Monday, October 27, 2014

The Walking Dead: Season 5 Episode 3 - Four Walls and a Roof


Hello friends and welcome back to our coverage of The Walking Dead!  I was able to squeeze in the episode late last night but it's safe to say that I'm still working on this work/life/blogging balance with 2 kiddos under 3 needing my prioritized attention!  That said, no need for a big preamble here.  The episode was pretty awesome, so let's just dive into the discussion.



Discussion Points
  • Well I tried to discuss the devil's advocate position last week, but we all speculated that maybe Bob was actually bit by a walker last week.  After a terrifying monologue by Gareth about his choice human meats and how it's not personal, Bob got a laugh in by letting them know they're all eating tainted meat.  He was indeed bit in the shoulder and the clock was ticking.  Nothing much really came out of this as we don't know if eating the cooked leg of someone who was bitten by a walker would really impact anyone (since everyone is infected anyway). But Bob certainly got a good laugh out of it and also go the reaction he wanted by them all puking up their dinner.  Plus, on Talking Dead, they confirmed that scene (with different characters) was in the comic as well.  
  • There was a bit of panic back at the camp as 3 of their people disappeared in the middle of the night.  We found out that the hunters were keeping their eye on Daryl and Carol too and saw them drive off.  I wasn't sure if they were implying that the car with the cross on it is related to them, but it seems like we'll find out soon enough.  Of course, the hunters/termites left Bob at the foot of the church and with it a bunch of questions about what their next move was.  (I liked that they painted an A on the church reflecting the A Train that they were all captured in at Terminus).    
  • Abraham was getting a little antsy and wanted to extract Eugene as soon as possible.  D.C. is the priority.  It led to some high levels of testosterone between him and Rick.  Long story short, to avoid all of this Glenn, Maggie and Tara agreed to go with Abraham, Rosita and Eugene to D.C.   All they asked for was 12 hours.  I had to laugh when Tara volunteered to go first.  I was thinking, "What exactly do you think that buys Abraham??!"  But it led to him getting a reluctant Glenn and Maggie too. 
  • Father Gabriel also was forced to come clean on what he had done.  And kudos to commenter Leslie whose boyfriend figured it out last week!  Made sense right when I read it, but didn't really think it through myself.  Basically, he locked the doors and didn't let his congregation into the church and he watched them all get eaten by walkers.  Ouch!  But, if you're still alive at this stage in the game, you gotta have some story for how you survived.  It benefitted our band of survivors that he did that because they had shelter and food for the time being.    
  • So obviously there was the crazy tense showdown in the church.   Rick had come up with a ballsy plan.  We had to guess that they wouldn't be stupid enough to bring the attack to them as Gareth proved smart enough to not just be sitting there waiting for them.  But we were told it was a 10 minute walk there, so if they actually did leave Gareth had 20 minutes to take over at the church.  It was so creepy how he knew EXACTLY who was in the church.  But, they took their inventory at Terminus and they watched who left.  Rosita and Carl were the only ones armed in that back room with Judith, Bob, Gabriel, Tyreese (he might have had that knife that Sasha gave him) and Eugene.  Gareth slowly did the roll call and discussed how they were armed and there was no way out.
  • As soon as all hope was feared lost and Judith let out a cry, silenced gunshots came from the darkness and shot off Gareth's fingers. YEAH RICK!!!  Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, Sasha and Abraham surrounded the hunters leading to Rick's triumphant stand-off with Gareth.  Gareth talked about how they were good people and how Rick still doesn't know what it feels like to be as hungry as they were.  He tried his best to negotiate an escape, but Rick had his promise to keep.  It was a great bit of plotting from the season premiere on that he promised to use the machete with the red handle to kill Gareth.  And he certainly did in brutal fashion!  All of the hunters were slaughtered in the church which was no longer deemed a house of God, but just 4 walls and a roof.   RIP Termites!  I'll admit it, I was hoping for a longer arc with Gareth.  He played that role really well and he could've been a great opponent for Rick throughout the season.  But, clearly this show is on a warpath to keep moving, as opposed to seasons in the past where they stayed in one spot.  
  • Obviously, everything surrounding Bob's demise was sad.  Sasha wanting revenge on the Termites, Tyreese telling her to spend these final moments with him, Bob not getting to tell the positive perspective of the situation one last time, and of course Tyreese taking the knife from Sasha to finish him off.  RIP Bob Stookey.  I mean we had to see it coming, right?  There probably some unwritten rule that they can't have more than 2 members of The Wire on the show at one time for too long!  
  • Oh right, I forgot to mention Michonne got her sword back!  WOO HOO!   Speaking of Michonne, she was on watch in the final moments of the show when she heard something in the woods.  She went to check it out and was relieved to see Daryl, but only Daryl.   She asked where Carol was and Daryl yelled for someone to come out.  EPISODE OVER! 
Now, I'm not going to claim to be a genius or anything, but I would suggest that next week's episode will fill in the parallel timeline adventure of Daryl and Carol and will cap off with Daryl and whoever showing back up at the woods.  Maybe we'll even go back even further to that and see what happened to Beth from the minute she was captured on.   Could you imagine the powerfulness of a Beth-centric episode?!  If they ever wanted to do a musical episode of The Walking Dead, this would be their chance!  (You guys can hear the sarcasm in this typing right?)   Whatever they decide, I'm sure it would be good.  Scott Gimple is on a roll with this show and I look forward to it every week!  

Hope you enjoyed these brief ramblings and I look forward to yours in the comments.  See you next week, hopefully!  

14 comments:

MJ said...

Wow - knew Bob was a goner but that was hard to watch. I could not help myself and cried. then almost cried again when they all split up ! Didn't they just say last week they stay together !! I understand Abraham need to get back on the road with Eugene but he should have taken another couple of days to help them find their friends.

So who is with Daryl? Obviously not just Carol - that would not be surprising. So Beth - or a new friend.

I was one of the biggest complainers about the farm being so dull but I do wish we spent more time at Terminus. I def wanted mre Gareth time. He was a very interesting character.

Interesting that they were going to take Carol but her and Daryl went after that car. So the hunters left terminus themselves pretty quickly. I don't think the hunters and the car with the cross are related though.

Finally had Judith crying out at the wrong time. And I was thrilled to get that Katana back.

Mike V. said...

I guess the thinking is if they stay another couple days they could be dead. Granted, do we really think they'll get to DC? The show never leaves Atlanta. I don't know for sure in the comics if they do, but I just assumed they don't.

Could be Morgan with Daryl? Probably not but maybe. I forgot to note that Gareth talked about following the signs they left to get back....I wonder if those are the signs Morgan was following?

Yeah, the farm was dull in comparison even if I did think they did some good character work there. Of course, character work with limited actors doesn't always get you places. I think what the show has really done well over the seasons is basically RECAST the show. The crew we're following now is pretty entertaining.

I didn't think they were related...I just wasn't sure. (Carol/Hunters/car with cross)

Judith crying at the wrong time - yep...at least that's what we were led to believe. Might have been all part of Rick's plan to catch them off-guard. lol

Plumbarius said...

I commented last week about them eating infected meat but forgot they were technically infected already....can you cook the virus away? (Waiter, make mine well done!)

Nice job with Bob's ending....love how Rick and the crew came back and took out the goons near the door with silencers. I wish Gareth could have stayed and terrorized the gang for another episode or two. He was pretty funny on TTD, seems like he took his role and ran with it!

I have a feeling that Daryl has Beth with him and Carol went in another direction after the rescue? I didn't consider Morgan as a possibility behind Daryl but that would be pretty cool and a nice "free agent" pickup for the group.

I was a little surprised by Glen and Maggie's reactions to the slaughter, considering what happened to them at the hands of the Governor.

Great episode, great season....I have no idea what's in store since I haven't read the comics but I'm pretty pumped about the future....even my wife, who normally hates these types of shows is getting into it!

Mike V. said...

@Plubarius - My wife had no interest in watching this show when she heard the topic...but I put it on 4 years ago with her in the room....she has been hooked ever since and I think it's one of her favorite shows! lol

Yeah...i forgot about them already being infected too. But, still we know a bite accelerates the virus so why wouldn't eating "accelerated" meat?? lol

Yeah, Gareth was pretty awesome. Definitely wanted more of him too.

EW has an article over possible suspects of who is with Daryl. They think Carol and Beth are both too obvious...and Morgan seems more like a long-arc player that probably won't show up just yet. So it could be yet another comic-character that none of us know about since we haven't read it! lol

Glenn and Maggie's reaction...well Glenn wasn't a big fan of killing the living in the premiere either. Scary times for Glenn and Maggie...and I hope they aren't going anywhere! I think i said it was Sasha that said the 4 walls and a roof line...but it might have been Maggie. I don't think she had any questions about what had to be done.

I'm pumped for the rest of the season too!

Rob UK said...

No idea what's gonna happen - just uncomfortable about the splitting up again after spending all of season 4 to get back together! Maybe the pay off will be more reunions!

I think it was a bit of a mistake to try heading to DC without Rick!

Ah who knows what'll happen - time will tell!

I felt physically sick at what the Termites did to Bob last week, I am glad they got their punishment, they were just beyond redemption!

Wonder what horrors lie ahead, at least we know it won't be Termites, I'm glad in a way I was dreading several episodes of regular characters being picked off and the rest terrorized!

RIP Bob!

Mike V. said...

@Rob - I hear ya....but to be fair it was only the 2nd half of season 4 that they were apart. The first half was the whole virus at the prison capped off by The Governor invasion. I'm sure this season will be split into 8 episode story arcs too. I just can't imagine Abraham and crew are actually going to make it to D.C. Who knows? they may run into Carol or Beth or someone out there and get stuck in Georgia for some reason.

I agree that the Termites were pretty sick individuals...Of course, with the swiftness that the show got rid of them...it makes me wonder what other kind of twisted villains they have in store for us. lol

Plumbarius said...

@Mike V
Watched it again last night and it was Maggie with the "four walls and a roof" quote

Great job with this blog! Do you find this easier than doing the LOST blog back in the day?

MJ said...

So is that really all there is to the priest ? He ignored cries for help and kept himself locked in ?

Big discussion in my office is of course who is with Daryl. Why would Daryl have to tell Carol or Morgan that it's ok to come out now ? Neither would let someone else take the lead for them - not their personality. That leaves Beth. Unless it's Beth and Carol and Carol is helping Beth so let Daryl go ahead to check things out ?? Awesome of course that Rick used the machete that he promised Gareth he'd kill him with.

Ok - will catch up on all your comments now - crazy at work today !

Mike V. said...

Thanks Plumbarius! This blog is MUCH easier than the LOST blog was. Mainly because I just don't put as much time into it. Maybe the Fringe recaps came as close to my LOST recaps in terms of content and pictures (screenshots took the longest amount of time!). I'm just at a different phase of life with being married and with 2 kids that there's not enough time in the day to put all of that into the recaps. That and I don't think I've felt the same passion for shows that I felt for LOST. I'm sure that's an age thing too! I had the time to make LOST my passion, so I did. lol

@MJ - I'm sure you'll see in the comments, but I think it could be someone completely different than Carol, Beth or Morgan. And it won't make sense until we see the backstory of where Daryl and Carol and Beth have been. That's what I'm guessing will happen next week. Kinda like a "The Other 48 Days" episode of LOST season 2 where we got caught up on the Tailies. (but on a much smaller scale lol)

mj said...

Intriguing thought that could be a stranger with Daryl. Lol on the tailies

MJ said...

Ah - the signs. I thought the Hunter signs were like slashes. Didn't see more X in circle.

Mike V. said...

Ah, I didn't even see the Hunter's markings on the trees. But, I'm sure there could be multiple sets of trackings out in the woods. That would make sense. There certainly are more bands of "living" people around!

Leslie said...

At least Bob got the last laugh with those guys!

Well, duh, I didn’t get the significance of the A on the church.

I’m agree with MJ….Abraham could have waited a day or two, and why did Glenn and Maggie decide to go after just saying last week they were gonna stay together from now on? So, they fixed that bus, but gas has to be scarce. How far can they get anyway?

The whole thing with Bob was emotional. We saw a vengeful side of Sasha we hadn’t seen before. I’m glad Tyreese came in to take care of Bob so Sasha wouldn’t have to.

That massacre in the church was brutal! I think I had the same look on my face as Glenn and Maggie. lol

I’m thinking it’s someone new with Daryl. Beth or Morgan seem too easy.

Just a thought about you guys mentioning your wives watching……when I first met my boyfriend almost a year ago now, I learned that he wasn’t into watching TV series as much as he was movies, but TWD was the first show we had in common. I knew there was hope then! LOL!

Leslie said...

**meant I agree