!)
In the poster image, we see Rick’s gang, with Daryl and Michonne in the forefront, lined up behind Rick, standing at the ready, as if anticipating battle. Behind Morgan, the key members of the Alexandrian community stand together, including Deanna Monroe, and her surviving son,Spencer (who I think got cut off at the edge there in my reproduction for this post..sorry about that…was impossible to get a full-sized screenshot of the entire poster image). We seeAaron looking worried, behind Deanna, and, lurking in the background, looking tragic as usual, we see Father Gabriel.
Jessie, while on the side of the Alexandrians, has gaze turned towards Rick, while her body is turned halfway between Rick and his people, and her fellow Alexandrian citizens. I feel that Jessie’s placement, and posturing, in this image suggests that she is caught somewhere in the middle, between the two camps, Team Rick, and Team Alexandria.
I feel that we TWD viewers will see the a fuller scope of Jessie’s strength and character as Season 6 unfolds,as she negotiates the complex and vital role as translator/mediator between Rick’s group, Morgan, and Deanna’s group. She would be able to be more objective, and see the strengths of each side’s approach on how to navigate both survival in this new world, while trying to retain some of the humanitarian and moral codes of the world left behind.
The way I see it, Rick, Morgan, Deanna, and the others have enough challenges to face in the season ahead, as they try to come to some sort of accord, and find a way to coexist, flourish, and explore the rare opportunity to actually live a life worth living, however brief it may be, within the relative safety behind Alexandria’s walls. It is a tall order, especially with the ever-present threat that looms just beyond (and, sometimes, inside)the steel walls of Alexandria…the predatory world of both undead, and living, foes alike want nothing better than to breach those walls and prey upon those living within them.
War is coming to Alexandria, people, and as we study this poster, it is easy to surmise that each and every individual in this picture knows it. Daryl, Michonne, and the rest of the righteous gang look poised and ready, their battle faces on. Deanna’s face looks grim, and stormy, and her people, who are not so battle-savvy (yet) look worried.
Nobody’s fucking around, least of all Kirkman, Gimple, and Nicotero. And our man, Rick Grimes, ain’t playing. But, never fear, darlings. The TWD panel will convene at #SDCC this Friday at noon Pacific, and they will debut the Season 6 trailer, and it will all be good, I promise. And, of course, with that trailer, another tweaker blog post from barnfullawalkers will be forthcoming, and once again, all will be right in the world.
Until then, enjoy the playlist, darlings. With all this strife and discord in the air of Alexandria, I figured we needed a “rudey, ‘tudey, crass and crudey” punk rock playlist, with a triple scoop of Transplants, to help sort it all out. To Rick and the gang, and to TWD, and to the San Diego Comic Con…cheers to all!
Playlist:
Elvis Costello, “(What’s So Funny Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?”
Transplants, “Something’s Different”
Dead Kennedys, “Holiday In Cambodia”
Fugazi,“Sieve Fisted Find”
Balkans, “I Can’t Compete”
Billy Bragg, “To Have And To Have Not”
Bad Brains, “I And I Survive”
Transplants,“Diamonds And Guns”
FIDLAR, “No Ass” (Seriously, everyone in Alexandria needs to just settle down with all this internal fighting, seize the day, and get them some serious loving before the Wolfboys and their walker army come knocking…just sayin’!)
Liam Lynch, “United States of Whatever”
Transplants,“Tall Cans In The Air” (Tall cans in the air for Rick Grimes and our gang of hot, sexy, battle-savvy transplants. Alexandria hasn’t been this exciting since, well…ever!)
(All images used in this post are screen caps from AMC’s “The Walking Dead” unless otherwise specified.)
Hello, loves…it has been far too long. While I have been immersed in the rich layers of life in the IRL, my thoughts have been, quite often, with my fave show, and my #TWDFamily, all over the world.
This is the moment I have been waiting for, when I finally get to sit, focus, and endeavor to conquer “Conquer.”
We have much to discuss with The Walking Dead’s Season 5 finale, Episode 516, but before we do, dear readers, let us take a moment to look back on TWD’s Season 5, and honor those we have lost...family, friends, foes, both living and undead (and even an inanimate object or two), while we raise our glasses, our bottles, our mugs, and serenade our dearly departed with a classic by Neutral Milk Hotel, “In The Aeroplane Over the Sea”:
(At this point, before, I would have inserted this classic song, via the beloved Grooveshark widget embed, into this post; but alas, loves, Grooveshark is no more… I grieve, as we had some good jams, and Grooveshark made the music available to many, for free. I did know that Grooveshark was embroiled in some legal trouble, as free music sharing does raise the issue of compensation for the artists… I knew that one day, Grooveshark may be gone. And, like so many of our beloved TWD characters, gone it is.
R.I.P. Grooveshark…we had some good jams.
And now, (drum solo, please), dearest readers, may I present: Neutral Milk Hotel’s, “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea,” via the new tunes tech: Spotify ❤
So pimp, right? At this point, I am not sure if playlists will be available for immediate listen if the reader doesn’t have an account with Spotify. If not, hopefully you can create a free account, and access the playlists, perhaps with some advertisements thrown in. If you are on the Spotify premium plan, you can listen to my shit uninterrupted. I do apologize for any inconvenience this change of events may cause. Change happens, and once I recovered from my shock at having my existing playlists be wiped from existence…
… I realized the opportunity was there for a serious upgrade. And so, upgrade I did.
One of the many perks of “said upgrade” is that my playlists will now be available on mobile devices for those who have the Spotify app, so now, those readers may enjoy the playlists on their phones, tablets, etc., which they could not do before, with the previous tunes tech. ❤
And so, dear readers, if you will, cue the music, and raise a beverage for:
The WD Season 5 Hall of Fame Neutral Milk Memorial ❤R.I.P. and cheers, and much love to:
Grooveshark ❤
Beth Greene ❤
Tyreese ❤
Bob Stookey ❤
Noah ❤
Noah’s mom ❤
Noah’s Lil Bros ❤
Lil Bro Walker ❤
Aiden 😦
Rick’s Beard ❤
Bob’s Leg 😦
Gareth
Mary
Alex (Technically a Season 4 casualty, but Alex did enjoy a brief posthumous cameo in Season 5, so we include him here.)
Shitty Martin
Terminus
Sam ❤
Friends With Benefits Walker ❤
Joan Walker ❤
Dawn Lerner
Gorman
Mr./Dr. Trevitt
Sgt. Lamson
Officer O’Donnell
The Van
The Bus ❤
The Mission to D.C. 😦
Ragin’ Face
Walkers Interruptus ❤
Hey, Where’s The Party At? Walker ❤
I Died In A Barn Walker
Rick’s Little Bit Of Flare Walker ❤
Buttons ❤
Wild Dog Pack 😦
The Owl Sculpture
Grabby Walker
I Wanna Eat Francine Walkers
White Walker ❤
Poor Girl Tied To A Tree Walker ❤
Hostage Walker ❤
Reg ❤
McBeaty
Leonard Nimoy ❤
The Walking Dead’s Episode 516 opens with a shot of a car, hood smashed in, abandoned in the woods. The sun is low on the trees, suggesting either the dawning, or the darkening, of another day.
Inside the car, we see Morgan sleeping.
Morganawakes…
.. sits up, smiles…
…as he looks up, sees his rabbit’s foot, hanging from the rearview mirror…it seems to have kept him safe for another night. I am assuming that this rabbit’s foot belonged to Morgan’s son, Duane,who was bitten by his mother-turned-walker, Jenny Walker. While watching this scene, I imagined that Morgan started every day by taking a moment to remember his son, his wife, his family. The rabbit’s foot was an item that Morgan lay on the altar back at Gabriel’s church (right before finding the map to D.C. with Abraham’s note to Rick written on it) as he knelt in prayer at the altar. It seems here, from Morgan’s serene countenance, that he has found some peace within himself since Rick, Carl, and Michonne last encountered him in Season 3’s “Clear.”
In the next shot, we see a small campfire, surrounded by rocks, with a small metal grate placed over the flame, and a metal cup placed on top, presumably to heat water.
Morgan takes the cup from the fire, rips open a packet of instant soup or something, and pours the contents in the cup. As he stirs his breakfast, the shot pans out…
…and we see another figure approach, a young man with dark hair, who steps forward upon a rock, across from where Morgan sits. The young man balances playfully on the rock a moment before stepping down. He appears to be pointing a handgun at Morgan. Morgan says nothing, does not acknowledge the young man’s presence.
The young man leans forward slightly towards Morgan. “Looks good,” he says, sitting on the rock across from Morgan, still pointing the pistol at him.
“Hi,” says the young man. He peers closely at Morgan, waiting for a reaction.
Morgan does not respond right away, looks over his shoulder, casually, in both directions, checking to see if anyone else is there. He looks back at the young man.
“Hello,” Morgan says. He motions to the gun the young man points at him. “You may want to lower that,” he suggests, mildly. The young man does not respond, nor does he lower the gun. The two men regard each other in silence over the campfire.
“What’s the “W” for?” Morgan asks the young man, who bears a “W” mark on his forehead.
In response, the young man narrows his eyes at Morgan. His mouth sets to the side, somewhere between a smile and a grimace. He cocks the pistol he is pointing at Morgan, who does not seem afraid of the young man or his gun.
“You know the first settlers here? They put bounties on wolves’ heads,” the young man begins.
(Editor’s note: Putting a bounty on wolves’ heads is a practice that has actually resurfaced, in the United States, in recent years. In the U.S., federal protections for wolves are being systematically stripped away, state by state, across the country, leaving hunters and poachers free to kill wolves and wolf pups on sight alone, without provocation, with the intention to decimate the species. Congress is considering passing a bill, at the time of this writing, to delist the gray wolf as an endangered species. Google this issue, visit the Defenders of Wildlife online site http://www.defenders.org/the-war-on-wolves/delisting-disaster, and write to your elected officials if you want to protect the future of this iconic species, and tell them in reinstate federal protections for wolves.) #SaveTheWolf
The young man continues, telling Morgan, “(The settlers) brought the natives into it, made them hunt (the wolves)…didn’t take them too long to kill them all.”
The young man then taps the “W” on his forehead. “They’re back, now,” he informs Morgan.
Morgan regards the young man, and all his posturing, with amusement.
He looks down, biting back his laughter…
…and as Morgan looks away, composing himself (and rechecking his periphery), the young man prompts, “Thoughts?”
In reply, Morgan turns his attention back to the young man, looks at him a moment before answering.
“Every thing gets a return,” Morgan replies.
The young man sits back and processes this a moment, then smiles, uncertainly.“Are you shittin’ me?” he asks Morgan.
Morgan shakes his head earnestly. “No, I shit younot,” he assures the young man. The two men share a laugh at this.
Still laughing, the young man sits back, regards Morgan. “I like this…just talkin’,” he says. Then his face becomes somber again. “I don’t get to meet new people very often,” he tells Morgan, figuring, “Maybe, once every two weeks.”
“That’s a lot,” Morgan exclaims softly. The young man nods. “I work at it,” he says, amends, “We do…sometimes we find camps, run through them. We have traps,too.” The young man pauses, muses, “It’s different…it’s not like meeting like this…as equals.”
As he tells Morgan this, the young man’s manner is very matter-of-fact, conversational, reporting the information simply and truthfully, like a child would. The young man seems like he is no older than a post-teen, early twenties tops.
In response, Morgan looks casually over his other shoulder, checking again to see if anyone else is coming up on him. He looks back at the young man, regards him.
The young man continues, musing, “Little chats in front of the fire, with a stranger…that’s the closest thing to movies, now.” Morgan keeps his eyes on the young man, nods warily.
“I miss movies,” the young man muses. “I used to–put that down,” he orders Morgan, who has lifted his mug to take a drink of his soup.
Morgan’s hand pauses, the mug stops mid-sip. He lowers the mug. “Why?” he asks the young man, puzzled, free hand turned up in question.
“Because I want it,” the young man replies, frowning. He blinks slowly, then says to Morgan:
“I want everything you have…every last drop.”
“Can I keep a little of it?” Morgan asks, testing the young man. “Just to get me through a day or two, you know, just to keep me alive?” I feel like Morgan is testing the young man, to see how much of a danger he really is, testing if the young man has any empathy or compassion left inside him at this point.
The young man looks at Morgan. His eyes are devoid of any feeling or compassion. “I’m taking you, too…” the young man says, slowly.
“…and you won’t exactly be alive,”
Morgan looks at the young man, says nothing, and slowly, deliberately puts his mug down. When he returns his attention to the young man across from him, Morgan’s look has changed…his smile, and friendly manner of before, are gone.
The young man resumes talking, “Some of the tribes, around here, they thought that the first people were wolves, transformed into men…and, now, well, you know…‘Everything gets a return,’right?”
(The implication here, I think, is that the men, the people, once they die and reanimate (as walkers), are then transformed back into an incarnation of wolves…savage, wild, predatory creatures who hunt the living in packs.)
Morgan smiles, slightly, and nods, slightly, at the young man, looks at him a moment.
“You can have my supplies. You can have everything,” Morgan offers the young man.
“There doesn’t need to be any ugliness,” Morgan continues, “but I can’t allow you to take me away.”
“I will not allow that,” Morgan says, gently, firmly.
Morgan reaches down for his wooden staff, only to be stopped by the sound of the safety being released on the young man’s gun.
“Don’t move,” the young man commands, and Morgan’s hand freezes mid-air, above the staff.
Morgan turns back towards the young man, his hands raised in a gesture of surrender.
The young man motions Morgan back, still pointing the gun at Morgan.
“Just…be still,” the young man says to Morgan. Then the young man’s eyes harden a bit, and a small smile returns to his face. He says it again…
“Just…be…still.”
Morgan knows the attack from behind is coming, and he is quick to evade the young blond man who leaps at Morgan from the bushes behind him, swinging a curved scythe down at the spot where Morgan was sitting. The pointy end of the scythe strikes only rock as Morgan whirls aside, grabbing his staff in one deft motion…and with that, the #MorganStyle kung fu beatdown begins…
After Morgan leaps away from the young assailant’s first strike, he grabs his staff and whirls around, delivering a swift blow to the dark haired young man, knocking him to the ground.
Morgan ducks low to evade another wild swing from the blond wolfboy’s scythe, and the young man’s balance is thrown off again…
A swift strike from Morgan’s staff into the young man’s lower spine sends him toppling forward into the dirt.
Morgan then brings his staff end down, so it rests in one hand, standing tall beside him, like a shepherd’s staff. It is a posture of peace, and power, an unspoken message of, “Run along now, wolfboys, and don’t make me kick your ass again.”
As the young men come to a shaky stand, the dark-haired one regards Morgan with a new respect, and fear.
The blond one menaces forward, glaring at Morgan. “You should just go,” Morgan warns them. “Now.” The blond young man growls, “No,” and lunges for Morgan again.
Morgan sidesteps the young man’s attack, and brings his staff down, blocking the scythe’s blade, then delivers a series of quick strikes upside the blond wolfboy’s, well, everything, and then sends blond one’s dark-haired little bastard compadre back into the dirt with two fierce blows, one with the staff, followed by one downward blow with his gloved fist.
It is truly satisfying to watch Morgan kick some wolf-poser ass, with style, grace, and restraint, in the way of the master. #kungfupimp
#MorganIsMySifu
Morgan then whirls with pimp flourish, twirling his staff expertly as he changes direction, readies his stance. His young opponents struggle to come to another shaky stand… they flank Morgan, pause, wait for their opportunity to strike again. This next time, they will both rush him at once, and Morgan knows this, waits for the attack.
“Just go,” Morgan says again. The young men, of course, do not listen.
The young dark haired one draws his knife. It seems the two wolfboys aren’t used to having to work this hard to subdue other victims…
…as they crouch, reading Morgan, readying for the next attack. The blond one seethes as he looks at Morgan. This time, it’s personal.
Morgan softens his gaze downward, as if at a focal point in front of him. Watching this scene, I was reminded of young Luke Skywalker, wearing eyeshields, learning to tap into The Force and block an attack with his lightsaber, without relying soley on his sense of vision to guide him. Morgan seems to use the point in front of him to access his peripheral vision equally on both sides, to be able to feel and read sudden movement from either end, and respond accordingly. “Please,” he asks, once more.His unspoken message is clear: Go now, young wolf posers…don’t make me do this.
Suddenly, the dark haired one screams,“Now!”and both young adversaries rush Morgan at once, from opposite sides.
It’s time to shut it down. Morgan sends the dark haired boy into the dirt, unconscious, with one or two swift high strikes to the head…
…Morgan whirls to the other young man and sends him out with a high, then low, strike, from each end of his staff, bam bam!There is no more movement from either of the young men. #knockedthefuckout
Morgan bends and picks up the handgun, hears a walker approaching. He points the gun at the walker and pulls the trigger repeatedly, gets only clicks.
The damn gun was empty the whole time?
Nothing to be done but sully the staff with some walker brains…Morgan pulls a cloth from his coat pocket and wipes his staff clean of the undead mess on his chosen weapon.
In the next shot, we see Morgan carefully lay the unconscious blond man on top of his dark haired counterpart in the back seat of the abandoned car he himself had spent the previous night in. (Enjoy your nap, wolf-posers, and btw, those “W’s” you drew on your foreheads look really fucking stupid. Wearing a “W” on your forehead doesn’t make you a wolf, or a primal tribesman, or anything remotely cool like that. It just makes you look really dumb, like you’re fronting wolf while acting like sadistic, demented assholes.) “W”clearly stands for “wack” and “Whatever, weirdos.”
Morgan shuts the young feral felons into the back seat, and then leans across the front seat of the car, honking the horn 2 or 3 times, ostensibly to alert their “tribe” to come look for them. We see that Morgan’s way of dealing with the men is very different from the way Rick Grimes would have handled them. Morgan could easily have killed his young assailants, or left them to be killed by walkers, but didn’t…he seems to value their lives to the degree that he took the time and effort to move them to an enclosed, protected place, where they wouldn’t be prey to walkers as they lay unconscious. Morgan then looks up at Duane’s rabbit’s foot, hanging from the rearview, and smiles at it once again before tearing the lucky charm from the mirror, taking a quick look around, and slipping off into the forest, in search of Rick Grimes.
Before we move on, kudos and Deadies to the following mavericks (I am giving out mad Deadies this post because it’s the WD Season 5 finale, people, and attention must be paid, props must be given, and the love must be shown!)
First Deadie goes to Greg Nicotero, directorial and special effects prodigy, who directed the TWD Episode 516, “Conquer,” as well as other groundbreaking episodes in Season 5: “No Sanctuary,” “What Happened and What’s Going On,”(just to name a couple of my personal favorites).
Standing ovation, Greg Nicotero. You really brought TWD Season 5 to a whole new level, and set an unprecendented standard of excellence to television as a whole.
Suck on that, Emmy snubbers.
There are many who say that Season 5is, hands down, the best season yet of The Walking Dead television series. In many respects, I fully agree. I personally feel Greg Nicotero is a huge reason for this season’s artistic excellence on all levels, and I imagine anyone working directly with the project knows this to be fact.
Much love, many thanks to Crazy Uncle Greg from us at barnfullawalkers. Thank you, Crazy Uncle Greg, for bringing the love, and the pain, and for being so beautifully twisted, genius, and spectacular. You are bringing it like Bukowski.
Next Deadie goes to our man, Lennie James, who plays Morgan Jones, kung fu badass who walks the way of the peaceful warrior. I do not know if Lennie James has been studying martial arts for a long time, or if he had to immerse himself in a quick study for this role, but damn, that man is pure poetry in motion. Style. Speed. Grace. Power. Poise.
And, impeccable acting, time and time again, in every project I have ever seen him in, and especially as Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead.
(I was a huge Morgan-and-Duane fan from the first moment I met them in the TWD pilot episode, Season 1’s “Days Gone Bye,” when Duane clocked Rick in the back of the head with a shovel, and he woke up, bound, in Morgan and Duane’s house.
As I watched WD Season 1, I kept asking Rick, on the screen, “Rick, have you tried to radio Morgan yet today? Call Morgan and Duane! They need to know where you are so they can meet up with you!”
Look, people, I knew Rick was super busy in Season 1, reuniting with his wife and kid, getting cuckolded, road tripping back and forth to Atlanta, trying to get to the CDC, but I was always super worried about Morgan and Duane.
I never stopped thinking about them, and I was kind of mad at Rick for dropping the ball on keeping in touch with Morgan like he said he would. I got over it, of course. I can’t stay mad at Rick Grimes for long, and who would want to? That’s just crazy talk, people!
I must tell you, however, when I watched Season 3’s “Clear,” when Rick, Carl, and Michonne found Morgan, and we found out what happened to Duane, it messed me up, hard…I won’t go into the sordid deets, but suffice it to say that the entire rest of that night was awash in bourbon and tears. I was haunted. I wore a black armband for days after under my work attire. It wasn’t pretty.
But, as hard as “Clear” was for me, I was mesmerized by Lennie James’ performance in that pivotal episode.
I remember hearing an interview with Andrew Lincoln on Talking Dead, and Andrew Lincoln said that he and Lennie James filmed the Morgan-to-Rick soliloquyscene in “Clear” on Andrew Lincoln’s birthday. In the TD interview, Andrew Lincoln said that the way that Lennie James delivered that monologue was the best birthday present he could have asked for.
For me, personally, Duane being alive and well would have been the best present I could have asked for, but alas, that was not to be…Kirkman said no, so I abide.)
R.I.P.Duane. ❤
So, much love, Lennie James, and mad props. You are an amazing actor, a talented martial artist, a total master, anda total pimp.
And, the last of the First Round of Deadies goes to genius composer, Bear McCreary, who delivered another incredible score, bringing the Morgan kung fu asskicking scene in the woods to new heights. Pure perfection, really. Once again, kudos,Bear McCreary.
Speaking of kudos, and sheer awesomeness, let us now return to Episode 516, where we see another beloved character, doing one of the things he loves best, being a beautiful badass on a bike…
Daryl Dixon. ❤
Behind Daryl, Aaron follows in a car that has seen better days. Daryl, then Aaron, pull over on an abandoned dirt road, shut off their vehicles, and gather their belongings. After a quick look-around, the two men slip into the woods.
Meanwhile, back in the Alexandria Juvenile Detention Center…
Rick Grimes wakes up in lockdown.
Rick blinks awake, peers around at the darkened room. There are rays of sunlight pouring through some small opening, or window, and Rick tries to sit up, painfully. He laughs a little, softly, to himself, shaking his head before giving it up. Shielding his eyes, he starts to lie back on the cot, when he is surprised by a voice in the room.
“What’s so funny?” we hear Michonne’s voice ask.
Shielding his eyes, caught unawares, Rick looks up at her.
Girlfriend is not looking pleased.
“You were here the whole time?” Rick asks her, hoarsely.
“All night,” Michonne answers, succinctly. She asks again, “What’s so funny?”
“This,” Rick replies, sitting up with some effort, motioning to the room around him, “is like the train car. After the whole thing…I’m still there.“
“Deanna wanted you in here,” Michonne replies. “Calm things down.” Her manner is terse, annoyed. “Rosita patched you up, Carl came by for a while, sent him home.”
Michonne’s tone and manner with Rick right now seems to be like: “Hey, remember your kids? Your people? Or did you forget about all that while you went off chasing after your own little drama story of, ‘Let me get all up in Jessie’s biz and fuck it all up for everyone else?'”
Then, Michonne stands, brings her chair a few steps closer to Rick’s bed, sits down again, looks at Rick. Classic interrogation room style.
“Rick,” Michonne asks, “what are you doing?” Rick shakes his head slightly, does not reply, rubs the back of his head.
Oh, Rick, does your head suddenly hurt sooo bad that you can’t answer the question? I love the man, but Rick Grimes is kind of being a total dramaking right now.
Michonne knows this, looks away, rolls her eyes, takes a deep breath. “They put Pete in another house,” she informs Rick. (And yes, they should have done that way sooner…but who exactly was going to enforce that, before Rick Grimes came along?)
“You could have told me what was happening,”Michonne tells Rick.
Rick turns the baby blues up to max volume, looks at Michonne. “It moved fast…and then, Noah,” he says, by way of explanation. (Whatever, dude. That’s code for, “I was seeing everything through my one-eyed monster, and now, here I am…here we are.”)
Michonne ain’t buying it, and, really, neither am I.
“I couldn’t tell you about the gun,” Rick continues.
Michonne fixes him a look, replies, “Nooo,you couldn’t…” Her tone quietly calls bullshit on Rick. I tend to agree. The gang is a tribe, a family, and after all they’ve been through, true family shouldn’t keep big secrets like that from each other. Go down in folly, whatever, but go down together, get checked before you wreck it for everyone.
“You wanted this place,” Rick says.
Michonne narrows her eyes at him. “We needed to stop being out there.”
Rick looks around the room. “Well, we’re here,” he says, stretching his leg out on his prison cot.
(Like I said, people, I love the man, and we all know that Alexandria is rife with bullshit on many levels, and I do love when Rick Smash! comes out to play and fuck shit up, but I find myself siding with Michonne on this one.
The gang needed to get to a safe place, and change is something that happens slowly, not all at once. Rick and Carol have been enabling each other’s drama and crazy, big time, which is, of course, completely delicious on many levels…but once it was clear that Deanna Monroe and her people were not malevolent, merely clueless, perhaps Rick and Carol could have dialed it down a little, and given it some time, let things play out.
I know the storyline here is all about Rick Smash! having a hard time readjusting to society, but is plotting a hostile takeover within the first week of being at the choice new digs really necessary? Dude, you’re a dad…when was the last time you cuddled your baby girl, or have you been too busy being all up in Jessie’s grill to even think about your own family?
In my opinion, Rick is being pretty self-obsessed, all about his own drama, and he is being a bit of a brat right now. While I love Rick, this isn’t all about him, and his actions are having a direct, negative effect on the rest of the righteous gang.
Talk to me, people…I would love to get readers’ thoughts on this one.)
In response to Rick’s drama king “Well, we’re here“comment, Michonne regards him coolly, replies, “Well, you just said you weren’t.” Rick looks at her like, “D’oh!” Oooo, burn, Rick Grimes!
The door opens then, and Glenn, Carol,and Abraham file into the room.
As Glenn, Carol, and Abraham stand, watching, we hear Michonne’s voice ask Rick, “Where’d you get the gun?”
Before Rick can answer, we hear Carol’s voice chime in, quickly, ” You took it, right?” (And thus begins the Carol’s Gonna Save Her Own Ass part of this program…)
“From the armory?” Carol prompts, looking hard at Rick, like, <“Um, I ain’t getting exiled along with you, dude…just sayin’.”>
Carol continues her award-winning performance. “That was stupid,” she admonishes Rick. “Why’d you do it?”
TheFirst Carol Commandment states: First and foremost, thou shalt save thy own ass.
Rick looks away, turns up his hand like a shrug, then looks back at Carol, locks eyes with her. Then, Rick says, “Just in case,” cocks his head to the side. Michonne watches all this, studies Rick closely through narrowed eyes.
Glenn says that Deanna is planning on having a meeting tonight, for anyone who wants to. “To kick Rick out?” Abraham asks. “Totry,” replies Carol.
“We don’t know that,”Glenn points out. He turns back to Rick, tells him that Maggie is with Deanna right now, and is going to try to find out what exactly the meeting is about.
As Rick takes all this in, Carol begins coaching him. Her voice is shaky, betraying her worry for Rick. “At the meeting, you say that somebody was being abused, and no one was doing anything about it. You say you took a gun, to make sure that Jessie was safe from a man who wound up attacking you. You say you’ll do whatever they want you to, just tell them a story that they want to hear.”
Carol looks over towards Glenn, says, “That’s what I’ve been doing since I got here.”Glenn looks down, puzzled, like, “Wait, have I missed something, here? What the fuck is happening with everyone?”
Michonne turns to Carol now, her arms crossed. “Why?” she asks.
“Because these people are children, and children like stories,” Carol replies.
From behind, Abraham chimes in, looking at Carol, but addressing everyone in the room, “What happens after all the nice words, and they still try to kick him out?”
Glenn informs them, “They’re guarding the armory now.”
“We still have knives,” Carol muses, aloud. “That’s all we’ll need against them.”
Rick takes this all in, his fingers working. How are you enjoying this nice little war you’ve started so far, Rick Grimes?Any20/20 hindsight kicking in yet?
Apparently not, because Rick begins to plan aloud, “Well, tonight, at the meeting, if it looks like it’s going bad, I whistle. Carol grabs Deanna, I take Spencer,” and then, Rick points his finger towards Michonne, “and you grab Reg…”
Listening to this, Michonne’s like, “What the shit?”
Rick continues, working out his super cray “Hostile Takeover of Alexandria” plan aloud, “…Glenn and Abraham cover us, watch the crowd…”
Wow, great plan, dude. It only has about 1,000 major, gaping holes in it. I’m sorry, but what the hell are he and Carol talking about? Knives v. guns? Have either of them checked in with the the rest of the gang, to see what they think about this? What about CarlandJudith?
Michonne tries to interject some sense into all this. “We can talk to them,” she asserts.
“Wewill,” Rick assures her. “But, if we can’t get through, we’ll take the three of them and say we’ll slit their throats.”(Hmmm. Well, Rick, I’m sure that will be a real turn-on for your new gf, Jessie, and I’m sure her sons will be so impressed with their NewDad’s take-charge attitude.)
Rick looks over at Michonne after delivering this announcement. (I guess no good deed really does go unpunished, does it, Deanna Monroe?)
“Like at Terminus,” Glenn says.
“No,” Rick asserts. “We just tell ’em: They give us the armory, and it’s over.”
Glenn’s look says it all. Yeah, ok, dude. One question… do you hear yourself right now? WTF?
Glenn looks at Rick. “Did you want this?” he asks him.
“No,” Rick replies. “I hit my limit, I sna-…” Rick gestures to his head, does not finish the thought in words.
Instead, Rick opens his arms in mock surrender, announces to the room, “I screwed up!”
(Well, that’s something, anyway…first step to overcoming a problem is admitting that you have one…and that you did, indeed, screw the pooch on this one, Rick Smash! P.S. You are still looking majorly cute though, all beat up and bandaged and bratty in your prison bunk 🙂 )
Rick looks around at the others in the room. “And, here we are,” he says. (Um, yeah, Rick, you said that already. He really does seem to know that he’s kind of fucking up the second chance they’ve been given, and the choice new digs for everyone else.)
And with that, Rick Grimes turns away, towards his pillow, and dismisses them.“And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sleep some more.”
Two words: Hot Brat.
And, speaking of brats…
Looking out a window, Maggie watches Gabriel, the holy brat, take his priest’s frock down off the clothesline.
Reg comes in to collect Maggie, tells her Deanna’s out on the porch. Maggie follows him out to where Deanna is waiting. As Maggie walks out, onto the porch, Deanna looks up from some papers in her hands. Her manner is more businesslike than warm towards Maggie, and she asks, “What do you need to talk about, Maggie?”
Maggie faces Deanna, answers, “The meeting tonight.”
Reg, who seems to greatly dislike conflict, tries to interject, reassure, but Deanna talks over him.
“I want to talk to everyone about what happened, and what we need to do about it,” Deanna says, firmly.
“If it includes sending Rick away,” Maggie says, looking Deanna in the eye, “It’s not going to work.”
Deanna looks at Maggie. “Tell me what that means,” she says.
“You let Rick in. You let all of us in.” Maggie looks at Deanna a moment before continuing. “You talked to us; you decided.”
Deanna looks down. Maggie continues, “And, now you want to put the decision on a group of very frightened people who may not have the whole story. That’s not leadership.”
Reg explains to Maggie that the meeting is just a forum, to give people a chance to say their piece…
…and Deanna says that she will make the final decision, as she has done since the beginning.
Maggie explains, “(Rick) was frustrated…the things he’s seen? The things he’s lost…the things we have all lost.”
Deanna raises her eyebrows at this last part. “The things he’s lost?” she asks, softly.
Reg looks over at Deanna, like, “Uh oh...danger zone.“
Maggie looks at Deanna. “We’ve lost so much more,”she dares to say.
Deanna looks back at Maggie, angrily. “Rick took a gun, and he pointed it at people.”
“He didn’t pull the trigger,” Maggie replies. “That’s a metric, that he didn’t pull the trigger?” Deanna asks incredulously.
“Yes,” Maggie asserts. Deanna is clearly getting agitated, and Reg steps in, faces Deanna.
Deanna looks at Maggie. “I’m going to do what I have to do, Maggie,” she tells the young woman. Maggie looks at Deanna a moment, then stalks off. Reg calls after, then goes after, Maggie, as Deanna turns back to the papers in her hands.
“Maggie!” Reg hurries down the stairs after her. Maggie whirls around to face him. Reg stands on the steps, looks at the young woman before him, collects his thoughts a moment before speaking.
“The cave men… were all nomads, and, um, they all… died. Then, we evolved into this,” and Reg gestures around, to the buildings, the homes around them, “and we lived.” Maggie looks at Reg, listening, and he comes down a couple more steps until he stands at Maggie’s level, facing her.
“Civilization starts when we stop running,” Reg says, his hands in his pockets. He shrugs. “When we live together…when we stop sending people away, from the world, from each other.”
Reg looks at Maggie. “That’s what I’m going to tell her…that’s what I’m going to tell everyone.”
Maggie looks at Reg, silently expressing her thanks and gratitude, before walking off. Reg, man, you’re awesome. Solid gold. ❤
Meanwhile, just outside the steel gates of Alexandria…
Sasha is doing the lonely work of cleaning up the walker bodies she rekilled up in the tower. She loads another corpse on her cart and pulls it towards a deep pit that has been dug for walker burial.
Sasha looks down at the bodies in the pit, then turns and tugs at the body on her cart…the body is stuck, and is hard to dislodge, and Sasha herself slides into the pit with the dead walkers.
After a moment, Sasha lowers herself down until she lay on top of the pile of walkers in the pit…
…and the shot pans out as Sasha closes her eyes, opens her arms, and surrenders to the strange peace of lying on top of the fallen walkers. A really dark concept, creating a really beautiful shot, Nicotero-style.
The next shot we see is of Daryl and Aaron, making their way through the woods. Daryl notes that somebody came through that way a while back, and Aaron is quick to say that if they see the people, they hang back, set up the mike, “Watch, and listen.”
“For how long?” asks Daryl. “Until we know,” replies Aaron. “We have to know.”
Daryl continues to stealth through the woods, tracking as he goes. “You sent people away?” he asks Aaron.
Aaron confirms yes, they did. “What happened?” asks Daryl. Aaron tells him that it was early on…it was three people. Two men, and a woman.
“Davidson was their leader,” continues Aaron, as he follows Daryl through the woods. “Smart ashell, strong…I thought they’d work out. They didn’t.“
“I brought them in,” Aaron tells Daryl, “and I had to see them out.” The two men continue through the woods, the cool air misting their breath. Aaron tells Daryl how he, Aiden, and Nicholas drove the exiles out, far away, gave them a day’s worth of food and water, and left them.
“They just went?” Daryl asks. “We had their guns…all their guns,” replies Aaron.
“I can’t make that kind of mistake again,” Aaron tells Daryl.
Back in Alexandria, Carol is sitting on the edge of Rick’s bed, shaking his sleeping form. “Wake up,”she says, softly.
Rick starts awake, sees Carol sitting there, and sits himself up.
Carol gets right down to business. “It’s good what happened last night,” she says. “We have more cover now…all of them think you’ve been‘found out.’ They think it’s over.”
Carol holds out another handgun to Rick, and after a moment, he takes it.
After taking the gun, Rick looks at Carol. “Why didn’t you want to tell them we had more guns?” he asks her.
“Michonne stopped you…she knocked you out,” Carol says.
Rick looks away a moment, then back at Carol. “I deserved it,” he admits.
Carol doesn’t agree. “It was stupid,” she says, disgustedly. Rick looks at her. “She’s with us, Glenn is,” he asserts.
Carol looks at Rick. “I didn’t tell them about the guns, just in case,” she replies.
Rick leans his head back against the wall, then looks back at Carol.
“I don’t want to lie anymore,” Rick says.
Carol looks at Rick. “You said you (don’t?) want to take this place, and you don’t want to lie? Oh, sunshine, you don’t get both.“
Rick shakes his head, taking in the full import of Carol’s words.
(A couple of thoughts, before moving on. I replayed Carol’s response to Rick quite a few times, and she clearly said, to my hearing, “You said you don’t want to take this place,“ which confused me. I can’t really understand, after repeated playbacks, what exactly Carol’s saying, but I think I am picking up what Carol’s putting down. To me, it sounds like Carol’s still riding the train of, “Let’s take this fucking place.” It’s kind of the only interpretation that makes sense to me, in the moment, and as I’m sleep deprived and on mad deadline right now, a lot doesn’t really make sense in my world, right now…so, really, I have no idea.
Another question…is Alexandria really that bad, that Carol thought that Michonne was stupid to interfere with Rick’s Fifty Shades of Cray moment out in the street, the day before? If Michonne hadn’t interfered, and knocked Rick out, where would Rick’s standoff have ultimately led to? Would Carol have pushed Sam off her, run to get her guns, and come out, barrels blazing? What exactly is their grand takeover plan, here?
Is their plan to kill Deanna, Reg, Spencer, and all the other Alexandrians in charge, and then offer the other citizens a choice, join us or die? Are Rick and Carol really up for slaughtering any resistant elders, innocents, children, to take over a peaceful, established community that took them in, that appears to truly mean them no harm, as clueless as the Alexandrians appear to be about the true state of life outside the walls? Especially when they are not sure if all of their people, their best people (like Michonne, Glenn, Daryl, Abraham, Maggie, Rosita, Sasha) would be on board with this plan to begin with?
And, what does Rick think Jessie would say about all of this? How was he planning on explaining this to her? “Oh, it’s simple, babe…I just kill your abusive husband, we take over your community, and then, you are riding high as First Lady of the Ricktatorship! What was that you said? What about your sons? Oh, they’ll be cool with it…their biodad’s a real dick!”
How would Rick’s own son, Carl, feel about this plan? What about the inherent danger a hostile takeover would be to the most vulnerable Alexandrian citizens, like Baby Judith? A loud gun battle within the walls of Alexandria would bring every walker within a twenty mile radius, hissing and pounding on those walls…and don’t even get me started about potential living threats who may come knocking!
And, how does Carol think that Daryl will feel about this plan? As Carol and Rick plot and plan, Daryl’s with Aaron, 50 miles out, looking for others to recruit into the Alexandria community. Does Carol think that Daryl will approve of this hostile takeover, or that Aaron’s just going to sit back and accept this order of things upon his return, especially if his boyfriend, Eric, is one of the dissenters, and gets killed for his refusal?
Sorry for the rant, gang. I, of course, love all the hot crazy in theory, but when it comes down to it, I say:Bad plan, sorry, can’t back you guys on this one.)
Anyway, back to our story…
50 miles away, out on the scout, Daryl and Aaron have spied a lone man, wearing a red rain poncho, carrying a backpack. They watch him through their binoculars.
“What’s he doing?” Aaron asks, as they watch the man bend down, pick something from the ground, and rub it vigorously on his hands, then his face.
Watching the man, Daryl remarks, “Wild leeks…looks like somebody knows how to keep mosquitoes off him.”
After a moment, Daryl bids Aaron, “Come on,” and they begin to follow the man, keeping a safe distance behind.
Back at Alexandria…
Rick steps out of juvie, blinking in the sunlight…
…and begins to walk down the sidewalk, where Tobin and two other men stand. Tobin is wearing a rifle on his shoulder, a new development in Alexandria…the armory is being guarded, and it seems that Rick’s quarters are under watch as well.
Rick and Tobin greet each other as Rick passes. It is safe to assume the men with Tobin are armed as well, and Rick is most certainly packing his heat. When I first watched this episode, I thought Rick was carrying his pistol openly on him, but rewatching it, I am not sure if it’s open, or hidden, but it most certainly is on him.
Deanna looks up from her papers and watches Rick pass, with some alarm showing on her face.
Rick passes by Deanna, makes eye contact with her, but neither one greets the other as Rick passes.
Seems like Rick could have taken the opportunity to greet Deanna, or apologize for the previous day’s events, but I guess that’s not happening…
Meanwhile…
Glenn sits on the porch, waiting for Maggie to return from her meeting with Deanna as a shady lurker watches him from the shadows….
Nicholas Lurker watches Glenn, hatred in his eyes…he surely has his handgun on him.
Maggie comes up, and Glenn asks her what the verdict is…Maggie tells Glenn it’s what they thought.
Maggie assures Glenn that she will go and talk to people today, before the meeting, plead Rick’s case.
Maggie assures Glenn. He manages a small smile, nods. Maggie sees something is bothering Glenn, asks him, “What?” He does not reply. Maggie sits down next to him, asks again, “What?”
Instead of voicing his real thoughts, Glenn puts his hand on Maggie’s knee, smiles, tells her, “I love you.”
Maggie looks at Glenn’s troubled face. “We’re gonna work it out,” she tells him. “I know it.” They look at each other, and Maggie smiles bravely at Glenn. “I’ll see you there,” Maggie says, and the young couple parts ways.
After Maggie leaves, Glenn sits a moment more on the porch, thinking…a sudden noise makes him look up, and he sees…
… Nicholas, climbing up, and over, the fence. Glenn stands, looks around, then sets off after Nicholas.
The weird just keeps on happening, it seems, because in the next scene, we see Spencer, at the main gate, opening the door for Gabriel. Spencer asks Gabriel, “Sure you don’t want a gun, Father?”
Looking intense and spooky as all get-go, Gabriel replies, “I just want a quick walk.” He looks around, adds, “The Word of God is the only protection I need,” before heading out.
As he closes the gate, Spencer’s look is like, “Ummm…ok.”
Rick, meanwhile, has made it to his house, opens the door, and is greeted immediately by Carl. “Dad!”Carl exclaims, relieved, and rushes forward to give his dad a hug.
Carl, please talk some sense into your father.
Carl asks Rick if he’s ok, and Rick assures him he is, apologizes to Carl as he continues walking through the living room. Carol tells his father he heard about the meeting, and Rick is quick to issue the order, “You’re staying home.”
“That’s what it is, now, right? Home?“ Carl asks. The question stops Rick in his tracks, and he turns around to face his son.
Damn. Even with bandaids and shit all over his face, Rick Grimes is just one fine-ass looking man.
Rick looks at his son for a moment, then answers, “Yeah.”
Carl looks at Rick. “They need us,” he tells his father. “They’ll die without us.“
Rick looks at his son a moment, walks over to him, faces him.
“I may have to threaten one of them,” says Rick. “I may have to kill one of them.” “You won’t,” Carl asserts. “I might,” counters Rick.
“You have to tell them,” Carl says. Rick protests, “I tried to tell them last night.”
Carl looks into his dad’s eyes. “You have to tellthem so they can hear you,” he tells his father, wisely. (I love Carl in this scene!)
Rick leans in towards his son. “I don’t know if they can,” he says softly. He asks Carl, “Does that make you afraid?” Carl shakes his head, then looks at his dad again.
“For them…you have to tell them,” he insists, looking earnestly into Rick’s face. Carl’s right, and deep down, Rick knows it. The Alexandrians may be clueless about some things, but they are basically good people, and both Carl and Rick have grown to care about certain members of the community very, very much.
Rick looks at his son, and nods.
Rick Grimes has some of his finest moments when he is getting schooled by his son. ❤
Meanwhile, about 50 miles away…
Peering through binoculars, Daryl and Aaron spot a couple of tractor trailers which look promising for a major food score.
As Daryl surveys the trucks through the fence, Aaron laments, “We checked the forest, we checked the roads…we can’t find him.” He is talking about the man in the red jacket, who they spotted earlier. They have been searching for him, in vain, and ended up here.
“Sometimes, they (people) slip away, it happens,” Aaron continues. He looks through the fences, at the tractor trailers, then at Daryl. “But, you don’t come across something like this every day.”
Daryl points out that if they do this now, it means they’ve given up on finding the man with the red jacket. Aaron replies that home is 50 miles back…it’s time to go.
“You saw it last night…there’s bad people out here,” Aaron says.
“That’s why we gotta keep looking for the good ones,” Daryl maintains.
“We need more people, we do, and when we find them, we’ll need to feed them,” Aaron points out.
Daryl thinks about this for a moment, then agrees,“All right.” He takes his knife and raps on the metal fence, calling over the walkers that are milling around outside the inner fencing, blocking the way to the trailers.
After making quick work of rekilling the walkers through the fencing, Daryl and Aaron pull open the gate, and make their way towards the trailers, sitting abandoned in the loading area of the canned foods distribution center.
It seems like an ideal score...too good to be true.
As they approach the tractor trailers, Daryl and Aaron don’t seem to notice that each trailer has a couple of empty cans, with holes punched through and strung up alongside, or under, the trailers. The cans catch the wind, and seem to be some kind of noisemaking or alert mechanism.
As they approach the backs of the trailers, each emblazoned with colorful images of cans, vegetables, laden fields, Daryl keeps watch while Aaron, beaming, crouches, opens his backpack. and begins unscrewing something low on the back of one of the trucks.
“Whoa!” Aaron exclaims, looking delighted. “Wasn’t sure I’d see one of these!”Yep, too good to be true…
As he works, Aaron tells Daryl that he doesn’t like giving up either, but, you know, the guy is in a red poncho…
“You can see him from a mile away!”
Aaron pulls up a license plate from Alaska…triple bonus score!
As they stand in front of the three trailers, Aaron happily remarks that even though they may have lost track of the man they were tailing, finding trailers full of canned goods is a pretty great find… Daryl agrees, squats down to pull open one of the trailer doors…the sliding door seems to set off some kind of chain-reaction mechanism, and all at once, all three doors slide open, and what they reveal inside is not quite the bounty the two men were looking for.
Sometimes, it seems, the universe has quite a twisted sense of humor…
…and triple bonus score is merely another name for…
…triple fucked.
Walkers begin to pour out of the trailers, snapping and snarling, while other walkers, without arms or legs, hang on hooks, helplessly gnashing their rotting teeth...just what is the deal with these torso walkers?
Daryl and Aaron make a run for it, only to find their way blocked by another large group of walkers…it seems the trailers open at both ends once the booby trap mechanism is set off.
Daryl and Aaron must fight through the first wave of walkers…Daryl uses his knife to spear through the walkers’ rotten skulls…
…while Aaron uses his newfound Alaska license plate to slice through the walkers’ brains, like a walker-killing MacGyver.
There are too many walkers to fight through, and Daryl and Aaron dive under one of the tractor trailers for momentary cover.
The walkers, however, are not far behind them, clawing their way, hissing, towards the men.
Daryl finds a good-sized length of rusty chain, and he bids Aaron to follow him out the open side of the trailer, away from the crawling walkers. Daryl encounters three walkers in his path, and he chainwhips them in badass bullwhip style…
I have no idea how the WD special effects mavericks achieved this particular effect, but kudos to them…so seamlessly realistic.
Daryl then spears his knife into a walker that has come up on Aaron. Aaron must be taking notes, because he machetes two walkers upside the head in pimp padawan style as the men run for cover from the walker horde that is closing in around them.
Daryl and Aaron run to the only refuge from the walkers they can find, and abandoned car that is sitting in the middle of the lot. As they dive in and try to shut the doors against the crush of walkers, Aaron slams his door on SquishNasty Walker’s head, squishing it nasty…
Yuck.
After a couple of tries, Aaron finally gets the car door shut, and then the two men are trapped in a closed car, as the walkers swarm the outside of it.
Oh noooo!
Back inside the truck, hanging from hooks, the Torso Walkers are all like,”Goddamn it…we miss all the fun shit!”
Well, this sucks.
Aaron says the glass should hold a while…right? Daryl says he thinks so, comes up with the idea to cover the windows, so the walkers can’t see them in there, and eventually lose interest…if they can find something in the car to cover the windows, maybe they can ride it out, or maybe somebody else will come along…
As Aaron and Daryl look around the car for something to cover the windows with, Aaron finds a crumpled note, saying, “Trap. Bad people coming. Don’t stay.”
Aaron, alarmed, looks at Daryl, who looks down at the note. Shit.
Fucked creek, without a paddle, this is.#yodaspeak
And, speaking of fucked creek…
We hear a knock on the door, as we see McBeaty sitting alone in his dark, solitary mansion…it sure is gloomy and lonesome when there’s no one around to terrorize, huh, McBeaty?
After the second knock, McBeaty gets up, goes to the door, and opens it. Carol strides in, carrying a casserole.
“What the hell are you doing?” demands McBeaty.(Wow,McBeaty, you have quite the way with all the ladies, don’t you? What these Alexandrians have yet to realize is that a Carol casserole on the doorstep seems to be the equivalent of a dead canary…)
Still holding the casserole, Carol informs McBeaty, “You need to check on Tara. You treated her, you’re a surgeon, you need to do that.”
McBeaty points to the door. “Get out,” he growls at Carol, beginning to walk back to the dark living room, presumably to sulk some more (as I am sure that Deanna Monroe, Inc. cleared out all the alcohol inMcBeaty’s detention mansion).
As I watched Carol casually reach for her knife, still holding the casserole, I could only think: McBeaty, McBeaty, McBeaty… remember when you tried that line, just yesterday, on Rick Grimes? Remember how that turned out?
As I remember it, as soon as you uttered the fatal words: 1) your wife basically jumpstarted the process of quitting your ass and leaving you for another man, 2) that said man threw you through a window, and, 3) you got your ass beat on some hotasphalt in front of the entire town of Alexandria.
I dunno, McBeaty, maybe next time, you should try another angle…that line doesn’t seem to work very well in your favor!
“I could kill you right now,”Carol informs McBeaty, holding the knife under his chin.
“I could,” Carol continues. “I will…”
“And who would believe I did it because I didn’t like you? No one,” Carol singsongs, holding the pointy end of her knife right up under McBeaty’s chin, twisting it for effect. McBeaty’s breath becomes shaky.
(It is truly comical to see this tiny woman holding a huge knife to this big man, who is breathing hard now, truly shaken.)
Carol keeps the knife point under McBeaty’s chin, not letting up. “They’d believe you tried to hurt me…they’d definitely believe that,“ she informs him.
With one quick swipe of her knife, Carol deftly draws the barest drop of blood from under McBeaty’s chin, and shows it to him on the tip of her blade.
Carol brings the knife down, invites McBeaty, “Come at me.”McBeaty takes the barest step forward, then thinks better of it. “No?” asks Carol. McBeaty wisely doesn’t move, doesn’t answer. “Yeah?” taunts Carol. McBeaty stays still and silent as a stone. “No,” concludes Carol, with some regret in her voice.
Carol regards the tall, shaken man in front of her. “The way this has played out, you have a chance,” she informs him. “You’re here, your wife’s…there,” and New Carolmotions her head towards the end of the street.
New Carol sizes up McBeaty. “You’re a small, weak nothing,” she says, disgustedly. “And with the world how it is, you’re even weaker.”
New Carol tells McBeaty, “Play your cards right, and maybe you don’t have to die.” She then shoves the casserole hard, into his gut, turns to leave, then turns back once more. “I want my dish back clean when you’re done.” And with that, New Carol walks out the door. McBeaty stands there a moment, in shock, before dropping the casserole to the floor, and in an impotent rage, storms into the other room and starts trashing it. “This isn’t my house,” he seethes. “This isn’t my house!”Loud crashing ensues.
Ah, so very good, New Carol…a low bow to you, most honorable master. ❤
Meanwhile, out in the woods, Glenn is following Nicholas, keeping some distance behind. Nicholas scurries deeper into the woods, and after looking around, Glenn follows behind.
Glenn peers at the rekilled remains of Houdini Walker(forgot about you in the memoriam,bud…sorry!) R.I.P.Houdini Walker
Glenn approaches the site cautiously, taking in the sight of the walker, and the bloody chain Aiden and Nicholas used, to try to keep the walker tethered, so they could torture it for their sport when they weren’t feeling so good about themselves, back in the day.
Glenn hears a noise in the bushes, and draws his knife, looking around. A loud shot rings out, and Glenn is hit, the bullet grazing the top of his shoulder.
No!
Glenn winds back, falls to the ground.
Nicholas rushes forward from his cowardly hiding spot in the bushes. (Nicholas! You bastard!)
But when Nicholas reaches the spot where Glenn fell, he only sees drops of blood on the grass and leaves…Glenn is gone.
You tell him, Nelson:
Ah, this next scene…so beautifully done. One of my all-time favorites.
As Jessie tries to clean up the broken mess of her living room window, we see a gentleman caller has come to pay a visit…
I love this look on her face when she looks up and sees Rick coming up her porch stairs. AlexandraBreckenridge does an amazing job in this scene, this episode, and of course, Andrew Lincoln…well, there are no words, even for me. Beautifully shot, beautifully acted. Michael Satrazemis, director of photography, director Greg Nicotero, of course…Deadies all around for this scene, another classic TWDmoment.
“You should go,” Jessie says to Rick (translation:You should goto my bedroom, with me, now!)
“I just wanted to check on you,” Rick says, gently. #constabledreamy
Jessie and Rick share a sweet moment, looking at each other, not saying anything…in words, anyway.
Rick leans forward, noticing. “Your eye,” he says, concerned. Jessie is indeed sporting a black eye from McBeaty’s savage backhand when she tried to pull him off Rick, and break up the fight.
Jessie assures Rick that it happened during the fight. McBeaty has been in Lockdown Mansion, down the street, and hasn’t had a chance to lay a hand on her since.
Jessie then says that they shouldn’t be seen talking right now…but it’s pretty hard to tear themselves away.
“I’m not sorry I did it, no matter what happens, or what I have to do,” Rick tells Jessie (which is pretty much the most perfect thing he could say in this moment). #swoon
After another moment, Rick turn to go. As he turns away, Jessie calls to him, “Don’t turn around, Rick.”
Rick stops, waits. He doesn’t turn around.
“You were right,” says Jessie. Rick turns his face slightly towards her, before walking away.
And down the street, from inside a house that isn’t his own, we see McBeaty watching this interaction.
Cue the sinister Bear McCreary music…
Meanwhile….
50 miles away…
Inside the car, Daryl looks at the walkers outside the window, then looks straight ahead, gives a little laugh as a funny thought occurs to him. “Huh!”
Aaron looks over at Daryl. “What?”Daryl explains, with a shake of his head, “I came out here to…I feel all closed up back there (in Alexandria).”
Daryl looks towards Aaron, then slightly away as he marvels, “Even now…it still feels more like me.”
Daryl sadly muses that back at “those houses,” he was really putting himself “on.”
Aaron winces as the pain of Daryl’s sad statement hits him. Daryl feel his importance as someone who can contribute to his group out in the wild, but is overcome with self doubt finding his place in a walled, polite society, housed in homes that would have never been an option for someone like him before the turn.
Aaron looks at Daryl, says, gently, “You were trying.” Daryl looks ahead, thinking a moment, then replies, “I had to.”
Aaron shakes his head. “No, you didn’t.” Daryl doesn’t respond. Aaron continues, “Listen, I saw you out there with your group, in the road…and you went off, on your own, by the barn. The storm hit…you led your people to safety.” Daryl is silent, listening to Aaron’s words.
“That was it,” Aaron says, remembering. “That’s when I knew that I had to bring you people back.”
Daryl does not reply, and then it is Aaron’s turn for self-reflection, and self doubt. As the walkers continue to hiss and paw at the windows, Aaron looks down, muses, “You were right. We should have kept looking for that guy in the poncho.” Aaron shakes his head. “I shouldn’t have given up. You didn’t.”
After a moment, Daryl pulls out a cigarette, puts it in his mouth, and reaches in his jacket, fishing for a light.
“I’ll go,” Daryl offers. Aaron turns, looks at him in disbelief. “I’ll lead ’em out, you make a break for the fence,” Daryl says, gesturing beyond the car’s windows.
Daryl then lights his smoke, inhales deeply.
“No, no, no,” Aaron counters. “This was my fault.”
Daryl looks at Aaron.
“It wasn’t a question,” rebukes Daryl, “and this ain’t your decision. Ain’t nobody’s fault.”
“Now, just lemme finish my smoke first.” (A very special Deadie right here, right now, for our man, Daryl Dixon:The Most Beautiful, Tender Hero, Always Award)DarylDixon, you are the most beautiful, tender hero, always. ❤
“No,” whispers Aaron. “You don’t draw them away…”
“…we fight.”
Aaron looks at Daryl. “We go for the fence. We do it together…whether we make it or not, we do it together. We have to.” ❤
( A Padawan Hero Deadie for Aaron, here, and a Most ExcellentNewcomer Deadie to Ross Marquand, the actor who plays Aaron. He even does impressions! ) 🙂
Daryl looks over at Aaron, regards him with the barest of smiles, and a new respect. “All right,” he agrees. He takes one more drag of his smoke, asks, “Ready?”
“Yeah,”Aaron replies, softly. Daryl says, “We’ll go on 3.”Aaron grips his machete, and Daryl draws his knife, begins to bounce himself in the seat, readying himself for battle as he begins to count, “1…”
As Daryl counts, Aaron, gripping his machete, turns and locks eyes with one of the walkers, outside. 1-2-3 Walker seems to be smiling at Aaron, as if it knows what is about to happen…
“…2…!” Daryl counts, and as if on cue, 1-2-3 Walker’sbrains are suddenly dashed against the car windows, to Aaron’s shock and surprise.
The car door is flung open, and we see who the rescuer is…Morgan!
Brandishing his trusty wooden staff, Morgan continues taking out walkers, buying Aaron and Daryl a moment to get out of the car and begin battling walkers themselves.
Aaron brings his machete down on a walker’s head…
…as Daryl stabs at the walkers, and Morgan takes them out with his staff. Between the three of them, they are able to clear a line to the gate and quickly get outside, pulling the gate closed behind them, barring the walkers’ way.
As the walkers rush the fence, Aaron, Daryl, and Morgan take a moment to process the fact that they just escaped, with their lives, against all odds. They did it!
Aaron turns to Morgan, ecstatic. “That was…” he begins, bowing his hands towards Morgan, unable to find the words. “Thank you,” he says, simply.
Morgan receives Aaron’s thanks, and praise, humbly.
Aaron introduces himself, and Daryl. Morgan introduces himself, “Morgan.” Daryl regards Morgan, puzzled.
“Why?” Daryl asks him. Morgan looks at Daryl.
“Why?” Morgan replies. “Because all life is precious, Daryl.”
As Morgan and Daryl regard each other, Aaron begins talking, quickly, reminding them that whoever set that trap will be coming back, at some point, and that they have good news…they have a community, with electricity, and walls. Aaron tells Morgan he is welcome to come with them, if he likes.
“I thank you,” Morgan tells them, politely and sincerely, “but I’m on my way somewhere. Fact is,I’m lost.” Morgan begins fishing in his coat pocket for something, says, “If you could tell me where we are,”and hands a map over to Daryl…
…who takes the map Morgan has handed him, and looks down to see Abraham’s note to Rick: “The new world’s gonna need Rick Grimes!” ❤
Daryl looks down at the map, then up at Morgan a couple of times, trying to wrap his head around this. Morgan returns his gaze in an open, friendly manner, his eyebrows raised in silent question.
🙂 Cue the sweet Bear McCreary piano music
Some ways away, another type of music is in the air…a singsong bird whistle carries hesitantly through the woods as Gabriel walks along, clad simply in a long-sleeved white shirt with dark pants.
Gabriel seems to be dressed in white for some sort of ritualistic Eat Meself-sacrifice, and is whistling, presumably, to attract walkers. Judging from Gabriel’s face, however, he may be whistling because he’s really, really terrified and doesn’t quite know what to do with all that.
Gabriel approaches a clearing, and what he sees beyond it warps his little singsong whistle into some shrill, discordant notes…he makes himself step closer…
…towards the walker feasting on some poor doomed somebody in the road.
Gabriel seems to find his resolve more and more with each step towards the walker, who is pretty busy in the moment, and who does not yet notice Gabriel behind it.
Gabriel opens his arms and calls out, “I’m ready!“
That gets Eat Me Walker’sattention, and it turns to face Gabriel.
Eat Me Walker stands and begins lurching towards Gabriel, whose eyes are wide with fear, but who continues to step towards the fast-coming walker…
Arms open, walking towards the walker, Gabriel repeats, more uncertainly this time, “I’m ready.”
Eat Me Walker lurches towards Gabriel, whose face begins to look more and more like, “I’m not ready” for this…
“No, fuck this, I am definitely not ready for this! Fuck. This!”
Gabriel pushes the walker back with its first rush at him, and it takes him one more second of considering his course before he does what any other person, sane or not, would do if he/she wanted to continue living…he defends himself.
Crying, hating himself, Gabriel pulls at Eat Me Walker’s hanging noose end until the walker’s head pops off its rotten neck.
So much for self sacrifice. Never been a big fan of it, myself.
Gabriel takes a large rock and smashes it into Eat Me Walker’s gnashing, reanimated head, spattering its brains all over the ground. The only thing I could think in the moment, watching this scene, was, “Well, where was all that brawn and bravado before, Gabriel, when Rick and the gang could have really used another killing machine in their many righteous battles against the undead, and your ass just hung back, and watched, and sniveled? You better be jumping up and getting up in there next time…just sayin’…time to be ahelper, Gabriel!”
Gabriel walks over to Eat Me Walker’s chomped victim, who lay convulsing on the ground…
Gabriel lifts the rock high, and brings it down on the poor man’s head, killing him for good.
Gabriel breaks down, sobbing. He collapses in the road, crying in real anguish. The Renegade Deadie goesto our man, Seth Gilliam, who is killing it once again as Gabriel, the tortured priest! (I do hope that Seth Gilliam can start living closer to the rest of the TWD cast during Season 6 shooting, and not be an outsider any more…closer digs would be way more fun.)
Meanwhile, back in Alexandria, Abraham comes to visit Tara, bearing hand cut flowers in a jar…
…and stops short when he sees Eugene’s dozing form, slumped in one of the visitor’s chairs beside Tara’s bed.
Abraham turns to go. “I’ll come by later,” he mutters, trying to duck out the door. “He’s asleep,” Rosita says. Abraham stops. Rosita smiles at him, as if trying not to laugh. “He’s asleep, sit,” she says. Rosita turns back to writing as Abraham quiety closes the door and begins to gingerly step over to Tara’s bed.
After taking a second to stare down at Eugene, determining if he really is asleep, Abraham begins to ease himself slowly into the chair beside Eugene when…
…Rosita deliberately pushes a metal pan off the counter, sending it clattering loudly to the floor. “Whoops, “ Rosita mock laments. Abraham freezes in mid-sit, his face saying it all. She got him good, and they both know it.
Eugene jolts awakes, sees Abraham beside him. He peers over at Abraham, who is turning back from shooting Rosita a look…Abraham and Eugene regard each other a moment.
“Good afternoon,” says Eugene. Abraham says nothing.
First Abraham, then Eugene, turn their gazes back to Tara, sleeping in her bed. An awkward moment passes, then Eugene speaks up. “She saved my life,” he says, of Tara.
Eugene continues, “She also cracked open my gourd to considering implications I hadn’t… I’ll remark on those at this time.”
Eugene turns to Abraham. “You got us here. All I did was craft a top shelf lie, to which a person of strength and heroism could apply their talents.”(Editor’s note: The Top Shelf Lie is an amazing name for a mullet.)
“My bet was that you needed that,” Eugene continues, still looking over at Abraham. Abraham is kind of staring ahead, at Tara’s sleeping form, taking it all in.
“I thank you,“ Eugene says, simply and humbly, and bravely. Abraham turns to face Eugene.
Tears in his eyes, and a shake in his voice, Eugene looks at Abraham and says, “I am sorry.” Awww!❤
“And I mean both, emphatically and in equal measure,” Eugene concludes.
After a moment, Abraham looks back at Eugene…
…then looks away again. As Rosita and Eugene watch, Abraham seems to really struggle with saying the words: “I’m…sorry, too.”
Eugene hurriedly tries to assure Abraham that his apology is “utterly and completely unnecessary,” when Abraham reminds him that:
“I almost killed you.” Abraham’s voice betrays his anger at himself for losing his shit on Eugene so hard after Eugene confessed his big lie.
“Yes,” Eugene concedes, “there’s that.” The men look at each other for one more awkward moment, then both turn back to look at Tara.
Meanwhile, Spencer, who is pulling gate duty, hears a rap at the gate, peers through an opening in the tarp covering the fence, and sees Gabriel has returned.
Spencer rolls open the gate. “You’re back,” he greets Gabriel. “Good. Just wanted to sneak off to the meeting.”
Gabriel does not reply, just looks like his usual spooked self, and Spencer turns to go, then turns back to Gabriel. “Do you think we could find some time to talk later?” he asks the priest. “About Aiden? There’s just some things I need to say, and I’m not sure who I can say them to.”
Spencer looks shyly at Gabriel, confesses, “I don’t really have anyone here, right now, if you know what I mean.”
Oh, I think Father Gabriel knows exactly what you mean, Spencer!
Gabriel whispers something like, “I see,” which really isn’t the most comforting or reassuring reply, but Spencer seems like he’s already onto number next. There’s a meeting to get to, and it’s a big one…they’re gonna be talking exile and shit.
“Cool,” Spencer says breezily, and turns to go, then turns back to Gabriel, motions towards the gate. “Can you get that?” Spencer asks Gabriel, and like someone half asleep, Gabriel whispers, “Yeah…”
“Thank you,” says Spencer, turns, and strides off towards the meeting. Gabriel turns and pulls the gate closed, half-heartedly, and is already walking away as the metal door bounces against the frame and begins to roll back open…unlatched, unlocked, unmanned…open.
Dude, really?
Meanwhile, out in the woods…
Nicholas is running through the woods, buggin’ hard, trying to find Glenn, who he shot, and lost…he sees a figure moving through the trees, raises his gun.
The moving figure, however, turns out not to be Glenn, but Je Ne Sais Quoi Walker, whose face alights as it spies Nicholas, and begins to stride towards him with a certain, undead, je ne sais quoi flair to its shuffling step.
Nicholas pulls out his knife as the walker approaches, but seems to lack confidence in his hand-to-hand walker takedown skills…
Nicholas goes for what he knows, reaching for his pistol and firing upon the walker , rekilling it instantly. Glenn knows this is the moment to strike, and he tackles Nicholas against a tree.
Glenn, being shot, has the definite disadvantage of being wounded, in pain, and losing blood, but he manages to land some good shots at Nicholas…
Nicholas gets some good shots in on Glenn, and does the dick maneuver of jabbing a finger or thumb into Glenn’s bullet wound, causing Glenn to cry out in pain. Glenn tackles Nicholas to the ground…
…and manages to stomp the inside of one of Nicholas’s legs, hard, most likely breaking the bone. Nicholas gets the advantage once again, ending up on top of Glenn, punching him again and again, jabbing poor Glenn’s wound. Glenn screams out in pain.
The noise attracts the attention of Aye, Aye, Aye Walker, who ambles up crookedly with a high-pitched, gurgling snarl, “Aye…aye…aye!”
As Aye, Aye, Aye Walkercomes up, Nicholas rolls off Glenn and flees, leaving Glenn at the mercy of the she-walker and two other undead fiends…Nicholas, you bastard!
Aye, aye, aye! Watching this finale episode, my WD buddy and I were super freaked at this scene, which ended with the shot fading out, to the next scene, or commercial. I turned to my WDbuddy and said, “They’re not going to take Glenn down with a fade-out!”
Meanwhile…
Rick is sitting alone, looking down, thinking. Michonne comes up behind him, watches him a moment. “Rick,” she says, softly, “you ready?”
Rick sits a moment, then turns to Michonne, and starts to confess the truth. He looks pretty adorable, abashed, not really able to meet her eyes at times as he comes clean with her.
“Daryl, Carol, and me…we worked it out together. Carol took three guns from the armory. I still have one, she still has one.” Rick turns to look at Michonne, who is digesting all this information.
Rick takes a deep breath before continuing. “We lied to you, because I wasn’t sure how you’d take it, what you’d do.”
Rick holds out the gun for Michonne to take. Michonne, however, makes no move to take the gun.
Michonne tosses the constable’s jacket on the bed, fixes Rick with a look. “You think I’d try to stop you?” she chides gently.
Rick, still holding out the gun, looks at Michonne, who still does not reach for it.
“Well,” he jokes, “you did hit me over the head.”
“That was for you,” Michonne replies, “not them.”
Rick takes this in, gets up from the bed, walks over to Michonne. He stands before her, faces her.
“I was afraid you’d talk me out of it,” Rick tells Michonne. “You could have.”
Michonne’s face softens as she looks at the big adorable dummy in front of her. “We don’t need them (guns) here,” she says gently, shaking her head. “I don’t need my sword.”
Michonne looks up at Rick, looking like The MostBeautiful Wise One (and you know that’s a Deadie, and you know it goes to Michonne/Danai Gurira!). ❤
Michonne tells Rick, “I think you can find a way.” Rick looks away, in a moment of resistance, or embarrassment, as he hears aloud what he probably already knew, deep down, to be true.
“We can find a way…” Michonne continues, “and if we don’t?” Michonne pauses a moment to let her next statement sink in, “I’m still with you.”
Dammit, Richonne, why? Why?? It could have been so amazing! I am trying to be supportive and unconditional with the whole Ressie thing, but you two, together, would have been the sexy superhero team-up of my dreams… <sob!>
Continuing to be a beautiful oracle,Michonne tells Rick, “Something’s gonna happen…just don’t make something happen.”
Rick takes the wisdom, and the lesson, in. He tries to hand Michonne his handgun one last time, and she presses it back towards him.
Michonne turns to leave. “Don’t be too long,”she tells Rick, who stands silently, mulling over her words.
Rick sits on the end of the bed, unsheathing a long, machete-style blade, weighing options, remembering words that Bob had told him, back on the goods run at the food bank:
“And you’re gonna find yourself in a place where it’s like where I used to be…and if you let too much go along the way, it’s not gonna work. “
As Rick stands and looks at the gun in his hand, Bob’s words continue to come back to him: “You’re gonna be back in the real world.”
Rick’s own words to Bob come back to him as he tucks the handgun into the back waistband of his pants, “This is the real world, Bob.”
We hear Bob’s laugh, then his reply: “Naw, this is a nightmare…and nightmares end.”
Rick is pacing around the room, thinking, deciding…as he looks out the window, something outside catches his eye…something very amiss.
Alarmed, Rick grabs his jacket, and rushes out of the room.
Outside, Rick walks quickly towards the gate, which is open…he checks all around the fence, peers outside, then sees…
…blood and gory bits left on the slide-latch part of the gate…Rick looks down at the ground, sees drops of blood in a line leading into Alexandria.
Rick quickly pulls the gate closed, latches it locked, and turns to scour the streets of Alexandria…
…for uninvited, undead intruders!
Meanwhile, we see Gabriel, gate-jacker, returning to his makeshift chapel, where a surprise visitor awaits him…
Sasha.
Gabriel and Sasha look at one another a moment, then Gabriel walks silently up to the front of the chapel’s altar. Sasha looks down miserably towards the floor in front of her as she talks. “I came here…because I don’t knowwhat to do…I’m losing my head.”
“Can you help me?” Sasha asks, still staring towards the floor, unable to look at Gabriel, tears in her eyes.
Gabriel turns to regard the woman seated in his chapel. “No,” he replies, cruelly.
Meanwhile, the town meeting is waiting to begin…Rick is not there, nor is Glenn, Gabriel, Nicholas, Carl.
Deanna Monroe’s face looks grim as she waits with Reg and Spencer.
Maggie is trying to keep cool, but glances over towards Deanna. You can tell she’s worried. It doesn’t look good for Rick, his not being there. And where is Glenn?
We see a shot of the assembled townspeople, seated in chairs around a fire. We see Michonne looking around, surely wondering where Rick is, where the others are.
We see Jessie, sporting a black eye, most certainly freaking out inside, but outwardly keeping it together pretty damn well, and looking pretty cute doing it.
After a moment more, Deanna announces to the assembled townspeople, “We’re going to start.”
“Can we wait?” Maggie’s voice is soft, but firm. “There’s still people coming. Glenn…Rick.” (Awarding a Maggie For President Deadie to Maggie Greene/Lauren Cohan here, for bringing it in Season 5, and looking gorgeous doing it!) ❤
In response, Deanna Monroe turns back to the assembled citizens, says again, “We’re going to start.”
Deanna turns to look at Maggie. “It’s alreadydark,” she says, petulantly. Man, these Alexandrians really have gone soft behind these walls!
Deanna turns and begins to make her case to the assembled. She orates grandly, and it is easy to imagine her before the turn, taking the stage, or the floor, and addressing the public, or her fellow members of Congress.
“We’re going to talk about what happened,” Deanna begins, “not the fight, not what precipitated it. We’re dealing with that. We’re going to talk about one of our constables, Rick Grimes. We’re going to talk about how he had a pistol…”
“… he stole from the armory…”
“…about how he pointed it at people…”
“And, we’re going to talk about what he said.“
Deanna lays it on thick as she shakes her head and mock laments, “I was hoping he’d be here.” (It made me think that Deanna considered it a personal affront on Rick’s part, and a show of disrespect for the Alexandrian way, his not being at the meeting. It seemed to me that while Deanna considered herself an impartial judge, she had, on some level, already made up her mind about how she wanted to handle Rick, with this perceived insult at the forefront of her consciousness.)
Junior League Carol chimes in, with a hopeful smile at Deanna, “I’m sure he’ll be here…and I’m sure we can work all this out.”
The scene shifts to the darkened woods outside the walls…
…and we see Nicholas looking around fearfully…
…making his way back towards the walled town, limping on his broken ankle, thinking he had gotten rid of Glenn for good.
The scene shifts again, to the darkened streets of Alexandria…
…where Rick Grimes runs through the streets, knife drawn, patrolling the town that is deciding his fate in this very moment .
Meanwhile, in Gabriel’s chapel…
“I think I wanna die,” Sasha says in a shaking voice. Gabriel looks down grimly a the candles he is lighting. “Why wouldn’t you want to die?” he asks, brutally.
Gabriel turns to face Sasha. “You don’t deserve to be here. What you did, can never be undone.”
Gabriel flings his words, and contempt, at Sasha like weapons. “The dead don’t choose, but the choices you made, how you sacrificed your own….”Gabriel trails off here for a moment, looks away. Is he talking about Sasha…or himself?
Sasha looks at Gabriel, says, “I know what you’re doing.”
Gabriel does not let up, however, and the hurtful words keep coming.
“Bob was mutilated…consumed…destroyedbecause of your sins.“ “Stop it, ” Sasha tells him, eyes wide. But Gabriel keeps walking towards Sasha, jabbing his finger at her, accusing. “Your brother thought that he was apart from it…he was a part of it. He didn’t deserve to be here! You don’t!” (Yep, Gabriel seems to definitely be projecting his guilt and anger at himself onto Sasha, Tyreese, and the others.)
“Stop it! Stop it!”screams Sasha, rushing Gabriel, shoving him up against the wall.
Rick, meanwhile, is racing through the yards, searching…a couple of dogs from inside the houses begin barking, obscuring the sounds ofsomethingcoming up behind Rick…
One of the Freejack Walkers sneaks up behind Rick…
…who whirls around, just in time, to face his undead attacker.
At the meeting, Michonne is trying to explain reality to the Alexandrians. It’s hard to know if the lot of them are picking up what she is putting down…
“And after being out there, and then not being how you were out there, it can drive you crazy. Rick just wants his family to live. He wants all of you to live.”
Michonne looks around at the assembled Alexandrians, then at Deanna Monroe. “Who he is, that’s who you’re gonna be…if you’re lucky.“
In that very moment, in another part of town…
Rick is busy fighting off, stabbing the Freejack Walkers…
Back at the chapel…
Sasha and Gabriel battle it out, wrestling the gun, which fires an errant shot through one of the chapel windows…Sasha manages to smack Gabriel in the head with the butt end of the gun, and he falls to the floor.
…and out in the dark woods…
We see Nicholas, limping through the trees, looking around, looking frightened…a noise behind him startles him…
…and we see Glenn come up behind Nicholas, and beat him down with one punch. Yes!
And, back around the fire, the Rick Grimes Testimonials continue…
“Rick Grimes saved my life, over and over,” Carol tells the group. “There’s terrifying people out there, and he rescued me from them. People like me…people like us, need people like him.” Amen to that, New Carol!
Junior League Carollooks at the others. “I know what happened last night was scary…and I’m sure he’s sorry for that…but maybe we should listen to what he was saying.”
Rick, meanwhile, has his hands full, as Blow Yer Top Walkerhas him pinned underneath as it snaps at Rick’s face…
Rick Smash! summons all his strength, pressing his handgun into Blow Yer Top Walker’s rotting neck with all his might. We hear the horrible liquid sounds of Blow Yer Top Walker’s head reaching max pressure as Rick presses the pistol deeper and deeper into the decaying flesh under the walker’s chin…
As Glenn takes another, then another shot at Nicholas, out in the woods…
Abraham testifies on Rick’s behalf. He informs those gathered at the meeting, “Simply put, there is a vast ocean of shit that you people don’t know shit about…Rick knows every finegrain of said shit, and then some.”
Case in point, elsewhere in town…
Rick, underneath Blow Yer Top Walker, continues to press into the underside of the walker’s chin, upward into its brain, pulling the trigger, and exploding Blow Yer TopWalker’s head in a gorish spray of fetid blood and brains, all over his face. Rick sputters, pushing the dead walker off him, and lying there with walker blood and goo all over his face and front.
RIPBlow Yer Top Walker
And, speaking of terrifying people…50 miles away, at the canned food distribution center…
We see the Wolfboys walking Red Poncho Guy, whose hands are tied behind his back, up to the gates of the distribution center, where the walkers snarl and grab at the fence.
The poor man pleads with them, but the Wolfboys pay him no heed. “They’ll hear you,” the dark-haired one tells him. “It will take longer to reset.”
Repeating his words to Morgan, earlier that day, the dark-haired one tells the Red Poncho Guy, “Just be still…just be still.” The blond one then turns the Red Poncho Guy around, and the dark haired one slashes the poor man’s neck with one swift stroke of his knife. RIPRed Poncho Guy 😦
The dark-haired wolfboy turns to the blond one, as their latest victim, a newly deceased addition to their walker army, slumps to the ground, his life’s blood streaming out of the gash in his throat. “Welcome home,” the dark-haired one says, as the wolfboys turn to regard the savage walkers, fenced in, snarling, beyond the gate.
After a much-needed commercial/beverage re-up break, we are taken back to Alexandria, where Maggie is talking to the group about Rick Grimes.
“My father respected Rick Grimes,” Maggie tells the others. “Rick is a father, too. He’s a man with a good heart, and he feels the things he does, the things he has to do.”
Maggie continues, “And all of us, who were together before this place, no matter when we found each other, we’re family now. Rick started that.”
Maggie looks at the group, then turns to look at Deanna Monroe. “And you won’t stop it. You can’t. And you don’t want to.”
Maggie looks around at those gathered, at Deanna. “This community…you people…that family…you want to be a part of it, too.”
Deanna, and the other citizens of Alexandria, seem to have many things to consider while deciding Rick Grimes’ fate.
After Maggie finishes speaking, Deanna steps forward. “Before we hear from…anyone else, I would like to share something in the spirit of transparency.”
Deanna rubs her hands, pauses, then with fingers laced, thumbs tapping together, continues: “Father Gabriel came to see me the day before yesterday, and he told me that our new arrivals can’t be trusted, that they are dangerous, that they would put themselves before this community.”
Maggie looks over at Deanna, but holds her tongue...once again, Maggie is exhibiting way more self control in this moment than I ever could!
Deanna continues, “And, not one day later, Rick seemed to demonstrate all the things that Father Gabriel said.” Deanna looks at the group assembled, concludes,“I had hoped Father Gabriel would be here tonight.”
As Deanna moves to sit back down, Jessie speaks up.
“I don’t see him here, Deanna,” Jessie says clearly, stopping Deanna mid-sit. “So, you’re just saying what someone said…did you tape him?” (Yes, Jessie, way to have your man’s back!)
“He’s not here,” Maggie confirms.
“Neither is Rick,” Deanna fires back.
And, neither is Noah…and for that, out in those dark woods, Glenn wants to make Nicholas pay…
“Noah died because of you,” Glenn grinds out, pinning Nicholas to the ground.
“And I tried to tell you how it is, how it has to be, and you tried to kill me?!” In the face of Glenn’s fury, Nicholas is crying, shaking his head… to no avail, of course. Too little, too late, Nicholas.
Glenn cocks the pistol, points it into the center of Nicholas’s forehead, as Nicholas starts to sob in terror.
And back in the chapel…
Gabriel lay on the floor, dazed and terrified, himself…
…because Sasha’s been pushed too far. Sister’s got her #killinface on, and she’s standing over Gabriel, pointing her rifle down at him, ready to defile another chapel with some blood and guts! (Gabriel, I guess if you were hellbent on dying today, you picked a quick, effective means of departure from this world!)
Meanwhile, 50 miles away, a surreal moment unfurls…and the plot thickens.
We see a hand press a button on a remote, and suddenly, lights flash inside the open truck trailers, and a happy, soothing, singsongy song plays loudly in the fenced distribution area. The walkers turn toward the lights and noise…
The wolfboys watch the walkers turn and begin to shuffle back towards their trailer/holding pens, as if trained. It is easy to imagine these young men were technically savvy before the turn, and have used their talents in these times…
…to rig up a system of manipulating, keeping, and even customizing walkers, for use in some mysterious, nefarious scheme (which I am sure will be revealed, courtesy of Kirkman, Gimple, Nicotero & Co.,in due time!). Shudder!
Back at the meeting…
Tobin has the floor. “I just want to keep my family safe,” he is saying. “I don’t know what that means anymore, but if that means we have to get rid of some-…”
Tobin stops mid-sentence when he sees…
Bloody Rickhas finally made it to the meeting, and he’s brought Deanna a present…
Rick throws Blow Yer Top Walker’s rekilled body onto the ground, right at Deanna’s feet, as his people, and the assembled citizens, gape wordlessly at him.
Bloody Rick looks around at the group, like, “You were saying, assholes?”
Out in the woods, pistol to his head, Nicholas is terrified, pleading, blubbering…
“I was scared…I was scared…I don’t belong…I don’t belong out here!”
“Shut up!” Glenn grinds out, but Nicholas is too scared to stop himself, keeps saying, “I was scared…I was scared…”
“I don’t…I don’t belong out here…I don’t belong out here…”“Shut up!” Glenn hollers at Nicholas, preparing to squeeze the trigger, but we see Glenn’s face, his anguish as he holds the gun to the sobbing man’s head...can he really pull the trigger, kill a man who is crying, pleading for his life?
“Shut up,” Glenn whispers to the crying man underneath him, before rolling off Nicholas. Nicholas sobs in relief. Glenn cannot do it. Despite all he has seen, and all he has lost, Glenn has not lost his humanity, his compassion. Beacon of Humanity Deadie for our man, Glenn Rhee/Steven Yeun❤
Back at the chapel, pointing her rifle at Gabriel, Sasha is struggling with her own moral dilemma…
Sasha points the rifle at Gabriel, but cannot bring herself to pull the trigger.
“Do it,” urges Gabriel.
Maggie comes in to the room, sees what’s happening. “Sasha!” Maggie admonishes, coming quickly to her friend’s side, gently placing her hands on the gun, and holding steady as Sasha breaks down in tears. Maggie gently takes the gun away from Sasha.
“You should let her,” Gabriel says, miserably. “They died…they all died because of me.”
Maggie looks down at Gabriel, her face showing her compassion for the priest’s anguish. She kneels down, and looks at Gabriel.
“They did,” Maggie agrees, simply, taking Gabriel’s hand, and pulling him up to standing. Truly her father’s daughter. ❤
Meanwhile, at the town meeting…
Rick tells the assembled, who are still staring in disbelief at the dead walker in front of them, “There wasn’t a guard on the gate…it was open.”
Deanna looks at Spencer, who tells her, “I asked Gabriel to close it.” Deanna takes this in. “Go!” she orders her son, who rushes off.
Rick turns to the townspeople. “I didn’t bring it in…it got inside on its own.”
Rick turns to Deanna, and Reg, who look like they are finally ready to listen to what he has to tell them. “They always will…” Rick tells them.
“…the dead, and the living, because we’re in here.The ones out there...”
“…they’ll hunt us…”
“…they’ll find us…”
“…they’ll try to use us…”
“…and they’ll try to kill us.”
We see one of the wolfboys collect Aaron’s dropped bag from the ground at the distribution center…
…and look through the pictures, images of people living a life like before the turn…
…in a peaceful, idyllic community, nestled behind tall steel walls. Choice digs for the taking.
“But,” Rick continues, “we’ll kill them. We’ll survive. I’ll show you how.”
Rick looks around at the assembled citizens of Alexandria. “You know, I was thinkin’…I was thinkin’ how many of you do I have to kill, to save your lives?”
“But I’m not gonna do that…”
“You’re gonna change.”
Rick turns to Deanna. “I’m not sorry for what I said last night…”
“…I’m sorry for not saying it sooner. You’re not ready, but you have to be. Right now. You have to be. Luck runs out.“
And right on cue, here comes Mr. Bad Luck himself, Dr. Petey McBeaty…
“You’re not one of us!” McBeaty grinds out, brandishing…Michonne’s katana?
Reg, being the kind, kind soul that he is, rushes forward, between McBeaty and Rick, trying to talk McBeaty down. “Pete…you don’t want to do this!”
McBeaty growls out, “Get the hell away from me, Reg.” Reg, being a good, reasonable man, continues to try to talk sense into a furious, probably drunk, madman. (Let’s face it…if McBeaty broke in and stole Michonne’s katana from their house, he probably took the booze, too!)
Deanna frantically tries to call Reg back, but before she can get him to back away from McBeaty, luck does indeed run out for Reg…and Deanna. 😦
McBeaty pushes Reg, who is trying to talk to him, stop him from certain folly, then McBeaty slashes Reg’s throat with the katana. Horrible. Just… horrible.
It is so awful watching Deanna hold her beloved husband as his life’s blood pours from his wound, sobbing, “My love…my love!”
Deanna looks up at Rick, anguished. “Rick…” she says.
“Do it.”
Rick turns and fires one fatal shot into McBeaty’s head…later, McBeaty.
And, hello, Morgan!
“Rick?”
Can somebody say, “awkward??”
Wow. Done. It has been a long, epic, and sometimes arduous journey to get this last post out. Life, and all that. Thank you for reading, and for being patient, and a special thank you to all those who kept checking in these last two months, to see if I had posted yet. It was like a blue jay pecking at my open wound (completely intentional reference to Seth McFarlane’s hilarious western spoof, A Million Ways To Die In The West…once again, I say, thank you, Seth McFarlane!) to see my sad stats page, knowing I was letting readers down.
All apologies, loves, and I do hope, with my finale post, and with my homage to WD Season5, that I brought it in a way that was worth the wait. Let me know. Give me a shout.Much fun to be had this summer, with social media, new music tech, and new spinoff series, Fear The Walking Dead.
Start of the turn? In L.A.?I am so there! Not writing about it (unless someone wants to hire me for recap/synopses…give a shout! I can be brief, and not use cuss words…really!) but maybe a pic or two, a playlist with each episode. I have lots of fun on social media, always throwing random stuff out in my continuous worship of pop culture, so keep posted with barnfullawalkersthis summer:
Happy summer, loves, and enjoy the playlist. Lots of fun to look forward to…stay tuned, and keep in touch…I may be showing up in some TWD chatrooms, waxing poetic about Richonne and shit…and if I pull it off, a new graphic header just in time for Season 6!
I dedicate this post to my sister, Peg. Thank you for supporting me, and believing in me. I love you.
Season 5 Finale Playlist:
Carl Douglas, “Kung Fu Fighting”
KRS One, “Sound of the Police
DMX, “What’s My Name?”
Prodigy, “Smack My Bitch Up”
Ty Segall, “Shoot You In The Head”
Royal Blood, “Little Monster”
The Soft Moon, “Insides”
Cold War Kids, “Relief”
Father John Misty, “True Affection” (for Rick and Jessie)
(All images used in this post are screen caps from AMC’s The Walking Dead, unless otherwise specified.)
The Walking Dead’s Season 5, Episode 15, “Try, opens with a shot of a lone walker, lurching through a woods at night…we see the walker’s mouth, chin, and shirt is slick with fresh blood, suggesting it has recently fed.
I have read on Walking Dead Wiki http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_Wiki that walkers do not need to eat the flesh of the living to continue to move, and function at their rudimentary level (as they are already dead). The impulse to eat the flesh of the living is the strongest (and only) remaining impulse that the reanimated, rotting corpses possess, and eating the flesh of the living does seem to energize the walkers…this guy, You Got A Little Something On Your Face, There, Walker does seem quite animated after chomping on some poor somebody, or some thing, in the woods.
As the walker makes its way, snarling, through the woods, we see it step upon a shattered framed picture lying in the grass…
…and as it lurches off, we recognize the picture as one that Sasha had used as target practice, not far from the gates of Alexandria.
Meanwhile, inside the walls of the sustainable community…
…there is a small family vigil being held for Aiden at the home of the Monroes. Candles are lit, and we see Deanna’s hands holding a CD of another one of Aiden’s specialty “Run Mixes.” Deanna’s fingers lightly caress the cd case before she opens it, walks over to the CD player, and puts the CD in, presses “Play.”
The beginning of Nine Inch Nails’“Somewhat Damaged”begins to play in the room…the song starts out kind of mellow, with jangly guitar notes and a steady beat… the song quickly builds as Deanna, Reg, and Spencer listen, thinking of Aiden.
And, in the kitchen of another palatial Alexandria home…
…an oven preheats…
…and we see Carol’s hands as she begins to make a tuna casserole.
We see how Carol carefully measures and prepares each ingredient of the casserole, most certainly amending the recipe to substitute for missing, unavailable ingredients.
It is easy to imagine how the step-by-step science and methodology of cooking helped provide distraction, comfort, and order in Carol’s world back before the turn, when she was married to an abusive husband, trying to survive each day and protect her daughter from the violence and unpredictability of her everyday existence.
After Carol sets the casserole in the oven to bake, she wipes her hands on a kitchen towel and picks up a pen, trying to find the words to craft a sympathy note for Deanna and her family.
Carol’s pen is poised above the blank notecard…
…and Carol looks up at a tiny picture of a baby (is this a baby monitor?) left behind by the former residents of the home. Like Deanna, Michonne, and so many others, Carol is a mother who has lost her child in the apocalypse, and who has had to find the strength inside her to keep going, to keep living, while carrying this loss, this grief inside her.
As Carol struggles to find the words, a little face peers in the window…it’s Sam. He looks at Carol through the window.
Carol looks up and sees the little boy. It seems that lost children keep finding Carol in these times, and she is challenged once again to open her heart to a child who needs her.
As “Somewhat Damaged”continues to build, and escalate, layer by layer, we see, next, Sasha’s hand, in the darkness of the watchtower, grabbing for the night scope rifle propped up next to her.
As Sasha tries to peer through the scope, and focus, we see she is shaking, distressed, near tears.
Sasha is unable to hold the gun steady, keeps trying to bring herself back under control.
For a moment, it seems Sasha is able to rein in her emotions, regain control, aim and focus her rifle…
…but after a moment, Sasha again dissolves into tears.
As Sasha struggles in the watchtower, You Got A Little Something On Your Face, There, Walkeremerges, snarling, from the woods, then turns….
…lurching towards the gates of Alexandria.
Meanwhile, poor Reg, who has valiantly tried to hang with Deanna’s method of honoring Aiden, cannot bear the driving, intense music any longer.
Tears in his eyes, Reg quietly says, “Turn it off.” Spencer quickly rises to do his father’s bidding, looking relieved as he does so.
As Spencer kills the music, Deanna hugs a throw pillow, and the empty CD case, miserably to her chest.
A light knock on the front door surprises Deanna out of her reverie, and she looks up, goes to the door to see who it is.
We see, once again, a quick shot of the walker, lurching crookedly towards Alexandria… and then, the scene shifts back to Deanna, who opens her front door. Nobody is there. Deanna peers out into the darkness a moment, her expression grim. She is about to step back inside and close the door when she spots something sitting on her doorstep.
Looking down, Deanna sees Carol’s condolence casserole.
There is a note leaned up on the lid of the casserole, which reads: We’re truly sorry for your loss.
Deanna reaches down, picks up the note and reads its message, then looks up from the note, her expression still grim.
Deanna goes back into her home and closes the door, leaving the casserole untouched on the doorstep.
Deanna comes back into her living room with Carol’s sympathy note, and holds the note to the candle’s flame.
Deanna, Reg, and Spencer watch the note burn in silence before Deanna drops it into a dish on the coffee table, where it burns and curls into ashes.
Meanwhile, You Got A Little Something On Your Face There, Walker has reached the Alexandrian walls and paws at the gates, snarling and trying to get in.
The walker seems to be bolstered by its recent feed, and it seems to smell the flesh and blood of the living on the other side of those steel panels. (I also read in Walking Dead Wiki that while the walkers do not possess keen eyesight, their sense of smell, and hearing, remain their strongest senses.)
We see the walker’s face just before a single bullet from Sasha’s gun blows its head to bits.
Meanwhile, in the darkness, somewhere outside and away from the walls of Alexandria…
…a lone walker in a field goes down after a single arrow spears its skull.
Daryl strides up in the darkness towards the dead walker to retrieve his arrow, while Aaron, looking around, remarks, “There’s more of them around than there used to be….don’t know if any people are…” Daryl shushes him quiet, points to something ahead, in the distance.
“Someone is,” Daryl says quietly.
In the forest, the men see a light of a fire burning in the distance.
Cue the Bear McCreary opening title sequence…
After the commercial break, we see Nicholas’s videotaped account of what happened to Aiden being rewound, before being played again…
As the videotape rewinds, we see the many contrived gestures, expressions, sighs, and pauses Nicholas puts on while recounting the events leading up to Aiden’s death…of course, Nicholas is lying his ass off, trying to put the blame on Glenn.
Nicholas turns his eyes to the camera, trying for an earnest expression. “Aiden was, uh, trying to save us…from a roamer…shooting at it.” Nicholas looks off, shakes his head. “Then, Glenn distracted him.” Nicholas’s story has many starts and stops, like a kid who is making up a lie on the spot to try to avoid getting in trouble.
We then see Glenn, who is giving his own, truthful, account of what happened during the fatal run to the solar supply warehouse. His expression stays even, and he doesn’t often break eye contact with his listener, even though his eyes are dull with grief and misery while remembering the horrors he witnessed. There is no need for gratuitous gesturing, sighs, embellishments…the nightmarish account speaks for itself.
Glenn’s voice is soft, hoarse. “I saw the grenades…I tried to stop him.”
“They wanted to just go,” Nicholas lies. “I didn’t.”
“He was gonna run,” Glenn says of Nicholas.
Nicholas looks off again, shaking his head. “I wasn’t going to leave him (Aiden),” he asserts, sanctimoniously. “What about Tara?”asks Deanna, off camera. Nicholas turns to face the camera. “I wasn’t going to leave her.”
“But we made him stay,” Glenn continues. “(We) couldn’t get Aiden out of there without help.”
Nicholas continues his lie, looking off again, getting more animated as his story gains momentum, “Then, when we got into the lobby…”
Glenn says, wonderingly,“All he had to do was hold the door…”(Nicholas clearly would have never lasted with out there with our fine, fine gang, who time and time again worked together to accomplish way more extraordinary feats to survive than holding a damn rotating door. Curse you, Nicholas, you cowardly liar!)
Nicholas keeps looking away from the camera, away from Deanna, as he proclaims, “He kept hitting at the glass, pushing my door open…they were going to kill me!”
Glenn looks sorrowfully at his listener. “But he (Nicholas) panicked.”
“Or, they were trying to, or…they didn’t care.”
“Noah…I had him. I had his hand…”
“And I…if I didn’t push back…I’d be dead too.“ Nicholas looks at Deanna then, his mouth set...it’s his story and he’s sticking with it.
Glenn looks sadly down, then. “I tried,” he whispers sadly, thinking of his friend.
Glenn looks miserably up at Rick, who is sitting with him, watching him, listening. “I watched him die,” Glenn tells Rick, his voice breaking.
Nicholas looks right at the camera. “They did this…it was them.” We hear Deanna’s voice point out, “But you all came back together.”Ha, ha, Deanna’s no dummy…if Glenn and the others were trying to kill Nicholas, why would they bring him back to Alexandria with them, unconscious, in the van? Why not just leave him there, say he was attacked by “roamers?” Ooooo, burn, Nicholas!
“How did that happen?” presses Deanna. Nicholas’s mouth works a second as he grapples for an answer to that very logical question. We then hear Spencer’s voice, off camera, ask, “Mom, what are you doing?”(Ah, Nicholas, you douchebag, saved by the Spencer!)
Deanna replies, off camera, to her son, that they need to do this now, to be watched, later…
We see Deanna, now, watching the video of her interview with Nicholas…
…and we see Nicholas react silently, angrily as Deanna lays down the law on video, “No guns, no going outside the wall…same goes for Glenn, until I finish looking into this.”
Nicholas, on the video, demands, “What do you need to look into? I’m telling you how it went down! These people need to go…they’re not like us.” As Deanna watches this, we hear Nicholas’s voice lower conspiratorially as he tells her, in the interview, “I know you see it, too.”
We hear Deanna’s recorded reply to this: “You don’t know what I see, Nicholas…and I see a great deal.” Definitely makes me think that Deanna Monroe isn’t buying Nicholas’s story, but she does seem to be having some buyer’s remorse about letting Rick and the gang into her community as well…and she is grappling with the loss of her son.
Meanwhile, Glenn confesses to Rick,” I almost left him out there…could have told a story.” Rick shoots him this look in response. (Well, I guess we know what Rick Smash! would have done in that situation, don’t we?)
Glenn looks at Rick, reads his look. “You think that’s what I should have done?”
Rick shakes his head. “They don’t know what they’re doing…any of them.”
“We’ll show them,” Glenn protests. Rick replies, “I don’t know if they can see it, how things really are…I don’t know if they can, yet. They haven’t caught up.”
Glenn isn’t giving up on Alexandria so easily. “We have to be here,” he insists. “We have to.”
“Yeah, we do,” Rick agrees. “But, their rules? We don’t answer to them.” (Zut alors!Constable Smash! is tres encroyable when he goes all renegade and shit.)
Glenn, however, is not seeing the appeal…
“Rick,” Glenn says, incredulously, “we are them. We are, now.”
Glenn continues, telling Rick, “Noah believed in this place…I’m telling you, we’ve got to make this work.”
Meanwhile, Carol stands on their front porch, watching Jessie, Sam, and Rowan across the way, on their front porch. Jessie nudges Sam, who seems to have fallen asleep in a porch chair, and sends him off to bed, along with his older brother.
Rick comes up and stands with Carol, watching Jessie and her sons. Carol turns to Rick, informs him that she sent a casserole over to Deanna’s family, adding, “I want her to see that.”
Carol then asks Rick if he’s thought about Pete, about what she said. “Yeah,” Rick answers. As they watch Jessie sitting on her porch, with her head in her hands, Carol tells Rick that she talked to Sam some more…Sam said that his mom put a bolt on the inside of his closet, tells him to lock himself in sometimes, and not come out until morning.
Rick’s face is stony as he digests this information.
Carol continues, telling Rick that Sam said that he can hear his dad yelling, things breaking, his mom crying. Last month, it got quiet in the middle of it, and Sam came out and found his mom lying on the floor, unconscious, bleeding, while “Pete was just sitting on the porch.”
Rick’s jaw and facial muscles work as he takes all this in, breathing deep, looking towards the porch floor, then back at Carol. “Why do you care what happens to Jessie?” he asks her. Carol looks at Rick.
“You know why,” Carol replies softly. “I know why you do.” Rick, looking down, asks gruffly, “Why?” Carol’s expression softens slightly as she looks at him. “I’ve seen you talk to her,” she replies gently.
Across the way, Jessie gets up and leaves her porch. Carol looks up at Rick. “If walkers hadn’t gotten Ed,” she says, “I wouldn’t be here right now.”
Rick looks at Carol. “Yeah, you would,” he replies, before turning to resume his night patrol.
Rick goes and stands at the small pond near their homes. Facing the water, he pulls out the contraband handgun from his waistband and holds it, crossing his hands, waiting…
As Rick faces the pond, we see once again an image that Rick has noticed three times thus far in Episode 515…a helium-filled red balloon floats above the pond, tied to a paper boat like a sail. The breeze blows the balloon, gently propelling the paper boat in the water. Watching this, I marveled that Alexandria is so mad-stocked in these post-apocalyptic times…they even have helium tanks to blow up party balloons (or to inhale and do funny voices with: “Hey, look at me…I’m a roamer!”).
And who walks up right in that moment but Rick’s good buddy, Petey McBeaty…”Hey, Rick!” McBeaty calls out. When he gets no response, McBeaty tries again. “Rick!”
Rick pauses a moment, weighing his options…
…before turning around, slowly and facing McBeaty with this fearsome, smoking-hot look. McBeaty, meetOfficer Not-So-Friendly!
McBeaty starts to ask Rick if he’s ok, and then begins to falter upon seeing the malevolence in Rick’s face as Rick silently stares him down.
Constable Smash! looks at McBeaty a moment more before grinding out, “Keep walkin’.”
McBeaty kind of gapes at Rick, asks, “What?…What are…?” but as Rick Smash! turns to fully face him…
As the scene ends, and McBeaty walks away, Rick closes his eyes, and we see his right hand, hidden by his leg, holding the pistol…it seems it has taken all of Rick’s will to stop himself from pulling the trigger on McBeaty, right then and there.
In the next scene, we see an alarm clock strike 6:30 am…
…and we see Michonne lying in bed, trying to get another moment of sleep.
But she cannot…she lay awake, her eyes open…she looks over at a laundry basket filled with clean laundry…
…and Noah’s t-shirt on top.
Michonne gets out of bed, walks over, and picks up Noah’s shirt, looks at it a long moment.
Michonne then walks over to the bed, throws the shirt and jacket of her constable’s uniform on top. She stands a moment, looking down at the uniform.
Instead of putting on the uniform, Michonne sits on the edge of the bed, covers her face with her hand. It must be exhausting for our gang, the loss and hardship that never ends…it must be so hard to keep going, to not give up.
Then, there is a quiet knock on the door. “Come in,” calls Michonne, still looking off, thinking. Rosita peeks in, enters the room, greets Michonne, “Hey.”
Michonne asks, “How is she?” talking, of course, about Tara.
Rosita replies that she’s “stable, hanging on…I’ll go back there later.” Meanwhile, there are other things that need attending to…
Rosita tells Michonne, “I think Sasha might have spent the night in the tower.”
Michonne looks at Rosita, quick to grasp the potential gravity of that statement. “Is she still up there?” she asks.
Rosita replies that Abraham’s on watch now, but Sasha hasn’t been back, and nobody’s seen her. Michonne is definitely quick to grasp the real gravity of that statement, and she grabs her cardigan, leaving the shirt and jacket of her constable’s uniform on the bed, and follows Rosita quickly out of the room.
Patrolling the streets of Alexandria: Vanilla Dream can wait…these ladies have a post-apocalyptic sister to find!
As they walk through the woods, Rosita tells Michonne, “it’s up ahead.” It seems Rosita has seen Sasha go out of the gates with her gun and a box of bullets, and upon further inquiry, Rosita found out that somebody was already on watch in the tower.
A sound in the woods startles them, and quick as an instant, both women have their weapons drawn, ready to battle…
Badass warrior women who can bring it. ❤
I did find myself missing the katana, watching this scene…
Michonne and Rosita watch, and listen, a moment more, but all is quiet…lowering their weapons, they continue walking, cautiously, through the woods.
As they continue on, their breath frosting in the cold morning air, Rosita admits that this is the first time she’s been out, beyond the walls, since they got to Alexandria.
“That’s good,” Rosita tells her. Michonne isn’t so sure. “I don’t know,” she says, in a low voice.
As they walk, scanning the forest for Sasha, and living, and non-living, threats, Rosita tells Michonne that after finding out that Eugene was lying about having the cure, “I was screwed up, because I lost something…you seem screwed up because you’ve found something.”
Michonne turns and faces Rosita. “Noah’s dead,” she says.
Michonne continues, “And I think…” She turns, then, as if trying to complete the unfinished thought in her head. After a brief pause, she shakes her head, resumes walking. “Just feel like I was asleep in there.”
Rewatching this scene, I got a lot more insight into what Michonne may have been thinking, and feeling…like the moment she let her guard down, relaxed her vigilance, another one of their own was taken from them, and maybe if she had kept her guard up, hadn’t forgotten, Noah might still be with them.
“You were trying to forget…you could try,” Rosita tells Michonne. I really love in this scene how Rosita is giving Michonne permission, girlfriend to girlfriend, to try to be happy, to be regular. To me, this scene, beginning to end, portrays the bond, the sisterhood, and the unconditional love & support between the fine women of our gang.
We have seen, many times before, the brotherhood between the key males in our gang. Now, we get to see how the women of the gang do with having each other’s backs.
“I don’t want to forget,” Michonne says. “So,don’t.” says Rosita. “But it doesn’t mean you have to give up.”
Rosita points out, “You didn’t bring your sword with you…that’s not nothin’.” It seems Rosita definitely has fine-tuned the ability of talking down a high-idling, always-on-duty soldier, having Abraham as a boyfriend and all…and, she has def fine tuned the ability of looking totally hot and adorable while doing it!
Meanwhile, back in Alexandria…
Deanna stands at the community’s makeshift graveyard, presumably in front of Aiden’s grave marker.
Rick approaches her. “I’m sorry for what happened.” He asks Deanna how’s she’s holding up…
“I’m not,” Deanna replies.
Now would be a good time to say something comforting to Deanna Monroe, but Rick Smash! is too filled with id and righteous rage (and the primal desire to straight-up kill McBeaty and take his woman for himself) to do this. So, instead, Rick barges into theconversation with, “We have a problem with Pete.”
Deanna looks down regretfully, says, “I hoped it would get better.” Rick Grimes is like, “Say what?”
“You knew?” he asks, incredulously. Deanna does not nod, but lowers her lids once, in silent assent, Yes.
To Deanna’s credit, she doesn’t look proud of herself, admitting this. Everyone who is still alive has had to do something shitty (probably more like many things shitty) to survive in these times…and Deanna Monroe is no different. I personally like, even admire, Deanna Monroe in many aspects, and I love Tovah Feldshuh’s graceful, poignant portrayal of this complex character.
But, enough of that, because Rick Smash! ain’t having it, any of it…
Rick Smash! is all like, “Oh, now I really amgoing to fucking take this place.”
To his credit, Rick tries diplomacy first, asserts, “It hasn’t gotten better. It won’t.”
“Pete’s a surgeon,” Deanna says, flatly. (Not her finest moment, granted.) “He’s saved lives.” Deanna turns and looks at Rick. “He might be saving Tara’s life.”
“He’s beating his wife,” Rick counters. “We have to stop it.”
Deanna looks at Rick, archly, arms crossed. “How?” she asks.
“Separate ’em. Tell him that’s how it will be from now on,” suggests Rick (thinking, of course, ‘And then, let the playdates begin!’).
Deanna knows it’s not that simple. “And what happens when he doesn’t wanna do that?” she asks. She takes a couple of steps closer to Rick, looking him in the eyes. She waits. She’s right, of course…McBeaty is notgoing to go for that.
(I’ve gotta give props to Deanna Monroe, in this moment, for as she told Nicholas, earlier in his taped interview, she does see a great deal…she probably was a fierce congresswoman, back in the day, and most certainly is one hell of a poker player.)
In reply, Rick licks his lips, pauses a moment before answering, hoarsely, “It’s not his choice.”
Deanna nods at this. She knows where this is going. Deanna peers up at Rick, narrowing her eyes. “So what happens?” she asks softly.
Rick looks at Deanna. “I kill him…we kill him,” he says.
“We don’t kill people,” Deanna replies. “This is civilization, Rick.”
Rick Smash! is like, ‘Step aside, homes, and let me take this one.’ Rick shifts his weight back and forth between his feet, leans in towards Deanna, says, “Warning someone to stop or die is civilized nowadays.”
Deanna makes a disgusted noise, looks down and away, not believing the truth of Rick’s words. She, and most of the other Alexandrians, really have no idea what it’s like out there.
Even though Nicholas is a total douche, he really is one of the only ones in Alexandria who has any idea what the world beyond the walls is like, having borne the brunt of going on runs with poor, doomed Aiden (and whatever unlucky crew was recruited to ride along with them), armed with weapons, working vehicles, half-a-clue between the whole lot of them, and loud 90’s techno music.
Rick asks Deanna, “So, what do we do,then? We let him hit her, we let him kill her?” “No,” Deanna replies. “We exile him, if it comes to that.”
To this, Rick replies, “If we do that, we don’t know when he comes back or what he does to…” Rick doesn’t finish this sentence, continues, “Letting him go makes this place vulnerable. “
Rick Smash! continues, asking, “You really wanna wait til someone in that tower has to take care of it, and that’s if we’re lucky?” J’adore, Rick Smash! ❤
Struggling to keep her composure, Deanna yells, “We are not,” then takes a breath, continues, more softly, “executing anyone.” Deanna looks hard at Rick. “Don’t ever suggest it again.”
Deanna then narrows her eyes, threatens, “That sort of thinking doesn’t belong in here.”
Rick Grimes, undaunted, tries to school Deanna in the ways of the new world order. “People die now, Deanna, they do,” he tells her. But it is like he is speaking a language that she can’t understand. Rick Grimes is from Mars, and Deanna Monroe is from Planet Denial.
In inimitable Rick-In-Charge fashion, Rick Grimes lays it down for Deanna Monroe,“There’s times like this, you can decide who, and when, or it can be decided for you.”
This isn’t Deanna Monroe’s first game of seven-card-stud, and it’s showdown time. She narrows her eyes at Rick. “It already has,”she replies, adding, “I wouldn’t kill you…I would just send you away.” Oooo, snap, Rick Grimes!
(By this point in the watching, were you like me and completely blown away by this back and forth between two such amazing actors? Andrew Lincoln and Tovah Feldshuh, killing it! This whole episode was like some awesome play or musical to me, with amazing dialogue, soliloquies, tense moments, high drama, forbidden love, beautiful stolen moments…I crafted an epic playlist at the end of this post to honor it all. The TWD episodes directed by Michael Satrazemis, like this one, Episode 515, and Season 4’s “The Grove,” are some of my favorite episodes, always rich in beautiful imagery and layered in meaning, message, and symbolism. A round of Deadies to this power trio of Episode 515!)
Meanwhile, Michonne and Rosita have happened upon a trail of dead walkers, each one shot in the back of the head…
Michonne and Rosita stare down at the dead walkers. It definitely looks like Sasha’s handiwork. “Must be her,” says Rosita.
Rosita then kneels down, touches the shattered picture that Sasha had used as target practice a day or two earlier with the tip of her knife.
“She’s hunting them,” Michonne says.
Meanwhile, in another part of the woods…
Carl peers around, looking for Enid, when he hears her voice call out, “Carl.” He looks around, does not see her. “I know you’re following me…again.”Enid’s voice continues. As Carl peers around, looking for her, Enid says, “And you’re going the wrong way.”
Still peering around, not seeing her, Carl asks, “You knew?”
“You’re very loud,” Enid’s voice replies, matter of factly. Carl then steps forward, onto a twig, which makes a loud crunching noise. He grimaces.
“Can you go back?” Enid asks him. “To be honest…you scare me.” Carl doesn’t answer this, instead tells her, “You shouldn’t sneak out by yourself…two people just died.”
Enid emerges from behind a tree. “Oh, come on,” she says. “People always die…you know that.”
Carl, unnerved by Enid, suggests again that they should go back. “Why?” asks Enid, looking at him.
In reply, Carl looks around the woods, asks Enid, “What do you do out here anyway?” Enid shrugs. “Same thing as you,” she replies, before playfully turning and taking off running. Carl’s face lights up, and he takes off after her.
In a beautiful slow-motion sequence, set to a dreamy Bear McCreary score, we see the young people run through the woods, happy and free, at least for this moment. Young love and innocence shining through these dark times, like a flower pushing up through a crack in concrete, and turning its face up to the sun.
Enid and Carl stop short upon seeing a lone walker lurching along in the woods and hide behind a tree, watching it.
Enid and Carl watch the walker a moment…
…then Enid pulls out a white plastic kitchen timer out of her pack. She winds it, then lobs it out so it lands in front of the walker’s path…the timer ticks a moment, then the alarm goes off, diverting the walker.
As the walker approaches the ringing timer on the ground…
…Enid smiles a moment before turning and running off, Carl in hot pursuit.
Back in Alexandria, two people are about to engage in a much less playful exchange…
We see a hand scrubbing out the blood in the back of the run van…
Glenn approaches, comes around the van, addresses Nicholas, who is inside. “Nicholas…don’t talk, just listen.”
Nicholas emerges from the van, faces Glenn.
“Those four people you lost on that run, that’s on you,” Glenn informs Nicholas.
“And Noah,”Glenn continues, “that’s on you,too.” Nicholas says nothing. “Those five lives, you have to carry that.”
“People like you are supposed to be dead,” Glenn continues. “But, these walls went up just in time. So, you’re not.” Nicholas glares at Glenn, who faces him, unafraid.
“You don’t go outside those walls anymore,” Glenn informs Nicholas. “Not by yourself, not with anyone else. And that’s how you’re going to survive.” (I completely agree…this edict should be drafted into Alexandria law, asap.)
Nicholas, however, does not agree. He steps closer to Glenn.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Nicholas asks.
Glenn menaces closer to Nicholas. “I’m someone who knows who you are,” he informs Nicholas. “I know what you did. And it’s not going to happen again.”
This, of course, sends Nicholas right up. “I’ve been protecting this place…I’ve been providing for it. You just got here.”
Glenn, undaunted, replies, simply, “Don’t forget what I said.” Nicholas looks at Glenn. “Are you threatening me?” he asks.
In response, Glenn lets out a little laugh, says, “No…I’m saving you.” And with that, Glenn walks away, leaving Nicholas, shellshocked, at the van.
Ooooo, burn, Nicholas!
Meanwhile, back at the frolicsome forest…
Still smiling at her walker prank, Enid and Carl find a felled tree stump and sit down to take a breather.
Looking out into the woods, Enid says, “We’re supposed to be out here…we’re supposed to feel like this.” (Carl looks at her, seems to be thinking, “Well, maybe sometimes…but sometimes, it’s pretty sweet to be sleeping in an actual bed, or taking a hot shower, or chilling with my feet up on the couch, reading a comic book…you know, just sayin”!”)
“I don’t want to forget,” says Enid. It seems she has been having the same thoughts and feelings as Carl and the rest of his people.
“And,” Enid smiles, “running makes me feel better.”
“I can’t forget,” Carl replies. He turns to Enid. “I dream about it, being in the forest…with them.”
“I do, too,” Enid says, quietly.
Carl looks at her a moment, then says, “Rowan’s a good guy…” “He is,” Enid agrees. Carl asks, “Does he know you come out here?” Enid tells him no.
“He wouldn’t understand,” she says. Carl digests this information a moment, then asks Enid, with a laugh, “Why do I scare you?”
Enid reaches into her pack, pulls out a fine knife with a wooden handle, and begins carving into the stump. “I don’t know, you just do,” she replies.
“Cool knife,” Carl remarks. Enid regards the knife in her hand.
“It was my mom’s,” Enid replies, softly. Her voice sounds sad.
“What happened to you, before you got there (to Alexandria)?” Carl asks. Enid looks at him. “It doesn’t matter,” she says. “It does,” Carl asserts. “Something bad has happened to me, too.”
Enid looks at Carl, says nothing. She seems to want to tell him, but then, the telltale snarls of walkers approaching interrupt their sweet moment.
Carl and Enid jump up. “We need to go,” Carl says. “It sounds like a lot.”
Enid quickly ducks into the opening of a hollowed-out tree stump. Carl follows, and the young people find themselves face to face in the hollow.
Watching this scene for the first time, I cheered out loud. This sweet moment is like, everything. ❤
Carl tears his gaze away from Enid and looks out with alarm towards the walkers, whose snarl and slaver grow louder as they get closer. Enid leans in towards Carl and whispers to him, “It’s their world…we’re just living in it.”
From inside the tree, Carl and Enid watch the group of walkers pass…
There are a good number of them.
Carl and Enid turn to face one another…
…and Carl touches Enid’s hand, holding her mother’s knife, briefly with his own.
After a moment, it becomes too much for Carl, and he turns away, exhaling a long-held breath. Enid smiles at this.
She leans forward, whispers…
“Cool…you’re afraid of me, too.”
Carl and Enid turn to watch the last of the walkers pass…
…and we see one of the last walkers has a telltale “W” carved into its forehead.
Elsewhere in the woods, we see a pair of hands digging with a stick at the base of a tree, unearthing a metal canister…we see the hands open the canister, and pull out a handgun…
It seems that Rick Grimes isn’t the only one stashing guns around these woods! (This couldn’t be Rick’s gun, could it? Nah…but…could it, though?) Talk to me, people!
The shot pans back, and we see that the stealthy gun-stashing saboteur is none other than…Nicholas!(Thatbastard!)
Meanwhile, in another part of the woods (yes, children, the woods are def theplace to be this particular morning in Episode 515…shit’s going down and blowing up all over the place in these damn woods!) …
…we see another group of walkers shuffling through the forest…
…only to be taken down, one by one, from behind, by a rifle with a silencer and scope. Not a bullet wasted, so of course the shooter must be…
…our favorite crazy lady with a gun…
Sasha!
After she takes out the group of walkers, Sasha runs forward, soldier style, towards a walker that is ambling through the forest, as yet unaware of her presence…
Sasha lines up the walker in the crosshairs of her rifle’s scope…
…and brings down Crosshairs Walkerwith a single shot to the head.
Sasha takes a brief moment to survey her handiwork when she hears Michonne’s voice from behind her.
“Sasha!”Michonne calls. Sasha’s face registers her annoyance at being interfered with. “Go back,” she tells Michonne and Rosita, striding towards her next undead targets.
Rosita and Michonne follow Sasha, keeping back a safe and respectful distance behind her. Sasha continues forward, walking quickly, scanning the forest for walkers. “What are you doing?” Rosita asks her. “I’m sick of playing defense,” Sasha tells them.
“So…you’re just going to take on all of them?” Michonne asks her.
Ahead, in a clearing, a sizable group of walkers approaches…
Sasha, unafraid, quickly pulls off her pack as she strides towards the walker pack, ready 2 rumble.
Sasha lifts her rifle and peers through the scope as Michonne looks on dubiously…
…because man, that’s a lot of walkers.
The walkers begin to close in, and there seem to be more and more of them coming through the trees, from many sides. Rosita says with some urgency, “We gotta get outta here.”
“Ohhh, you do…I don’t,” says Sasha, looking full-on crazy as she raises her rifle and peers through the scope, ready to massacre some walkers.
As Sasha begins blowing the walkers away, one by one, Michonne watches, remembering…
Something clicks inside Michonne, and she raises her handgun. Sasha turns to her, tells Michonne, “I don’t need your help!”
“This isn’t for you,” Michonne says, and begins firing on the walkers.
Rosita joins the #walkerparty “Hey now, save me some!”
#Rosita got her #killinface on…
#Michonne #killinface
#Sasha #killinface
That’s how it do with #sisterunconditional. Your bitch be crazy in the woods, getting medieval on a horde of walkers…what does a real sista do? A real sista don’t judge… she jumps in ands gets to killin’ & slayin’!
Rosita! Rosita! Rosita!
Rosita goes it #hand2hand style…
She pins I Think It’s Broken Walker to a tree, winds back, ready to stompkick some rotten walker knee backwards…
Awwww, #thatsgottahurt
I think it’s definitely broken, I Think It’s Broken Walker…#sux2bu
Meanwhile, it looks like somebody got lost on their way to the GOT set…
Enter White Walker, stage left! “Um, this wasn’t the scene I read for, but hey, I’ll take it!”
As Rosita finishes off I Think It’s Broken Walkerwith a rekill to the head…
… D’oh! Sasha’s outta bullets…
Michonne looks around, sees Sasha scrambling to reload, and has her sister’s back by standing firm and continuing to blow away oncoming walkers…
…but White Walkergets the jump on Sasha and tackles her to the ground.
White Walker is #ready2rage(btw, I would seriously love to throw down at a metal show with White Walker.)
As Sasha is having a hard time getting her knife, which lay just out of reach above her head, Michonne steps up and rekills White Walker, executioner style. Buh bye, While Walker.
Instead of thanking Michonne for saving her ass, Sasha looks up indignantly and says, “I had it!”
Pouring himself another Bloody Mary, watching this scene, Sterling Archer’s like, “That is just so classic Sasha!”
Sasha slaps Michonne’s outstretched arm away, says, “I don’t need your help!” Rosita and Michonne exchange looks as Sasha rolls over and pushes herself up to standing. She turns and faces Michonne angrily.
Sasha glares at Michonne.
“I told you to go,” she tells her. Michonne stands silently, lets Sasha unleash some of her anger and grief on her without reacting…Michonne looks really beautiful here as she lets Sasha dump on her.
Sasha looks up and sees Rosita looking at her, sadly. Sasha has been through so much, has lost so much in a short period of time…first Bob, then Tyreese…and now, Noah’s death is affecting them all deeply. Rosita and Michonne know that Sasha’s really struggling right now.
Seeing Rosita’s, and Michonne’s, pitying looks sends Sasha right up…it’s either ride the anger, and take the offense, or let herself feel the crushing grief inside her, start crying, and not stop, maybe, ever…Sasha chooses the anger offensive over crippling grief (and I can’t say I blame her).
When in doubt, blame the big sister…Sasha glares at Michonne. “You,” she begins…(when in doubt, blame the big sister!)
“…you can’t do anything! It worked out for you…you can’t help me!”
Sasha whirls around to Rosita, who looks at her friend helplessly. “No..body…” Sasha begins, cannot continue. Nobody can take her pain away, as much as they wish they could…they can only listen, be present with her as she feels it. Going after Sasha, not abandoning her, was a real act of love on Rosita and Michonne’s part.
Sasha knows all this, on some level, and her anger starts to give way into its true form: grief. Her face softens as she looks at Michonne, grappling for the words. “Noah…” Sasha begins.
Sasha looks miserably at Michonne. “I told him he wouldn’t make it.”
Sonequa Martin-Green plays it beautifully as Sasha silently rides out a wave of realization and sadness at this statement. Nobody says anything. After a moment, Sasha stalks off, Rosita following her, after exchanging a last look with Michonne.
Michonne looks after Sasha’s retreating form. She’s been there, in the throes of grief, having lost everything in the early days of the turn…her baby son, her man, her best friend. And she has lost so many, so much, since…Michonne knows exactly what Sasha is going through right now, and she knows that Sasha needs to feel it, to ride it out, and decide on her own if she wants to continue on…
Michonne then looks down at the gun she is holding…she seems to be thinking about what the gun represents: the Alexandria way, and her new position as constable. Is their “civilization” the better way, or is there a place in the middle, a more realistic place, which combines the edge, knowledge, and skills required to negotiate the world outside the walls, while exploring life beyond sheer survival within the relative safety of Alexandria’s walls? It’s a tough question…how do they find the balance between survival, and really living?
Meanwhile, now that it’s daylight, Daryl and Aaron make their way cautiously towards the campsite where they saw the fire burning the night before. As they come around the trees, into the clearing, they are met with a horrific sight.
Disembodied arms and legs lay scattered about…it looks like they were severed cleanly, like the arms and torsos Rick, Michonne, and Glenn came across, back at the Shirewilt Estates. Who did this, and how…and, why?
Legs severed cleanly from the torso, which is missing. We have never seen remains like this from a walker attack before…
A girl’s arm, severed clean through the sleeve of a striped shirt…where are the heads? Where are the torsos?
Daryl takes it all in, says, “Whoever did this, took what was left with them.”
It is a truly distressing and horrifying sight. We see one arm in the foreground, with the hand still bearing a wedding band…these were once living people, presumably huddled around a small campfire just the night before. Much like Rick and the gang, these people were just trying to make it the best they could, out in the open, living day to day in the savage, predatory arena the world has become.
As Aaron takes this all in, Daryl lifts his crossbow and stealths forward, realizing, “This just happened.”
Daryl and Aaron cautiously make their way forward, until they some upon another distressing, horrifying spectacle…
…a young woman’s body, lashed to a tree, naked, disembowled.
Aaron and Daryl take in this awful sight.
The arms, and legs, and now this…it speaks of a sadistic cruelty and methodology being executed, as the woman was clearly stripped naked, lashed to a tree, helpless, and left for walkers to tear into…which they clearly did.
“She’s tied up,” Aaron says, horrified. He is breathing heavily as the full import of this hits him, “And they fed on her…they tore her apart.”
Aaron turns to Daryl. “Did this just happen?” Daryl nods.
“Yeah,” Daryl says, softly.
Aaron shakes his head. “How the hell did this happen?” he whispers. Daryl reaches out and pulls the dead woman’s head up, by her long, blond hair, to get a better look at her face.
There is a fresh “W” carved into the woman’s forehead…she was young, blond, pretty. She reminded me of Beth, and it seemed like the TWDwriters, and director Michael Satrazemis, wanted to invoke that similarity, comparison, for the viewer (and, for Daryl). 😦
As Daryl holds the young woman’s head up, her eyes flutter open as she reanimates.
Aaron raises his gun as the young woman walker begins to snarl and bare her teeth.
Daryl quickly does the young woman walker a solid rekill, plunging what may have been Beth’s knife into her skull, ending her misery.
Back in Alexandria…
Jessie’s sneaking a smoke…I am sure girlfriend needs something in these times. If I were married to McBeaty, raising two sons in a zombie apocalypse, I would def be raiding the storeroom for liquor and smokes on a regular basis.
“Jessie.”Jessie looks up to see Rick, who has come into the garage. She has been crying. Her life really is becoming more and more intolerable…I am sure McBeaty came home after his encounter with Rick the night before feeling less than manly, and probably took it out on her.
Jessie grinds out her cigarette, asking Rick to please not mention her secret smoking…she doesn’t want Rowan or Sam to know.
“Your secret’s safe,” Rick assures Jessie, looking at her…it feels like they like each other more and more every time they interact with one another.
Jessie stands and faces Rick. They look at each other a long moment.
Jessie says, “Noah was a sweet kid…and Tara…Tara’s in good hands with Pete.” She really is a good person, finding the one nice, reassuring thing to offer about her shitty husband. After that, Jessie kind of looks down, and away.
Rick watches Jessie, says hoarsely, “He’s hitting you.”
“He’s hurting you…” Rick continues.
“It has to stop,” Rick asserts softly. Jessie looks down, as if Rick is voicing all the thoughts she has been having for years, and especially, I’m sure, lately, since Rick Grimes and his people came on the scene.
“It will,” Jessie tries to tell Rick, and herself, mostly out of force of habit by this point. She didn’t really have a way out, before…she was stuck in these walls, stuck with Pete, and nobody was coming forward to help her…until now.
“How?” Rick presses. Jessie tries another played out rationalization then, saying how Pete had a lot of things happen to him to make him this way… Rick cuts her off, tells her basically he doesn’t care, he doesn’t want to hear about what happened to Pete…
Jessie tells Rick, “Look, it was like this before, and he got help.” Rick doesn’t reply, and Jessie asserts, “I helped him, and things were good.” Rick still doesn’t say anything. “I can fix it,” Jessie says.
Rick shakes his head at this. “No you can’t,” he says, adding, “But I can.”
Now, Jessie shakes her head, steps up to Rick, asking what is he going to do, put Pete in jail? “You’re only going to make things worse!” Jessie tells Rick.
“If it’s gotten worse,” Rick replies, “that means he’s killed you. That’s what’s next, and I’m not going to let that happen.”
Jessie looks at Rick, asks, “Why do you care?”
Rick’s look says, Dude, because I’m falling in love with you. But, being a guy and all, he can’t quite manage to find the words to answer her question, and so Rick says nothing.
Jessie searches Rick’s face, presses, “Why is this so important to you?” Rick still cannot answer with words, but his look says everything…surely she must see the answer on his face, in his eyes?
Jessie must see something, because she tries to then talk Rick down from his crusade: “Now, you, you’ve made it…you’ve found a home for your kids.” Jessie shakes her head in disbelief, asks, “Rick, what are you doing?”
Rick manages, hoarsely, “I’m trying to help.”
(Poor dudes…women and girls talk really fast, and sometimes dudes get really overwhelmed…we women can process, and verbalize, feelings like computers process digitized information, so quickly, that we are on to the third or fourth question before the dude can even think of, let alone speak, the words to answer to the first question we asked! Moral of this story? Ladies, take a breath, stop talking a minute, and let the dude find the words…dudes, pick up the pace, find some words, and tell your special ladies how you feel about them! You’re welcome.)
Now, back to our story…
Jessie narrows her eyes at Rick. “I don’t know that,” she says. Rick still cannot find the words he needs to say to her, stands looking at her, shifting back and forth between his feet.
Jessie looks at Rick, exasperated. “I’m married,” she says. Rick’s mouth works, like he’s trying to find a nice way to say, ‘Yeah, but if we do it my way, then you won’t be married any longer, because I will kill him, and you will be a hot widow, and I’ll be your hot boyfriend and the best NewDad ever to your sons!’ Can’t exactly put that one in a Hallmark card, can you?
Jessie informs Rick, who is still standing there, wordless and kind of gaping, “Ok, I can take care of myself!” She turns and begins walking away, looking over her shoulder at Rick, adding, “We have to take care of ourselves.” Jessie goes to the door and opens it, pressing the garage door remote.
As Rick Grimes stands there, still searching for the words, the garage door begins to roll down in front of him. Dang, these women are firey in Episode 515…and I am so loving it! ❤
Rick strides quickly down the street, agitated. Around him, suburbia abounds…neighbors are on their porches and stoops, gossiping and chatting. Children are playing, walking their dogs. Just another day in Alexandria: Vanilla Dream.
Rick stops a moment, breathing deep, trying to keep his cool, as the Bear McCreary music simmers and pulses in the background.
As he struggles to keep his composure, Rick sees a boy run by with the red helium balloon tied to his boat…the red balloon seems, to me, to represent the red fury that blooms inside of Rick Smash! whenever something, or someone, really pisses him off.
Rick turns towards Jessie’s house. It seems he had finally found his words. He strides towards the house.
Jessie is crying inside the living room when Rick opens the door. She looks at him in disbelief. “What are you doing?” she asks, helplessly, crying. Rick looks near tears himself.
“Sam asked for a gun, to protect you,” Rick tells Jessie in a shaky voice. Good for you, Rick Grimes…you found your words, and just in time, too!
Hearing this seems to break Jessie’s heart even more.
Rick’s words are coming fast, now. “Jessie, in here, it’s the same as out there…you can’t see it, but it’s the same. There’s food, and roofs over our heads, but you don’t get to just live. You don’t get to put it off, or wish it away, Jessie…”
“If you don’t fight, you die.”
Rick’s face is soft as he concludes, “And…I don’t want you to die.” <3<3
Jessie hears that sweet message loud and clear. (I really am just beaming with pride at our man Rick Grimes’ bravery, facing his feelings and speaking his piece…in my humble opinion, he is super fantastic bf material on all levels.) ❤
Rick leans in to Jessie, inching closer and closer to her as he talks. “I can help you,” he says softly. “I can keep you, and the boys, safe.”
“I can,” Rick says softly, emphatically, his eyes never leaving Jessie’s face. Two words: dream boat.
“All you have to do is say ‘yes,'” Rick tells Jessie.
Before she says yes, there’s something Jessie needs to know. “Would you do this for someone else?”she asks him. It’s like, I know I’m falling for you, hard, Constable Dreamy, and it seems you like me too, but maybe you’re just all beautiful and heroic to everyone…am I special to you, or what?
Jessie asks, again, “Would you do this for anyone?” And this time, it’s important…it’s everything, and this time, she gives him time to answer her question.
“No,” Rick whispers. He says it again, a little louder, “No.”
AwwwwwwwwwwwRick Grimes, you are a total sweetie and a total beast!
Jessie finally surrenders to the manly love and heroic hotness that is Rick Grimes, and whispers, “Yes.”
In classic Rick fashion, he silently bows his head once, in humble assent and gratitude, overcome with feeling, and then looks into Jessie’s face with a look of hot mutual accord and intimacy. And love.
It is in this moment, when they are looking into each other’s souls, when McBeaty comes into the room and finds them there, together. “Rick,” McBeaty says, surprised. “What are you doing here?” Ummm, nothing, just professing our mutual and undying love for one another, so why don’t you run along, and fuck off? Beat it, McBeaty!
Stone. Cold. Busted.
“Pete,” Jessie begins, and McBeaty steps forward into the room, his eyes never leaving Rick.
Jessie steps forward towards McBeaty (who seems drunk already, even though I think it’s still early in the day), tries to talk to him. “Pete, listen to me…”McBeaty does not acknowledge his wife, still fixated on Rick. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave, Rick,” McBeaty tells Rick, his civil tone slipping away to reveal the menace underneath the statement.
Rick Grimes isn’t going anywhere. If he leaves, it may very well be the time that McBeaty does finally kill Jessie. And besides, she said yes. She is Rick Smash!’s woman now, and nobody, I mean nobody, lays a hand against Rick Smash!’s woman. Fuck you, McBeaty.
(Saying all this, I must interject that I have heard on many occasions that Cory Brill, who plays Pete on The Walking Dead, is actually a super sweet guy, even though he doesn’t play one on tv…once again, hating on the character, not the man!)
It is Jessie who speaks up. “No.” Rick looks at her, recognizing, no doubt, her bravery in standing up for herself to a dangerous man, a man who has beaten her, time and time again, repeatedly causing her, and their sons, real physical, mental, and emotional harm. McBeaty cocks his head, comes closer to Jessie, as if he didn’t hear her right. “Excuse me?” he asks, softly, with a little smile, like, oh, now you’ve done it…you’ve done it, now. Yes, children, McBeaty totally sucks, and needs to be voted off the island, like, yesterday.
Jessie looks like she’s too tired of all this shit to be scared any more. She stands her ground, tells McBeaty, “You need to leave.”
McBeaty, who is a bully, and a dick, menaces closer to Jessie, trying to intimidate her. “What are you talking about?” Jessie shoots McBeaty a look, says, “Just go, Pete.”
McBeaty’s starting to put it all together, and he’s losing it. His voice is shaky as he attempts a smile and asks, “What have you two been talking about?” Oh, all sorts of things, like how you beat me, and terrorize our children, and how I’m done with that, and I’m taking the kids and leaving your ass…oh, and ps, Rick Grimes is my boyfriend now.Any more questions, asshole?
When his quiet menacing fails to intimidate Jessie, McBeaty steps to her, screams, “What have you been doing!?” Jessie instinctively cowers back, protecting herself.
Rick steps forward, says quietly, “Pete, you and me are going to leave, now.” Petey McBeaty is in a full fury now, and he ain’t having it. He snarls at Rick, “You come in to my house…” and starts walking towards Rick.
Rick Grimes gives McBeaty one more chance, says quietly, firmly, slowly, “Pete, you and me are leaving.”
“You’re leaving, right now,” counters McBeaty.
McBeaty squares off with Rick, face to face. “You think you’re the law?” he demands. “You actually think you have a say in anything, here?” It is easy to see here how McBeaty uses his words, and his towering physical presence, to try to intimidate others, and diminish their self-confidence and sense of worth. His poor sons, and poor Jessie!
“Who do you think you are?” McBeaty grinds out.
Rick Smash! grinds out, “Someone who’s trying not to kill you.”
And the words are barely out of Rick’s mouth when McBeaty throws the first wild punch, and with that, the McBeaty Beatdown has begun…
Rick Smash! wants it as much as McBeaty does, to end this fucker once and for all…
McBeaty, being the bigger man, and filled with rage, rushes Rick and slams him up against the wall.
McBeaty has Rick pressed up against the wall, in a chokehold.
Jessie desperately screams for the men to stop, to no avail.
Rick, of course, manages to get out of McBeaty’s chokehold, and soon the men are rolling around, scrapping on the floor…from outside the home, the sounds of crashing and screaming come through the window, and then…
...McBeaty and Rick Smash! come through the window.
Meanwhile, Sasha is back up in the watchtower…it’s her safe place. She watches a group of walkers pass by the walls, then spies something within the walls…women running, screaming.
The McBeaty Beatdown has hit the streets, and every Alexandrian has come running and rubbernecking…it’s the most exciting thing to have happened in this town in ages!
The men have each other in a double chokehold.
Reg screams for Deanna, who comes running.
At first, Rick is above McBeaty…
…but the large man gains the advantage, and ends up on top of Rick.
Jessie tries to pull McBeaty off of Rick and end this…
…but McBeaty backhands her swiftly and savagely, knocking Jessie onto the pavement.
McBeaty chokes Rick, who surprises him with some blow to the something or other…
…and Rick ends up back on top.
McBeaty knows that Rick will kill him without hesitation, if given the chance.
Carl screams for his father, tries to pull Rick off, and Rick, blind with rage, shoves his son off…at least he didn’t backhand him, like some people, McBeaty, you dick!
One more shift, and Rick is behind McBeaty now, with his arm wrapped around the man’s throat, #likeapython .
As it happens when Rick Smash! is smashing and killing, shit gets all slo-mo, and, in his killing haze, Rick watches the red balloon of Episode 515 fly away. For real surreal.
Deanna’s voice breaks through Rick’s #murderhaze as she commands him to Stop.Right. Now. (Meaning: Stop, or you will be banished, and your family, and chosen family, will have to choose whether to go with you, or to stay. You choose, but I suggest you fucking Stop.Right. Now.)
Rick Smash! can’t resist growling one last threat to McBeaty…if McBeaty even tries to talk to Jessie or the boys again, he’ll kill him.
Terrified, Sam hides behind Carol. Many TWDfans speculated on Sam’s choosing Carol over his own mother for comfort and protection in this scene.
“Dammit, Rick, I said stop!” screams Deanna.
Tobin, Nicholas, and Glenn take a step towards Rick, and then backpedal quickly as we hear Rick’s voice, all crazy and askew, ask, “Or what?”
Rick pulls out his secret handgun, points it at Tobin and Nicholas, Deanna…Spencer’s back there, like, “Whoa!”
Rick asks, sounding super crazy, “You wanna kick me out??” (Carl’s back there with Enid, like, “Um, so, that’s my dad.”)
Deanna tries to reason with Rick, “Put that gun down, Rick.”
Rick’s looking all Bloody Romeo and shit, looks around, laughs, shaking his head. “You still don’t get it,” he says loudly, addressing the lot of them who stand around, watching the bloody constable, kneeling and ranting in the street.
“You still don’t get it…none of you! We know what needs to be done…we do it!”
“We’re the ones who live,”Rick rants.
“You,” Rick points his gun at Deanna and her people, who stand, shellshocked, in front of him, praying that he doesn’t pull the trigger during his tirade…
“You pretend like you know, when you don’t. You wish things aren’t what they are…”
Sasha continues to peg the walkers, one by one, as they paw at the steel walls, agitated by the commotion going on inside…
“Well, you wanna live? You want this place to stay standing?”
Rick looks at Deanna, says, “Your way of doing things is done.” He’s right of course, even though his presentation kind of lacks sanity credibility in this moment. (Enid’s back there, like, “You’re dad’s a little crazy (and btw, crazy hot!), but he is making some solid points. Shit’s way cray out there…we gotta keep our edge, be prepared. This is their world…we’re just living in it.”)
Deanna looks down at Rick…does she hear some truth to these words?
“Things don’t get better because you want them to,” Rick snarls.
Carol looks at Rick, like, “That’s my boy.”
Jessie, however, is all like, “Oh no, now both my boyfriends are crazy!”
(Jesus, we could really use Daryl Dixon around these parts right about now, right? But Daryl, and Aaron, are, of course, solving some important mysteries right about now…more on that in our Episode 516 discussion!)
Rick’s looking, and sounding, a little shaky. It’s been a long day (and what time is it, exactly, at this point? 2pm? 5pm? Noon?) Rick, however, needs to bring the point home, so he perseveres, looking a little woozy and wobbly as he does…
“Starting right now, we have to live in the real world.”
(He’s cute. He’s cray. He’s the constable!)
“We have to control who lives here,” Rick asserts, jabbing his bloody finger down towards the pavement to accentuate key words in the sentence.
Deanna may not have a gun, but she is armed with a firey intelligence, and the ability to articulate said intelligence. She replies, cooly, “That’s never been more clear to me than it is right now.” Oooo, burn, Bloody Rick!
Bloody Rick looks up at these words…
“Me? Me?”
Bloody Rick laughs at this. “You mean me??”
Bloody Rick gets serious, then, tells Deanna, “Your way…your way is gonna destroy this place. Your way is gonna get people killed…”
“…it’s already gotten people killed…”
“And I’m not gonna stand by and let it happen.”
“If you don’t fight, you die.”
Bloody Rick starts to get going again, “I’m not gonna stand by – !”when…
WHAM! Michonne lays down the tough love on Bloody Rick, knocking him the fuck out.
Stop. Fucking. Talking.
My WD buddy and I, watching this scene, turned to each other and said, “Yeah, she needed to do that.”
Thanks so much for being patient, darlings, and new readers, welcome. Tomorrow I rest, but then, I will endeavor to conquer “Conquer.” Stay tuned.
Sweet dreams, Bloody Rick. ❤
Dripping with Hot, Hot Drama ’80’s Playlist:
The Jam, “Town Called Malice”
The English Beat, “I Confess”
Love and Rockets, “No New Tale To Tell”
Go Go’s, “This Town”
Duran Duran, “Hungry Like The Wolf”
The Smiths, “Bigmouth Strikes Again”
Siouxsie and the Banchees, “Arabian Knights”
Sex Pistols, “Problems”
Van Halen, “Everybody Wants Some”
Scorpions, “No One Like You”
Romeo Void, “Never Say Never”
Pretenders, “Bad Boys Get Spanked”
Joe Jackson, “Breaking Us In Two” (I read somewhere that Joe Jackson was not yet inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…could this be true? The man is a genius composer and deserves highest props and allocades!) #inductjoejackson #recognize
(All images used in this post are screen caps from AMC’s The Walking Dead unless otherwise specified.)
Well, well, well, my TWD obsessed darlings, it seems there’s a new constable in the walled, sustainable town of Alexandria, and he’s bringing the clean-shaven manliness along with the muscle and the menace…the beard is gone, but the wildness lurks beneath the chiseled surface.
And that’s the way we like it.
There are those who mourn the beard, yes. I do understand. But remember, darlings, the man makes the beard. The beard does not make the man.
Just think of all those urban scenesters rocking hipster beards across the world at this very moment. They look pretty cool drinking their PBR’s and shit, but many of them couldn’t change a tire if their life depended on it…maybe with some time, a few more PBR’s, and much discussion, bickering, and cigarette breaks, a group of three or four of them could put their combined brains and brawn together and figure it out.
Of course, that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about our favorite Deputy of Id, Rick Smash! Has the primal manbeast that we have all grown to love so well gone down the drain with the lather and the whiskers?
Oh, hell no.
The beard may be gone, yes, but Rick Smash! remains. Don’t worry, darlings. He’s still there.
Rick Smash! has merely gone under the radar, gone rogue. He is showing the outside world his more socially adept manifestation, Rick-In-Charge (aka. Constable Grimes) but smoldering and simmering under the clean lines of his demigod jawline, Rick Smash! is crouched and waiting. He needs to be, and he knows it.
Shit’s coming, and if my hunches (and many others’) are correct, Alexandria’s impressive walls will not be able to protect them much longer from what lurks on the outside.
In The Walking Dead’s Season 5, Episode 12, “Remember,” there’s a game of seven card stud being played by two powerful leaders of two very different communities for the highest of stakes: the survival and continuance of their respective tribes, their chosen “families.”
In theory, the two tribes, one led by Rick Grimes, and the other led by Deanna Monroe, leader of Alexandria (played by Tovah Feldshuh, wielding her usual mastery and grace), can combine and continue, stronger than ever.
It’s a good theory, but there are many variables to consider, and there are many, many questions that have yet to be answered. Until all the cards in each player’s respective hands are revealed, we do not yet know what each player’s motives, intentions, and ultimate goals really are with this arrangement, of Alexandria taking in Rick and his gang.
We know what Rick and his gang need from Alexandria:food, shelter, a safe and secure place for Rick’s children to live, and hopefully, grow up.
But, we still don’t quite know what Deanna Monroe’s true motives in taking Rick’s group in really are, at this point. We can only guess.
As Deanna tells Rick, in their initial interview, it has been a long while since Alexandria took in anybody new to their sheltered, sustainable community, which has served, thus far, to be one of the more powerful barriers we have seen yet in TWD.
Since the walker epidemic’s inception, Alexandria, with its impressive walls, has pretty effectively shut out the horrors of the outside world and encased its inhabitants in a protective bubble.
These days, the citizens of Alexandria seem to be suffering more from boredom and restlessness than anything else.
But, as this month’s full moon in Virgo reminds us, change is inevitable, and the reality bomb seems like it’s about to drop on Alexandria.
Nobody stays safe for too long these days, especially when they most surely have some pretty choice digs for the taking.
Deanna Monroe seems to know this all too well, and she has sent Aaron and Eric out, at real risk to their lives, to act as the Fabulously Gay Ambassadors of Alexandria.
Aaron and Eric’s mission: To scour the surrounding area for potential future citizens, survivors who know how to negotiate the savagery of the world outside the walls, but who still embody the ideals of community and humanity that Alexandria has been able to maintain, at least at a surface level, up to this point.
It is a tall order, and if Aaron and Eric actually do find such a group, they are then charged with the task of approaching the group, selling the group the idea of coming back to the community of Alexandria and “auditioning” for membership, and then transporting the group back to the walled community for taped interview with Deanna and tryouts.
It is a big risk, a big gamble, a bold play made by a woman who, by her own admission, would have been a professional poker player had she not become a congresswoman. It’s a risk big enough to be viewed, perhaps, as a last ditch effort, an act of sheer desperation.
Why else would Deanna Monroe make such a play, to let strangers who are well versed in the ways of the savagery of the world outside, into the heart, and underbelly, of her community, at potential risk, and harm, to her and her people? The risk is huge, so the stakes must be very high, indeed.
I have my guesses, as do many. What do you think is coming?
In the first dealing of seven card stud, it’s two cards down and one card up…we see the initial upcard only, at first, its ranking displayed openly. We can only guess at the cards facing down, and how each player’s hand will unfold as the game progresses.
It’s a test of each player’s skill, and will, as the first bets are placed, and then the bluffing, reading, mind-messing, and maneuvering begins. Ultimately, the game becomes a “two down, four up, one down,” ending in a “showdown,” where each player makes the best five-card poker hand out of the seven cards he/she has been dealt.
Until the time comes for the final “showdown,“ when all will be revealed, this game of poker being played between Rick Grimes and Deanna Monroe is a taut back-and-forth between two leaders, and their chosen families, who are, in some ways very different, and in some ways, very much alike…the biggest similarity, of course, is that all of these people, sheltered or savage, are fighting for survival in a brutal, post-apocalyptic world.
In TWD’s Episode 512,director Greg Nicotero and the rest of Kirkman’s Army deal us viewers another expertly crafted, game-changing episode that delivers the thrills, chills, surrealism, and iconic images that have become the norm in Season 5, searing themselves upon our collective psyches, social media, and upon pop-culture in general as now-classic TWD moments.
And eye candy.There was lots of eye candy served up in this episode. Thank you, Andrew Lincoln and Greg Nicotero.Me, and my married lady friends, thank you very, very much.
#RickPorn ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
Anyhow, regarding Deanna Monroe’s true motives for taking in Rick and the gang, if the many clues, Easter Eggs, and speculations are correct, Kirkman, Gimple, Nicotero, and the rest of Kirkman’s Army are about to get majorly TWD Comic Series on our asses
As I have said before, TWD’s Season 5is all about bringing it. It’s time to sac up or pack up, people, because Kirkman, Gimple, and Nicotero have been waiting a long time for this moment to arrive.
Four and a half seasons, to be exact.
They have been candy-assing us for long enough.They. Are. Done. With. That.
The time for tough love is now, and now is the time for tough love. We must prepare ourselves, my WDO darlings.
Remember the drill we have discussed in previous posts.Plan, and implement, your coping methodology. Stock the fridge, replenish your personal pharmacopeia, secure your Daryl Partner.
(For more on Daryl Partners, refer to my Season 4 mid-season prepost, “What Happens After?” in the archives.)
Start your own grass-roots Walking Dead support group. Take long walks, outside, and listen to the sounds of the world around you. Hug your children, your partner, your friends, your pets, a lot. Keep lots of chocolate on hand for when you need a serotonin boost.
Listen to music. Do your yoga. Take time for yourself if you need to go have a good cry. You must take good care of yourself and your #TWDFamily around you, because I really feel like we are about to get our asses kicked.
Seriously, people, I am not fucking around here. Kirkman loves nothing more than to slap us up like the little bitches we are, and I think he and his army are about to get jiggy with it…just saying.
If I’m correct, Kirkman’s Army is about to throw down The Iron Maidenon our asses.
Maybe I’m Chicken Fucking Little and the sky isn’t really about to fall on our heads. Anybody who actually reads this tweaker-ass blog knows that I am prone to wild imaginings and am constantly casting out completely wrong theories.
At this point, it’s practically my trademark.
But, as Abraham Ford said, to Tara, one night as they sat against a tree: I’m right, and I’m wrong.
Sometimes it goes one way, and sometimes it goes the other.
All I’m saying is, if the shit goes down, and the sky does fall on all our heads, and you find yourself shuffling around work, or home, or school, with a haunted, vacant look in your eyes from too little sleep, too many nightmares, and the latest TWD storyline mayhem and can’t-shake-them images (courtesy ofNicotero & Co.) seared into your broken heart and tormented brain, keep telling yourself, darlings, as real as it feels to us TWD fans, and as much as we love our sweet gang, it’s only a show.
Say it with me. It’s only a show. It isn’t real. It’s only a show.
And, if a beloved character does die, or have some other tragedy befall them on the show, remember that the actors who play them are alive, well, and will remain rich off royalties, guest appearances, and all the fantastic future opportunities that await them.
Playing a major character in a standalone pop culture phenomenon like The Walking Dead pretty much guarantees that any actor who has “suddenly” become available for other projects will be a hot ticket, indeed.
Life will indeed go on, and it really is all good, my TWD obsessed darlings.
I promise.
Of course, for all my brave talk, I am going to be freaking out just like everyone else if serious shit goes down. But, I will stick to my personal coping methodology.
I will breathe. I will watch Talking Dead and take comfort in Chris Hardwick’s calming manner and funny jokes. I will watch the actors who play the departed, beloved characters laugh and joke and talk about their upcoming projects as they sit on the TD couch.
I will lean on my Daryl Partner, and I will support her when she needs to lean on me. I will attend TWD support group, and I will talk about my feelings, and I will listen as others talk about theirs. We will laugh, we will cry. We will drink the coffee provided, and we will eat the donuts. And we will take comfort in our friends and family, in our #TWDFamily. ❤
And we will keep telling ourselves, It’s only a show. It isn’t real. It’s only a show.
And maybe, maybe one day, we will actually believe it.
_____________________________________________
The Walking Dead’s Episode 512 opens as the gang, along with Aaron and Eric, emerge from their vehicles and approach the gates of Alexandria. Aaron supports Eric as he limps gamely on his injured ankle, while Rick, holding Baby Judith, and the others cautiously approach the gate, which slowly, noisily begins to roll open for them.
As they approach, Carl looks back at one of the houses which stand outside the gates, and is surprised to see a figure in one of the windows, a girl, looking out at him.
Michonne passes, obscuring the window a moment, then when Carl does a double take, once he can see the window again, the figure of the girl is gone.
Carl stays back a moment, looking at the window, before turning and following the others. The perspective shifts, and we see Carl and the gang walking towards the opening gate from inside the house, looking out through the window.
A loud, clattering noise from the side startles the gang, and they whirl in unison, pointing weapons, and we hear the hiss of Daryl’s arrow spearing the offender, a possum who most likely toppled a metal trash can in search of a meal.
The gatekeeper, a young man, stands watching in silent disbelief as Daryl picks up the possum by the tail, then turns and announces, deadpan, “We brought dinner.”
Aaron quickly assures the gatekeeper that it’s ok, and bids the gang to come inside. The gang watches as the gates roll closed, and lock behind them.
The gatekeeper/guard immediately says, “Before we take this any further, I need you all to turn over your weapons.” At the gang’s looks, he continues, “If you stay, you handthem over.”
Rick steps forward and says, none too friendly, “We don’t know if we wanna stay.”
Man, Papi Grimes is so hot when he plays hardball!
Aaron turns to Nicholas, the gatekeeper, and quietly assures him that it’s ok. Papi Grimes chimes in, informs Nicholas, Aaron, and anybody else in Alexandria who is listening:
“If we wanted to use ’em, we wouldastarted already.“ Holding the baby in one arm while he says it just makes Papi Grimes look even more like a badass.
Aaron tells Nicholas to let them talk to Deanna. “Who’s Deanna?” demands Abraham, loudly (and thus, one of Chris Hardwick’s favorite TWD lines was uttered).
Aaron replies that Deanna is the one who can tell them anything they want to know about this place. Aaron turns to Rick, suggests, “Rick? Why don’t you go first?“
In response, Rick turns back towards his people, and seeing something beyond the gate’s bars, prompts, “Sasha.”
Sasha turns, sees, takes aim…
…and with one perfectly aimed shot, splatters an approaching walker’s brains all over the pavement. The walker slumps to the ground, dead for good. (Awesome walker cameo here, played by Shaun Of The Dead’s NickFrost <3) As the gates roll closed, Rick turns back to Aaron, and Nicholas, who, by their disbelieving stares, have received the unspoken message: Don’t even think about fucking with us.
As he saunters away, towards his interview with Deanna, Rick says, sarcastically, “It’s a good thing we’re here.”
After the opening credits, we see a shot of Rick, looking around an airy, spacious office with high ceilings and art on the walls. Sunlight pours through the tall windows, which are framed with fine white curtains.
There are many bookshelves in the office, filled with books, and the mantlepiece holds candles, knicknacks, pictures, and other items of interest. There is even a flat screen tv mounted to the wall.
It looks warm, and inviting, and very well used, like an actual, working office of some esteemed, titled individual from days past.
As Rick takes this in, a woman comes quietly into the office behind him, regards him for the briefest of seconds before grinning and introducing herself.
“Hello. I’m Deanna Monroe.”
Rick turns to face Deanna. “Rick Grimes,” he offers, before turning away again, looking once more at the window, the books, the room. I found this interesting, how he chose to play it like this, to turn away , instead to continuing to face, assess Deanna. I guessed maybe he was trying to make himself appear casually indifferent, harder to read, for Deanna Monroe.
Deanna proves herself a worthy match to this tactic by asking Rick, in the next breath, “You mind if I film this?” This gets Rick’s attention, and he quickly turns back to face her.
“What?”
Deanna repeats the question, a little more slowly and with a little more emphasis. “Do you mind if I film our talk?”
Rick, who has recovered himself quickly, says, indifferently, “Go ahead.” He turns back to the window as Deanna walks over to turn on the camera. Rick peers out the window, at the tall walls and the white steeple of a church. “Why film this?” he asks.
“We’re all about transparency here,” Deanna replies easily. She motions with her head, invites Rick to sit down, “Please.”
The next shot is aimed at the vantage point of the chair, which Rick has not yet sat down in. We see his legs, his worn black pants, and we hear Deanna’s voice, a trifle tinny…we know that we are seeing through the lens of her camera, and hearing her voice through the recording microphone. After a moment’s hesitation, Rick sits down, a trifle awkwardly, into the soft living-room style chair.
I guess it has been a long time since Rick has actually gotten to sit in an actual chair…maybe the last time was in “Claimed,” before the Downstairs Thug Boys found the house and Rick had to escape them, undetected, and intercept Michonne and Carl before they walked into danger? Can’t remember an actual house he was in since that time...always has been the ground or a floor these days.
“How long have you been out there?” Deanna begins the interview. “Since the beginning,” Rick replies.
“How did you all find each other?” Deanna continues. “Did you all know each other be-…” Rick cuts her off, “We didn’t know each other before.” His voice has a touch of annoyance, as does his manner, as he eases himself slowly, hesitantly, into the chair.
Rather than relaxing into the chair, Rick sits perched on the edge of it, taking a moment more to look off to the side, at something in the room…
…before turning to face Deanna Monroe.
At this point in the watching, I wondered two things…I wondered, first, if this scene was crafted by Nicotero to be reminiscent of one of my fave movies of all time, Sex, Lies, and Videotape.
The way Deanna asks Rick if he minds if she films the interview immediately reminded me of how the James Spader character asked in S, L and V, and the shots through the vantage point of the camera hearken back to some of the most riveting imagery of that incredible film.
If so, bravo, Greg Nicotero. It makes me love you, and TWD, even more. Sex, Lies, andVideotape is one of the great ones, and enough homage cannot be paid to that visionary, sexy, disturbing, timeless film.
Second, I also couldn’t help but wonder if Deanna Monroe, like the rest of us, was already crushing hard on Rick Grimes. I mean, man.Like seriously…literally.Man! ❤ ❤
Sister’s playing it cool on the outside, but I bet she’s all like, “Dayummmm!” on the inside. I mean, come on. Look at him!
Deanna tells Rick that she used to be a “congressperson,” before the turn. “Ohio, 15thDistrict,” she tells him, with a small smile and a nod.
Deanna motions to Rick, with her head, her eyebrows lifted. “You?”
Rick replies, “I don’t think it matters anymore.” Deanna is quick to disagree. “Oh, I know it does,” she counters.
Rick ignores the question. “What is this place?” he asks. You can hear the smile behind Deanna’s voice. “It’s the ‘start of sustainability,’“ she replies. “That’s what the brochures we found say.”
“This was a planned community,” Deanna continues. “With its own solar grid, cisterns, eco-based sewage filtration…starting in the low $800,000’s.” With this, Deanna laughs, adding, “If there is such a thing! And they sold them all.“
Rick does not share her laugh, shifts a little in his chair and looks away, asking, “How did you end up here?” Deanna explains that as she and her family tried to get back to Ohio from D.C., so she could help her district manage the crisis, the Army stopped them on a back road and directed them here. The Army was supposed to come later. Deanna looks at Rick with a small shake of her head.
“They didn’t,” she says, softly.
But, Deanna continues, looking around the room, there were supplies here, and they made the best of it. “You put up the wall?” asks Rick. Deanna replies that there was a huge shopping mall in the process of being built nearby, and her husband, Reg, is a professor of architecture.
“And,” Deanna says, leaning forward, “who he was mattered, quite a bit.“ Reg, along with their sons, put up the first plates of the wall. After a time, more people arrived, they had help, and from there, they built a community.
Rick sits, taking this all in. He cocks his head at Deanna, asks, incredulously, “You’ve been behind these walls this entire time?”
Deanna graciously does not answer this question directly, but in not answering it, she answers it:Yes.
As they face each other across the table, Deanna mirrors Rick’s posture by sitting forward on the couch, leaning forward, arms resting on the thighs. She tells Rick that they (Alexandria) need people who have been outside. She tells him that his group is the first group in a long time that they have even considered bringing inside their walls.
“You should keep your gates closed,” Rick tells Deanna bluntly, quietly.
“Why?” she whispers, mirroring his soft tone.
Rick takes a moment before answering.
“Because it’s all about survival now,” he replies, in the same soft tone, with a strong hint of truth, and menace that carries through the softly spoken message. “At any cost.”
Rick continues, “People out there are always looking for an angle, looking to play on your weakness,”
Looking directly at Deanna, Rick tells her,“They measure you by what they can take from you.”
“By how they can use you, to live.”
Rick cocks his head at Deanna, says,”So, bringing people in, to a place like this, now…”
Deanna interrupts him, asks:
“Are you telling me not to bring your people in?”
Deanna blinks, once, then asks, with raised eyebrows and pursed lips, “Or, are you already looking after this place?”
Rick looks at Deanna with a new respect, or regard. He says nothing, shifts back and forth in the chair, comes back to stillness, watches Deanna.
When we hear Deanna’s voice again, it is through the camera, recording. “Aaron says I can trust you.”
Rick’s reply is immediate. “Aaron doesn’t know me. I’ve killed people…“ Rick looks down, shaking his head. “I don’t even know how many, by now.”
“But I know why they’re all dead.They’re dead so my family,those people out there, can be alive.“
“So I can be alive, for them.”
Sitting across from Rick, matching his posture, looking into his face, Deanna says:
“Sounds like I’d want to be part of your family.” Amen to that, Mrs. Sister!
Deanna continues, addressing Rick by name, telling him that northern Virginia was effectively evacuated, millions of people, gone. For a long time, there’s hardly been anyone here, living or dead, but still, “We’ve lost people,” Deanna says, simply.
She looks down, then at her hands. “And, uh, I’ve done things.”
Rick looks into her face, as they sit across from one another. “What have you done?” he asks her.
Deanna tells Rick that she exiled three people, who “didn’t work out…and we both know that’s as good as killing them.”
(Not so fast, there, Deanna Monroe…I have a sneaking feeling that at least one, if not all, of your exiles have managed to survive, and are planning a return visit, soon, if they haven’t called upon the hallowed steel gates of Alexandria already…and if that isn’t the reason for your sending Aaron and Eric out to scour the surrounding countryside for hardy and seasoned warriors who have managed, thus far, to survive the savagery of the outside world…you may need some muscle, some soldiers for hire, to give yourself and your community a fighting chance at surviving the war that may be coming for you, sooner than later.)
At this, Rick stands, walks over to the window, hands on hips, looking out. “What do you want from us?” he asks.
Deanna stands, walks over to the window, faces Rick.
“These families,” she begins, peering out the window, then facing Rick,“these families should be able to raise their children in a safe environment. Your son, your daughter, should have a place to grow up.”
Deanna takes a step toward Rick. “What do I want? I want you to help us survive. I know you can help us do that.”
“How?” asks Rick, hoarsely. “I am exceptionally good at reading people,” replies Deanna. “If I didn’t win re-election, I was going to become a professional poker player.”
Rick looks away, laughs. “I’m not kidding,” Deanna tells him, in a loud whisper.
Deanna looks down at her watch. “Rick,” she says, “it’s 3:37pm.You’re skeptical...youhavea right to be. But it’s time to decide…if you’re the one doing the deciding.”
(Man, she’s good! She’s def not kidding around about being a master poker player. I am thinking,in the brains division, Deanna Monroe would be a major contender in Top Mama Tapout.)
With this, Deanna Monroe steps back, interlaces her fingers behind her back, and waits. Rick says nothing, looks down and sets his watch to the correct time.
We, and Deanna Monroe, can tell how long he’s been wanting to find out the correct time, to set his watch to it.
Rick looks down at his watch. “I was a sheriff,” he says, simply.
“Yeah,” Deanna agrees, softly. “I knew it was something like that.”
In the next sequence, it’s outside, and Deanna is explaining the procedure of turning over the weapons to Rick’s group.
“They’re still your guns,” she tells the group, as they begin to load their weapons onto the waiting cart.
Deanna tells them they can check out their guns at any time when they go outside the walls…
…but while they are within Alexandria’s walls, their guns will be “stored for safety.” The gang exchanges looks, unsure about this. Abraham looks to Rick, who gives a small nod, but who looks ill at ease with the whole setup as well.
The following sequence is hilarious, played perfectly by Melissa McBride…
Carol steps forward to the cart, and giving a little smile to the awaiting cart girl, she begins to unload her arsenal onto the weapons cart. It is truly comical to see this tiny woman try to shrug off the huge assault rifle she has strapped across her.
With some difficulty, and a shoulder that is probably still tender, Carol finally manages to lift the gun off and place it on the cart.
Carol’s whole manner during this is like, “Who, little ol’ me, hefting around this big gun? Why, I barely know how to use it…whoops, easy, stay, big fella…there, that oughta do it. There you go…”
As the cart girl backs away, pulling her fully loaded cart with her, she jokes, “Shoulda brought another bin.”
New Carol gives a big grin at the girl as she wheels their guns away, outwardly in response to the joke, but inwardly, is like, “Yeah, you shoulda.”
Once the girl is gone, the smile is too, and Rick steps forward, his face reflecting what they all seem to be feeling right about now…
Rick and his gang aren’t feeling it, having their guns taken away.
Aaron takes Rick to see their new digs, which are pretty damn impressive.
Rick and Carl look at the two huge houses being offered to their group. “Both of them?” marvels Rick. “At your disposal,” Aaron replies grandly.
Aaron, who is sporting a pretty damn impressive bruise on the lower corner of his mouth and chin, courtesy of Rick Smash!, tells them that Deanna asked the other residents of the community to hang back and give Rick and his gang some space to get used to their new digs and settle in.
“If you need anything, call me,” Aaron tells them. At their confused looks, Aaron looks down and laughs at himself, explains awkwardly that of course he doesn’t have a phone… “I’m four houses down,” he tells Rick and Carl, pointing the way towards his residence.
Rick and Carl approach the door to one of the houses, and cautiously step in, in the “clearing” manner they have become so accustomed to. The house has no walkers, of course, but it does have plenty of space, and furniture, some decorations on the walls, empty picture frames stacked up. There are even throw pillows on the couch.
Carl goes to the kitchen, stands in front of the sink a moment before turning it on…
Running water. Carl looks over at his dad in disbelief.
And speaking of running water, and things that are pretty damn impressive…
As the thick layers of Rick Grime wash down the shower drain, we see our man is rocking some serious 7-11 feet.
Once the shot pans up from the Jiffy toenails, the view begins to get better and better….
Oh, yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ about.
Once the shower part of the program is done, we get to Act II…The Shave Sequence.
Rick wipes away the steam from the mirror and takes in the grizzled state of his appearance.
It’s probably the first time he has really looked at himself in a mirror in a long, long time.
#RIPRicksBeard
Many of the TWD crew grew out, then shaved, their beards in an act of shaving solidarity with Andrew Lincoln/Rick Grimes. Totes adorbs!
Mmmmm hmmmm…
Sweet Baby Jesus, that is a beautiful man. ❤
By this time in the watching, I, and many of my married lady friends, went a little “Mental AWOL” on our marriage vows. But, the #RickPorn was just beginning, because then this happens…
Rick is finishing up his fine, fine shave when there is an unexpected knock on the door…
Watching this, my WD buddy and I were both getting all territorial, like,“Ok, who is this bitch?”
Can’t hate a sister for being at the right place at the right time, I suppose. The look on her face, here, is pretty awesome. I mean, can you blame her?
“Ummm, ok, you are definitely not the gentleman I was expecting, and p.s.thank you, God!“
Jessie manages to keep her composure, explains that she works in the pantry, and Deanna sent her to deliver some supplies to Rick and his gang. Rick thanks her (in more waysthan one, unbeknownst to him), and she has the quick wits to offer her services as a hair stylist to him. Jessie isn’t stupid, I’ll give her that.
As Jessie cuts Rick’s hair, she tells him that she has two sons, the eldest, Rowan, being about his son’s age. She offers for the boys to hang soon, if that’s ok with Rick, and…?
Rick answers her unspoken question, that it’s just him. (Nice fishing, Jessie, you thirsty B.) Rick quickly tells her that that sounds great, getting the boys together, and then Jessie starts in with a whole lot of hair stroking, gratuitous touching, telling Rick that she’s sorry (about his loss, but no, she’s really not).
Rick tells Jessie that he thought things like electricity, running water, haircuts, were things that he would never see again. Jessie jokes that come on, haircuts were never going away. (Come on, unhappily married ladies in the post-apocalypse have to have some angle for being able to paw on hot widowers!)
Jessie lays on some more gratuitous touching, placing her hands on Rick’s back (causing him to wince, slightly) and telling him it’s ok if he’s not really feeling alright with all this, yet. At this point, me and my WD buddy were all like, “Back off, bitch! That’s Michonne’s man!“
Jessie hands Rick a hand mirror to inspect the finished product. Andrew Lincoln plays this entire episode so beautifully…so much said without words, just facial expression, as Rick processes so much feeling and information, on so many levels, in Episode 512.
Meanwhile, in Deanna’s office…
Daryl is leaned over, fiddling with some polished stones, or dice, or something on Deanna’s desk. We hear Deanna’s voice, through the recorder, “You’re welcome to sit, Daryl. I won’t bite.“
Daryl, still holding the dead possum by the tail, demurs, “Yeah, I’malright.” He paces, looking around, throwing attitude. It’s like he’s in the principal’s office. Deanna asks, “Daryl? Do you want to be here?“ Daryl stops a moment, regards her. “Boy and the baby. They deserve a roof…I guess.”Daryl bounces a bit on his toes as he turns and continues pacing, looking around.
Later, Daryl continues his acting out against Alexandria: Vanilla Dream by cleaning his possum right on the porch of one of their assigned houses, tossing the guts right onto the treated wood slats.
Rick, holding Baby Judith, and Carl are wandering around the porch. Carol comes out and joins them. Nobody gives Daryl and the possum a second glance…that’s not what’s unnerving them about their current surroundings. It’s probably the closest thing to normal for them, now. Carl wants to go check out the house next door, and Rick tells him it’s ok, just make sure to keep it quick
Carl sets off, and Rick and Carol exchange a look.
It is the first, spontaneous convening of what I have come to think of as Episode 512’s“Porch Council” where Rick, Daryl, and Carol come together and share doubts, hunches, information, and make plans regarding Alexandria.
The look Rick and Carol exchange says it all. They both feel it…something’s weird. There’s something going on that isn’t being said, for all the comforts and hospitality being offered by Deanna Monroe and her community.
Carol leaves the porch and follows Carl to the house next door. As Carl looks around the downstairs, he marvels, “These are like mansions.” Carol goes over to a window, peers out the horizontal blinds.
“And they’re just giving them away,” Carol muses, doubtfully.
After a moment, Carol turns to go. She asks Carl if he’s coming, and he tells her he will catch up with her in a little bit. Carol goes outside, and she meets up with Rick, and Daryl, who are walking in the narrow yard space between the two houses.
Porch Council reconvenes…
Carol weighs in first, “They’re right next to each other, but…” Rick nods in agreement. “They took our weapons, now they’re splitting us up.” He looks at Daryl, who agrees, “Yup.”“Yeah,” echoes Rick. They stand in silence a moment, digesting all this information.
As Carol grins benignly at a curious passerby, Rick and Daryl try to look casual…just a neighborly yard chat, here. Looking away, Rick says that they will all be sleeping in the same house, tonight.
Meanwhile, in the other house, Carl is poking around downstairs when he hears a creaking noise, above. He makes his way cautiously up the stairs, then draws his knife as he approaches a closed door. Slowly, knife drawn, Carl reaches out and opens the door…
Carl opens the door to an empty, bright, vaulted attic room that looks as if it has been used as a hangout room. There are pads and pens, markers, makeshift pillow setups for sitting on the floor, against the wall. It looks like a teenager’s secret hangout space.
Carl picks up a comic, “WolfFight,”and starts reading.
Later, the gang is getting ready to bed down for the night. They are all camping out downstairs, in the living room, and it becomes apparent that some in this gang are really trying to figure out what to do with themselves in all this quiet..
As Carol sketches in a notepad, Maggie takes a deep whiff of the clean linens…she has probably really missed that smell, and the feel of being clean and comfortable.
Meanwhile, Eugene seems to be feeling Rosita out, while checking her out, again, as he sets his bed next to hers. And, again, Rosita does not acknowledge his existence.Dream on, Dream Weaver!
Rick sets Baby Judith down in her crib, and Daryl is being so sweet, watching over the baby. Carl reads his comic book.
Sasha sits, looking out the window, not talking, while Abraham sits in the corner, sneaking mournful looks over Rosita’s way. Poor wounded soldiers.
Michonne, however, has no problem knowing what to do with herself. Coming into the room, smiling, girly, so fresh and so clean-clean, she laughs and asks the others how long she was in there. Rick guesses, (probably after checking his watch), “Twenty minutes.”
I love seeing this side of Michonne, all laughing and girly and cute.
I love this pic…she’s all like, “I could NOT stop brushing.” And then, as she focuses on Rick, she sees something’s different about him…
Look at how ghostly this pic came out…the moment she sees the clean shave.(Damn,Richonne…I was rooting for you, hard.) I got a crazy pic like this before, of Michonne in the Terry and Mike sequence…it’s like the Ghost of Hot Girly Michonnemakes her appearance in these posts…bring it, Ghost of Hot Girly Michonne! Bring it, and I will keep taking pics. ❤
Awwww…look at that girl! She’s checking it all out, and she says, “I’ve never…I’ve never seen your face…like that, before,”in a way that is way more adorable than anything, ever.
In reply, Rick, rubbing his face, mumbles something about his thinking the exact same thing, before, and after, the epic shave, as he starts to walk past her. He was looking all shaven and beautiful, but I kind of didn’t like the way he was acting to Michonne in the moment, so I didn’t take a picture of it.
I swear, if Rick hooks up with that dumb Jessie girl and hurts Michonne’s feelings, I am going to be pissed. It would be tragically disappointing, and it may negatively affect my crush on him, if even for just a little while.
It would suck, like when one of your favorite guy friends, or favorite guys, in general, hooks up with some dumb girl you can’t stand. Ugh, please, just say no to that shit, Rick Grimes.The haircut wasn’t that great. Michonne could do a way better job, and she’d probably be really good at shaving, too.
I don’t hate Jessie, and I would never begrudge a young woman (raising two sons in the post-apocalypse with an asshole, possibly abusive husband) her hot, unexpected crush and a mild flirtation with her son’s friend’s dad…but…
Bitch needs to recognize that Richonne don’t got any part of “Jessie” in it.
(Now, because this post is super duper late as fuck, I watched Episode 513 last night, as did pretty much all of you, and I now know that Rick Smash!has it bad for Jessie, giving her the hungry eyes at Deanna’s party, and fantasizing about killing her pud husband and shit. I knew it was in the works the moment that chick came to the door, so there, I know. We all know. There is no Richonne, at least in the romantic sense. I am resigned. Annoyed as hell, but resigned. I’ll get over it. Meh.)
Anyhow, Rick leans in, and Michonne quietly says to him that she understands why they are playing it safe, but…she has a good feeling about this place.
(Yeah, man, I would too, you know? It’s vanilla postapocalyptic suburbia, a glass castle, but it’s got a wall, and houses, and it’s stocked as anything. It’s like,hey, the whole setup is rife withbullshit, but I get to brush my teeth here, and take a shower, and eat food that isn’t possum and acorns, and sleep more than two hours at a time, and sit on the couch and read comic books. I have a really, really great feeling about this place...I fucking love this place!)
Rick glances around, before looking back at her, says, “Well, I hope you’re right.” I wonder if he thinks they are using parabolic mikes and listening to them…I bet he does.
Michonne’s face gets even more serious. “Yeah, me too,” she says, thinking.
Man, there’s always a catch in this cruel, cockblocking zombie apocalypse. It’s exhausting, it truly is.
Suddenly, there is a knock on the door. The gang startles a bit, and Rick goes to the door, opens it, and it is Deanna Monroe, “checking in” on how everyone is doing. Deanna’s face, upon seeing Rick’s clean shaven one, registers her shock.
“Wow. I didn’t know what was under there!”
Rick Grimes is clearly uncomfortable with all this praise and commentary about his facial superiority.
Deanna starts to apologize for interrupting, and then she sees the whole gang, together, camping in the living room. “Oh, my,” she says, with a smile in her voice.
Deanna looks at Rick, smiling. “Staying together,”she says, wonderingly. “Smart.”
“Nobody said we couldn’t,” Rick replies.
“You said you were family,“ says Deanna to Rick. “That’s what you said.”
Deanna looks around at the gang, remarks, “It’s absolutely amazing to me how people with completely different backgrounds and nothing in common can become that…”
“… don’t you think?”
Rick changes the subject, mentions to Deanna that he heard she gave everyone jobs. She agrees, saying that’s “part of this place,” then laughs, joking that it looks like “the communists won after all.”
Rick gives a small, polite laugh at this, then says:
“You didn’t give me one.”
“I have,” says Deanna, smiling up at Rick. “I just haven’t told you yet.”
“Same with Michonne,” Deanna adds.
Deanna then says she’s “closing in on something for Sasha.”
“And, I’m just trying to figure Mr. Dixon out, but I will.“ Daryl looks away at this, crouched at the window, knife out and at the ready. He’s not settling down into this suburban limbo without a fight.
Deanna turns for one last look at Rick. “You look good,” she says, before walking out the door.
That night, as the others lay sleeping across the living room floor, Rick lay awake with his eyes open. He gets up, covers Carl’s sleeping form, and makes his way to the kitchen. He silently opens the knife drawer and pulls out a large chopping knife. He looks at the knife a moment, tests the blade, before bringing it close to his side. It seems the knife will be beside him, in easy reach, when he goes to lie back down in the living room.
In the next scene, we see Michonne in the frame of Deanna’s recording camera. She has gone to the bookshelf and selected a volume, then seats herself in the interview chair.
“If this is how you’re saying it is, then this is what we’ve wanted,” says Michonne. You can see her katana leaned up against the chair, and she holds the book she has selected, probably to take for future reading. Michonne seems like she is a well-read, well-versed individual, on many subjects.
“We’re ready for this,” asserts Michonne. We hear Deanna’s voice through the camera’s mic, “All of you?” Michonne looks away a moment, shifts in the chair, then composes herself back to stillness, facing the camera.
“All of us,” she asserts.
Meanwhile, the gang sets off to explore their new neighborhood.
Rick prompts Daryl, “They said explore…let’s explore.” Daryl takes a pass. He’ll stay put.
Rick looks over the upscale neighborhood, where one Alexandria resident is seen walking a dog. Rick tells Daryl,”Lori and me…we used to drive through neighborhoods like this, thinking, ‘One day…'”
“Well, here we are,” says Daryl, succinct as ever.
As soon as he steps out into the road, Rick starts to get freaked when he doesn’t see his children around, anywhere.
Rick be running and bugging, looking for his kids.
Mid wack-attack, Rick crashes some big weird metal thing in a driveway.
Jessie runs up, concerned, asks Rick if he’s ok…he asks her if she’s seen Carl and Judith, as he can’t find them.
Jessie has an idea where they might be, and she brings Rick to an elder couple’s home, where Carl and Judith are, sure enough, getting exclaimed over by the couple (who had five children, and twelve grandchildren, before...ugh, awful to think about that scope of loss).
Jessie tells Rick that it’s been awhile since there’s been a baby in these parts, and that Judith is probably going to have to deal with some pinched cheeks. Rick is majorly rattled, and Jessie assures him that it’s ok, she gets it.
“Look, I’m sorry I broke…whateverthat was I broke,“ Rick apologizes. Jessie tells Rick it was an an owl she and the boys were working on…she tells him that she had been having trouble getting the eyes right, and at Rick’s blank, “Oh, right, the eyes,“ she playfully teases him for not getting a good look at it.
Rick sheepishly admits, “I was in the middle of losing my mind.”(Ok, you two, I get it. You like each other. I am completely annoyed, but I get it.)
Before he turns to go, Jessie asks Rick if Carl can come over to their house, now, as Rowan really wants to meet him, to hang. Rick agrees, and so Carl goes over to Rowan’s house.
As Rowan brings Carl up to his room, he tells him that they are there almost every day after school, and invites Carl to come over, any time. Carl marvels that they have school, and Rowan explains to him that it’s just in a garage, and the little kids go in the mornings, while older kids go in the afternoons.
“Probably you too, right?” Rowan asks Carl. “Probably,” Carl agrees.
In Rowan’s room, two teens, a boy and a girl, are hanging out. Rowan introduces Carl to “Mikey” and “Enid.”
While Mikey gets up to greet Carl, Enid doesn’t look up from what she’s reading. “Hi,” she says, not looking at Carl.
Rowan goes over and puts a hand on Enid’s shoulder. Must be her self-appointed boyfriend…she does have the prime spot on Rowan’s bed. As Carl shyly sneaks a look over at Enid, Rowan explains that Enid’s from the “outside” too, that she came to Alexandria just a couple of months ago.
Carl pulls out the “Wolf Fight” comic from his pocket, asks Mikey and Rowan if it is theirs.
Rowan apologizes, says he didn’t know “they” got that house, and Mikey admits that they used to hang up in the attic room and listen to music. The comic is actually Enid’s, and she quickly snatches it from Carl’s hand and puts it next to her on the bed, then continues reading. Carl watches her a moment, fascinated, take this all in, then looks away.
Rowan, being a good host, offers different activities they can do…they can play video games, or Mikey’s house has a pool table (and a strict dad, but Mikey is quick to say that his dad’s at work at the moment). They turn to Carl, but he is having trouble processing all this…normalcy.
Poor Carl’s like, “Um…”
Enid looks up at Carl, seemingly identifying with his shellshock, as she has experienced the horrors of the world outside the walls, herself. She must know how weird it feels to be planted into this surreal suburban reality after experiencing what she and Carl have, outside.
Rowan is quick to offer that they don’t have to do anything, that Carl doesn’t have to even “talk, if you don’t want to.” Rowan then says that it took Enid three weeks before she said anything. Enid looks back down at her book, tells Carl to, “Pull ittogether, sport.” Carl recovers himself, puts on a small smile, and suggests that they play video games.
In the next scene, Carl and Judith are in Deanna’s office, sitting in the interview chair, being recorded as Carl “talks” with Deanna.
Looking around, Carl says that this is the kind of place that his mom wanted for them. It made me think of Lori, and how much she would have loved finding Alexandria, and settling there with her family. So sad. 😦
“I’m sorry you lost her,” Deanna says. Carl looks down, and he says, “I didn’t just lose her…I killed her.”
Carl looks up at Deanna. “It had to beme.”(I am sorry to bust in Carl’s sad, sad moment here, but that baby is such a smoosh…so freakin’ adorable!)
Later, Carl is lying in his bed, and Rick comes into the room, asks how Rowan’s house was. Carl asks Rick, point blank, what he, Rick, thinks of this place.
Rick sits on the edge of the bed, diplomatically says that the place “seems nice.” He is being a good dad, and a hot dad, despite his super annoying fascination with Jessie.
Carl agrees, saying he likes it here, and the people seem super nice…but they’re weak. Carl tells his dad that he doesn’t want them to get weak like these people are.
Rick nods, and looks away, processing this. Seems like he is having his own version of the same thoughts his son is having.
Later, that night, Michonne awakes to see Rick standing at the window, looking out. After a moment, she stands up, goes over to the window.
It was hard for me go get exactly how their conversation went down, after repeated playbacks, but the general feeling I got from it was that, if all is as good and orderly and democratic around here as Deanna Monroe is saying, then why are the both of them up, unable to sleep, in that moment? Michonne doesn’t have a reply. Rick tells her he’s going to take a walk, puts his hand on her shoulder, and leaves her there, thinking.
It’s a crazy full moon out that night.
As Rick walks down the darkened, empty streets, a voice carries to him from one of the front porches. “You’re Rick,” says the man’s voice. “Yeah,” Rick replies.
The man on the porch doesn not introduce himself, says instead, “My wife cut your hair.” Rick pauses a moment, then agrees, “Yeah.” An uncomfortable silence follows, then the man says, a trife belligerently, “Welcome to Alexandria.” Rick continues on his way, as the man takes a long draw off his cigarette. My WD buddy’s sister texted her, as we watched this scene, “They may as well name that husband guy ‘WifeyMcBeaty!‘”Ha ha ha!Spousal abuse is no laughing matter, but that nickname sure is…and ol’ Wifey McBeaty seems like a reala-hole.
Later, Rick lay sleeping…then:
In the next sequence, it’s back to the interview chair in Deanna Monroe’s office, where we all meet: Junior League Carol.
Junior League Carol recounts, for Deanna Monroe and her rolling camera, her life before the turn: “I did laundry, gardened…always had dinner on the table for Ed when he came home…”Junior League Carol looks away here, with a sad smile, blinking back fake tears, says, “I miss that big,stupid, wonderful man every day.”Wow.
Even more wow is when Junior League Carol goes on to say that she didn’t really have much to contribute to the group, so she just kind of became their den mother, and they were “nice enough” to protect her. Ha!Rambo Carol pretty much singlehandedly sprung the gang from Terminus. (I wonder how good of a poker-playing people reader Deanna Monroe actually is…is she buying JLCarol’s line, here?)
We hear Deanna Monroe’s voice, through the camera, ask, (a trifle doubtfully, perhaps),“Where do you think you’ll fit in?”
Junior League Carol acts perplexed by this question, looks down, brow knitted, makes some hems, haws and even kind of squeaks a little, “Hmmm?!” before saying, brightly, “Well, I’d like to be involved in the community…do you have anything like a JuniorLeague?“
Junior League Carol beams at the camera. “I’m a real people person.”
Later, it gets even more surreal…
Daryl sits at his usual spot on the front porch, tinkering with his crossbow…something pinches his thumb, and he winces, sucks the bleed a moment before getting back to the task at hand.
Junior League Carol steps out in her new uniform of uniformity. “Time to punch the clock and make the casseroles,” she mock announces, modeling her button-down-cardigan-pants ensemble for Daryl to comment on.
Daryl’s look says it all.
Carol explains that one of her duties with her newly assigned job is to make meals for those who cannot: elders, overwhelmed moms, those who can’t cook. “I get to meet a lot of our neighbors that way,” Carol adds. She’s a woman on a mission…she wants to figure these people out.
Daryl snorts a laugh, goes back to his crossbow. “Alright,” he replies, doubtfully.
Carol narrows her eyes at Daryl, asks him if he’s taken a shower yet. “Mmmhmmm,” he replies, which of course means he totally hasn’t.
Carol tells Daryl to take a shower, and she’ll wash his vest…they need to keep up appearances, even him. Daryl replies, “Hell, I ain’t startin’ now.”
As she marches off to her call of duty, Carol informs Daryl that she’s going to “hose you down in your sleep.”
Daryl calls after her, “You look ridiculous!”
Ha! Caryl.
Meanwhile, back at Deanna’s office:
Glenn, earnest, says to Deanna, as the camera records, “We need to make this work.”
“Why?” Deanna’s voice asks. Glenn pauses a moment, looks back at Deanna, the camera.
“We were almost out there too long.”
Meanwhile, Beardless Rick (as Kevin Smith referred to the clean shaven Rick Grimeson Talking Dead) seems to have checked out his weapons from Alexandria’s Gun Lending Library and is going on a walkabout outside the hallowed gates.
Rick looks like a hot badass.
Damn, are those bracings on the outside of the fence? I thought they were on the inside…that fence may hold off walkers, but a living enemy could pull down those bracings, or use them to scramble up and over the wall. Major design flaw, Reg.
Carl, meanwhile, is inside the walls, and the house, trying to figure out what the hell to do with himself…a movement outside the window catches his eye, and he spies:
Enid, giving the sneaky look around, then beginning to climb up the fence…she looks like she’s pretty much a pro at it, by now…it’s pretty apparent that she’s done it before, many times.
Damn, and then she gets to the top, and uses one of Reg’s patented “outside the wall” bracings to slide or shimmy down the other side. Reg, your fence may have bought you and your people about two years’ worth of protection, but I think your insurance policy with Castles Made Of Sand Home and Life Insurance is about to expire, soon…shit’s pretty bunk, I’m sorry to say.Props for trying, though, Reg, and for getting away with it this long. You bought your peeps some major time, truly.
Carl’s like, “I love her.”
Meanwhile, speaking of bunk-ass shit…
Meet Deanna and Reg’s budussy son, Aidan.
Aidan initally appears nice enough, and cute enough, at first. He’s friendly, he guesses their names, introduces Nicholas (who was pulling “gate duty,” before).
Glenn asks him, “You’re Deanna’s son?”
Aidan answers this in the affirmative: “That’s right.”
Then, it’s time to get down to business. “I hear you have experience making supply runs.” Glenn remarks to Aidan that he’s seen their pantry, that they seem to do prettywell. This puffs Aidan up, and he’s very proud to announce that he had some training, “ROTC.Was nearing lieutenant when this shit blew in.”
Nicholas looks over at Aidan, with this statement, with the look of someone who’s heard this like a million times, before, but who knows better than to roll his eyes. Noah speaks up, says his dad was in ROTC. Aidan is perceptive enough to ask, “He didn’t make it?”
Noah looks down, shakes his head, “Nah.”
Aidan looks sorrowful, expresses as much to Noah, but it’s more like, “Wow, that would really suck, I can’t imagine that“ than someone who really knows what loss feels like in this day and age.
Aidan takes a moment more (a true politician’s son), and then gets back to business with a comment, “I’m sorry a lot these days,” and then, it’s chop, chop, kids, because Aidan and his second, Nicholas, are gonna “show them the ropes” and the “terrain” outside the walls. They are going to make a “dry run,” so Aidan and Nicholas can “see how you do.”
Wow, that is super fucking laughable, Aidan. And, btw, that Walmart-issueknife strapped to your belt is totally making your Members Only jacket look really fucking suburban gangsta,right there, Deanna’s son.
Aidan tries some “sac” comment on Tara, which she only mocks slightly, and when Glenn asks about weapons, Aidan says that they picked out “some sweet-ass biscuits for today.”
Oooooo…awesome.
Glenn and Tara manage to keep straight faces as they follow Aidan and Nicholas, along with Noah, out beyond the walls.
Meanwhile, Enid, who could probably show Aidan a thing or two, is making her way through the woods…
…with Carl following close behind.
Enid hears a clanging noise in the distance, and bolts through the woods. Carl tries to go after her, but loses her quickly.
Meanwhile, in another part of the woods, Rick sees a barn in the near distance, hears the clatter of something being crashed inside. Then, making his cameo appearance…
Clanger Banger Walker ambles out of the barn, ready to fuck some shit up.
Another amazing variation of the now-iconic “Rick Grimes Pointing The Gun” pose…
Rick decides that it’s not worth it, and he heads to the abandoned house where he stashed the gun in the plastic blender, but when Rick looks in the blender…
The gun is gone…who took Rick’s gun?
Rick sits back, trying to figure this out. Whoever took it must have watched as he stashed it, unless some person just happened to look inside an old, useless blender in a trash heap and find it…so not likely. Rick’s pissed, you can tell. He stands, unsheaths his knife, thinking...and then, he sees that he’s not alone. Carl has joined him, and Rick has no time to ask questions, because they have company:
“Hey, we were calling you back there towait up for us!“
Rick and Carl are ready 2 rumble…
Carl rekills the lady walker.
Later,Clanger Banger.
Carl, too bad Enid isn’t around to see this…you’s a walker-killa pimp!
Oh, no, Rick, look out forGrabby Walker!
CarlFace Walker Killa sez give it up here, Big Poppa…I got this.
Buh bye, Grabby Walker. Later, on TD, Chris Hardwick and guests speculated on whether whoever stole Rick’s gun also planted the walker there as a grabby, bitey booby trap…but how would you make the walker stay put? “Stay, Grabby Walker, you stay! Good boy, Grabby…stay!”
Meanwhile, in another part of the woods, Aidan is informing Glenn, Tara, and Noah that they have been increasing their radius outside the walls, mile by mile, when going on runs. Nicholas adds, proudly, that they’ve gotten up to 53 miles away from Alexandria at this point.
Aidan adds that they break up into two groups once they step outside the vehicle…if shit hits, the one group fires a flare, and the other group runs to join them.
“Good system,” Noah comments. “It is,” replies Aidan, who is now fully in Near Lieutenant mode. He goes on to inform them that they are “standing here” because they lost four people last month. Glenn asks what happened.
Aidan replies that they were on a run, “roamers” appeared, and the ones who were lost “didn’t follow the system.”
Nicholas adds that they were “good people,” and Aidan agrees…they were good people, they were just “scared.”
Aidan turns and addresses Glenn, Tara, and Noah. “Look,I can be a hardass…I know I’m a douchebag.“ (Yes, Aidan, you know that, and so does everybody else.)
But, Aidan says, “Somebody needs to ‘call the ball’ around here, and that somebody is me. If you are a part of this crew, you do exactly as I say.”
Glenn, Noah, and Tara say nothing in response to this, then Tara says, simply, “I’m sorry you lost your people.”
Aidan says, “Yeah, but we got ours.” He and Nicholas exchange knowing looks, smiles. Nicholas explains that they managed to “snag one of the deadheads” who got their people, and they strung it up.
Glenn asks, horrified, “What? Why?”
Nicholas explains that now, they have a little “pregame ritual, to remind us what we’re up against.”
But, when they get to the spot where, supposedly, they had a walker strung up, all they find is this:
D’oh! Walker’s gone, just a bloody chain with flies buzzing around it.
Aidan starts freaking out, “Son of a bitch! Help me find it.” Nicholas observes that the blood is still fresh, so it hasn’t been too long since the roamer got free. Great sleuthing, dude.
Nicholas proves himself to be even more of a dumbass by whistling loudly through his finger and thumb, trying to attract back the walker. Starting to see how those four people got killed on that run…
Tara whirls and shushes them, and Glenn rushes up to Nicholas, “Hey…hey! It’s gone, leave it!” But the Douchebag Duo refuses.”It took down one of our friends!” Aidan says. “It’s nearby…we’re not letting it go.”
As Bugs Bunny would say, “Whatta coupla maroons!”
Nicholas whistles loudly, again, and this time, Houdini Walker comes to the sound of the dinner bell…
Noah raises his pistol, but Nicholas waves him down, and Aidan is actually trying to chain the walker’s rotting hands behind its rotting back, again. Totally stupid.
Pure idiocy, Alexandria-style.
Houdini Walker proves itself wiley, snappy, and slippery, figuring out to whirl around and come close to chomping Aidan in the face (that would have been awesome), and Tara is good enough to come to Aidan’s rescue.
Houdini Walker’s rotting skin tears away from its back as Tara tries to grab it back, away from Aidan, and the walker comes dangerously close to chomping her face, when Glenn sinks his knife into the walker’s skull, rekilling it for good.
RIP Houdini Walker.
“What the hell?!” yells Aidan. (In France, they would call him a “douche baguette.”)
“Yeah, what the hell??” counters Tara.
Glenn is apeshit. “You almost got her killed!”
Aidan yells like a shrill little schoolboy, “I told you all to stay back! I told you all to listen to every damn thing I said…I told you that.“ Glenn bows up on Aidan, and I really am loving how Noah has Glenn’s back in this moment. Noah’s alright.
The next shot shows them walking through the gates, Glenn walking ahead, furious.
Well, that went well…
Aidan calls out from behind, “You three need new gigs…you’re not ready for runs yet.” Glenn replies, “Pretty sure you have that backwards.“
Aidan charges up behind Glenn, reaches out and stops him, “Hey…hey! Look, we got a way of doing things out there.” “You tied up walkers!“ exclaims Glenn, still incredulous at the sheer risk and stupidity of such a mindset. “He killed out friend!” Aidan yells. No, Aidan, you fucking killed your friend.
Aidan steps back, says, with a laugh, that he’s not having this conversation. When they are out on runs, they do everything Aidan says. Glenn replies that’s great, then they’ll be as screwed as Aidan’s last group…oooo, burn, Aidan!
Daryl steps up, with a little smile...this is more like it!
Aidan steps up to Glenn. “Say that again,” he says, softly.
Glenn doesn’t, and Tara tries to tell Aidan to back off. Instead, Aidan shoves Glenn.
Total budussy.
Noah chimes in, tries to tell them each to step back. Instead, Aidan shoves Glenn again.
Glenn does not rise to the bait, but he doesn’t back down, either. He says softly, “No one’s impressed, man. Walk away.” From behind, we hear Deanna’s voice yell, “Aidan!” Oh, Aidan, your mommy’s calling you…she’s trying to save your ass.
“What is going on?” demands Deanna.
Aidan replies that “this guy has a problem with the way we do things here.” He turns to his mother. “Why’d you let these people in?”
From behind Aidan, Glenn answers, “Because we actually know what we’re doing out there.” Aidan whirls and swings at Glenn, who ducks it, and comes back with one good punch that drops Aidan to the ground. Nicholas tries to jump in, and is immediately tackled by Daryl.
Before Daryl can unleash some pent-up frustration on Nicholas, Rick grabs him from behind, “Do not do this now,” he tells Daryl, quietly.
Aidan jumps up, ready for more, and Michonne immediately steps up to him.
“You wanna end up on your ass again?” Michonne asks him. (Watching this, I was all like, “Yes, please, I want him to end up on his ass again! Do it, do it!”)
Unfortunately, Aidan backs off, and Deanna announces, loudly, that she wants everyone to hear this…Rick and his people are now a part of this community, as equals. She turns to her shitty son.
“Understood?”Aidan raises his eyebrows, says quietly, “Understood.”
Deanna orders everyone to turn in their weapons, turns to Aidan and Nicholas and tells them that she wants to talk to the both of them in her office. She then turns to Rick, tells him she has her job for him...she wants him to be the town’s constable.
“That’s what you were,” says Deanna. “That’s what you are.”
Deanna then turns to Michonne. “You too,” she says to her. She looks at Rick and Michonne. “Do you accept?” Rick says he will.
Michonne accepts as well, “Yeah, I’m in.”
Daryl, pissed, grabs up his crossbow and stalks off. Awww. sorry, Daryl, but Michonne did a lot better with the interview part of the Alexandria audition!
Deanna turns and quietly thanks Glenn. “For what?“ asks Glenn. “For knocking him on his ass,” replies Deanna. Glenn nods, and walks away, and Maggie smiles at Deanna before following him.
Deanna Monroe has laid down her full hand in the final showdown of this round of seven card stud. Whatever her full motivation is, it seems she knows that Rick and his gang are her best shot at the long-term survival of her community. It’s a big play, a big risk, by a woman who has weighed the odds, and made her decision.
Carl looks over at Enid, who is watching him. They regard each other for a moment, and then Carl asks her, “You don’t like me, do you?” Enid says nothing, turns and walks away.
In the final sequence, we see the footage of Rick’s initial interview with Deanna Monroe. We hear his voice, which becomes a voice over for the next images, when we get our first glimpse of Constable Grimes in his new uniform:
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Constable Grimes. ❤
Rick:You should keep your gates closed.
Deanna:Why?
Rick: Because it’s all about survival, now. At any cost. People are always looking for an angle, looking to play on your weakness…they measure you by what they can take from you, by how they can use you to live.
When Rick comes out to the porch, Daryl is there. Rick asks Daryl if they’re ok, and Darylsays they are.
Daryl jokes, “You’re a cop again?” and Rick replies that he’s trying it out. Carol steps outside, and the Porch Council has convened, again.
Carol says that if they get comfortable here, they will get weak. Rick says that Carl said the very same thing, but they won’t get weak…that’s not in them, any more. Rick looks out into the night, says that if they, the Alexandrians, can’t make it…
“We’ll take this place.”
Hey, Deanna, he can’t say he didn’t warn you!
Sorry so late, darlings…mommy/wifey thing called in some major time and attention these past couple of weeks. Getting to work on Episode 513, “Forget,” which of course will probably be another 11,000 or so words…we have lots to talk about with that one!
Enjoy the playlist, darlings. Next post up asap. ❤
Playlist:
Heart, “Barracuda” (for Deanna Monroe…I think I do see some sharp barracuda teeth gleaming in that lovely smile of yours, Deanna)
Band of Horses, “Our Swords”
Courtney Barnett,“Avant Gardner” (for Junior League Carol)
(All images used in this post are screen caps from AMC’s “The Walking Dead”/FX’s “Archer” unless otherwise specified.)
When we left off with Rick and the gang last week, at the end of Episode 510, “Them,” many members of our favorite crew were catching the last few moments of a rare, long stretch of sleep in an abandoned barn, after riding out a harrowing night of violent storms, invading walker herds, and personality conflicts (not necessarily in that order, or order of importance).
As the sun rose on a new day, Daryl tried to settle down for a few moments of rest himself, after keeping night watch over the others (and good luck with that, Daryl Dixon), while Maggie and Sasha stepped out to catch the sunrise, and a few moments of soul-sister share time, before the others awoke.
Upon stepping out of the barn, Maggie and Sasha were met with an incredible sight…the raging storm of the night before had blown down many tall pine trees, which lay all around the barn, but somehow missed the barn completely.
While any one of the felled pines could have crushed the barn and killed the gang inside, the barn remained miraculously untouched, and unharmed, by the trees and the storm.
The felled pines did, however, serve to skewer and crush the reanimated, rotting walker horde that had charged the barn doors, the night before, as the storm raged. The gang was forced to rush the doors and work together, struggling mightily as they pushed back at the barn doors from the inside, keeping the walkers back, until the storm, and the trees, took care of the threat from the outside.
Seeing the trees, and the skewered, helpless walkers pinned underneath, seemed to awaken something deep within Maggie and Sasha...the realization, perhaps, that maybethere was hope, after all, even in these dark times. Maybe there was a benevolent force looking out for them, and maybe there really was something to believe in, to live for, in this crazy world.
As the young women sat, and watched the sunrise, sharing ruminations, resolve, and laughter, they were approached cautiously by a well-kempt, preppy stranger who greeted them, introducing himself as “Aaron.”
Looking down the barrels of Sasha and Maggie’s guns, Aaron, with hands raised, tried to reassure the girls that he was “a friend” who bore tidings of “good news.” Aaron, inexplicably, seemed to know things about the group already, referring to Rick, “the leader,” by name, and asking to speak to him.
As the young women processed all this, holding Aaron at gunpoint, the broken music box suddenly sprang to life… and as its tinkly music played, and the tiny plastic ballerina twirled, we TWD fans, along with Maggie and Sasha, were all thinking our own versions of, “Just what in the walker apocalypse is going on here?”
In the opening shot of The Walking Dead’s Episode 11, “The Distance,” we see members of the gang, awake now, sitting on the barn floor. Some of the gang, like Carol, Abraham, and Daryl, are checking, cleaning their weapons, while others, like Rick, and Gabriel, are sitting quietly, alone in their thoughts. Judith is playing quietly on the floor, while Carl is collecting boards, presumably to reinforce the barn, or make a bench, or something.
The barn door creaks open, and it’s Maggie. “Hey,” she calls to the others, as she pushes the door open a little wider, steps in, followed by…
“Hey, everyone…”
“…this is Aaron.”
The gang springs to life, drawing weapons as Daryl quickly goes to the barn door, peers out, then gives Aaron a rough patdown (lucky, Aaron!) as Maggie hurriedly explains, “We met him outside, he’s by himself…we took his weapons and his gear.”
As the barn door is closed behind him, Aaron looks nervously, in quick thanks, towards Maggie, and then towards Rick and the group, who stand and face him silently, weapons drawn. “Hi,” he manages, and at the sound of a stranger’s voice, Judith begins to cry. Papi Grimes fixes Aaron with this withering look, before handing the baby over to Carl. Uh oh,Aaron, the baby doesn’t like you...and neither does Papi Grimes. Not the most auspicious of beginnings for you so far, my friend.
Aaron nervously tries to step forward, towards Rick, with a “Nice to meet you,” only to be met, one step in, to the sound of weapons being cocked, and Daryl stepping up behind him. Aaron wisely stops in his tracks.
Rick, making no move to reply to Aaron’s greeting, regards the stranger a moment more before asking Maggie, hoarsely, “You said he had a weapon?” As Aaron tries to not pee his pants (and I tried not to swoon over how hot Rick-In-Charge was being during this whole exchange), Maggie steps forward and hands Rick Aaron’s handgun.
Rick checks the chamber of Aaron’s gun, then sniffs the weapon, to see if it had been fired recently…then fixes Aaron with this look…
…before putting Aaron’s gun in the back waistband of his pants, not breaking his gaze from Aaron’s face, like, “Yeah, bitch, this is happening…I’mtaking your gun…what are you gonna do about it?”
Aaron, of course does, and says, nothing about Rick’s taking his gun. Rick asks Aaron, softly, “There somethin’ you need?”
(And at this point in the watching, I was getting all Cheryl Tunt and shit, like):
“Oooo, yeah, even that little bit’s enough to get the engine revved up!”
Sasha speaks up, saying that Aaron says he has a camp, nearby, and they want them, Rick and the gang, to “audition” for membership…
Aaron looks over at Sasha with some alarm, as this pronouncement is going over about as well as can be expected with this seasoned band of warriors...not very.
Backpedaling like a motherfucker, Aaron quickly adds, “I – I wish there were another word…“audition” makes it sound like we’re a dance troupe…that’s only on Friday nights.”
Aaron’s smile dies as his attempt at a joke falls flat…
The gang is not amused, Aaron. (But I, for one, was laughing my ass off, by this point, watching this scene…like, “Oh, no you DID NOT, Aaron.”)
Aaron’s voice is pretty shaky as he explains that it’s not a camp, it’s a community, and he, Aaron, thinks that our fine gang would make, “valuable additions.” Aaron adds, quickly, that it’s not soley his “call,” that his job is to convince them to follow him back “home,” to his community…
As Rick glares at him, shifting his weight back and forth, one foot to the other, Aaron backpedals again…sounding like a rookie Alexandria Amway salesperson, Aaron tries the up-until-now-foolproof“Seeing Is Believing” selling technique: “I know…if I were you, I wouldn’t go either…not until I knew exactly what I was getting into.“
And with this, Aaron turns to Sasha, asking her, “Sasha, would you hand Rick my pack?” and earning himself this look from Sasha….
…and another peal of laughter on my part, watching this.Aaron, Aaron, Aaron, you dumbass…you’ve been listening to this gang for the last two weeks (and btw, creepy, much?) and this is the best presentation you could come up with? Two words: Weak. Sauce.
After a pregnant pause (ha ha, get it?Sonequa Martin-Green is pregnant at the filming of this episode), Sasha brings Rick Aaron’s backpack, and Aaron tells Rick to look in the front pocket.
As Rick pulls out an envelope, Aaron continues his “Seeing Is Believing” sales pitch, telling the group that while nothing he can say will convince them to follow him to his community, these (pictures) might…while Aaron apologizes for the poor picture quality, as they were taken with an old found camera, Daryl interjects, growling something to the effect of, “Words/Talk/Pictures/Cameras don’t mean/prove shit.” (Repeated playbacks yielded zero clarity on what exactly Daryl said, but it ended in something like “prove shit,” and he sure wasn’t sounding impressed with Aaron at this point.)
Aaron looks back at Daryl, nervously acknowledges that, “You’re absolutely,100% right” (about whatever it was that you said.)
Rick looks at the first blurry picture, of tall walls, reinforced with diagonal supports bracing the walls from the inside, making a solid-looking barrier.
As Rick looks at the first picture, Aaron says, “That’s the first picture I wanted to show you, because nothing I say about our community will matter unless you know you’ll be safe. If you join us, you will be.”
Aaron bring his sales pitch home, extolling on the walls’ impressive stats and dimensions: “Each panel (of the wall) is a 15 ft. high, 12 ft. wide slab of solid steel, framed by cold-rolled steel beams, and square tubing.”
Aaron continues, the emotion building in his voice as he gets swept up in his own fervor, “Nothing, alive or dead, gets through that without our say-so.”
As Daryl, and the rest of the gang, listen, Aaron continues his spiel, “Like I said, security is obviously important…”
“…in fact, there’s only one resource more critical to our community’s survival: the people.”
“Together, we’re strong. You could make us even stronger.”
Aaron ends his sales pitch soliloquy with some big, velvet-painting puppy-dog eyes. I mean, really, who doesn’t want to believe him? But…doesn’t this pitch seem a little, um,canned,practiced, like it’s been used on other people? Does salvation really come in the form of…this guy?
Ooooo…I think I see a familiar face…
Ummm, Aaron? Rick Smash!no likey your blurry pictures and your talky talk about big walls and impressive dimensions and all that shit…
It gives him a headache, and makes him see red and want to smash things…smash YOU.
And, if Rick Smash! no likey, me no likey…
…because I am, now and forever, riding in Rick Smash’s! car.
🙂 ❤
As the others run toward Aaron’s unconscious form, Rick Smash! shakes out his fist, and looks down at Aaron, like, “STOP. FUCKING. TALKING.“
I love this last look he gives Aaron before walking off.TLARick Smash! ❤
A few thoughts, before we move on. Back at this early point in the watching, and even now, I remain utterly unclear about Aaron’s, and Alexandria’s, motives. While I do not get an initial hit that they’re totally bad, I don’t think they’re totally good, or harmless, either. Something stinks. This “audition” shit. And this sales pitch-style presentation. What’s up with that?
Rick and the gang didn’t need a whole presentation when they interviewed prospective candidates for the prison community. They just asked the three questions.
Simple. Straight up. No Friday night song and dance routine, with blurry pictures and talk of walls and dimensions.
(And, speaking of the three questions, Aaron majorly fails the three questions when Michonne puts them to him in the back of Glenn’s Walker Massacremobile. And, sometimes, the Bear McCreary music gets really dark and twisty when the focus is on Aaron. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that shit.)
Aaron’s spiel feels really contrived to me, like something is being misrepresented, or not presented, like there’s some catch, some important, major detail about the agreement that’s hidden somewhere in the fine print of the whole Alexandria contract, and you only find out what it is once the gates close, and lock, behind you. And by then, it’s too late. You’re in there.
As Aaron said, himself, “Nothing, alive or dead, gets through (those walls) without our say-so.”
Sounds to me like that shit goes both ways, that once you’re in those walls, you are not exactly free to come and go as you please. (Not like the beautiful prison days, when all were free to do as they wished, within reason, of course, and after their chores and culling-the-walkers-at-the-fence shift was done for the day.)
And what’s with the spying? For two weeks? How the fuck did Aaron and his gay boyfriend manage that, to track the gang and spy on them, for two weeks? And what would a community’s motivation be, to put that much effort into screening potential future citizens, in such sneaky and invasive fashion, for such a long period of time?
My only guesses at this point are:1) they need to recruit soldiers, as they are in a war, conflict, or standoff with someone, some other established community, nearby;or,2) they want toprocreate and populate, and they just happened to find our smoking hot band of lovewarriors,andthey want to get on that shit.
Either way, they have a major agenda, and while Aaron seems likeable enough (whenhe isn’t being shady), it seems pretty obvious he isn’t telling the whole story.
We all know, at this point, that something is amiss with Alexandria. There is never an offer of any kind of shelter, or respite, without its asking price, and what Alexandria’s asking price is, exactly, remains to be seen.
But, whatever the case, or the price, may be, it looks like Friday Night Dance Troupe just got a lot more interesting!
And,dorky and shady as Aaron may be, he does have some serious pros to put on the negotiation table…
First off, Friday Night Dance Troupe. I mean, obviously, right? If you remember, Aaron mentions the dance troupe right away, even before talking about the tall steel fences…that was no accident, people!
All I gotta say is, if Daryl and Carol had a Dirty Dancing moment at Friday Night Dance Troupe, I would like, die of happiness.
Next: Aaron’s appearance. He is obviously clean, manicured, well-fed, well-cared for. He’s rocking the sporty outerwear that’s lined on the inside.
Chris Hardwick joked onTalking Deadthat Aaron looked like a “Land’s End” model…ha!
Not only does Aaron look like a sheltered, suburban preppy, he acts like one. Aaron is not exhausted, bereft, starving, stressed-out. He hasn’t been for a long time, so long, actually, that he seems to have forgotten what all that was like, back in the day, before he becameFabulously Gay Ambassador of Alexandria.
Aaron is so yuppified, living the vanilla dream behind Alexandria’s steel walls, that he even attempts a little joke about Friday Night Dance Troupe in an attempt to disarm the gang, to get in with them.
When his attempt is met with vacant looks, and glares, instead of laughter, smiles, or nods, Aaron gives a little shake of his head… it was like he was either really surprised that they didn’t like (or get) his joke, or he was honestly in a place so far removed from where the gang was at, in that moment, that he had to quickly rethink his approach.
Aaron lives in his own house, for God’s sakes, and his backpack is filled with more canned goods than the gang has seen in a long time. Our gang is starving, literally. They are physically and emotionally exhausted. They are having to shoot, kill, and eat wild dogs for survival and sustenance. Poor Daryl is eating worms, and Aaron balks at having to take a spoonful of applesauce. What a baby.
By all appearances, Aaron seems to be living like a pampered housecat within the steel confines of Alexandria…that is, when he’s not being sent off for weeks at a time to spy on promising nomadic groups, assess their potential value to the community, approach them, try to sell them on Alexandria, and bring them backthere to “audition” for membership to the community.
Anyway, speaking of babies, we come to our next huge trump card in Aaron’s hand: Baby Judith.
Having Baby Judith in the gang changes the stakes, because the longer that baby is out in the open, without shelter or proper nourishment, the greater the risk is that she will not survive these coming days, despite her father’s, and the gang’s, best efforts.
Alexandria, trap or not, seems to offer the best hope for Baby Judith’s, and the rest of the gang’s, immediate survival.
Alexandria is a big question, and a big risk, but the gang is fast running out of time, and out of options, these dire days, and offers like Aaron’s are rare indeed.
Rick Smash! may have beaten Aaron unconscious, for a moment, but the offer, with all its questions, remains…should the gang go with Aaron?
Is the promise of shelter, and protection, that Alexandria offers, with all its red flags and unknowns, worth the risk?
Many in the gang are thinking yes, and after Aaron’s burly beatdown, Rick Smash! finds himself outnumbered by those who are of the opinion that Aaron may really be a good guy, after all, and maybe Rick Smash! shouldn’t have punched him.
I, of course, was still fanning myself from all the hotness of the Rick Smash! beatdown moment, but I could definitely relate to Michonne and the rest of the gang’s collective thought, that they are tired and hungry and sick of all this shit, out here, and maybe they do want to go see what Alexandria is all about.
Michonne is definitely in this latter category. As Carl and Judith’s Newmom, she has the children to think about. So, as Aaron lay unconscious on the barn floor, Michonne whisper-hisses to Rick, “So we’re clear, that look wasn’t a ‘let’s attack that man’ look, it was a ‘he seems like an ok guy to me’ look.”
Ha ha, great early Richonnegirlfriend-schools-the-new-boyfriend-on-the-communication-works moment. Those are bound to happen, especially when your new future boyfriend is prone to hulking out and becoming Rick Smash!
Rick basically looks at Michonne, unremorseful, and says, “We gotta secure,” before ordering Carl to dump Aaron’s pack, saying, “Let’s see who this guy really is.”
Michonne, who is no ordinary woman, and who can hulk out pretty ferociously, herself, will not be deterred. She tries again, saying Rick’s name, but he is now in full Rick In Charge/Deputy On The Edge mode, striding around, ordering everyone to be on the alert. ” Everyone else, eyes and ears open. They’re coming for us…we might not know how, or when, but they are.”
As Carol and Daryl bind Aaron’s hands behind his unconscious form, Maggie, kneeling, turns to Rick and gently tries to chime in, back up Michonne, be a voice of reason, “Me and Sasha, we didn’t see him…if he wanted to hurt us, he could have.”
Rick-In-Charge does not respond to this, as he has a barn to secure. He loudly asks if anyone sees anything. Glenn peers out through the slats of the barn, reports, “Just a lot of places to hide.”
“Keep looking,” barks Rick In Charge, and Glenn turns (a triflewearily) back to his post.
Rick strides over to Carl, who has emptied the contents of Aaron’s backpack, and asks him what he found. Carl hands Rick an orange flare gun.
“I’ve never seen a gun like that before,” Carl says to Rick. Rick takes the gun, looks in the chamber, then up at Aaron, begins to stride over to him.
Aaron is beginning to come to, realizing where he is, and what is happening. He looks up at Maggie, who is trying to blot his bloody left ear, and then gives a small laugh, remembering. “That’s a hell of a right cross, there, Rick,” he says, loudly.
Wow, maybe Aaron isn’t such a wuss, after all. Maybe he teaches the cardio kickboxing class at Alexandria on Thursday nights.
“Sit him up,”Rick orders. Maggie begins to suggest that maybe that’s not the best idea, but Aaron assures her he’s fine. Rick, who doesn’t care either way, says, “He’ll be fine, sithim up.” Michonne’s sitting there, thinking, “I am so annoyed with him right now…but this alpha male thing he’s got going is totally turning my crank right now…damn him!”
Michonne and Maggie help sit Aaron up, who begins to say, “You’re being cautious…I completely understand – …” when Rick interrupts him, asking, “How many of your people are out there?”
When Aaron looks questioningly at Rick, not answering, Rick holds up the orange flare gun. “You have a flare gun, you have it to signal your people…how many of them arethere?“
For the first time since coming into the barn, Aaron’s demeanor closes down to something less than his open, easygoing manner of before. Aaron looks worried, seems to be stalling. “Does it matter?” he asks Rick.
Rick’s manner, on the other hand, is pure Interrogation Room. “Yes,” he whispers, in answer to Aaron’s question….
“…yes, it does.”
Aaron backpedals, conceding that, “Of course, it matters how many people are actually out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there?”
Aaron continues, “Because, I’m pretty sure that no matter how many people I tell you are out there…”
“…8…”
“…32…444…”
“…zero... No matter what I say, you’re not going to trust me.”
Rick looks down at Aaron, retorts, “It’s hard to trust anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face.” Oooo, burn, Aaron!
Aaron, however, retorts in kind, “How about a guy who leaves bottles of water for you in the road?”
Rick looks at Daryl, who turns to look at the bottles of water on the table, which are indeed the same brand as the bottled water on the road. Daryl whirls back on Aaron, steps towards him. “How long you people been followin’ us?” Daryl growls down at him.
Aaron answers immediately, with an incredulous laugh, “Long enough to see that you practically ignore a pack of roamers on your trail…long enough to see that despite a lack of food, and water, you never turned on each other.”
Aaron looks around at the group, as if marveling at them. “You’re survivors, and you’re people… Like I said, and I hope you won’t punch me for saying this, again, but that is the most important resource in the world.”
This statement is true enough, and the gang exchanges looks, registering the import of these words. Rick steps towards Aaron and asks again, softly but menacingly, “How many others are out there?”
Aaron knows the stalling time is over. “One,” he answers. No reply, excepting a small shake of Rick’s head. Aaron continues, “I knew you wouldn’t believe me…if it’s not words, if it’s not pictures, what would it take to convince you that this is for real?”
Still no reply from the gang. Aaron has a thought, “What if I drove you to the community? All of you? If we leave now, we’d get there by lunch.”
Rick replies that he’s not sure how the 15 of them would all fit in the car that he, Aaron, and his one friend drove down here in. Aaron is quick to reply that they took separate cars, that they wanted to be able to bring an entire group back “home” if they found one.
“There is enough room for all of us,” Aaron tells them.
New Carol asks, skeptically, “And you parked just a couple of miles away, right?“
Aaron’s reply is immediate, “East on Ridge Road, just after Route 16…we wanted to get them closer, but then the storm came, blocked the road…we couldn’t clear it.” It does sound like Aaron is telling the truth about all this, as there is no hesitation in what he says, no guile in how he says it.
Rick, however, is not convinced. “Yeah, you really thought this through…”
“Rick,” Aaron protests, “If I wanted to ambush you, I would do it here…light the barn on fire, pick you off as you ran out the only exit…” Another good point by Aaron.
As Rick and Aaron regard each other, Aaron says, earnestly, looking into Rick’s face, “You can trust me.”
The gang stands around, looking down at Aaron. Of course they want to believe him, want to trust him…but can they?
Michonne turns to Rick, volunteers to go check out the cars.
“There aren’t any cars,” Rick replies. Michonne counters, voice soft, “There’s only one way to find out.”
“We don’t need to find out,” replies Rick.
Michonne counters, “We do. You know what you know…you’re sure of it. I’m not.” Rick regards Michonne, has no ready reply. (Watching this, I was thinking, “Man, she is so good for him!”) Michonne is strong enough to stand up to Rick, but she’s cool enough to do it respectfully, and not make him feel like a dick for just wanting to protect his people. Richonne is some mad sexywhen they butt heads! I kept wanting them to take it to the barn floor, and wrestle it out.
Maggie interrupts the sexual tension by siding with Michonne. “Meneither,” she says, simply, giving Rick a small, “I’m sorry, I love you, but I gotta go see for myself,”smile, with the barest shake of her head.
The days of the Ricktatorship are long gone… Rick looks down, and deep down, he knows he must give in. Still, so unwilling to risk any of his people, Rick tries to talk Michonne out of it…
…he says, hoarsely, “Your way’s dangerous, mine isn’t.” Michonne responds, “Passing up a place where we can live? Where Judith can live?“
“That’s pretty dangerous.”
Michonne’s face softens. “We need to find out what this is,” she says, softly, looking into Rick’s face. Her voice is reassuring,“We can handle ourselves.”
Michonne’s face, and manner become firm again. Her voice is no-nonsense. “So that’s what we’re gonna do.” It is settled. Rick, and everyone else, knows it. (OMG, I am loving Michonne so hard right now.)
Rick is bested, and he knows it. Top Mama has spoken. He shakes his head, then turns and calls to Abraham.
“Yeah,” Abraham agrees. “I’ll walk with them.” He draws up his rifle and walks over to the others.
“Rosita,” Rick calls next. Rosita nods, looks down a moment, then says, “Ok.”
Rick asks Glenn if they have enough firepower if there’s trouble. Glenn replies, “We gotwhat we got.” As Daryl pulls Aaron up and leads him towards the back of the room, Rick tells Michonne and the other volunteers that the “walkies” are out of juice, so if they’re not back in 60 minutes, they will come after them. Michonne nods, looks at Rick a moment.
Michonne has got her game face on, looking like a total badass.
Rick says, as she’s about to go, “This might be just what they want…”
Mmmm, can’t help but get that last word, last dig in, huh, Rick?
Michonne’s reaction to Rick’s baiting comment is awesome…she narrows her eyes, says nothing, turns and walks out the door.Gotta believe in your woman, Rick Grimes.
After the volunteer troupe leaves, Rick turns to the others, says that if they’re all in the barn, they’re a target. He orders them outside, in groups of twos, within eyeshot. Daryl tells him he’s got the area covered. They file out, leaving Rick, Aaron, and Judith in the barn.
As Rick peers out through a crack in the barn door, Aaron tells him that before the turn, he, Aaron, worked for an NGO, delivering food and medical supplies around the Niger River delta. Aaron says that he had guns pointed in his face by “bad people” every other week.
“You’re not bad people,” Aaron says to Rick. “You’re not going to kill us, and we are definitely not going to kill you.”
Still peering out, Rick replies, “Just because we’re good people doesn’t mean we won’t kill you.”
Rick then turns, looks down at Aaron. “If the five of them aren’t back in an hour, I’ll put a knife in the base of your skull.”
Meanwhile, Glenn-In-Charge is trying on the hardline approach, you know, just to see if it fits. “Eyes open, everybody. Weapons up. If you see anybody coming at us, you fire.”
Abraham agrees, “Copy that,” while Maggie looks away. She makes it look like she’s scanning the horizon, but I feel like she’s more trying not to look embarrassed for her boyfriend right now, while letting him have his moment.
Michonne turns to look at Glenn, studies his face a moment before looking ahead once more, and asking, “So, if we see someone, we just shoot them?“
Looking out to the side horizon, Maggie chimes in, “That’s a good question.”
“What if it’s someone like us?” Michonne asks Glenn. “What if Aaron’s telling the truth? What if it’s someone who has nothing to do with this?”
“We’re five people walking with guns,” replies Glenn. “Nobody’s coming up to say hello.”
“But, that’s exactly what happened,” Michonne points out, reasonably.
“If it’s someone like us,” Glenn replies, “Then we should be afraid of them.” Ha!
Glenn continues, wondering aloud, if Aaron and his person/people were really watching them, then they saw what they did, yesterday. (What, eating the dogs? Killing the walkers? What was so bad about that? What the hell else were they supposed to do?)
Glenn continues, after seeing what they, the gang, are capable of doing, why would Aaron’s people want them, the gang, to come live with them in their community?(I am thinking back to my “soldiers for hire” theory in answer to this question, but of course, “hot babymaking potential” is still on the table of possibilities.)
Michonne muses, “People like us saved a priest…saved a girl who rolled up on the prison with the Governor.” Michonne smiles, shaking her head, adds, “Saved a crazy lady with a sword. He saw that.”
Glenn replies, grimly, “I don’t know what he saw.”
The shot pans out, until we see the open field, and the gang of volunteers are now far away. And we see, crouching behind a stilled tractor…
Someone’s watching…
Meanwhile, Baby Judith is hungry, and crying, as Rick tries to crush some acorns in a bowl, presumably to feed to her.
Yuck. I have read that while acorns are certainly edible, and can be crushed to make a meal, or a flour, that they are extremely bitter, and must be soaked in water for a long, long time to leach the bitterness out. Good luck feeding those to that baby, Rick Grimes. You will hear some real crying then.
Aaron looks nervously towards the barn door, then towards Rick, who is on one knee, holding the wailing baby, trying to crush the acorns in a bowl. “You did see the jar of applesauce in my bag, right?” Rick looks at him, says nothing, goes back to trying to crush acorns with one hand, while holding his crying baby daughter in the other.
Aaron says, “This isn’t a trick…this isn’t about trying to get you to like me. This is about self-preservation, because if the roamers hear her and come this way, I know I’ll be first to go.” Rick looks up, shifts his daughter to his other arm, and stands, goes to the table, where a sealed mason jar of applesauce sits.
Rick looks at Aaron a moment before turning his attention back to the task of opening the jar (one handed, parents learn to do everything one-handed when there’s baby-holding and baby-carrying going on), spooning up some applesauce, and walking over to where Aaron is sitting, on the barn floor, hands bound behind him, around a support beam. Rick wordlessly holds the spoonful of applesauce to Aaron. You first.
Aaron looks up at Rick, horrified. “Do you think that I’m trying to poison your baby daughter?”
Aaron protests, “I’m tied up, and you’ve already expressed a desire to kill me by sticking a knife in my head, so how would cruelly killing your daughter help the situation?” Rick counters, a little crazily, that maybe she doesn’t die, maybe she just gets sick, and Aaron’s the only one who can save her, and then he, Rick, loses. Awww, you are a little crazy right now, Rick, and I can’t tell if your beard is real or fake, but I still love you, crazy-ass imaginings, fake-ass looking beard, and all.
Aaron replies that he is the only one who can help her, as he has the applesauce, and so they all win. Rick, undeterred, holds the spoonful of applesauce out to Aaron: Eat.
“I hate applesauce,” Aaron whispers miserably. He tells Rick his mom used to make him eat foods he disliked to make him more “manly.”That actually really sucks, and I do feel real bad for Aaron about that, but I can’t help but think, “You wanna try a real manly treat, Aaron? Try eating dog. Now, eat the fucking applesauce, and be done with it, so poor Baby Judith can eat her lunch!”
Aaron balks a moment more, until Rick reminds him that he, Aaron, will be first to go if Judith’s crying attracts “roamers.” Aaron opens up, and the applesauce goes in. Rick can’t resist tasting the spoon, after.
It made me think, when was the last time Rick, or any of them, tasted the sweetness offruit, or had an apple?Probably a long time, like back at the prison. And here Aaron is, balking at taking a spoonful of applesauce.
As Rick turns away to begin feeding Judith, Aaron tries to tell him that at the community, they can find a place for Rick and his children to live that would be so big, that nobody would be able to hear her cry outside the walls. Rick looks at Aaron a moment, then says, “You have 43 minutes.” Aaron’s like, “Gulp.”
Meanwhile, the volunteers have found something…
Michonne looks over at Glenn and Maggie. “He was telling the truth,” she says.
Well, he was telling the truth about that, anyway…
The volunteers hear a noise in the woods, and they draw their weapons. Glenn barks at whomever it is to put their hands in the air, come out where they can see them. After a moment’s more rustling, we see:
Mr. and Mrs. Walker.“Honey, look, our brunch guests have arrived! Welcome to our woods…you’re just in time…I was just telling the wife, ‘Sure am getting hungry!’“
Abraham says, “I got it,” and from behind, Rosita says, “We got it.” They stride forward to take care of Mr. and Mrs. Walker.
“Hi, I’m the missus! Boy howdy, you’re a big one...and aren’t you a real sight for sore eyes…and sore face…and sore everything else. I could just eat you up! Infact, I think I will…if you just hold still a sec…”
“Hey, that’s my arm!Wasmyarm…you’re not exactly friendly, you know that?”
Rosita finishes Mrs. Walker off with a bash to the head…
…before going to town on Mr. Walker.
“Um, I think I’ll just lie down here and take a little nap before brunch.”
Abraham turns towards Rosita. “Thanks,” he says, simply.
Abraham sneaks a look at her face, but Rosita does not turn to look at him. After a moment, she walks away.
Abraham and Rosita clear the RV, negotiating the the close space and the awkwardness between them.
Then, Abraham pulls a can out of the cupboard, exclaims softly, “Gracious Ignacious.”
S’Getti Rings … were those the kind the Gov dumped out the window?
Abraham gives a little laugh, “Oh-ho, it has been a while.” Rosita, smiling, remembers, “I think I saw Rex eat three cans one night.”
“Four,” Abraham remembers. “Sonuvabitch knew if he didn’t toss ’em back, I’d a come for ’em.”
Abraham looks down at the can, remembering Rex…
…and the happy memories turn into sad ones, as they think of Rex, and times past, and all the things, people they have lost.
Abraham approaches Rosita, asks her back at the fire truck, after Eugene…did she think he was going to hurt her?
“No.” Rosita’s reply is immediate.
“It’s not you,” she says. They both look away for a moment. (Well, that’s a little promising, right? Like maybe there’s a chance for reconciliation, or maybe a slow dance at Friday Night Dance Troupe?) I really like these two together!
Later, back at the barn…
You’re lucky you were telling the truth, Aaron.
These cans of food are seriously bringing up some emotional memories for the gang.
Rick turns and informs Aaron that the cans of food, “These are ours now.” Aaron wearily concedes that there is more than enough. This recruitment run has been way tougherthan Aaron bargained for…here he is, sitting on a barn floor with his hands tied behind his back, tethered to a barn pole. He probably really needs to pee.
Usually,at this point, Aaron’s probably basking in the thanks and adulation of the rescued survivors, driving the latest imports back to Alexandria, and regaling his captive, adoring audience with amusing tidbits about the latest Alexandria antics (realor fake, remains to beseen) while the survivors nod and exclaim and over-laugh at Aaron’s jokes, chowing down cold canned foods and chugging applesauce in the back seats.
Rick adds that the canned foods are theirs, the group’s, whether or not they decide to go back with Aaron…at this point, Carl interjects, asks his father incredulously, “What do you mean, why wouldn’t we go?“
NewMom Michonne chimes in, backing Carl up, answering his question while addressing the group, “If he were lying, or wanted to hurt us, but he isn’t...and he doesn’t. We need this. So,we’re going,all of us. Somebody say something if they feel differently.”
Nobody says anything. Rick doesn’t say anything.
Addressing Rick, from the floor, Daryl says, “I dunno, man…this barn smells like horseshit.”
Michonne looks over, awaiting Rick’s response.
“Yeah. We’re going,”Rick relents.
Michonne looks up like a satisfied queen. She is pleased.
Rick turns to Aaron and asks him where the camp is. Aaron, reading into the question, stammers that usually, when he brings recruits back, he is the one driving. Aaron assures the gang that he while he thinks they’re good people, in fact, he’d bet his life on it, he’s not willing to bet his friends’ lives…
Michonne steps forward, in a role reversal with Rick, who now hangs back, and interrupts Aaron. “You’re not driving,“ she says. “So, if you wanna get home, you have to tell us how.” Top MamaMichonneis kicking ass and taking names!
Aaron looks over at Rick, who is crouched down with pen and paper, ready to take notes...on directions to the camp, and on how hot his boss lady gf is when she’s taking charge and getting it done!
Aaron nods, conceding, says to take Route 16 North, and then he’ll tell them more when they get there. Rick counters that they will take Route 23 North.(On Talking Dead, later that night, guest Paul Feig and Chris Hardwickpoked some gentle fun at Rick Grimes for insisting on taking another route, but I do see where there could be ambush points set up along a preplanned route.)
Aaron protests that while Route 16 is cleared, Route 23 is not. Rick insists that they will take Route 23, and they will leave at sundown.
Sasha asks, in disbelief, “We’re doing this at night?“ Rick replies that he knows it’s dangerous, but they can’t come rolling up to the gates during the day…if it turns out not to be safe, they need to get gone before anybody knows they are there.
Aaron insists that nobody is going to hurt them. “You’re trying to protect your group, but you’re putting them in danger.”
Rick crouches down, looks right at Aaron. “Tell us where your camp is…we’ll leave right now.” Aaron looks around, then sadly shakes his head. He can’t.
Rick looks to the others, stands, tells them to eat up, as it’s gonna be a long night. Restup. He walks out of the barn, and after a moment, Michonne follows him.
Rick is crouched at the car, talking who-rides-with-whom logistics, then looks up, asks Michonne if she’s ok. (He really is scoring some major bf points in this episode.)
Michonne asks Rick if back there, when he said they were going, was that for real, or was that just to find out where Aaron’s camp was?
Rick stands, tells Michonne they are going. For real.
Rick then asks Michonne that back at the prison fence, when she first approached, what did she hear?
Michonne replies that she heard nothing. “Terminus?” asks Rick. Again, Michonne answers, “Nothing.”
Rick nods. “Some time tonight, we’ll be outside his camp’s walls, and without seeing inside, I’m gonna have to decide whether to bring my family in. He (Aaron) asked me before what it would take for me to believe it was real. Truth is, I’m not sure anything could convince me to go in there. But, I’m gonna see.” Rick turns away, towards the car, and gives Michonne one last, sweet look. “I wanna see,”he says to her. ❤
Later…
It’s a tailights caravan on Rt 23 N.
Aaron looks like he’s about to suggest a game of “I Spy.”
…when Rick finds Aaron’s license plate collection in the glove compartment. At Rick’s questioning look towards Glenn, Aaron leans forward from the back seat. “Oh,” he explains, “I’m trying to collect all 50 states…”
“…and put them on a wall in my house.”
“You have your own house?”
Aaron looks over at Michonne, nods, gestures towards the envelope of photographs on his pack, invites her to “see for yourself.”
Michonne reaches for the envelope, looks at the pictures of a charming wrap-around porch, which overlooks an enviable view of Alexandria’s walls and bracings…
Aaron allows himself a smile, looking on as Michonne flips through the pictures. Houses, buildings, the wall…but a key element is missing from all the pictures…
Michonne, alarmed, looks up, asks Aaron why he doesn’t have any pictures of his people?
Aaron’s self-satisfied smile of before quickly disappears, and he begins to stammer out some bullshit about how he tried to take a group picture, but the exposure, and then problems with the developing…he’s clearly lying. But why? My first three guesses, right off the top of my head:1)The people were all shut inside the factory warehouse, mass-producing some product that Alexandria makes and sells to other outside communities, like…license plates, andthey only get two 15-minutebreaks every 12 hours; 2)Everyone in Alexandria is bound and gagged in their respective gimp closets, except for the dominants who keep watch over them;3)Alexandria is actually a leper colony, and the inhabitants, while still technically living, are losing flesh and limbs at a rate that rivals the decomposition of the walkers.What’s your guess?
Michonne knows immediately that Aaron is lying, and looks to the front seat, asks Rick, “Did you ask him the three questions?”
Everyone looks at Rick, who seems to be, like, “Um, no, I did not…shit was going on, and I did kind of forget to ask the three questions…and,btw, there are 15 of us, and why is it always my job to ask the three questions? You motherfuckers know the three questions, and aside from Baby Judith, who can’t talk, maybe one of you could have thought of that shit, and asked...I was all sleuthing the flare gun and shit…does it always have to be me, asking the three questions?“
Rick does not give voice to his internal monologue, simply answers, “No.”
So, Michonne turns to Aaron, and asks the first of the three questions, “How many walkers have you killed?”
Aaron feigns ignorance, or confusion, at the direct question. “I’m sorry, what?“ Michonne repeats the question. “How many?”
As Glenn listens, and waits, for Aaron to answer…
Rick, looking ahead at the road, listens, and waits for, Aaron’s answer, as well. Aaron gapes at Michonne, indignant, hems and haws before answering, a trifle defensively, “I don’t know…a lot.”
Michonne continues to the second question: “How many people?”
This time, Aaron’s reply is more immediate. “Two,” he answers. “Why?” MIchonne asks the third question, looking at Aaron. Withoutmissing a beat, Aaron replies, “Because they tried to kill me.”
Look what Rick’s found…“Hey, Aaron, are you starting a collection of parabolic microphones from all 50 states as well?”
Glenn, who is driving, looks back at Aaron, shocked. “You were listening to us?”
Aaron actually manages to sound a little testy at being asked this question, says something like, “Yes, yes, I told you I was watching you…listening is a part of watching, duh…what part of, ‘I was spying on you’ do you people not understand?”
Rick says, quickly, that the others in Aaron’s group probably have mic’s like these, and they probably heard the gang’s plans. “This isn’t safe,” cries Rick, and then those words ring especially true, as Rick and Glenn brace themselves for the oncoming threat in the road…
Look out…!
…for the horde of NightHiker Walkers!
As Glenn plows through the rotting walkers, their blood and guts smear the windshield, making it impossible to see out…
Rick’s first thought is of the RV behind them, but Glenn tells him to stay in the car, that the RV would have seen what was happening and are either behind them, or they were able to get away…
In the back seat, Aaron is freaking while Michonne braces herself…
Have I mentioned how much Glenn rules in this episode?
Aaron’s classic old car has become a Walker Massacremobile.
The car finally clears a space from the walkers, and skids to a stop. Rick jumps out, and sees no sign of the RV. It seems they must have turned around, and Rick tells Glenn they will double back and meet the RV back up the road.
Glenn quickly tries to wipe the windshield clean before jumping back in the car…
…and of course, the car won’t start.
And, here come the walkers.
Aaron is freaking the fuck out, of course. Michonne volunteers to go out and see what she can see, and goes out to the front hood, pulling walker guts and limbs from out of the hood and grille.
As the walkers near, Aaron, panicked, cries out that they are closing in. Rick turns to himand grinds out that they know that. Glenn frantically keeps trying to start the car, to no avail, of course…and then, Glenn sees something light up the sky. “Look!”
Someone has shot a flare up, obviously to signal Aaron. But, who?
Aaron, upon seeing the flare go up, really starts to freak out. He keeps saying, “This is over, I’ve gotta get out of here.“
Rick turns and watches Aaron freaking out. “What’s going on?” he demands, but Aaron is in full bail mode. With hands still tied behind his back, Aaron kicks open the back door of the car, sending Michonne flying, and charges out into the night. Holy crap, dude.
Michonne starts to go after Aaron, and when Rick tries to call her back, she replies that the way to find the others is to go after Aaron. They abandon the car and run into the woods, in the direction that Aaron went, and must engage in some serious walker slaughter. As Michonne slices and dices with her katana, Rick fires upon the walkers, calling to Glenn to clear the way for them (I think that’s what he said).
Good shot, Glenn.
Oh, no, Glenn, look out behind you!
Glenn narrowly avoids getting bitten.
Glenn smashes Look Out Behind You Walker’s undead brains in against a rock.
Glenn hears a struggle nearby, finds…
Aaron, hands still tied behind his back, braced against a tree trunk, kicking at a walker.
Glenn thinks about it a minute, then, with a shake of his head, he goes to help Aaron, rekilling the walker and cutting Aaron’s hands free. “Run if you want, “ Glenn tells Aaron, “I’ve got other things to worry about.” As Glenn turns to leave, Aaron quotes Glenn’s words to Daryl, the day before, back to him:
“We can make it, but we can only make it together.”
“You said that,” Aaron tells Glenn. “I was listening.” Creepy! What the hell is the deal with these people?
Meanwhile, Richonne is calling for Glenn, and fighting off some mad walkers in their neck of the woods. Rick’s gun runs out of bullets, and the walkers keep coming, so he pulls out the flare gun and aims it for one walker’s head, creating my new walker obsession, affectionately named on Talking Dead as Rick’s Little Bit of Flare Walker:
How I love him. ❤
Now officially out of firepower, Richonne must do The Dance of the Double Katana on the oncoming walkers…
Then, a hail of bullets comes from behind the walker horde, felling them in their shuffling tracks. Rick and Michonne see, once the smoke clears…
Glenn and Aaron have come to save the day. Aaron holds up his hands, offers for Rick to tie him up again, if he needs to, but please hurry…methinks Aaron secretly is beginning to enjoy this getting tied up business!
Rick Grimes says, “Pass.”
As they emerge onto the open road, Rick turns to Aaron and asks where their people are. Aaron replies that he doesn’t know. Rick tells Aaron that if this all is a trick to get their gang where Aaron’s people wants them, “Your people are gonna die tonight.”(Whew, another Cheryl Tunt shiver just went through me…so delicious, Deputy Smash!)
They reach an abandoned looking industrial park. Rick whistles his singsong whistle, and Daryl, who has been outside, keeping watch, waves to them and pounds on the door, signaling the others, inside.
The gang reunites…Yay!
Aaron begins calling for Eric. He rushes inside, and when he hears a voice, he runs into a room, and finds…
His totes adorbsbf, Eric.
Poor Eric’s ankle is injured. He likens it to a “Volleyballinjury.Maggie thinks it might be broken…I like her,” Eric tells Aaron. (Lucky, Maggie…you found a fabulous gay bestie, which I keep asking Santa for, for Christmas, and have yet to get…I am lime green jelly!)
Aaron is so upset seeing his love’s injury...Eric playfully chides Aaron, saying it’s “your fault” he got injured, as he loves Aaron so much that it makes him worry about him and do stupid things, like getting a tractor tire rolled over his ankle.
Aaron rushes to Eric and pastes one on him, which made me cheer out loud. Man make-out sesh on prime time television…thank you, TWD!
Eric pulls out a gift for Aaron…a license plate from a state he does not yet have. Aaron cannot bring himself to tell Eric the truth, but Eric figures it out. “You lost the license plates,” he guesses. Aaron deadpans, “I lost the car.”
Their giggle is interrupted by Rick, who has come in the room and is watching their interaction. “Hi, I’mEric!” says Eric brightly. Aaron excuses himself and goes outside with Rick.
Aaron thanks the group for saving Eric. He tells them he is indebted to them, and he will make sure he repays his debt to them when they get to their new community, Alexandria. Aaron tries to excuse himself to go back and be with his partner, but Rick tries to put the kibosh on that, telling Aaron he is going to sleep out there, with them, where Rick can keep an eye on him.
Aaron looks Rick square in the eye and tells him the only way he, Rick, his going to keep him, Aaron, away from Eric is to shoot him. Glenn intervenes, and pulls Rick aside, telling Rick that Aaron told them where his camp was, that he was telling the truth about there being only one other person with him (Eric), and that both men are unarmed, one with a broken ankle.
“I want us to be safe too…I can’t give up everything else. I know what I said, but, it does matter.” Maggie, listening to this, is probably falling in love with Glenn all over again, in this moment.
Rick nods. “All right,” he says. The voice of reason has spoken.
And so, the next morning, the gang is Hauling Ass To Alexandria(Isn’t that the name of the country western song?).
In the back of the RV, while Eric sleeps, Aaron watches over him. Noah comes in with a bottle of water and a bottle of pills. Aaron says he wants to let Eric sleep, but Noah says the pills are for Aaron, as he knows that his hands must be hurting.
As Noah turns to leave, Aaron asks him about his leg. Noah tells Aaron that he hurt it in a car accident with his dad, and he did get medical attention, so he feels lucky he can walk at all. Aaron tells Noah that they have a surgeon, Pete, who is gifted and who Aaron has seen “dowonders” with others. Noah takes this in, asks, “Yeah?” Aaron nods, and Noah walks away, hopeful for the first time in a long time.
In the front of the RV, Eugene is teaching the rules to Seven Card Stud. Tara, I think, asks “Seriously?” to one of the finer points of the game, and Eugene replies, “Serious as two copulatin’ dogs.”Ha!
Rosita, riding shotgun, points out the Washington Monument, which is visible in the horizon. “Abraham, look!”
Abraham, who is driving this RV, looks over and takes in the sight of something he has been striving to see, firsthand, for so long…
He looks over at Rosita, who jokes, “Eyes on the road!”
Rosita is happy, though, you can tell.
Abraham looks down at the console. The battery light is on. He asks Rosita how long they’ve got, and she says they are halfway there. Abraham smiles, says they are going to make it…
A ways down the road, however…broken down again.
Abraham’s bummed (“Might as wellpaint it red and put a ladder on it”), but Glenn says all it needs is another battery. Abraham asks him where they’re supposed to get one of those. Glenn brings him around to the other side of the RV, and shows him…
…a backup battery. Abraham asks Glenn how he knew it was there, and Glenn smiles in a silent homage to Dale. ❤
Meanwhile, sitting on the hood of the back car, Michonne looks over at Rick, tells him the fight’s over…it’s time to let it go. Michonne, Michonne, Michonne, the fight is never over, or there wouldn’t be a show, would there?But, maybe everyone can get some rest, and some food, and a chance for some consenting adults to party naked, for a little while, anyway.
“I know it’s hard, after it’s kept you warm, and alive, and fed…but the fight, it turns on you. You gotta let it go.” Michonne speaks from a place of knowing, and Rick listens to her, looking tortured, and hot, and majorly hairy.
I think, judging from the recent pictures of Andrew Lincoln, and the recent interviews, that a clean shave is in Rick Grimes’ not-too-distant-future…and if it’s Michonne who does the shaving, well, I would pretty much die of happiness at that scene, as well, especially if she uses her katana’s blade.
Rick tells Michonne that Bob was telling him the same thing, when to give up the fight, and let the world and others in again. Rick tells Michonne he needs a moment, then goes off and, from what I gathered, stashes Aaron’s handgun in a plastic blender...just in case.
And then, they arrive at the gates of Alexandria.
Rick looks at the gate.
Then Rick hears the one sound that could convince him to enter those gates...the sound of children playing inside the gates.
As the happy sounds wash over them, Michonne gives Rick a sweet smile. When is the last time anybody heard that beautiful noise, the sound of children playing? Too long.
Michonne puts her hand on Rick’s a moment, then turns to him, asks him if he’s ready. After a moment, Rick tells her he is. He takes his hands off the steering wheel, puts the car in park, and gets out of the car to get Judith from the back seat.
The only thing hotter to me than RickSmash! is Papi Grimes, loving on his children with infinite love and tenderness.
Well, darlings, of course this week’s Deadie goes to Andrew Lincoln, and Rick Grimes, for being such a beautiful badass, a loving father to his children, his new gf, and his chosen family, and for choosing to believe…and for stashing that handgun in the plastic blender…just in case.
In The Walking Dead’s Season 5, Episode 10, “Them,” we, the viewers, along with our righteous gang, are finally getting that chance we’ve been waiting for, to slow down, take a long, ragged breath, and process, for a moment, everything that has happened, thus far, in the relatively short period of time since the prison community was struck down, first by a highly lethal virus, then, by a madman and his army…and so on.
Our gang has suffered so much loss in this brief space of time. Maggie, at this point, has lost her entire family, She, and Daryl, are reeling over Beth’s senseless murder at the hands of Dawn Lerner, after a hostage trade negotiation at Grady Memorial went horribly awry.
Sasha has lost, in rapid, horrifying succession, first, her sweet boyfriend, Bob, and most recently, her beloved brother, Tyreese.
Noah has just discovered that his mother, twin brothers, and entire community have been brutally murdered by an unknown enemy. He, too, has lost his entire family at this point.
Abraham, having lost his entire family, before, when they ran away from him in terror and were attacked by walkers, has suffered another blow: Eugene Porter’s confession that he had been lying, the whole time, about having the key to a cure for the walker epidemic. With Eugene’s confession came the crushing realization, for Abraham, Rosita, and many others of the group, that there may not be an end in sight to the horror and savagery that the world has become.
This hell that they are living, every day, may be all that there is.
Abraham had embraced Eugene’s lie readily, before, as it gave him a mission, and a reason to continue on. Now, Abraham seems to be grappling with the same doubts and uncertainties as everyone else. In Episode 510, we see Abraham taking frequent pulls from a bottle of liquor he has found in a sweep of abandoned cars, and there is not much direct interaction between him and Rosita, at this point.
On top of everything else, poor Abraham may have lost the love of his hot, sexy girlfriend (I truly hope this is not the case, Abraham, my man, but if so, maybe she’s still up for a fwbscenario now and again on those cold postapocalyptic nights…here’s hoping, bud!).
Carol is sure to be feeling the loss of Tyreese keenly, as he, and she, shared, just between them, the terrible knowledge and grief of Lizzie’s downward spiral into insanity, and then, Mika and Lizzie’s tragic deaths back at the pecan grove.
And now, Carol is watching, and feeling,Daryl pull away from her, and the group. While Carol seems to be keeping herself open and available for him, and reaching out, letting Daryl know she’s there, Carol also knows that she needs to keep giving him the time and space he needs, right now, to process the loss of Beth, and work through his grief.
I personally think it must suck for Carol, deep down inside, to see how hard Daryl is grieving for Beth, on some level, as it confirms that he had deep feelings for the beautiful young girl.
And, like I said, if Daryl and Beth had been together longer, just the two of them, well, we all probably agree that something would have happened, sooner than later.
In my personal estimation, judging from how things were progressing, from the span of Season 4’s“After,” to “Still,” and then, finally, “Alone,” the making out would have happened more on the soonerscale.
Remember, in “Alone,” when Beth asked Daryl what made him change his mind about the goodness of people, and he fixed her with that sweet love look, at the kitchen table?
He was all like:
And she was all like:
(Sorry for the reflections, it was back before I knew how to do a screenshot.)
But, reflections aside, those archival shots from “Alone,” to me, are photographic proof of:
Daryl is good at holding his cards close to his chest, but he’s not good at lying. Daryl doesn’t lie. If he can’t be honest, he’ll keep silent. He won’t say it.
Daryl showed his love for Beth, clearly, in actions more than words, back in Season 4, and later, in the first part ofSeason 5, Daryl shows his love for Carol in actions, and in words (because that’s how the grown women do…you gotta show them in actions and in words, none of this “one or the other” business. Grown women need to see you got all the skills.)
In “Consumed,” Daryl clearly, and honestly, communicates his love, and his intention (“I’m trying”) to Carol, and when we saw that episode, it showed us how far Daryl has come in owning and expressing his heartfelt emotions.
This is something he hasn’t been able to do before, and I find it very beautiful and endearing to see this sweetness blossoming in Daryl. It’s such a crazy-ass thing that it took an apocalypse, and the gathering of fine people who came into his life because of it, for Daryl to get to the point where he could open up and be who he really is.
And, I said, before, if I were Carol, and I saw how bad the object of my singular love and affection was pining for someone else, well, that personally would really suck for me. But, it’s honest, and that’s how Daryl does it, and to be with Daryl would mean that New Carol would have to roll with that.
New Carol, being the champion that she is, seems to know all that, and she seems to be able to not take it too personally, or too hard, when Daryl rebuffs her, pushes her away, and goes off, alone, which is often, in Episode 510.
Carol knows Daryl pretty well by now, and she knows that this is what he needs to do, and how he needs to do it, and hopefully, when he is done, he will be ready and happy to come, fully and ready to party naked, back toCaryl.
And, with this, I am raising my coffee in a toast: To Caryl!
Moving on, now, to other characters…
Tara has been remarkably resilient, and adaptable, since we first met her back in the middle of Season 4.Tara has also had to come to grips with the loss of her entire family: her sister, her niece, her father, and her new girlfriend, Alicia. Tara, who fell prey to the Governor’s lies, has also had to come to grips with her own naivete, guilt, and self-doubt for playing a part in the destruction and massacre of the prison.
Tara has made her apologies, and her peace, with Maggie, and the others in the group, and, as she is funny, solid in a crisis, and a good friend, Tara seems like she may play a key role in helping the others heal their wounds and open back up to each other.
The gang is having a hard time finding the balance between nursing their private wounds and keeping open and communicative with the good folks around them, who are also hurting, exhausted, hungry, thirsty…demoralized.
And speaking of social retardation… Eugene Porter and Father Gabriel, the Oddball Outsiders, have lost a good degree of standing within the group with their respective revelations.
Eugene, of course, was forced to come clean and confess to lying about having the walker cure,and basically using Abraham, Rosita (and a number of fine men and women who died in the cause of getting Eugene to Washington, D.C.) as bodyguards, and protectors.
While the zeal of having a mission, and something to believe in, was certainly a positive thing for Abraham, and others, that geeky shoe was bound to drop sooner or later…and now, here we are, and it will be interesting to see how the story of Eugene Porter unfolds at this point in the TWD storyline, and what role he will ultimately end up playing in the group.
And Gabriel...well,Gabriel finally confessed his big sin to someone other than God, and tearfully unburdened himself to the gang, back at his cursed church, about how, in the beginning of the turn, he kept the church doors locked when his frightened parishioners came to the church, seeking refuge there, and did not let them into the church.
(Something about it being too late, or too early. Not a good time, apparently. Come back during business hours, which are posted on the door…yes, thatdoor, the one you are pounding on.)
Despite his congregation’s desperate cries and pleas, Gabriel still refused to let them in, and so the helpless families were swarmed and savagely attacked by walkers, who were attracted to the noise of the families’ cries, pleas to be let inside the church.
And, as the poor men, women, and children of his congregation were torn apart by walkers, Gabriel cowered within the safety of the church’s walls, alone, listening to the horror and the savagery as it happened.
Gabriel, once a spiritual leader, is struggling mightily with his self-hatred, self-condemnation, and his loss of faith in God right about now, and this theme, losing faith in God, resounds with other characters, especially Maggie, in Episode 510.
Glenn, who has always been such a source of positivity, strength, and reason, for the others, has seemingly lost his faith, and his will, as well, after watching so many people he loved and cared for die tragically, needlessly, horribly.
His driving force, his love for Maggie and concern for the others in the group, spurs him onward, but as we saw in last week’s episode, “What Happened and What’s Going On,” Glenn is struggling within himself, wondering aloud to Rick if anything matters, anymore.
Each member of the gang is struggling with their own version of Glenn’s question: Does anything matter, anymore? What can someone truly put his/her faith, intention, and energy into striving for, in this world, as it is now? What is the point in trying to build anything good, or lasting, when it can all be torn away, brutally destroyed, in the blink of an eye?
Nowadays, even the very concept of having hope, or a dream, or faith in anything good seems to be ripped away before the hope, or the dream, can even materialize. The promise of building a lasting home at the prison was snuffed out by one man’s obsessive desire for vengeance.
The offered promise of a Sanctuary turned out to be a trap, and a place of unspeakable evil and brutality. Eugene’s promise of a cure was nothing but a lie concocted by a weak, insecure young man (and his egregious mullet) to buy himself some time, protection, and a ride toD.C.
Carol and Tyreese’s hope of settling in at a quiet, cozy farm house nestled in a pecan grove, and enjoying a quiet respite, with Mika, Lizzie, and Judith, ended suddenly and tragically, with the deaths of the two young sisters.
The brief hope, and promise, of finding Beth, and getting her and Carol back, alive and safe, ended in Beth’s violent and senseless murder.
And most recently, the promise of a potential new home for the gang, in Noah’s family’s walled, secure neighborhood outside of Richmond, resulted in the gang’s discovery of the grisly aftermath of the massacre of an entire peaceful community, including Noah’s mother and little twin brothers, and ending in the heartbreak of Tyreese’s painful, agonizing death.
Hershel. Lilly. Megan. Mika. Lizzie. Bob. Beth. Noah’s mother, and little brothers. And now, Tyreese.Not long ago, they were alive. They were loved. They were family.
And now, they are gone. All of them. And our sweet gang, both as individuals and as a collective, must find a reason, deep within themselves, to carry on, despite carrying the heavy burden of so much grief, and so much loss.
The opening shot of Episode 510, “Them,” shows a pair of eyes, closed, crying…the shot pans out, and we see, of course, that it is Maggie, sitting against a tree, crying quietly.
Her eyes and face are swollen, as if she has been crying, on and off, for a long time.
Maggie’s much needed cry is then rudely interrupted by Tangled Up In Blue Walker, who comes hissing and pawing at her, but gets entangled, and stuck, in the hanging vines of the tree. Maggie gets up, annoyed, like, “Can’t a girl have a moment to herself?”
Maggie easily rekills Tangled Up In Blue Walker with one quick thrust of her knife into its decaying skull…
…and then sinks miserably back down against the tree to resume her cry, with the dead walker’s body draped, unnoticed, in the vines behind her.
Meanwhile…
We see a tanned, muscled arm digging deep in the mud...for water, it seems.
…no water, but we see the digging has yielded a tasty morsel…
Eat the worm, Daryl Dixon!
Daryl eats the wriggling earthworm so matter-of-factly, without registering any distaste or disgust while doing so, that it seems like something he’s done many times before, and that somehow makes him even hotter, and even more beautiful, and endearing, if that is even possible…
…especially when the shot pans out, and he’s sitting like a little boy, having his own little worm picnic. I have thought about Daryl as a boy so many times (the boy whose mom died drunk, and passed out, in thehouse fire, leaving him to be raised by a drunk dad and a sadistic older brother) and it makes the mom in me, and the woman in me, feel so much love and hurt in my heart for him. ❤
Sasha, meanwhile, walks along a creek bed, which has run dry. She crouches, and digs a moment, but there is no water to be had, here.
Sasha sees the bodies of many frogs, belly up, along the dried creek bed. Would frogs just lie back, and give up the ghost, as a creek dried up, or would they hop away? I don’t know much about frogs, but it’s not the first time I have wondered if all this decay and pestilence in the post-apocalyptic world is poisoning the water, air, soil, food supply.
Alarmed, Sasha angrily kicks the dirt, partially burying the frog.
Looking up, Sasha sees Daryl and Maggie approach, look down at her from the top of the bank. Sasha wordlessly shakes her head. No water here.
Daryl turns away, crossbow over his shoulder, while Maggie looks down at Sasha, standing in the dried creek bed littered with dead frogs, a moment more. No words are exchanged between any of them. Maggie then turns away, and follows Daryl. After a moment, Sasha heads up the bank, after them.
As they head back to the group, who sits, waiting, in the road, Sasha signs, “Oh, shit.” Not one of the three found any water to bring back.
The sun beats down on them…
…as they trudge back to the group, empty water bottles hanging from their bags, belts. “How much longer we got?” Maggie asks. “About 60 miles,” replies Sasha. Maggie gives a small shake of her head, says grimly, “I wasn’t talking about that.”
After the opening credits, we see a brief shot of the front end of a truck, stopping. We hear Abraham’s voice saying that the truck’s run dry, like the other one. Rick’s reply is immediate, “So, we walk.”We see legs, boots coming out of the truck, and the rays of the hot sun beating down.
As they walk, Daryl turns back to look at a small group of walkers that are shuffling slowly behind their group, maybe 50 yards back.
Rick, holding Judith, turns to regard the potential threat. “We’re not at our strongest,” he says. “We’ll get them when it’s best, high ground, something like that.”
Turning back around, Rick adds, “They’re not going anywhere.”
Rick turns to Daryl. “It’s been threeweeks since Atlanta…I know you lost something back there.” (Besides feeling the exquisite pain of this moment, I just need say that, in my opinion, there cannot be too many scenes like this one, of beautiful men holding babies and talking about feelings.)
Daryl does not reply. Judith give a little whimper, and Daryl looks down at her. “She’shungry,” he says.
Rick pulls Judith up a little closer to him. “She’s ok,” he says, looking forward. His voice falters just a moment as he asserts, “She’s gonna be ok.” (Exquisite pain, watching this…exquisite pain.)
“We gotta find water, food,” Daryl says.
Looking like a beautiful Moses, Rick looks up at a couple of clouds forming, and says that it’s gonna rain, sooner or later.
Daryl hands the crossbow to Rick, tells him that he’s going to take a run. Carol is close behind, seems like she may have heard the men’s earlier exchange.
As Daryl turns to leave, Rick chides, gently, “Don’t be too long.” Seems that Daryl takes a lot of opportunities to dip out, these days, going off for long stretches of time. Carol speaks up. “I’ll go with you.” Daryl replies, “Nah, hey, I got it.” Ouch, my heart for you, Carol!😦
Not to be deterred, New Carol shakes her head, and starts after him. “You gonna stop me?” she asks, wryly. Daryl turns to her, pauses, waits for her. Not so fast, Daryl Dixon!
Carl catches up to Maggie and gives her a gift, a music box he found while looking for water. He tells her it doesn’t work, but he thought she would like it.
As Maggie opens the box, it is easy to imagine that the little blond ballerina inside would remind her of Beth. This sweet gesture brings a small, rare smile to Maggie’s face…
…and she turns and thanks Carl.
Some of my WDO buddies still hate on Carl, but I really love him. He is becoming such a sweetie, and has really had to roll with some hard times. Can’t hate the little man for having his tween tool moments back in the day(and ps, he really didn’t mean to kill Dale. That shit was a total accident).
As Carl walks ahead, Maggie turns to see Gabriel, behind her, pulling at his priest’s collar. Seeing her look, Gabriel jokes that he used to call the collars the modern-day incarnations of the hot, itchy “hair shirts” that priests, in times before, were forced to wear as an act of atonement. Besides the unspoken sentiment that there wouldn’t be a shirt hairy enough for Gabriel to wear to “atone” for his horrible betrayal of his own parishioners…
…Maggie tells Gabriel, without looking at him, that she knows what hair shirts are, that her “daddy” was religious.
Staring ahead, Maggie adds, “I used to be.”
Gabriel begins to offer to Maggie his services as a spiritual counselor, if she ever wants to talk about her father, or Beth, and Maggie interrupts him, with as much politeness as she can manage, “Please stop.”
Gabriel continues, in his automatic priest-mode, “Whenever you’re ready, I’m here.”
Staring straight ahead, Maggie replies, “You never even met them.” Gabriel replies, “I know you’re in pain.”
Maggie whirls on Gabriel. “You don’t know shit,”she tells him. “You had a job…you were there to save your flock, right? But you didn’t…you hid. Don’t act like that didn’t happen.” And with that, Maggie stalks off.
Some ways down the road, the gang trudges along, while the walkers behind them have gained in number, and are gaining on them, only about 20 yards away, and their telltale hiss and slaver are audible in the background.
Sasha looks back at the walkers, then at Michonne, tells Michonne, “We can take them.” Michonne sides with her future bf and replies that, “Rick’s right…we barely have anything left. No use in spending it all now.”
Sasha, however, is not so easily deterred. She’s in pain, she’s pissed, and she’s spoiling for a fight. “I can take them,” she insists.
Michonne knows all too well what is going on, here. “Your brother was pissed too, after what he lost, “ she tells Sasha. “It made him stupid.” Sasha whirls on Michonne. “We are not the same,” Sasha says. “We never were.”
Michonne looks at Sasha, not unkindly. “But, it’s still the same,” she says to the young woman. “It just is.” Sasha has no reply to this, just turns and walks away from Michonne.
Meanwhile, out on another water run, Carol asks Daryl if he’s found anything…he says everything’s too dry. Carol suggests they start heading back, and Daryl is quick to suggest that Carol go on, without him.
Carol looks at Daryl. “I think she saved my life,” she says, referring, of course, to Beth. “She saved your life too, right?”
Daryl does not reply. Carol walks over and hands him a knife, sheathed in a blond leather casing.
“It’s hers,”Carol says simply. Daryl takes the knife, looks at it a moment, still says nothing.
“You’re not dead,” says Carol, softly, mirroring Daryl’s words to her, some time ago, back to him. “I know you…you have to let yourself feel it.”
Carol reaches out and gently, tenderly smooths Daryl’s hair back…
…then kisses him on the forehead, stand back, looking at him. “You will,” she says, laying a gentle hand on Daryl’s shoulder.
Some TWD fans posted disappointment at this motherly, rather than loverly, show of love on Carol’s part, but I think it’s exactly what Daryl needed in the moment…pure, supportive, unconditional love, to take the time he needs to grieve Beth’s death. Super awesomeness, New Carol-style.
Meanwhile…
Rick looks down at the steep drop from the bridge…here is the gang’s opportunity to take care of the walker herd that’s been tailing them all day. The gang is in formation, lined up on either side of the bridge.
Rick wordlessly nods to Abraham, the others, as he walks towards the walker herd.
Abraham nods back. They are ready.
Rick and the gang face the herd of walkers.
As the first walker approaches Rick, Rick sidesteps, stumbling a moment, then sends the walker flying down the steep embankment of the bridge, using the walker’s forward momentum to propel it downward, without using too much of his own energy, aikido-style.
Using this same technique, Abraham sends two more flying down the steep drop.
Glenn and Michonne both use the technique successfully. It seems to be working…
…until Sasha breaks formation, striding up to her walker and spearing it in the head with her knife.
Rick assesses the situation immediately, tells the gang to stay in line, and flank Sasha. They must fight now, as the walkers are coming more quickly and aggressively, responding to Sasha’s escalation. Abraham grumbles that the plan is “dicked” as he and Maggie unsheath their knives and prepare to go to battle.
Michonne grabs Sasha’s arm, tells her to stop, to go, as Sasha is not thinking clearly, and is a danger to herself and others.
Rick and the others, so weak already, must go to battle with the oncoming walkers.
Rick narrowly escapes getting bitten by a walker…thankfully, Daryl is there to pull the walker off.
Michonne pushes Sasha away and quickly beheads the last of the attacking walkers, then points down at Sasha. “I told you to STOP,” Michonne tells her angrily.
Winded, Sasha seems to grasp how nearly she cost herself, and the others, their lives with her anger and recklessness. She stands, however, and faces Michonne with a look of pure attitude, before stalking off, sheathing her knife.
Later, down the road, Carl sees some abandoned looking cars in the distance. As the gang approaches the vehicles, Maggie looks in the windows of one car, checks inside, finds nothing useful, but sees the keys in the ignition. Maggie takes the keys and goes around to the trunk, opens it, and makes a horrible discovery…
…inside the trunk of the car, a woman walker is gagged, with hands and feet bound. As with so many walkers we encounter on TWD, we will never know the full story of Hostage Walker, but we know it is another violent and horrible end to a person’s life. On Talking Dead, later, guests Lauren Cohan, Seth Gilliam, and Robin LordTaylor speculated on how Hostage Walker may have reminded Maggie of Beth, as Beth was abducted in a car, as well.
Maggie regards Hostage Walker for a moment, before closing the trunk on the whole situation, without bothering to rekill the walker.
As she turns to go, Maggie hears the walker moving inside the car trunk, thumping against the confines of the closed, dark space. Maggie returns to the trunk, but cannot get it open. The keys are stuck. Maggie pulls out her pistol, ready to blast the lock of the trunk.
Glenn steps up, reaches a hand out to Maggie, and stops her from shooting the lock. When Maggie tells him about the walker in the trunk, Glenn steps forward, manages to get the trunk open, and rekills the walker with a knife to its head. He then turns to Maggie, and gently says, “Let’s go.”
Daryl, of course, has taken this opportunity to once again go off by himself and “take a sweep” of the woods, but has found nothing but a ravaged deer carcass and a dead body against a tree. When he comes back, the gang is sitting at the roadside, resting. No food, no water to be had, but Abraham did find a bottle of liquor, which he cracks open andstarts taking pulls from.
Abraham sniffs the bottle, then takes a drink. “It’s not going to help,” Tara remarks to the others. “He knows that,”Rosita replies. Eugene adds that Abraham is a grown man, but he, Eugene, cannot imagine how things could get any worse. Eugene, Eugene, Eugene, haven’t you watched enough movies in your once-sedentary life to know that whenever you say something like that, something terrible happens?
Like, I don’t know…wild dogs, for instance?
Luckily, Sasha is there to take the dogs out, sniper-style.
Wordlessly, Rick takes a long stick, breaks it over his thigh...looks like tonight’s dinner entree is…
…wild dog meat. (My WD buddy texted me, How are they going to feed that to the baby? I truly didn’t know, but figured that maybe Rick could chew it up a bit and then feed it to Judith, so it would be easier to eat, Emperor penguin-style. Rick Grimes could even pull off making that look sexy…hey, at this point, whatever it takes, you know?)
Noah, freaked, is not eating, and is looking over at one of the dog’s collars, which reads, “Duke.”
Sasha steps up with some more wood for the fire, and Noah tells her that her brother, Tyreese, tried to help him. Sasha looks down at Noah, who then looks up at her, says, “I don’t know if I’m going to make it.”
Sasha looks grimly down at the young man. “Then you won’t,“ she says, her face immovable. Noah looks down at these harsh words.
Sasha softens a bit, tells Noah, “Don’t think, just eat.“
Meanwhile, as the gang sits around, eating, Gabriel pulls his ragged priest’s collar off his shirt…
…and throws it into the fire. Without watching the collar burn, Gabriel takes another bite of meat, stares off, chewing. Maggie watches this, taking it in.
Later, Glenn is trying to get Maggie to take a drink of water. She refuses. “Ok,” Glenn relents, on the water, anyway. “Why don’t you just talk to me?”
(Later, my WD buddy and I talked about how we were glad that Glenn was making himself available to offer support, counsel, and comfort to Maggie, even though he was going through his own doubts, and darkness.)
Maggie tells Glenn that she never thought Beth was alive, that after seeing their father, Hershel, get killed, she just…didn’t, or couldn’t, think about Beth being alive. Learning that Beth was alive, and then thinking she was going to see Beth, be reunited with her sister, and then seeing Beth, dead, in Daryl’s arms, the same day…Maggie confesses to Glenn that she doesn’t know if she can fight the darkness, any more.
Glenn tells her she can, that they must keep fighting it, that that’s who she is, who they are. He urges Maggie to drink, and she does, taking a tiny sip from the water bottle.
Abraham walks alongside Sasha, offers her a drink from his bottle. She refuses, saying that it’s gonna make things worse.
“The way you’re going, you’re what’s gonna make things worse,” retorts Abraham. Sasha looks down, digesting this. “Hey,” says Abraham. Sasha looks back up at him. “You’re among friends,” he says to her.
Sasha shoots him one of her looks. “We’re not friends,” she snaps, and walks ahead. Abraham thinks a moment, then shrugs, unconcerned, and takes another pull from the bottle.
Glenn, meanwhile, tries to offer his water bottle to Daryl, who refuses it, even at Glenn’s insistence.
“We can make it,” Glenn reminds Daryl. “But we can only make it together.”
Daryl hangs back, tells Abraham to tell the others he went looking for water. Abraham says nothing, takes another pull from his bottle.
In the woods, Daryl sees a barn in the distance.
He sits against a tree, looking at the barn.
Pulling out a stash of battered cigarettes and a lighter, Daryl lights one up. Poor guy’s eyes are swollen, and he looks like he’s really in a bad way.
After taking a couple of long drags off the cigarette, Daryl takes the lit end and presses it into his hand, burning himself.
It’s the type of thing you could imagine Daryl doing to himself at a young age, ritualistic cutting or burning, a behavior which most often starts in the tween or teen years.
The searing pain seems to bring Daryl a much-needed release…
…as Daryl’s tears finally start to flow. Overhead, there is a rumble of thunder, suggesting the dry spell is about to break. It is a recurring theme in classical poetry, and prose, that tears, and rain, symbolize rebirth, and renewal.
When Daryl gets back to the gang, Rick hands him a note that was left for them, along with an offering of many bottles of water, in the road…
“From A Friend”
As thirsty as they are, it would be so tempting to take the risk and drink the offered water, but Rick tells the group that they can’t risk it, as they do not know who the water is from, or what their intentions are.
Eugene steps forward and grabs a bottle, saying he’ll be “quality assurance,” and is about to drink, when:
Abraham steps quickly forward and slaps the bottle right out of Eugene’s hand, sending the water flying. Eugene looks like he is about to cry, and Rick tells him, gently, that they can’t take the risk.
In that moment, the group begins to feel drops of water falling on them…it’s raining!
Gabriel tearfully looks to the heavens and apologizes to the Lord, presumably for his loss of faith, burning the collar.
At a loud clap of thunder, Rick stands and looks to the horizon, sees…
A dark storm cloud is coming. Daryl shouts to Rick that there’s a barn nearby, and the gang all runs to take shelter there.
The gang goes through the ritual of “clearing” the barn of any walkers, or living foes…
Maggie sees a bible on top of a stack of books…
…before opening a door to a side room and discovering the reanimated, cobwebby remains of I Died In A Barn Walker.
It is unclear exactly how I Died In A Barn Walker originally died…hunger, lack of water, illness, exposure, walker bite? Maggie rekills the walker with a single spear of her knife to the walker’s skull, then remarks to Carol that the woman had a gun, which is shown, leaning up against the wall of the room. “She could have shot herself,” Maggie wonders aloud. Carol muses that, “Some people can’t give up,” and looking sideways at Maggie, adding, significantly, “Like us,” before walking away, leaving the young woman to process this.
Later, the gang tries to get some much-needed rest in the barn, with the sound of the rain pouring outside.
Huddled around a small fire, Rick looks over at this sleeping son. “He’s gonna be ok,” Carol assures him, adding that Carl, being young, will be able to bounce back sooner than any of the adults will.
Rick says that he used to feel sorry for kids who have to grow up in these times, as they will never get to experience what it feels like to have a protected, happy, carefree childhood. But, Rick says now, he wonders if he got it wrong.
Rick wonders if kids growing up in these times actually have it easier, as “growing up is getting used to the world.” Daryl listens to this, in the darkness. Even before the turn, as a child, Daryl had a hellish world that he had to grow up in, to “get used to.”
Michonne speaks up. “This isn’t the world,” she says, simply. “This isn’t it.”Glenn looks back, into the other room, where Maggie is lying down. “It might be,” he says, quietly.
Michonne counters, “That’s giving up.” Glenn counters that that’s just being realistic. Rick says that until they see otherwise, this, what they are living, is the world they must survive in.
Rick then tells the group that when he was a kid, and he asked his grandfather if he ever killed any Germans in the war, his grandfather wouldn’t answer, telling young Rick that such topics were “grown-up stuff.”
When young Rick then asked his grandfather if any Germans ever tried to kill him, his grandfather got real quiet, then told his grandson that he was already “dead, as soon as he stepped into enemy territory.”
Rick’s grandfather told him that every morning, when he awoke, and had to prepare himself to go back into battle, he would tell himself, “Rest In Peace, now get up and go to war.”
Years later, after pretending he was dead, every day of his tour in the war, Rick’s grandfather made it back home, alive.
“That’s the trick of it, I think,” Rick tells the others. “We do what we need to do, and then, we get to live.”
Rick continues, saying that no matter what they find in D.C., they will be ok, because “This is how we survive. We tell ourselves that ‘We are the walking dead.'”
Daryl and Glenn exchange looks, then Daryl asserts, softly, “We ain’t them.”
Rick tries to echo his agreement, that they are not them, the walkers…(“Dude, it was a metaphor! I was just getting a little caught up in the moment…awww, c’mon dude, that’s not what I meant! Come back!“)
Daryl, however, has had enough of this conversation, and he stands up, collects his things, and turns to leave, but not before turning back to Rick and the others, and saying, once more, “We ain’t them,” before walking out of the room.
Poor Rick, but hey, buddy, you tried…and I (among many others in the TWD family, I am sure) was cheering this epic speech as it was being delivered.
Personally, it made me think of all those years ago, back in 2004, when I bought the first two issues of TheWalking Dead comic series (which had just come out, and was sending shockwaves, and geekgasms, throughout the entire comic book community).
The clerk at the comic book store told me, “And the name, ‘The Walking Dead,’ you don’t know if it applies to the zombies or the living human survivors.”
Ah, memories! 🙂
Meanwhile, Daryl stalks off into another room, sees the chain barring a main set of doors has come a little loose, and the winds from the storm are blowing the doors open and closed against the chain, giving little glimpses of the raging storm outside.
Daryl puts down his crossbow and goes over to fix the chain, and sees, outside, coming fast towards the swinging doors of the barn:
A horde of walkers!Ahhgh!
Daryl cries out in alarm, hurriedly tightens the chain, and then presses his back against the doors, and the press of hissing, snarling walkers trying to push through.
Maggie sees Daryl, runs to help…
And one by one, all the gang runs to help hold the doors steady against the crush of walkers. It is a terrifying, amazing scene, capturing the mayhem of another life and death moment in WD.
As the gang works together, despite their individual pain, beliefs, differences with each other, to do whatever it takes, in this moment, to survive together, Rick and Daryl exchange a long, significant look as they push against the walkers with all their might. I like to think they were like, “Dude, I’m sorry for the weirdness back there…I didn’t mean it! I love you, man!”
The next shot, it’s morning…
As Maggie opens her eyes, it seems she may be thinking (along with theviewers), “Was that all a dream, last night?”
Maggie looks into Baby Judith’s sweet face. The baby is awake, but seems to know to let her dad sleep a little longer…Rick, once again, is looking like the hottest single dad ever, sleeping, holding his baby girl.
Maggie stands up, looks around at the others, sleeping in the barn. She then sees Daryl,who is sitting awake, against the far wall. It seems like he has stayed up, keeping watch as the others slept.
Maggie goes over and sits down next to Daryl. She gently urges him to get some sleep, tells him, “You can rest now.”
They look over towards Sasha’s sleeping form, and Daryl says, of Tyreese, “He was tough.”
Looking over at Maggie, Daryl adds, “She was tough, too. She didn’t know it, but she was.” This brings a smile to Maggie’s face, and they share a moment, remembering Beth.
Daryl then hands Maggie the music box, saying, simply, “The gear box had some grit in it.” It is easy to imagine Daryl, keeping watch, cleaning and fixing the music box while the others slept. How we love thee, Daryl Dixon! ❤
Maggie thanks Daryl, smiling sweetly at him, and then gets up, music box in hand, and goes over to wake up Sasha. “C’mon,” she whispers, and Sasha gets up to follow Maggie, as Daryl prepares to get some sleep.
As Maggie and Sasha step outside, they are greeted by an incredible sight. All around the barn, tall pines are felled by the fearsome storm of the night before, spearing and pinning the walker herd helpless, but miraculously missing the barn, which would have been crushed under the huge old trees.
As the girls look around in wonderment, it seems that Maggie may be rethinking her faith in God…the recent events certainly make a strong case for some benevolent, divine intervention.
It’s the dawn of a new day.
Sasha and Maggie sit down, take in the beauty of the sunrise. “Why are we here?” asks Sasha. “For this,” Maggie replies. It sounds like the answer her father, Hershel, would have given. ❤
Sasha and Maggie, the PSOAM’s (Post Apocalyptic Sisters On A Mission), look out at the sunrise. Sasha begins talking, says that Noah had told her that he didn’t think we could make it. “That’s how I feel,” Sasha confesses to Maggie. Maggie tells her that she, Sasha, is going to make it. “We both will,” says Maggie. “That’s the hard part.”
Maggie then reaches into her bag, and pulls out the music box. “Daryl fixed it,” she tells Sasha, but when Maggie tries to wind it up…nothing. The music box stays silent, the tiny ballerina doesn’t move.
Maggie stares down at the dead music box, pans, “You gotta be kidding me.” The PSOAM’s share a laugh at the absurdity of it all…
…as some well-kempt, preppy dude comes onto the scene, interrupting their giggle moment. “Um, hello, excuse me…”
The PSOAM’s ain’t playing. They immediately leap up to their feet, weapons drawn. The stranger cautiously approaches, hands up, introduces himself as “Aaron,” says he is a “friend.”Aaron tells the girls that he would like to talk to the leader of the group…Rick, right?
Maggie starts to ask, “How-?” and Sasha cuts in, asks, “Why?” Aaron smiles, says he has some “good news.”
Who the hell is this guy? And how does he know Rick’s name?
And suddenly, the music box kicks on, starting to play its bright, tinkly music as the tiny ballerina twirls around and around.
Well, darlings, if God is indeed having a hand in all this, one thing is clear…God has a really crazy sense of humor!
Deadies this week go to our three walking wounded soldiers: Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Daryl (Norman Reedus), and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green).
Playlist:
Lightning Bolt, “Ride The Sky”
Bob Dylan, “Blowin’ In The Wind”
Phantogram, “Turning Into Stone”
City and Colour, “Sleeping Sickness”
Georgiana Starlington, “Dry As A Bone” (currently not available on Spotify, but great track if you can find it…I’ll keep checking in to get it directly to readers if and when I can…perfect for this episode)
Tori Amos, “God”
Aaliyah ft. Missy Elliot, “Best Friend” ( for the PSOAM‘s, Maggie and Sasha)
barnfullawalkers 