The Walking Dead: Season 5 Episode 10 - Them

Hello everyone and welcome back to The Walking Dead!  I haven't been checking the pulse on the inter webs, but I can imagine there might start being some complainers of the beginning of this 2nd half of the season.  We've had 2 fairly slow paced episodes in a row.  While they were slow, they've had their fair share of interesting character moments.  And they're doing a good job of showing the toll that this way of life could potentially take on a person, group of people, or civilization.  So, I'd probably chalk this episode up as "not my favorite" but probably a necessary building block towards what's ahead.  A well made episode of television, but probably not one I'm going to have a lot to discuss!  Let's dive in! 

Discussion Points

• The crew is enroute to Washington D.C. and they are tired, dehydrated and hungry.  They're 60 miles from D.C. and 3 weeks out of Atlanta.  The team is still reeling from the current blows they've had with the loss of Beth and Tyreese.  
• The episode focuses on the coping mechanisms of Daryl, Maggie and Sasha.  Daryl puts up the hard exterior and Carol tells him he's going to need to let this affect him to get over it.  Carol states she's the opposite and has to push it out.  Eventually we do see Daryl break off from the group, sit down and have a good cry.  
• Maggie seems to go through a period of giving up.  She can't even bring herself to kill a walker that was bound and gagged in the trunk of a car.  (I can't help feel like stuff like this and the dismembered bodies from last week are foreshadowing for a group of people they may run into soon.  I mean, aren't we mean to question why she was tied up like that?   I guess it's possible she was bitten, and they couldn't bring themselves to kill her so they tied her up in the trunk and left her for dead.  But, I'll choose theory A for now!)  
• We finally did get some background to why the sudden emotional changes happened with Maggie in regards to Beth.  Maggie pretty much thought Beth died after the prison invasion.  If we can think all the way back to that last season, Maggie focused all her efforts on saving Glenn.  She had probably already mourned for Beth privately during this period.  But, then she found out Beth was still alive and lost her on the same day and that destroyed her.  
• Sasha, meanwhile, became a liability in the aftermath of losing Tyreese.  In their weak state, Rick came up with the plan to wait until they have some kind of advantage or high ground before taking on the walker herd behind them.   They got to a small bridge/overpass in the road and waited to trick the walkers into falling.  But Sasha couldn't stick with the plan and started angrily taking out the walkers.  This of course led to an all out brawl.  The best moment was when Rick almost got bit and Daryl ripped the forehead off of the walker with his bare hands.  They keep finding new ways to kill these things! 
• Sasha also shot a bunch of dogs with a silenced automatic.  While this didn't seem to be how Rick would've handled it she accidentally resolved their food issues.  They all chowed down on some mutt for dinner.  I wondered if this was sort of showing them going down the path of desperation and maybe showing some sympathy for their captors earlier this season in Terminus.  Sympathy is probably the wrong word, but it kind of shows how people could resort to eating people in desperate times.  
• There were some minor character events too.  Gabriel was still struggling with his new way of life and Maggie made no secret that she isn't thrilled with how he's survived by turning away his flock.  He commented on his collar bothering him, and there was the symbolic moment of him throwing the priest collar into the fire before taking a bite of dog.  
• Abraham still doesn't look happy about losing his one mission that made sense with getting Eugene to D.C.   They found a bottle of booze and he has drank most of it on his own.  He tried to let Sasha know that she's among friends, and she disagreed.  This tight knit group has faced some adversity lately and they're not doing too well as a whole.  
• There was discussion about feeling sorry for the children that have to grow up during this era (i.e. Judith and Carl).   I forget who said it, but they said if this is really all they know it's actually easier for them than the rest who are fighting to restore their yesterdays.  
• Eventually they stumbled upon a pile of bottles of water with a note that says "From a Friend". They all look skeptical at it before Eugene tries to dive right in.  Abraham knocks the water away and they all refuse to drink it.  Moments after the skies open up and it begins to rain.  The whole group is ecstatic and start to open their containers to collect the water.  But, the storm is rolling in and they need shelter.  
• Fortunately, Daryl's crying time out allowed him to find a barn.  The team cleared the barn out and they stayed in there for shelter.  Maggie and Sasha distanced themselves from the group and Rick told a story about his grandfather in World War II.  The moral of the story is that the way he coped with war was that he told himself he was dead every morning before going to battle so he could get in the right mindset for war.  But he survived the war and eventually returned to a normal life.  It didn't take a genius to figure out Rick was comparing this to their current struggles.  He says this is how they have to be to survive.  And then he did what the whole world has done in their essays since the comic and show have started....he referred to THEMSELVES as The Walking Dead.  whoaaaaa that's the first time they've said the name of the show on the show!!!  SO META!!!!  
• What followed was the most ridiculous exchange of dialogue on television.  Daryl stood up and said, "no we're not them" (indicating they're not walkers).  The Rick reassured him, "no we're NOT them."  And then Daryl disputed by saying, "we're not them!"  and stormed off.  HUH??? I just didn't find the scene very necessary except to put Daryl in the right position for the incoming walker herd.  And I just laughed at the minimal exchange of words and Rick pretty much immediately having to defend his inspirational speech by disregarding what he said.  Good times!  (And I know Rick was just attempting to clarify not throwing away his speech.  But think about if someone disputed Jack's "Life Together Die Alone" speech right after he got done with it?  Like, "ummm no I'm not living with that dude over there!  He smells!"  You just kind of have to sit there and be like, dude, don't be that guy.)
• Anyway, Daryl brooded over to the door and through the lighting he saw flashes of a coming walker herd.  He pushed on that door.  Good thing Maggie was close to the door too so she helped push too.  Then Sasha then everyone worked together to keep those biters out.  Carl even put poor Judith on the muddy ground to help out.   They made it through the night! 
• Daryl and Maggie did some bonding about Beth.  And Daryl fixed a music box that Carl had found and gave to Maggie.  This made her day and then she decided to take Sasha outside so that they could cope and move on together.   Maggie discussed with Sasha how it's painful to know that they're going to make it.  Maggie pretty much has guaranteed she will not die on The Walking Dead.  Not sure if that's a good indication or a bad indication of what's to come!  But judging by her popularity, I'm sure she's not going anywhere soon.  She tried to play the music box and then it wouldn't again.  Well that figures! 
• Then, a strange man shows up calling himself a friend.  He calls himself Aaron and understood why there were guns pointed at him.  We can assume this is the man that provided the water.  Then he did something creepy and asked them to take him to their leader.  And he said the name RICK.  Uh oh...they have a stalker!   He says he brings good news.  Do we trust him?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  The immediate thoughts I have are on what we've seen the past couple of episodes.  The dismembered bodies, the bound and gagged woman in the trunk nearby.  Maybe this guy will turn out to be a friend in the long run, but they have every right to not trust him now.  Guess we'll find out soon what his good news is! 

And that my friends, is where I leave you this week.  As always, I found more to discuss than I thought I would.  Let's see how many ways we can debate in the comments how they really ARE the Walking Dead, but then argue that they aren't!  I think we'll get to some pretty interesting and deep conversations about life, the universe and everything!  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week!