The Walking Dead - S5E14 - Spend

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Previously on The Walking Dead, ‘Forget’

Tempted by the Fruit

The cold open is Gabriel being Father Crazy Pants in the Alexandria church. He’s tearing pages out of the bible and eyeing a basket of apples like Satan himself set them there. And you know what? So much shit happens in this episode you totally forget about this until he shows up again later to start some shit.

Noah the Builder

Noah has an early morning breakfast meeting with Reg, who agrees to help Noah learn how to build things. First up? An ark. I kid. I kid.

He gives Noah his notebook and tells him it’s important to document everything. This scene gave me a Hershel vibe back when he was trying to tell Rick the importance of the group learning how to do things other than kill, like grow their own food. Also, it reminded me of Milton a.k.a Jack Tripper, who also stressed the importance of documenting everything as a part of their living history.

A group is headed out to get parts for the solar panels, because a few have stopped working. Although Eugene doesn’t want to go, he’s forced to so the group can be sure they’ve gotten the right items. The group is: Eugene, Tara, Noah, Glenn, Nicholas, and Aiden.

They take off in a Chester, Chester Child Molester van, blasting techno music because Aiden is an asshole.

Note: Anyone else notice these lyrics played just as the camera was on Noah, “You’re gonna die.” 

Someone has broken one of the owl sculptures in Jessie’s garage. Rick offers to investigate because 1. he doesn’t have shit else to do and 2. he wants in them drawers.

Later, Pete visits Rick with two beers and an astounding disregard for personal space. He tells Rick they’ve lost things, too. And he brings up Lori. Then he tells Rick he should let him examine the kids. Man. If you don’t get out of here with that bullshit. How about you let me see you ONE TIME when you’re not 1. drunk or 2. being fucking creepy, then MAYBE I’ll let you near my kids.

The Cookie Monster

Carol finds Sam lurking in her pantry so clearly she hasn’t scared his little ass enough. Now he gonna die over some fucking cookies. She manages to get rid of him, roughly, by agreeing to bake more cookies for him if he can swipe  chocolate.

He returns with two squares, and she bakes for him. He tries to strike up a convo and she’s all, “We ain’t friends, kid.” Eventually, Carol gets the impression something isn’t right in his household. You think? The kid is constantly scouring the neighborhood for cookies and he admitted he “breaks things” when he’s upset. His asking for a gun, but running away when she asks who’s it for, is another bright-ass red flag.

Later, Carol stops by Sam’s house and Pete answers the door. He won’t let her in to see Sam or Jessie, and we hear Jessie pleading with him before he closes the door in Carol’s face.

Safety First

Abraham goes on a run to get building supplies for a wall expansion at their community. After having a brief PTSD-ish moment (Really? Everyone has it?), he gets his shit together long enough to help out when walkers approach.

Note: The sign read, ‘Big Things Are Coming!’

A guy who was off “sending a fax to Cleveland” (a.k.a. “dropping the kids at the pool” “dropping a deuce” “taking a shit”), comes running with walkers on his tail.

A woman in their group, Francine, falls from her perch on a forklift and hurts her ankle. All of the Alexandria men are like, “Nice knowing you!,” after Tobin (from the armory last week when Carol was stealthily unlocking the window) orders them to fall back. All except Abraham because Abraham is a badass. He helps her into the forklift and remains outside to take on the walkers alone. That’s 50 Shades of Tyreese right there.

He shimmies under the forklift and takes out a few who try to follow him, then he passes his gun to Francine and instructs her to kill the ones who get close while he takes out others with a fucking mace he made out of pipe cleaner and tissue paper, cause he’s a badass; I done told you! Kidding. It was a mace-like item from the construction site.

One of the other Alexandria guys sees Abraham being not just a good man, but a good person, and feels properly ashamed. He gets back into the fight to help. When the smoke clears, Abraham jumps up Tobin’s ass and he’s all, “But… but that’s our system, right, Francine?” And Francine clocks him in his face. Fuck your system.

Abraham takes charge of the group and fires them up to use the three hours of daylight remaining to do what they came there for. Tobin heads back and tells Deanna what happened, and says Abraham should lead their group. Maggie vouches for Abraham.

When Deanna points out she has once again put one of theirs in a position of power and authority, and Maggie backs them up each time, Maggie counters, “That’s why you wanted us here. Because we know what we’re doing.”

I do not like the look on Deanna’s face when Maggie walks away.

Warehouse o’ Horrors

At the warehouse, Aiden actually listens to Glenn’s advice to do a perimeter check of the building before entering. While walking with Tara, Eugene once again laments how he’s pretty much a pussy and his getting them this far - even though he didn’t - is about as much as he’s going to pull his weight. So, they really need to stop expecting him to do anything that involves risking his life. Girl, when people tell you who they are…

Inside, the group makes a slow and steady sweep of the warehouse, which is pitch dark. They hear walkers, and Glenn correctly guesses they’re stopped by something. They find the walkers, at least ten, trapped in a cage. They split up to find the items they need because splitting up is always a good idea. Luckily, Tara and Eugene find the parts they need fairly quickly.

Not so luckily: Aiden tries to take down a walker in riot gear and doesn’t hear Glenn’s warning to stop. Aiden shoots a grenade attached to the walker’s vest and shit goes boom.

Aiden is impaled in two places, and presumed dead. Noah, Glenn, Nicholas, and Eugene are fine, but Tara is knocked out with a head wound and walkers are coming. Eugene comes thisclose to getting himself and Tara bitten, but Glenn and Noah come to the rescue. They make a run for an office, but they have a problem once inside: Aiden is still alive. Noah, Glenn, and Nicholas go for Aiden while Eugene assures them he will look after Tara, who is still unconscious. Not for nothing, but I wouldn’t trust Eugene to watch my sandwich. But they don’t really have a choice.

Eugene tells a knocked out Tara, “I told you I wasn’t shit! Now, this is on you,” and then carries her over his shoulder, shooting walkers as he goes. Well, would you look at that? Eugene’s balls dropped.

The others try to free Aiden, but it’s not going to work. Nicholas whispers to Aiden that they both left their group members who died, because that’s who they are. They’re punkass bitches, apparently. He apologizes before running away, practically tripping over the tail between his legs. The walkers are getting closer and Aiden knows they have to leave him. He whispers to Glenn that their four group members didn’t die because they did anything wrong - it was him and Dickless Nicholas who fucked up.

Glenn and Noah have to leave him and Aiden is eaten alive by walkers. That death was a smooth 30 seconds. I approve.

Now it’s Glenn, Noah, and Dickless Nicholas, forced to leave through the front, which they already knew was overrun, and the three get trapped in a revolving door, surrounded by walkers. Dickless is in his own wedge; Noah and Glenn share a wedge.

Eugene pulls a Merle and rolls up in the Free Candy van, blasting techno music, and lures a few walkers away.

Glenn devises a plan in which he will break out a pane of glass so they can put together the gun he has - which is empty - and the ammo Dickless Nicholas is carrying. But Nicholas panics and saves himself, leaving Noah exposed. Noah is pulled out and eaten as Glenn watches helplessly. And it is gruesome.

 

Nicholas runs up to the van and yells he and Eugene are leaving. Eugene gets out of the van, pockets the keys, and says he’s not going anywhere until he finds out what happened to the others. Eugene tries to fight Nicholas, but he’s no match. But it doesn’t matter because Glenn shows up and BEATS NICHOLAS’ ASS. But because Glenn is Glenn, he takes Nicholas with them.

I’d have left his raggedy-ass right there, but I’m petty and I hold grudges.

This Asshole

While Carol is telling Rick she thinks Pete beats his wife and possibly his kid, Gabriel visits Deanna. He warns her Rick’s group is dangerous and will turn on her. Maggie listens from the stairs, but doesn’t interrupt.

Man. He gotta go!

We hear Glenn and his group return, calling for help for Tara.

After Carol tells Rick her suspicions she tells him he needs to kill Pete. Rick looks at Carol like, “Oh, that was already on my to do list.”

Questions and Overall Thoughts: 

• Thanks to raggedy-ass Gabriel, Deanna is going to be highly suspicious of the events surrounding Aiden’s death. And Nicholas doesn’t strike me as the type who will be honest in the role he played.
• Wouldn’t it be great if Jessie is beating Sam, not Pete? I mean, not in terms of child abuse, but in terms of fuck Jessie and everything she stands for.
• Noah pleading with Glenn to “don’t let go” was heartbreaking. He didn’t deserve that.
• How cute were Tara and Noah before they got in the van? They really were a family.
• Rick was contemplating removing his wedding band in this episode.
• Daryl went out on his first recruitment run with Aaron. I still don’t see the point of a motorcycle… especially when you’re going out to bring people back. But really, you know Daryl gonna be like, “THIS is why I can’t leave y’all alone for a fucking minute.”

GIFs Photo Credit