The Walking Dead: A

We have reached the season finale of The Walking Dead, and while I have anticipated so many things in this hour, it's starting to sink in that we will have several months to wait before witnessing the next chapter in this story. When we last left our beloved characters, one group converged and arrived at Terminus, two groups were on their way, and one group was hunting Rick...which was sending them to Terminus by default. 

The Power Of The Flashback

The episode opens during a happier time at the prison. Maggie and Glenn return from a run and are greeted by Hershal. Rick, Carol, Tyreese and Carl are trying to keep the fence Walkers at bay. When this first of many flashbacks starts to fade out, we cut to present day...where a very bloody Rick sits alone outside of a car. More on that later. 

On another prison day Hershel wakes Rick but assures him everything is okay. Rick asks about the time but Hershel had stopped paying attention to time once he gave Glenn his watch. "It's always right now to me." Rick stands to put his gun belt on and Hershel tells him to leave it...it will only get in the way. The wise old man suggests they domesticate the pigs from the forest. He wants to teach Rick how to plant seeds so they can grow their own food, and he wants Rick to be able to teach Carl this skill as well. Rick is immediately defensive, saying the prison people need him to protect them, but Hershel tells Rick that he deserves a break. Everything is running well, and Carl needs his father...and he needs his father to show him the way. "We can make this better now."

Rick goes back into the prison, where Nerdy Patrick plays with legos while Carl cleans his gun. Rick tells Carl that he needs his help with something, instructing him to leave his gun because it will only get in the way. With Hershel's help, Rick teaches Carl how to plant and tend to the crops while Beth and a very happy Judith look on. Rick jokes that Carl needs a farming hat and he places his sheriff's hat on Beth's head. He says "there's a new sheriff in town" and everyone smiles. This scene makes me sad given all that has transpired since then. 

One Step Closer

The trio sits at a fire, cooking a canned something that clearly won't satisfy all of the hunger they are battling. The group goes to check the snares and discusses their Terminus plans along the way. Carl wants to know if they are going to tell the Terminus folks who they are and everything that's happened to them. Rick says they will definitely disclose who they are...to which Carl replies: "Who are we?" No time for an answer. Walkers are on the prowl and there's a rabbit in the snare. Rick explains that a snare is set up on a trail with a noose on the path.  Oh weird. Kind of sounds like Terminus. 

The tutorial is interrupted by screams coming from nearby. Carl takes off (damn it Carl!) and finds a dude surrounded by about a dozen Walkers. Carl takes aim but Rick stops him...dude didn't have a chance anyway and they need to conserve the bullets. Rick, Carl and Michonne escape from the hoard and come upon a car (the one featured in the opening of the episode). Michonne and Rick keep watch as Carl gets some sleep. The two talk about their hopes and concerns with Terminus. Michonne wonders if it's legit and Rick assumes they have to have a good system if they are welcoming people. Yes, Rick. I imagine their human bbq system is a well-oiled machine at this point.

Douchebags R Us

Rick hears a noise but it appears as though nothing is near them. He resumes his conversation with Michonne, but then we see a gun shoved against his temple. It's Joe and the douchebags...but no sign of Daryl. Joe talks about restitution on New Year's Eve (apparently it's New Year's Eve) while douchebag #2 pulls Carl from the car. Daryl pops up just then and looks horrified. He says "these are good people" which Joe calls bullshit on immediately. He reminds Daryl that Rick killed a member of the douchebag club....meaning there's no way he could be "good people." Uh oh. Daryl is a liar now and has broken the rules. A beating ensues. 

Rick asks Joe to let everyone go because Rick acted alone, but Joe has a plan...they'll beat Daryl, then "have the girl and then the boy, then we'll kill you." Rick hits Joe's gun toting arm as douchebag #2 start to do, um, things to Carl. Joe and Rick start to fight and Joe is hell bent on killing him. What does one do when they are at a disadvantage? Why, rip the other guy's throat out with your teeth of course! No really. Rick totally bites a chunk out of Joe's neck and it's disgusting but wonderful all at the same time. As Joe hits the ground, Michonne grabs douchebag #3's gun and starts taking out those guys. Daryl is able to break free from the beating and starts stomping heads. Fantastic. Douchebag #2 gets off of Carl (he hadn't been able to really accomplish anything yet) and holds a knife to Carl's throat. He's scared as hell though, so when Rick comes at him, he doesn't defend himself. Rick stabs the shit out of him and it's realllllly gruesome.  

We go back to the opening scene with Rick sitting with blood all over him in front of the car. Carl sleeps in Michonne's lap inside the vehicle while Daryl helps Rick clean up. He explains that he was with Beth and that Beth is "just gone." Daryl says he knew the douchebag club was bad, but he was alone, and they had a code...and that was something at least. Daryl also tells Rick that when the guys said they spotted the man they were looking for, he was going to leave...but then realized the man they were about to attack was Rick. "I didn't know what they could do." Rick looks at Daryl and says "you're my brother" and it's a very tender moment. Daryl comments that what Rick did to Joe and douchebag #2 isn't like him. Well, it definitely isn't like Farmer Rick or Where's Ghost Lori Rick. But Rick says "It's me. It's how we're here now. That's all that matters." Welcome back, buddy.

Welcome to Terminus?

The Grimes boys, Michonne and Daryl arrive at Terminus through the woods rather than the main path. Rick wants to be cautious about this supposed safe haven. Rick asks that everyone split up and watch the place for a little while...look for anything suspicious. Carl goes off with Michonne and she tells him a little bit more about her little boy, Andre. She says that she had taken Andre and gone with her boyfriend (Mike) and his friend Terry to a refugee camp when things started to get bad. The home they found there did not stay happy for long, as people were giving up and leaving. Michonne had not given up though. She had come back from a run and saw the fences were down. Mike and Terry were high when the Walkers took over the camp...so they were bit. Michonne let them turn instead of killing them and she dragged them around on ropes the way she did with the two random Walkers after the prison fell apart. There are no details about Andre but we assume he had become Walker dinner. She says she was "gone" for a long time, but Rick, Carl and the gang brought her back. Michonne tells Carl not to be afraid of her and not to be afraid of Rick given what he did to their attackers. Carl isn't afraid...he calls himself a monster too. 

After doing some observations, the group reconvenes and buries the majority of their weapons just outside the fence. They hop over with no trouble (what kind of security does this 'sanctuary for all' have?) and they make their way into what looks like the main communications center. A creepy woman is sending out a message over a radio and a few other Terminus residents are doing arts and crafts...or something...on some tables. A guy who introduces himself as Gareth says "well, I bet Albert is on perimeter watch," and I immediately feel bad for Albert. He's probably next on the bbq list now. Alex approaches them next and asks them to lower their weapons. Daryl, Michonne, Rick and Carl are all frisked at that point and then given their weapons back right away. Interesting. 

Alex leads them to the garden and bbq area and asks chef Mary to make the group a plate. Michonne asks the question everyone is thinking - why do they let people in? As Alex says "When people become a part of us, we get stronger" Rick starts to look around. He's noticing some things....like someone wearing Glenn's armor and someone else wearing Maggie's pullover. He then sees Hershel's watch sticking out of Alex's pocket and flips out. Even though he is GREATLY outnumbered, Rick puts a gun to Alex's head and asks where the watch and other items came from. Alex says the things Rick is asking about came off of dead people. So wait...are Glenn and Maggie dead or are the Terminus crazies lying? Gareth appears but before a civil conversation can take place, one of the roof gunmen takes out Alex. Everyone starts firing (the rest of the terminus people are horrible shots by the way) and the group finds their way into a building...after passing by some hanging clothes and human skeletons. Gross. 

Breathing a momentary sigh of relief, our underdogs realize they are in what looks like a room of remembrance. Many names are written on the floor along with personal belongings of each individual. Candles surround this area and words like "Never Again" and "Never Trust" and "We First, Always" are painted on the wall. CREEPY. I guess this is a sign of respect toward the people they cook? Do they fatten these people up first or just say "hand over your pocket watch and prepare to become a shish kabob?" 

Knowing they can't linger in this room for long, the group heads back outside and find themselves essentially screwed. Gareth tells them to drop their weapons and walk one by one to the train car (marked with a giant "A") on the left. "First the ring leader, then the archer, then the samurai." Carl is able to walk over last and then they all pile into the very dark train car. They are not alone though. Glenn, Maggie, Sasha, Bob, Tara, Eugene, Abraham and Smokin' Hot Rosita are there too! They're all alive! No sign of Carol, Tyreese, Judith or Beth though. Looking around the train car, Rick pauses for a second then says "They're gonna feel really stupid when they find out." Abraham replies "Find out what?" After another dramatic pause... "They're screwing with the wrong people." 

The episode (and season) ends there and I'm still processing. I'm ecstatic that we did not lose another major character tonight, and beyond ecstatic that almost the entire group is back together...even if they are trapped in a train car waiting for cannibals to roast them.  On the flip side, I'm a bit disappointed because I had really hoped Rick and Carl would find out that Judith is till alive before the end of the season. I was also hoping that Carol and Daryl would have a happy reunion but that will have to wait as well. Will Carol and Tyreese be the ones to save the day? Will Beth come back as a total badass and break everyone free? Rick did say "there's a new sheriff in town" after all. How many people do we think the Terminus crew has eaten? 

The flashback sequences were clever and provided a great balance to the episode. I definitely miss Hershel and the effect he had on everyone. Rick may be the leader, but Hershel was the father and that's an impossible role to replace. I love that the season finale included him. Additionally, witnessing the demise of the douchebags was also a highlight of the episode, and I will be eager to see how long these Terminus creeps last when the new season begins. Not only are they screwing with the wrong people, they're screwing with a guy who tore out another dude's neck with his teeth. Take THAT, cannibals! Gareth doesn't know what he's in for. Is he just a younger version of The Governor? Are we bound to see one of our favorites served as dinner during the season premiere? It's going to be a REALLY long summer until we get some answers but I greatly look forward to the next chapter in this journey. 

The Walking Dead: Us

I think I've finally settled down from the emotional hour we spent in "The Grove" during the previous episode of The Walking Dead. I seriously lost sleep after that one. We know now that Carol, Tyreese and baby Judith are heading to Terminus, but "Us" circles back to several of the other scattered characters as they strive toward various reunions. Here's where we are when the episode ends...

Rick, Michonne and Carl

In an uber serious tone, Rick tells the other members of his trio that they are getting close to Terminus. When he turns to look at them, Michonne and Carl are doing a tightrope act on the train tracks and I love it. Hell, Rick even smiles. This scene still isn't as good as the "Bam! Crazy Cheese" moment Michonne and Carl shared earlier in the season (I find myself just saying that out of the blue sometimes), but after last week I definitely appreciate the giggle I get here. We do not see this group again for the rest of the episode. 

Daryl and The Douchebags

Poor Daryl. He wakes before the jackasses he's living with these days and goes off on a hunt.  As Daryl prepares to kill a rabbit for breakfast, Douchbag #1 sneaks up from behind and fires his own bow, hitting the rabbit first. He flips out when Daryl takes the rabbit and talks a LOT of shit. Daryl grabs his knife, but Joe (who is apparently the leader) steps in. He explains the rules of the group to Daryl, saying if someone "claims' something, it's theirs. Soooo, by that asinine train of thought, the rabbit is supposed to belong to Douchebag #1. Joe cuts the rabbit in half though because Daryl is only a first time offender of the most ridiculous rules ever.  

As the group departs on the train track, Joe and Daryl chat about the unfriendly douchebags in their company. Joe insists that the guys don't necessarily have to like each other to survive together and then talks more about the rules. Joe tells Daryl that breaking the rules incites a beating...the severity of the beating depends on the offense and everyone's moods that day. Unreal. These rules include the "claimed" violation as well as lying. Yup. There's nothing worse than a lying douchebag. Joe says some more "blah, blah blah" about sticking together before Joe calls the group to a halt at what looks like a warehouse. He says they will stay the night there. As the group walks in, Daryl looks and Joe and says quite seriously "I aint no 'us.'" Joe says unless he's leaving, he's part of the "us." (Subtle use of the episode title alert!). 

When the guys arrive inside the warehouse, all of the trucks and cars are "claimed" immediately as beds...so Daryl lays down on the floor. Douchebag #1 says his half of the rabbit is gone and dumps it out of Daryl's bag. Joe says he saw Douchebag #1 put the rabbit in there, and death by beating commences. The next morning, the group sees a sign for Terminus and decides they would never be welcome there. Joe tells Daryl that their destination isn't a place, it's a person....the person who strangled one of the other douchebags in a house they were staying in. Uh oh. They're looking for Rick, and they are hot on his trail.  

Glenn, Tara, Eugene, Abraham and Smokin' Hot Rosita

This band of misfits begins the episode on the train tracks with Eugene telling Tara his theories on dinosaurs, home made batteries, and video games. I kind of love him. He seems to have no idea that Tara spends the majority of her time checking out Smokin' Hot Rosita because dude is making any and all attempts to impress Tara with his knowledge. His jabbering stops abruptly when the group comes upon another sign for Terminus....with Maggie's message to Glenn to come find her there. Glenn takes off as if he was auditioning for a part in Chariots of Fire.

Abraham stops the group at a tower for some rest but Glenn has no plans to delay a reunion with Maggie. As they argue near the tower, a Walker essentially commits suicide by falling almost exactly where the group is standing. Tara gets pushed to the ground and hurts her knee. I immediately roll my eyes. She's just so unbelievably useless. The next debate is whether Tara can walk or not...she says yes...Smokin' Hot Rosita says Tara should rest....and I'm surprised that Tara chooses travel over the potential to "accidentally" spoon Rosita.  

The group presses on, approaching a scary looking tunnel that has another Maggie message. Glenn doesn't want to go around the tunnel and Abraham isn't risking any lives for the sake of getting to Maggie faster. He gives Glenn and laaaaame Tara some canned goods and a flashlight and the troupe parts ways. As they say their goodbyes, Eugene lets Tara know that she is "seriously hot." Tara responds: "Yeah, I like girls." Eugene says he is well aware of that, but we all know that's not true. Laughing moment number 2 for the episode though, so I'll take it. 

Glenn and limping Tara start to make their way through through what looks like a tunnel of doom, and Tara recounts the events of the prison takeover attempt. They arrive at a collapsed portion with a bunch of Walkers trapped under rocks like a some sort of Halloween attraction. One by one Glenn and Tara check the Walkers to make sure Maggie isn't a zombie, then they stab the heads in order to make their way to the other side of the rubble....where of course there are tons of Walkers roaming about freely. Why wouldn't there be? You know what else was bound to happen? Tara getting her leg stuck in the rocks as they try to escape. Idiot! Leave her! Glenn is too awesome though...he starts shooting the shit out of the Walkers before a group with guns comes to the rescue. It's MAGGGGGGIE! Best. Reunion. Ever. 

Turns out Abraham, Eugene and Smokin Hot Rosita found themselves a minivan which took them to the other side of the tunnel. They happened to join forces with Maggie, Sasha and Bob at that point to save the day, and they arrived not a moment too soon. Glenn introduces lame ass Tara to Maggie as someone he met on the road rather than someone contributing to the murder of her father. Good call. After some discussions about heading straight to Washington, Eugene says they might be able to recruit some extra fighters at Terminus and perhaps some better vehicles as well. The prison group wants to go to Terminus anyway to see if their loved ones are there, so everyone decides to head that way in the morning. Glenn and Maggie are able to share some snuggling time and she burns the Polaroid picture Glenn had been keeping of her. She tells him he will never need a picture of her again. WHAT!?! Don't do that! Now I'm scared Maggie will die in the finale. Damn it. 

The episode ends with the group reaching Terminus. As they enter the gates they come upon gardens, a welcoming woman named Mary, and a bbq. This has to be a farce, right? What group of people welcomes everyone into their peaceful community during an apocalypse? Are we about to meet a new version of The Governor? And what are they cooking? Is it a Beth bbq? Perhaps the Terminus folks recruit outsiders because they have a special cooking sauce meant just for people. We only have one more episode to find out, and here's hoping the rest of the gang makes it to Terminus by then....either for a happy reunion or a frantic rescue. 

The Walking Dead: The Grove

Whoa. Just...whoa. That's the kind of episode we have in "The Grove." This is an hour focused on Carol, Tyreese and the kids, and I haven't been this emotional about an hour of The Walking Dead in quite some time. Here's where we are when "The Grove" is over...

Carol, Tyreese, Lizzie, Mika and Judith are still en route to the maybe sanctuary at Terminus. As Carol and Lizzie are doing the night watch, Lizzie asks if Carol had any kids. She tells Lizzie about Sophia...that she was sweet and didn't have a mean bone in her body. Lizzie asks if that's the reason Sophia is not here and Carol says yes. Lizzie then asks if Carol misses her daughter. When Carol tells Lizzie she misses Sophia every day, Lizzie asks "Would you miss me?" Carol says she isn't going to have to miss Lizzie and tells her to go to sleep.  

The next day Carol tends to the wound on Tyreese's arm. She tells him that Lizzie doesn't understand what the Walkers are. She suuuuure doesn't. The episode had opened with Lizzie playing a game of tag with a Walker...as if we needed any more reasons to think she's a little psychopath. When Tyreese asks if Mika is the same, Carol says "She's worse. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body." Oh hell. Are you telling me that Mika is going to end up like Sophia? I don't know if I can handle losing that kid. If we have to get rid of someone in this pack, let it be Lizzie. 

The group separates briefly with Tyreese, Judith and Lizzie sitting down to rest. Tyreese hears a noise and hands the baby to Lizzie(!) and goes to check it out. The torso of a Walker is dragging itself toward them but Lizzie asks Tyreese not to "kill him." She thinks this is a situation where it's not needed. The kid is probably right, but let's not humor her mentality of "Walkers are people too." A person's a person no matter how undead?

Meanwhile Carol chats with Mika about how little and sweet she is. She says Mika should toughen up. Mika maintains that she has tried to kill Walkers but she can't kill people. "I'm not messed up like my sister. I know what they are. But the bad people at the prison were right in front of us, but I couldn't pull the trigger. Killing people is wrong." Ouch. Shout out to David and Karen on that one. Carol tells her that everyone has to change now, that things just don't work out. At that moment the two of them see a grove with a house on the other side. Mika turns to Carol with the most adorable smile ever and says "My mom used to say 'everything works out the way it's supposed to.'" Something tells me her mom also didn't have a mean bone in her body. 

Tyreese and Carol clear the house, leaving Mika, Lizzie and Judith outside. Can we PLEASE stop letting Lizzie hold Judith? A Walker surprises the girls and Mika successfully uses her gun to defend them. Lizzie looks horrified when the bullets enter the Walker's head...she really gives me the creeps. As Lizzie starts to cry, Mika tells her to look at the flowers, which is what Carol told Lizzie to do at the beginning of the season just before she stopped the girls' father from becoming a Walker.  

That night the five of them sit in the living room and share what is probably the closest thing to a normal evening anyone has had in a while. Tyreese relaxes in a chair, Mika plays with a doll, Carol and Lizzie put together a puzzle...and Judith is not doing her usual "someone is scaring the shit out of me" scream, so I count that as a 'win.' Mika thinks they should live there, but we all know something is going to ruin this happy home soon enough.

We go back to Lizzie's play date with the Walker from the opening scene. Carol rushes outside and stabs the Walker in the head immediately. Judging by Lizzie's reaction, it was as if Carol just murdered her puppy. She tells Carol the Walker was her friend and screeches "You killed her! What if I killed you!?!?" several times. Okay. Seriously. This haaaas to stop. 

Carol eases the migraine she no doubt has at this point by taking Mika hunting. Yes, let's get Mika's skills together so we can keep seeing that angelic face. Carol tells Mika that she is smarter than Lizzie and she needs to help look out for her even though she is the older sister. Um, no. Actually Mika needs to run like hell if she's alone with Lizzie. Somehow she also needs to teach Judith to run like hell. Carol has her work cut out for her though. Mika chokes when she tries to shoot a deer and suggests they just eat the pecans they've already gathered. Sigh.

Mika returns to the house and finds Lizzie outside...feeding a mouse to the Walker torso Tyreese did not kill earlier. Aha! So she is the mysterious prison zombie feeder after all. Mika scolds her but Lizzie says "I can hear them. They just want me to change. Maybe I should. Maybe I should be like them." She reaches her hand out to the Walker torso and I'm yelling "do it!" but the moment is interrupted by a bunch of crispy Walkers coming out of the trees. The girls scream and run to Carol and Tyreese. Together, the four of them take out the hoard. Progress? Lizzie tells Carol "I know. I know what I have to do now." Carol takes this as a positive statement, but I've got a pit in my stomach.

Another day goes by and Carol and Tyreese are on a walk discussing how great things are at this little place they've found. Wait. Why are Carol and Tyreese on a walk? Why do they think it's okay to keep leaving the kids by themselves? Even if Lizzie understands what Walkers are, that doesn't make her less crazy than she was 24 hours ago. Anywho, Carol and Tyreese come to an agreement that they should stay. They both seem very happy with the decision, though it's pretty obvious that Carol wants to tell Tyreese about Karen and David. She doesn't though and they walk back to the house. Again...why were they gone?

As they approach their new "home" they see something awful. Lizzie stands outside the house with blood on her hands. Shit. I pause my Tivo. I see Lizzie standing. I see an alive Judith sitting on the ground near her. What I don't see...is Mika. Carol and Tyreese run toward the scene and realize Lizzie is holding a very bloody knife. Oh, there's Mika. She's dead.  DAMN IT! Whyyyyyyy? Lizzie says "Don't worry. She'll come back. I didn't hurt her brain." Carol steps forward and Lizzie pulls a gun. She says they have to wait for Mika to come back. She says Judith can change too. Well, now we know what would have happened if Carol and Tyreese had taken a longer effing walk! Carol promises to tie Mika up so she can't go anywhere if Lizzie hands over the gun and goes into the house with Tyreese and Judith. Lizzie does so. Carol stops Mika's transformation off camera. 

Inside the house, Carol and Tyreese talk in the kitchen while Tyreese thankfully holds Judith. Tyreese says Lizzie has a box full of mice and she was the person feeding Walkers at the prison. Lizzie told him she was just having fun. Yes, because she is a little psychopath. He wondered if Lizzie killed Karen and David...but then realized she would have let them turn instead. Regardless, what happens now? Carol offers to leave with Lizzie. She says that kid can't be around other people. Tyreese says maybe they could help her but Carol replies "It's just how she is. It was already there. I should have seen it. She can't be around other people." Okay, so she has said that twice now. Does this mean....

We see Carol and Lizzie walk into the grove. Lizzie thinks Carol is angry because she pulled her gun on her and not so much because she stabbed her sister to death. She says she's sorry....that she just wanted Carol to wait. Man, this kid just doesn't get it. Carol tells Lizzie she loves her, but Lizzie cries and turns toward the flowers. Lizzie keeps repeating that she's sorry as Carol tells her "everything works out the way it's supposed to." She then says "Just look at the flowers, Lizzie." I'm so nauseous. Is she really going to kill her? Carol reaches for her gun and then she points. The camera zooms in on Carol's tear-streaked face as she pulls the trigger. Oh my god. 

Tyreese and Carol bury the two little bodies and talk about the next steps. Carol pushes her gun toward him and reveals that she killed Karen and David. She explains that she thought she was stopping the illness and saving lives. "Do what you have to do." Tyreese fiercely grips the table. He asks if Karen knew it was happening. He wants to know if it was quick. Carol assures him that it was and tells him again to do what he has to do. Tyreese reaches for the gun and I am at the end of my rope. We can't lose Carol too. Instead of shooting Carol though, he forgives her and I let out the incredibly long breath I did not realize I was holding. They decide to head to Terminus after all, and as the (now) trio leaves the grove, we hear the "you have to change" conversation between Mika and Carol again. 

The episode ends there and I'm spent. When Mika spoke earlier about not being able to kill bad people even if they want to hurt her, I had truly hoped she would be able to defend herself if the situation presented itself again. But really...she was never going to harm Lizzie. She was another Sophia...and with no one protecting her every second, she wasn't going to make it.  I never could have predicted both kids would die or at least die in within one hour of the show. However, my hat's off to Melissa McBride for her performance in this episode. Carol has become one of the most compelling characters on The Walking Dead and what she went through here was gut wrenching. Fingers crossed Carol, Tyreese and Judith find sanctuary or at least the Grimes boys soon. After the scarring events of "The Grove," they need something to hope for. 

The Walking Dead: Alone

Coming off of our previous "The Adventures of Daryl and Beth" episode, I had assumed we would spend this hour with other characters for sure. While we are able to catch up with Maggie, Sasha and Bob as they continue their search for Glenn as well as sanctuary, we still have some Daryl/Beth action as well. Here's where we are when "Alone" ends...

The Three Amigos

We flash back to the day Bob joined the prison group. He is surviving alone (love when the episode title is thrown at us in the first 60 seconds), wandering aimlessly with a despondent look about him. He kind of reminds me of Michonne when she walked with her pet zombies. A car and motorcycle pull up and Glenn and Daryl approach him. Bob tells them he is the last man standing from his two previous groups. Daryl asks him the 3 questions, the conversation is uneventful, and Bob heads to the prison to join the eventual chaos.

In the present day, Sasha, Bob and Maggie stand with their backs in a triangle, trying to fight Walkers through a pretty ridiculous fog. Bob is bitten on the chest...or at least we think he is. As Sasha prepares for early grieving, Bob says the Walker got him on his bandage, so everyone can breath a sigh of relief. Thank goodness for small victories...

The trio waits for the fog to lift and makes their way to the train tracks. They see the sign for Terminus, and though Sasha is not on board with going someplace that sounds too good to be true, she is outnumbered and they begin their journey to this unknown place. I'm kind of with Sasha on this one. Woodbury was supposed to be a sanctuary of sorts and look how well that turned out.... She points out that the group has only 6 bullets left and she makes a separate plea to Bob to just find a building to set up shop in for now. Maggie overhears the conversation.

While Sasha and Bob get some rest, Maggie peaces out...leaving a note in the dirt that says "Don't risk your lives 4 me. Good luck." Bob wants to find Maggie immediately and Sasha begrudgingly accompanies him. He tries to get to the bottom of Sasha's overall bitchiness (for me, surviving the prison raid, living in the woods, and then fighting Walkers with almost zero visibility would do it). Bob asks Sasha why she thinks Tyreese is dead....or why she's too afraid to find out if he's alive. She dodges the conversation, but her attitude regarding Glenn makes sense now. She believes he is probably dead and the effort to find him is a suicide mission. Has she also lost hope for all of the other prison folks? None of this matters to Bob. He's been alone twice during this apocalypse and he's not about to leave Maggie out there by herself.

As Maggie travels on the train tracks, she stops at each sign for Terminus, leaving Glenn a note (in Walker blood by the way) telling him to meet her there. I would be just as touched by this move even if I didn't already know Glenn is alive. Lucky for Sasha and Bob, they can also follow this pseudo trail of breadcrumbs. They argue some more about settling down instead of continuing with what is probably a pointless plan, then Bob kisses Sasha. Should we be excited? Nope. He kisses her goodbye. Sasha wants to hide out in a tall building nearby and Bob is determined to find Maggie....so all three of them are by themselves at this point. I feel like this solution defeats that noble "no one should be alone" idea that Bob has been preaching.

Sasha climbs to the top floor of a warehouse and realizes she's screwed. She begins to cry and looks out the window longingly. In doing so, she sees Maggie lying among some Walkers on the ground outside the building. Well that was easy. Sasha breaks the window by accident (she's very excited that she's not screwed), but the crashing glass alerts the undead of the undead to swarm the area. Way to go Sasha. Maggie was lying with Walker bodies ON PURPOSE so she wouldn't be detected. After a couple of close calls, the girls are okay. Maggie acknowledges that she needs Sasha and Bob's help to do what she needs to do, and Sasha informs Maggie that Bob left to find her. They catch up to Bob quickly and now we are just one big happy family...though Maggie is totally the third wheel now that Bob and Sasha will probably hook up. 

The Odd Couple

Daryl and Beth are sober today and he is teaching her his tracking and shooting skills. Beth is starting to feel good about her abilities, and in her new found confidence, she steps on an animal trap just as she is about to shoot a Walker. Daryl swoops in and saves the day...but now the kid has one hell of a limp. That doesn't bode well for the whole running when your life depends on it thing.

The duo comes upon a cemetery and funeral home. Beth optimistically says there might be people inside and Daryl assures her he'll "handle them." Beth is certain that there are still good people out there, but Daryl quickly responds with "I don't think the good ones survive." He realizes his mistake quickly as Beth emotionally looks upon the headstone of a "beloved father." Yes, Hershel was one of the good ones. Daryl places some flowers on that grave and takes Beth by the hand.

Inside the funeral home, someone has put forth some serious effort to clean up and dress some Walker bodies as if they were about to have a ceremony and burial. Was this recent? They also hit the jackpot in terms of canned goods...but the jars are completely free of dust, so clearly someone either lives in this building or only recently departed. After weighing the options, Daryl and Beth decide that coffins are actually wayyyy comfier than what they've been sleeping on, so they are going to stay at the funeral home at least for a little while. No really, Daryl jumps into a coffin to relax. He says that they could "make it work" when the people come back. Whoa. Daryl is having positive thoughts? Seems Beth is rubbing off on him and we really have to be on the brink of a romance at this point.

The sweet moment is interrupted by some commotion at the door. A dog had been out there earlier so Daryl and Beth did not seem alarmed, but this time it's a hoard of Walkers. The (maybe) lovebirds are separated, and when Daryl makes his way outside...he sees a car speeding away with Beth inside. She's been kidnapped? By who? The funeral home people? WHY?!?!

Daryl chases the car and tracks it as far as he can but finally collapses on the road when he realizes he's lost her. Two feet and a dangling gun approach him...then more. Low and behold, it's the douchebags that invaded the house Rick, Michonne and Carl had tried to stay in a few episodes ago. Daryl is clearly outnumbered and they are looking for a "bowman," so Daryl joins their group.  

Glenn! 
I feel like we haven't seen him in forever. The episode ends with Glenn seeing a sign for Terminus...and we assume he will head out that way. Will we have a Glenn and Maggie reunion soon? Will we have ANY kind of reunion soon? The "Maggie, Bob and Sasha lost each other but found each other 10 minutes later" gathering does not count. I need some other form of happiness...that warm, fuzzy feeling I got when Michonne found the Grimes boys and Carol found Tyreese and the kids has faded. Fingers crossed we will see some journeys intersect soon, but in the meantime, where the hell is Beth?!?!

The Walking Dead: Still

When we last left the scattered characters on The Walking Dead, Michonne was busy being awesome, Rick was busy trying to avoid a group of murderous dudes, and Glenn (when finally conscious) was busy trying to get the hell away from his new found "friends" to find Maggie. You can put all of them aside for this episode though, as Daryl and Beth take center stage. Here's where we are after the "Still" hour:

Dinner is served.

Daryl and Beth are literally living out of a car these days, to the point where they lock themselves in the trunk when herds of Walkers come by. Their automobile stay doesn't last too long though as they are journeying through the woods again at daybreak, setting up camp, building a fire, setting Walker alarms with hubcaps, and most importantly - eating some freshly stabbed snake. Mmmmm. We're nine minutes in before anyone speaks, then Beth finally says "I need a drink." Daryl tosses her a water bottle, but Beth is looking for a real drink. She's never had alcohol before and feels that there is no time like the present. Daryl continues to devour crispy snake goodness and doesn't acknowledge her "let's go on a beer hunt" idea.

Beth goes off on her own and Daryl eventually follows. Good thing too - my guess is Beth would suck at being a lone survivor. They come across a golf course and club house where they find dead bodies everywhere and several Walkers hanging from nooses on the ceiling. Beth approaches one of the tables...I assumes she's going for what looks like champagne glasses, but she picks up a spoon with Washington D.C. engravings on it. Wait. Are they in D.C.? Close to it? Where the hell are Eugene, Abraham and Smokin' Hot Rosita when you need them?

Moving on to a basement-y area, Beth finds a bottle of wine while Daryl searches for actual supplies. She unfortunately doesn't get to enjoy it though, as she has to break the bottle and stab a Walker with it. A whole bunch of Walkers come upon them then...cut to Daryl being a total badass and taking them out with a golf club. This is a great scene. Beth, by the way, does nothing.

The duo finally find the club house bar where Beth pulls out a bottle of peach schnapps for her first real drink. She cries while holding the bottle. Daryl ignores it for a second, then breaks the bottle, telling Beth that her first drink will NOT be peach schnapps. Awww. I had number of college friends  that popped their liquor cherry with peach schnapps. I would totally mix Beth a fuzzy navel if it will make her happy....and useful.

Back in the woods, Beth is trying to guess who Daryl was before the apocalypse. She asks him if he was a motorcycle mechanic, but Daryl says who he was before doesn't matter. He ends the conversation there as they come across a house that has moonshine. Hot damn! Beth takes to moonshine quickly and Daryl joins her. She initiates a game of "never have I ever," and I'm intrigued. Beth tries to use her "nevers" to find out more about Daryl, but he does not drink when she says she has never been a prisoner in jail. Sensing that she may have offended Darul, Beth follows up by asking if he was a prison guard in his previous life. He says no (but I have a great mental image of Daryl chasing after escaped inmates, shooting them with arrows).  He's all pissed off now though. Daryl talks very loudly about how he's never relied on anyone for anything. He knocks some things around and promptly decides he is going to teach Beth how to shoot a crossbow.

Outside of the house, Daryl is trying to set up target practice with a Walker. Beth pretty much tells him he is being a dick and to stop pushing her away. She says he is acting like he doesn't care about what they've been through and the people they've lost. Daryl turns the tables, mentioning Beth's two dead boyfriends and her dead family. He says they're all gone and all Beth wants to do is go on an alcohol run "like some dumb college bitch." Ouch. Daryl then starts to break down. He tells her that if he hadn't given up on looking for The Governor, the group might all still be safe in the prison. Beth walks up behind Daryl to hug him and he cries. He reveals that in his pre-apocalypse life he was "nobody." He just drifted around with Merle doing whatever Merle said they were going to do that day.  The two finally share some real bonding time and Beth tells him that he will be the last man standing.  "You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone, Daryl Dixon."

The episode ends with Daryl and Beth using the remainder of the booze to burn the place down and it's the first time I have seen them smile together. Just before they walk away, they give the house the middle finger and I do get a laugh out of that. Is there a Daryl/Beth romance on the horizon? I've been holding out hope that Carol and Daryl would realize they are soul mates, so this would throw a serious wrench in my plans. We'll see how it plays out as the season progresses, and hopefully we will catch up with the rest of the gang next episode.  

The Walking Dead: Claimed

While we've been on the edge of our seats wondering what will happen to the prison group now that that they are separated, "Claimed" gives us some background on one of our favorite characters and introduces us to new folks as well. We don't check in with everyone this episode, but here's where we are after the hour...

 

Glenn and Tara

Glenn and Tara have found a new mode of transportation as Abraham, Eugene and Rosita decided to add these two survivors to their military type crew, badass truck included. Glenn has been out cold for a while and when he comes to, Tara tells him they passed the prison bus hours ago and everyone on it was dead. Glenn freaks out and breaks one of the truck windows to get Abraham to pull over. Glenn tries to leave but Abraham won't allow it. Their trio needs people. He tells Glenn that Eugene is a scientist who knows exactly how "this mess" began and they are on a mission to Washington D.C. to essentially to help save the human race. Whaaaaa? How? Oh, "it's classified" according to Eugene.

 

Glenn isn't interested and punches Abraham when he says Glenn will never find Maggie. A fight ensues and the noise draws a bunch of Walkers. Eugene grabs a gun that he clearly doesn't know how to handle and in the process of blowing away the Walkers, he completely disables the truck. Way to go Eugene...how's that mission going to work out for you now? Glenn wishes the trio the best of luck, then he and Tara go back on their quest to find Maggie. Rosita (who is smokin' hot by the way) joins them, and Eugene tells Abraham they should stick with Glenn and Tara as well. He assumes they will find another vehicle along the way and then they will be able to resume their trip to D.C.

 

Rick, Carl and Michonne

A clean home is a happy home and for just a second I forget that Michonne and the Grimes boys are in a constant fight for their lives on this show. Michonne serves Carl breakfast and they joke about soy milk. They share a brief sense of normalcy before Judith's name comes up...then Carl excuses himself from the table. Awww. I hope they find Carol and company soon. Michonne approaches Rick in the kitchen, asking if the house they are staying in will be their home or just a pit stop. For the time being, Rick thinks it would be a good idea to stay in the house, so Carl and Michonne go on a supply run. 

 

As Michonne and Carl leave one of the nearby houses in the neighborhood, she asks Carl if he found anything good so far...candy bars? Comic books? Crazy cheese? Carl looks a little confused and then one of the best The Walking Dead laugh out loud moments happens. "Bam! Crazy cheese." Ha! Michonne whips out a brand new bottle and downs that shit like it was the best food ever created. Not gonna lie - I may have done something like that once or twice. Crazy cheese is the best. She looks ridiculous but she can't seem to get Carl to smile. He says he was laughing on the inside and Michonne tells him her 3 year old son had found her extremely funny.

 

Well of course Carl now has questions and Michonne starts to look overwhelmed. "What was his name? Did you have any more? Were you married?" Hell, I want to know all of these things too. She says she will answer one question at a time, one room at a time, and only after the room has been cleared. The little guy's name was Andre Anthony and he was her only child. Michonne hasn't told anyone about Andre until now and Carl says the secret is safe with him. He also suggests that maybe Judith and Andre are together somewhere.  

 

Rick takes this opportunity to clean himself up, put on a new shirt (thank you) and also get some rest. His sleep is interrupted when loud male voices are heard downstairs. Rick hides under the bed and I'm just as panicked as he is when a pair of boots thump their way into the room with a gun dangling beside them. Dude lays down on Rick's bed and takes a nap. Another pair of boots arrives and wants to claim the bed for his own nap. The dudes fight and one kills the other.

 

While dude #2 is napping, dude #3 comes upstairs just as Rick makes his way into another bedroom. Dude #4 has found Michonne's freshly washed shirt downstairs and now these assholes are on a hunt. Rick hides in the bathroom only to find yet another dude on the toilet. Rick kills him, takes his gun, and escapes out of the bathroom window. He meets up with Carl and Michonne...and as they start to follow the railroad tracks they see a "sanctuary for all" sign which points them toward Terminus.

 

The episode ends there, so we did not catch up with Maggie and company, Carol and company, or Daryl and Beth, but I imagine we'll be seeing them in the next episode. We don't know what Eugene really knows about the apocalypse or what Abraham and smokin' hot Rosita have to do with it. We also don't know exactly what happened to Michonne's son and how much time passed before Michonne took her jawless, armless Walker boyfriend and friend and ended up finding Andrea last season. Man, that seems like so long ago.  We do know, however, that several of the surviving characters are now heading toward Terminus (whatever that is) so I'm guessing at some point all of the groups will reunite at this "sanctuary." How many will survive long enough to make it there? Time will tell.

The Walking Dead: Inmates

Continuing the "where the hell did everyone scatter off to?" theme, this episode is focused on everyone who is not Rick, Carl or Michonne. Sounds like it should be a jam packed hour, but really there's just a lot of walking and searching. Here's where we are after "Inmates" is over.

 

Daryl and Beth

The episode opens with a voiceover from Beth. We hear the words of her diary entries from the days she first lived in the prison...she talks about Hershel saying they can make it their home and how excited she is to help Lori with her baby. Beth's voice also says "we just need a safe place to be." All of these words are spoken as Daryl and Beth run through the woods, killing Walkers and fighting for their lives. The final diary words were ones Hershel had said to the group. "If you don't have hope, what's the point of living?" Beth was inspired to make a wish in her diary that day. "We can live here. We can live here for the rest of our lives."

 

As Beth and Daryl sit by a campfire, Beth maintains that there has to be more survivors. She tells Daryl to use his tracking skills to find Rick, Michonne and the others. Daryl stays silent, looking at the fire. When Beth takes off (another young person with the "I can do it myself" mentality), Daryl gives in and they begin the search for their loved ones. She's held it together pretty well all season. Beth barely batted an eye when her boyfriend's death ruined the prison's 30 days without an accident. She had no issues taking care of baby Judith amidst the flu and the quarantine. And though everyone yelled in agony when Hershel died, Beth did not really have a chance to feel what was happening. As she and Daryl walk by a group of Walkers dining on some other people, Beth lets it all out...as her diary voiceover says "We're not gonna die. None of us. I believe now. I believe for Daddy. If this doesn't work, I don't know how I can keep going." 

 

Tyreese, Mika and Lizzie

Lizzie, Mika, Tyreese and JUDITH(!) are traveling their own path in the woods. I'm so glad he saved the baby and I'm so glad we didn't have to wait until later in the season to find out whether Judith survived the prison attack. Tyreese is having a tough time though protecting two kids and a baby who fusses all the time. Mika scares easily, Lizzie is a total brat, and it's not easy alluding the Walkers when a hungry or soiled Judith is pretty much a tracking device for the undead.

 

They hear noises (whistles? screams?) and Tyreese thinks other prison survivors might be calling for help. He leaves the three girls to fend for themselves so he can find out where the noise is coming from...wait...is that right? Did that just happen? Sure did. Lizzie, being a little psychopath, just about smothers Judith as bunch of Walkers come their way. Turns out the calls for help were from two dudes who are bitten anyway, and when he turns to go back to the kids...all is well with the world. Carol is back and she saved the day! Carol is cautious, but when Tyreese greets her like he just won the lottery (a lot of good that would do him now), she realizes that Rick must not have told Tyreese that she was exiled from the prison. Bitten dude #1 tells them to follow the tracks to a safe place up ahead. The group leaves him then to cry over his eaten comrade.

 

As they continue their journey on the railroad tracks, Tyreese seems to be far less stressed (hell I would be too) now that he has an adult with him....especially an adult whose survival skills probably match his own. I just wonder what will happen when he learns the truth. For now though, let's just let them be happy. The group  comes across a sign and a map for Terminus which boasts to be a sanctuary for all. Oh yeah? Where the hell has this place been for the past 4 seasons?
 

 

Sasha, Bob and Maggie

These three made it out of the prison mostly unscathed but as Sasha worries for Tyreese, Maggie is almost coming unhinged thinking about Glenn. She thinks she can track the bus she believes Glenn and the Woodbury folks escaped on, so instead of finding food or shelter, they go bus hunting. It actually doesn't take long, which I'm somewhat thankful for. We're only 33 minutes in and there has been a LOT of searching and walking and looking and tracking already. The bus clearly did not make it to safety though as Woodbury Walkers reach their arms out the windows. Maggie's not leaving though. She has to get on that bus to make sure Glenn isn't in there. These scene kept me pit in my stomach for its entirety. One by one Sasha lets the Walkers out of the back door of the bus until they all attack at once. No Glenn. Maggie climbs aboard the vehicle and I hold my breath. She searches seat by seat, body by body, looking for Glenn. When a dark haired male Walker jumps up to attack her and she begins to sob, I can't tell what's behind those tears. Luckily, the Walker was not Glenn and hope is still alive.

 

Glenn and Tara

Poor Glenn wakes on a ledge in the prison yard as Walkers below him are hungry and reaching. He realizes the prison is overrun and tries to make his way to whatever safety he can find at this point. He goes down to the cell he and Maggie shared, grabs a picture of her and some provisions, then heads out in his badass "you guys can't bite me" gear. He sees Tara. Oh hell, Tara's still alive? Because Glenn is a better person than I am, he can't leave her behind. She's mopey and tells Glenn that she was a part of the prison destruction. He's well aware of that but he needs a travel companion to help him find Maggie.

 

The two are able to make it out of the prison area without a ton of trouble and then Glenn needed some answers. Tara tells him that she's not sure who got out. All she knows is that her sister Lilly (worst mother ever) was swarmed by Walkers after she shot The Governor. She regrets playing a part in The Governor's plan, and she knew it was wrong after he killed "that old man." Glenn was not around for Hershel's decapitation, so this news is devastating. Glenn tells Tara that Hershel always said "all you have to do is believe" and that's enough for Glenn to think he can find Maggie. Tara whines a bit more but then they are attacked by a group of Walkers. At that point, three people get out of a military vehicle and the episode ends there.

While this episode may have moved a little slow, we did get the answers to several questions:
1) Carol is alive - yay!
2) Judith is alive - yay!
3) Tara is alive - groan.
4) The Woodbury bus was either attacked by Walkers or someone on the bus was dying when they boarded and took the passengers by surprise.

What we don't know:
1) Who are the people who approached Glenn and Tara at the end?
2) Is Lizzie freaking crazy? Because she seriously creeps me out and I don't want her anywhere near Judith or Mika.
3) When will Tyreese find out that Carol killed Karen and David (honestly at this point, I barely even remember them)?
4) What is Terminus?

I realize it's still too early for everyone to reunite, but I'll take the information given this episode and I'll be happy with it. Again...Carol and Judith. That's all I really needed in this hour.