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.