Don't spoilers. Open inside.
Oh boy. This episode packs a wallop. I personally have enjoyed the last three or so episodes SO MUCH. However, getting a chance to see so many characters and move forward with their stories was a whirlwind this week and I can't tell you how excited I am about that.
We open the episode with Glenn and Tara being talked to death by Eugene. He's probably the most outspoken socially awkward character we've ever had on the show. We're not 15 seconds into the episode and I'm already laughing. He's prattling on about zombie dinosaurs and railroad penny batteries and I am so on board with liking him. He'd annoy the crap out of me in real life, but he's hilarious on the show. For reals.
We follow it up with a midnight meeting between Abraham and Tara. So far, the only thing that Abraham talks about is protecting Eugene and his mission, even this little exchange that's supposed to move Tara's story forward, so I'm just going to ignore everything that happens to him for the rest of the episode. It's not too important anyway.
By daybreak, Eugene is still talking. However, we find our first big happy of the episode: a letter to Glenn on a Terminus sign. It's not only signed by Maggie but also Sasha and Bob. The fact that Sasha and Bob stuck their names on the end still makes me want to cry with happiness. For a little guy, Glenn is Grease Lightening in full riot gear and a full pack bursting down the tracks at a full sprint. I'm gonna cry again. Damn.
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| If I could Photoshop flames coming from behind Glenn's boots, I absolutely would. |
There's a brief glimpse of Joe's group before we see Rick, Carl, and Michonne on the tracks. It's been so long since I've seen Rick and Carl that I'm actually glad to see them! Time has made my heart grow fonder. Michonne and Carl are betting to see who can stay on the railroad tracks the longest which Carl ends up winning. They're smiling. Again. If you try to tell me that they are not a family and Rick and Michonne won't end up together than you're lying to both of us.
Flashing back to Daryl, we see him tracking a rabbit that ends up causing a fight with a member of Joe's group. We get Joe's rules of life including the concept of "claim", which Daryl is not too happy about. I immediately flashed back to the episode entitled "Claimed". Turns out it wasn't any of the episodes with Beth and Daryl, but the one where Tara and Glenn end up hours away by truck while Rick's group loses their house to Joe's. I guess it's fitting that Joe's group "claimed" the house, but it's a weak connection. Moving on!
Back at Glenn's group, Abraham gets a good line out when he insists they rest: "Tired is slow. Slow is dead." Words to live and die by. When "trust fall walker" takes a dive off the building they wanted to rest in, Tara gets her knee hurt diving out of the way. While Rosita may be protective of Tara, the rest clearly aren't. This brings up a good point, even if Abraham is the one who said it. If she says she can walk, she can walk. Don't tell people you're fine when you're not in this world. They don't have the luxury of not taking you at your word when it comes to your own health. Plus, Glenn's trying to work through his anger at her group for attacking the prison. Comparatively speaking, he's doing a damn good job of it as he hasn't flipped out on her or anything, but he can't afford to coddle this chick when he's got proof that his wife and family is alive. Her knee can wait. Glenn gives his riot gear to Eugene in exchange for them to keep walking.
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| I believe I can fly... |
Meanwhile, Joe has a hard on for Daryl. Okay, granted, part of that is because he needs a group of rough boys to live and they don't have to like each other, but I really think he's got some kind of tough guy yen for our boy Dixon. Joe even follows his own code, kind of to the exact sloppy letter, and lets his boys beat one of the guys to death for lying about planting the ear-end of a rabbit in Daryl's bag.
"Ain't nothing sadder than an outdoor cat thinks he's an indoor cat." - Joe
As a cat owner, I would vehemently disagree. It's the other way around, trust me. My pussy cats think they can take on the world and it's cute, but also really sad. You know what else is sad? Daryl not covering up the idiot who got killed over losing the ass-end of a rabbit. You have been domesticated you damn idiot and it's too late to start arguing the point.
If you watched the Talking Dead episode after the show, someone asked why Daryl stayed with that group and Steven Yeun said that Daryl needed a group. I can agree with that. He obviously can't find Beth and he's got no clue how to pick up her trail again. Then he's confronted by a whole group of Merle's. He's dealt with assholes like this his entire life - he was an asshole like this. I think it's almost comforting to him until he realizes he's an indoor cat now. So he's going to go to Terminus with them because what else can he do? Plus, if those signs are up, chances are a lot of people have seen them. Maybe even a driver with Beth-shaped cargo.
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| "I like cats. They're vicious creatures." Joe's words to live by. |
Now I'm going to break my own rule of not talking about Abraham a second time because sometimes (occasionally [rarely]) he makes decent points. Glenn is gung-ho about entering a long dark tunnel full of reanimated corpses that they can clearly hear growling away inside. Now, Glenn is on my dream team. He's one of my top three people for who I want with me when the world ends. And he is about to do a totally insane thing. He's stupid brave, but this is just stupid, especially when his only backup is a flashlight and a gimpy Tara. So Abraham tells him to do the smart thing and go around. It would only take a day and he already knows Maggie is probably still alive. But no. This is The Walking Dead we're watching and we rarely do the smart thing.
We also get to see Eugene shine again.
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| How do you get your mullet so perfectly flat on top? I ask the hard questions. |
Eugene "I have to say that you are seriously hot Tara."
Tara "I like girls."
Eugene "I'm well aware of that."
After the episode, Josh McDermitt, the guy who plays Eugene, said that he thinks Eugene didn't know and was trying to cover it up. I like to think he did know and did not give a single fuck. And you know what, it's the end of the world! A girl's feeling pretty grimy at this point and someone telling you you're hot can make your day. Especially as that day is going to take you into an obviously dangerous situation. Thanks Eugene.
Inside the tunnel there's been a cave-in and walkers are sticking out of rocks every which way. It's creepy, but at least they can't chase. As Glenn moves forward you can just make out what he's doing: checking their faces to make sure they're not Maggie. Just like Maggie did in the bus. I might be crying a little again. He climbs up to find about a dozen walkers on the other side - too many for them to take on. Should they go back and go around? Yes. Do they? I think we already know the answer to this.
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| I can see my house from here! |
Here comes the Calvary! A whole lot of machine guns take out the small herd. I figured Maggie was in the group, but I thought maybe the rest were Terminus people. Turns out Eugene used his amazing navigational skills to land the Abraham group on the tracks so they could wait for Glenn and Tara to make it out of the tunnel. They ran into Maggie's group and went in to get him.
I'm just... really happy about this.
Reunion time! Glenn introduces Tara as a survivor he met on the road, because he is a good boy with a good heart and GLENN FOR PRESIDENT! Glenn and Maggie are back together and it's wonderful. But she burns the picture he took of her. Seriously babe, you don't look that bad in it. I don't care about your "you'll never need a picture of me again" speech, let him keep the damn picture! Also, the second she said it my heart seized up because now she's going to die. This is TWD. She's dead now. Called it. However, for this second I'm proud that she's the one who thought to cave in the ceiling. That's my girl!
Eugene pulls his "I'm smarter" card and decides to stick with Glenn. Good choice. They manage to find Terminus in the end. Tell me that doesn't look like a death camp with a front garden. Totally empty except for one woman who is way too calm and friendly? It's a cult guys. That plate she's going to fix you is filled with bits of human intestines. They eat people.
Seriously, I think they eat people.
Predictions for next episode: I'm disappointed before we even start because the only people we saw in the promos are Rick, Carl, and Michonne. So we're back to that again? It was mentioned in this episode that only one of Joe's group saw Rick, but one's all it takes. Since they're all headed in the same direction, and we know that Joe's group is directly behind Rick's, I bet they'll meet up. Cue someone noticing Rick and all hell breaking loose. We also saw Rick's hand covered in blood in the promo. He's gonna have to kill a bitch.
I also think they'll make it to Terminus. That'll give us almost all our main characters back in the same place. I also don't think we'll get to see what happens to Beth until next season. Beth! Where are you?!
"I'm formally requesting a straight up do over on that one."
That quote has nothing to do with my predictions, but it's kinda how I feel about half the things that happen on TWD. Also, Eugene is my favorite new character of the season.
