Monday, October 27, 2014

The Walking Dead, Season Five, Episode Three: Four Walls and a Roof


Bob sits and Garrett explains to Bob that he had the choice to join them, or feed them and justifies his position by stating that when bears are starving, they eat their young. Garrett continues to eat and  comments that Greg and Mike had come very close to getting their hands on Carol but Carol drove away with Darryl.  It seems that Carol is next  on the food list and Garrett adds that he likes eating women best (no that's not a double entendre).  Apparently, it's all about the extra layer of fat women have.  Garrett then brings up Sasha, saying that pretty people taste better. Garrett continues to snack on Bob and says that he is going to get the entire group. Bob starts to cry but Garrett asserts that he is being a human being by talking to Bob.  Bob's tears turn to laughter and at first, The Terminus people believe Bob has lost it, until Bob shows them his shoulder where he has been bitten, calling himself "tainted meat".  The Terminus people start spitting out pieces of Bob in a panic, wondering if the fact that they "cooked him" will save them, as Bob screams, "tainted meat." 

A worried and armed Sasha is out looking for Bob.  Sasha comes across the tree Bob marked.  A zombie attacks and Sasha just manages to take it out.  Rick and Tyreese come up behind Sasha and she tells them about Bob being missing.  Rick says that Darryl and Carol are missing as well.

Maggie is inside the church with the rest of the group when Sasha, Rick and Tyreese return.  Sasha is quick to accuse Gabriel of having something to do with their missing members.  Sasha screams, asking where her people are, as Gabriel backs away claiming ignorance.  Rick asks Gabriel why he brought them there and brings up the message on the church, as he attacks Gabriel.  Gabriel admits to locking the church doors at night and not letting his congregation in after Atlanta was bombed.  Gabriel says that there were so many people begging and screaming that it caused the dead to come for them. Gabriel listened as entire families begged for mercy and called his name as they were devoured by the walkers.  Gabriel cries as he explains about burying the remains of the parishioners  and how he believes Rick's group was sent by the lord to punish him. 

Eugene announces that there is someone outside lying in the grass and the group rushes out to find Bob.  They just manage to protect Bob from the walkers which were about to surround him and Rick notices the later A on the wall.  Inside the church, Bob explains that he was attacked by Garret and how the people were eating his leg right in front of them.  Rick asks about Darryl and Carol and Bob tells them that Garret said the two drove off.  Sasha talks about getting Bob pain relief and he tells them to save it and shows his bite mark.  Bob explains that he was bitten at the food bank. Sasha takes Bob's hand and Gabriel offers up the sofa in his office.

Rick asks Gabriel if he knows the place Bob was talking about and Gabriel answers that it's a ten minute walk through the woods from the church.  The group then talks about what to do about Bob. Abraham stands with weapon in hand and suggests that they need to leave immediately but Rick points out that Carol and Darryl are still out there and that they will return.  Abraham however is not concerned and points out that there is a clear danger to Eugene, adding that if the group won't come with them, they will simply leave. Abraham turns to leave and Rick asks if they plan on leaving on foot.  Abraham points out that he fixed the bus and Rick counters with the fact that there are more of his people than Abraham.  Things get heated, so Glenn intervenes to ask Abraham if he is really going to be any safer leaving in the middle of the night.  Glenn points out that they need each other to get through this.  Tara says that she has an idea and promises to leave with Abraham no matter what, if he just agrees to wait a few days. Abraham however is not interested and orders Rosita to grab the gear and tells Eugene to get moving.  Eugene is slow to move and tells Abraham that he does not want to move but eventually stands and starts to leave the church. Rick threatens Abraham about the bus and Abraham simply replies, "try and stop me."  Glenn again asks Abraham to stay and help them and promises that the group will go with him.  Abraham finally relents and agrees to wait until high noon because they are not waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Sasha is nursing Bob and she questions why he didn't tell her when it happened. Bob says that he knew that when Sasha found out, it would become all about the end and he really liked the middle.  Sash lies with her head on Bob's chest.

Rick starts his rally the troops speech, saying that the Terminus people think that they are in control. Rick reminds the group what the Terminus people are capable of.  Tyreese sits in a corner and Rick questions whether or not Tyreese is up for this but before Tyreese can answer, Sasha enters the room and announces that she is going to be a part of this.

Later, standing over Bob, Tyreese advises Sasha to stay with Bob because time is precious and adds how much he wishes he had that time with Karen.  Sasha asks Tyreese if remembers what he felt and what he wanted to do.  Tyreese suggests that forgiveness is facing the wrong but Sasha wants none of it and refuses to forgive the people who hurt Bob.  Tyreese points out that when Bob opens his eyes, the only thing he is going to want to see is Sasha's face.  Sasha forces a knife in Tyreese's hand and orders Tyreese to put it through Bob's temple if he stops breathing, adding that this is what Bob would want, before walking away.


The group leaves the church with Rick in the lead. What they don't know is that the people of Terminus are approaching the church they just left.  The Terminus people break the lock on the door and Carl gets his weapon ready as he stands guard over Judith.  Garrett calls out that they have arrived and are armed.  Garrett continues further into the church, saying that they know who has been left at the church and suggests that Rick's people stop hiding before things get more painful.  Garrett calls out to Gabriel, suggesting that he and Judith will be allowed to leave together.  When Garrett hears Judith cry, he changes directions. Before Garrett's people can move however, they are attacked from behind by Rick, who demands they put their guns on the floor and kneel.  Garrett orders his people to comply but the one hold out is Marti, until Abraham points a gun at him. 

Garrett asks if there is any point in begging and points out that Rick could have killed them all when he first entered the church.  Rick simply replies that they didn't want to waste the bullets.  Garrett argues that they used to help people and even saved people on his knees but things changed when they were overrun by bad people.  Garrett argues that Rick doesn't know what it is to be hungry and suggests that both sides can walk away, promising that neither group need see each other again.  Rick however reminds Rick that he made him a promise and uses a machete to Garrett's head, the same one he promised to kill Garrett with in the season opener. The rest of the group attacks violently with the butt of their weapons, or anything else handy as a horrified Tyreese watches from the shadows.  Michonne even manages to get her katana back.

Covered in blood, Rick tells the group that this could have been them.  Gabriel emerges to see the blood and gore all over his church, as Sasha agrees and walks away.  Gabriel is clearly horrified by what he is looking at and says, "this is the lord's house," and Maggie replies, "no, it's just four walls and a roof."

Later, Maggie goes to see Bob to tell him that he will always be part of their group.  The group starts to file out of the room and Bob asks for a moment alone with Rick.  Bob thanks Rick for teaching him that there were good people left.  Bob tells Rick that these events shouldn't end who people are, calling it a dead man's opinion.  Bob smiles looking Judith and suggests that the world is going to change, as Rick holds his hand.

Later, Bob and Sasha are alone together and Bob smiles.  Sasha asks Bob about his smile and he explains that he was dreaming and Sasha was smiling back at him in the dream.  Sasha struggles to hold back tears and asks about the good that comes out of the bad but Bob cannot answer because he is dead.  Sasha, shakes Bob calling his name and crying.  Sasha pulls out a knife but before she can finish Bob, Tyreese enters the room and asks for the knife.  A teary Sasha hands over the knife, kissing Bob's hand before leaving the room.  Tyreese holds Bob's head and then silently slips the knife into Bob's brain.

Later, Sasha gets a grave marker together for Bob. Abraham hands over his route to DC to Rick, saying that things will be fine once Eugene gets to DC.  Rosita, Eugene and Abraham pile into the bus with Glenn and Maggie. Abraham pauses before driving off. Rick opens the map and sees the message, "sorry I was an asshole, come to Washington the world needs Rick Grimes."

Tyreese busies himself digging a grave and is joined by Rick.  Rick brings up Tyreese's road to Terminus and Tyreese explains that it killed him.  Rick tells Tyreese that it didn't.

That night Michonne sits on the church steps when she is joined by Gabriel.  Gabriel says that he keeps seeing visions of what happened and hears the people who died.  Michonne informs Gabriel that it won't stop but that it won't be all of the time.  When they hear a noise, Gabriel rushes back into the church and Michonne steps forward to investigate.  It turns out that it Darryl, so Michonne asks where Carol is.  Darryl turns his head to the bushes and calls out, "come on out."

Okay, the Terminus people met their bitter end in a particularly gory episode which even caused the survivors watching it to look disgusted.  Have Rick et al crossed an invisible line into the very same savagery they are against?  We all knew that it was coming but at the same time, I didn't expect it to be filled with so much blood lust.  It is also worth mentioning that this scene made Rick right about killing the Terminus People and further served to cement his leadership.

I did however like that Abraham bothered to position himself in opposition to Rick.  It's simply unfortunate that this came from a desire to protect the mullet wearing Eugene, rather than an error in Rick's leadership.  Abraham's opposition was further watered down by the message he left on the map for Rick.  Why oh why do people seem to have this desire to constantly uplift Rick?  It must be because of the desperate desire to have a White man lead them.  In the confrontation regarding Abraham leaving with Eugene, it was Glenn who showed the diplomacy skills to get the outcome the group wanted, yet Glenn is certainly not being considered for a position of leadership, anymore than Carol, who saved them all in the first episode. It is worth pointing out that this instance served as a form of character advancement for Glenn but it was buried in all of the blood and gore.

Bob died.  We all knew it was coming.  The Walking Dead simply had too many characters and being a Black man made Bob expendable as all hell. It irks me that Bob went out smiling and giving advice to the White guy like a wise Black man should.  Yes, Bob was right, the group needs to watch how far they push the limits in their desire to survive, but the circumstances under which he delivered his advice was absolutely problematic. Then of course, we had Bob thank Rick for showing him what goodness is?  At this point, The Walking Dead wasn't even being subtle in it's mission to assert Rick's right to lead and moral purity. We didn't really get to know much about Bob, other than the fact that he was the last member of several groups and that he was an alcoholic.

I suppose I am now meant to wonder what happened to Darryl and Carol but doing so means I must also consider Beth, who I was hoping had long ago become Walker food.