TWD Season 5 Episode 12: Remember

Last week we were on the road to Alexandria as the Grimes group put their trust in Aaron and followed him to his home. Rick had his reservations about leading his loved ones into another Terminus or Woodbury, but the thought of a safe place where he could raise his family ultimately helped him get to the gates of Alexandria. Can this community really be trusted? Here's what we found out in "Remember:"

It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

The gates open and the gang is ushered into Aaron's neighborhood. The guy who lets them in immediately demands their weapons though, but Aaron suggests they have a chance to talk to "Deanna" first. My brain instantly imagines Deanna as The Oracle in The Matrix. Not sure why. 

Rick meets with her first and she's seems fairly normal....except for wanting to film their discussion. She reveals that she was a congresswoman in Ohio before the apocalypse. Deanna and her family had been trying to make their way home from DC when the crisis hit and they were directed to this community by the army. Her husband was a genius in the architecture world and came up with the plans for the protective walls and gates, which they were able to put up pretty quickly. Sooo...the majority of the people in the community have not had to live outside of the community. "We need people who have lived out there," Deanna says. Rick tells her she shouldn't let people in...that the people out there are desperate for survival and would only come to the community wanting to take from them. He tells Deanna that he's killed many people so his family could live and so he could live for them. Deanna admits some flaws as well. She exiled 3 men who were not the right fit for the community, and she feels like she gave them the death sentence in doing so. Enough with all that though - Deanna believes Rick and his group can help everyone in the community survive and she tells him it's time for him to decide on whether they will stay. 

The group turns over their guns with the understanding that they can be checked out any time they travel beyond the wall (winter is coming?). They are given two houses to share and Aaron says everyone will leave them alone for a while so they can get settled. He's conveniently four houses down the street. Rick and Carl enter their new home and it's lovely - fully furnished, completely clean, and has running water. Rick finally shaves off his beard and I totally forgot what his face looked like underneath all that hair. 

There's a knock at the door (so much for people leaving them alone to get settled), and a woman named Jessie who works in the pantry shows up with toiletries and such. Hellooooo Young Moira from American Horror Story. I've missed you so. Jessie is also a stylist and offers to cut Rick's hair....after he answers the door shirtless....which I had to pause. He's back to looking like Season 1 Rick! The two make small talk as he gets his hair did. Jessie has two boys of her own and offers to introduce Carl to them. She's also adorable, and I need her to be a confirmed love interest for Rick as soon as possible.

Home Sweet...Something

The interviews with Deanna continue. Daryl meets with her next and he's walking around holding onto the possum he killed just before they walked through the gates. "We brought dinner." Ha! Carol totally downplays her role in the group and acts like a happy housewife who misses her husband and is lucky to have people around that can protect her. She calls herself a "people person" and lands herself a job cooking for the senior citizens. Man, she became a spy quickly. Michonne and Glenn both seem desperate in their video chat, and Carl is cautious as he holds onto his baby sister. They all decide to sleep in one house for the first night, all in the living room as one big group. No one is comfortable with losing their weapons and then being split up all on the first day. 

"You look ridiculous."

Turns out the community has a school...in a garage...but it's still a school. The other kids in the neighborhood have video games and pool tables and poor Carl is just overwhelmed. He's worried that the people in the community are weak and their group will become weak by being around them. The person who seems to have the toughest time with this new home, though, is Daryl. Dude hasn't showered yet and refuses to explore the neighborhood and meet the people who live nearby. He sits on the porch skinning the possum and messing around with this animal traps and crossbow. Carol threatens to hose him down and he tells her she looks ridiculous in her cardigan and khakis. Fantastic.

Carl kinda/sorta/not really makes friends with Enid, a girl his age who is new to the community as well. She has a knack for climbing the wall and exploring the woods on her own (damn it, Enid!), so Carl totally digs her. He climbs the wall too and finds Rick wandering around the perimeter, They take out a handful of Walkers together. Nice to see they are keeping their skills up. 

Who Put Him In Charge?

Glenn, Noah and Tara meet meet up with Nicholas (the guy who opened the gates for them) and Aiden, Deanna's son. Aiden is a dick. He's going to "allow" them to audition to go out on a run with him. He was in ROTC, so clearly he knows everything there is to know about finding supplies in a zombie apocalypse. Where is Abraham and when is Abraham going to beat this guy's ass? Aiden and Nicholas are also dangerous in that they captured a Walker who killed their friends recently, and they keep him chained up. Even when the Walker escapes, they want to catch it, not kill it. WOW. The Walker in question almost kills Tara and when Glenn takes a knife to the Walker's head, Aiden flips his shit. He brings the three "newbies" back inside the gates and tells them they aren't ready for runs. Glenn says he has it backwards and that's why he lost his friends to that Walker. Aiden goes into extreme douchebag mode and starts pushing Glenn. Deanna shows up to bring the peace but before she can, Aiden takes a swing at Glenn, Daryl comes running down the road and tackles Nicholas, and Glenn drops Aiden like a sack of potatoes. Rick and Carl get back and break up the fight and Deanna tells her son that Rick's group is permanent and they are to be treated as equals. She assigns Rick and Michonne as constables for the community. She then thanks Glenn for knocking Aiden on his ass. I want to like her, but I'm still unsure about her. This kind of seems like a big show...a setup to make Rick and company feel like they have the upper hand...

That night, Rick is dressed like Sheriff Rick and Daryl isn't pleased. He still has not cleaned himself up at all. Carol asks if they're definitely staying and Rick thinks it's time for the group to sleep in their own houses and beds. Carol echos what Carl said about becoming weak but Rick doesn't think the group has it in them to be weak. He says if the people of the community can't make it, "then we'll just take this place."

The episode ends there and I am LOVING this story line. I feel like Alexandria is a combination of the other "safe places" the gang has been to. Aiden put his people in danger and spent valuable time trying to keep a Walker captive kind of like Hershel did on the farm. The community leader is well-spoken and has a kind face like the Governor did when we were first introduced to Woodbury. The "we're transparent and everyone contributes" creepiness is reminiscent of Terminus (before we learned the contributions were items like limbs for bbq). But even though the group had their own beds in the prison...the running water, toiletries, food, clean clothes, etc. of Alexandria are true bonuses. How long will the happiness last? And is a Grimes takeover in the works before the end of the season? I can't wait to find out!