“Look at the Flowers” and Other Poignant Moments from The Walking Dead

With season 5 of AMC’s The Walking Dead off to a thrilling start, I thought it would be fun to look back at some of the shocking moments of the series.  This list is by no means exhaustive; there are many such moments and these are just a few.

Lizzie brought us so many gasp! moments. My personal favorites are when she killed her own sister to turn her into a Walker, and when Carol killed Lizzie for killing her sister.  “Look at the flowers,” Carol had said. Goosebumps.  Every time.

I’ll never be able to think of the Fox show Bob’s Burgers now without thinking of the Bob-B-Q with Gareth.  To add insult to Bob’s injury, Gareth even tells Bob that he “tastes better than the expected.”  Of course, Bob gets his revenge by screaming “tainted meat” in the following episode….

Rick’s transformation was complete as soon as he bit into that guy’s neck to save Carl. While he made good on his promise to kill Gareth with the machete, this was not so much a shock so much as confirmation that Rick is back.  It took that moment of complete desperation to trigger the transformation. 

When Lori died it was up to Carl to keep her from turning.  As hard as it was for him, he knew he had to do it.  I believe that this led to the sense of duty he has now.

What are some of your favorite shocking moments from The Walking Dead?

The Walking Dead Recap S5E3: Four Walls and a Roof

The Walking Dead S5E3: Four Walls and a Roof

Original Airdate: October 26, 2014

Recap by Sarabeth Pollock

 

“A man’s gotta eat.”  Now infamous words.  Did anyone BBQ over the weekend?

Gareth continues to educate Bob on their ways.  He’s standing in front of a glass wall and beyond the glass there is a tone of Walkers.  He explains that his mom told him you celebrate every day you’re above ground.  They marked their way so they can go back, but now there’s nothing to go back to.  They were going to offer the group a choice between joining them or being their food.  Gareth continues and says that he thinks that women taste better.  His brother Alex almost caught Carol, who killed his mom.  His brother is also dead.  Gareth is looking forward to eating Carol.  Gareth tells Bob that he’s being a human being because he’s talking to him.  Perspective.  As Bob laughs at his predicament, Gareth’s group circles near.  Bob can’t stop laughing.  He pulls back his shirt to reveal that he has been bitten.  The group quickly starts spitting up their food while Gareth tries to convince them that the meat is fine because they cooked it.  “Tainted meat!” Bob screams.  Gareth kicks him so that Bob falls to the ground, unconscious.

Sasha is walking through the woods looking for Bob.  She sees the marks on the trees, and she hears a Walker nearby.  There are two of them, actually, and she takes one down before being overtaken.  Tyreese and Rick come to her aid, and she tells them that she saw someone watching her.  He’s getting away.  Rick tells her Carol and Daryl are gone as well.

Back at the church, Sasha confronts Gabriel.  She says everything is connected, and that he appeared and now three of their people are missing.  He steadfastly maintains that he’s not involved with any of it.  Rick steps in and says that he saw the writing on the walls.  “You’ll burn for this.”  Gabriel breaks down and says he always locked the doors at night.  In the beginning, after Atlanta was bombed, his parish came to the church seeking refuge.  He heard them, but there were so many of them.  Entire families were outside, but he didn’t open the doors and they called his name while they were torn apart by the Walkers.  He says he buried them all.  He thinks the Lord sent Rick’s group to punish him.  “I’m damned,” he sobs.  He falls to the floor and sobs, clearly a broken man.  Suddenly Glen hears a whistle outside the church.  He sees someone lying in the grass.  They run outside and find Bob there, unconscious.  There are Walkers everywhere.  Sasha breaks down at the sight of him.  Glen calls for her to bring him inside while they kill the Walkers.  Rick takes a few shots into the darkness.  He knows they’re in trouble.

Bob wakes up and tells everyone that he was knocked out in the graveyard and when he came to he was in a schoolyard.  Gareth was bragging about eating him alive, “Like they had it all figured out.”  Rick asks about Daryl and Carol but Bob replies that Gareth says they drove away.  He reveals his bitten shoulder.  Gabriel offers up his couch to the dying man.  Sasha smiles at him in gratitude.  Abraham announces that it’s time to go to Washington.  He fixed the truck and says that they need to move because there is a threat out there.  He orders the group to go, now.  Glen tries to reason with him and says they need to wait for Carol, who saved his life.  Abraham says they are leaving.  Eugene doesn’t want to go, but finally agrees under duress.  Glen begs for another day and promises that he and Maggie will go with them if they wait.  They need to work together to make this all work out.  Abraham agrees to 12 hours, then it’s “taillights.”

Bob tells Sasha that the pain from his leg took away the pain from his shoulder.  She asks why he didn’t tell her.  He’s convinced that had he said something, everything would be about the “end” but he liked the beginning with her, and the middle.  He doesn’t want to focus on the end.

Tyreese sits and listens as Rick says that Gareth’s group might be watching, but they know where they are hiding.  They made a big move, and now they need a bigger move.  Rick asks if Tyreese is up for a big move.  Sasha wants to go, too.  She returns to see Bob, and Tyreese goes in and tells her that he wishes he had this time with Karen before she died.  Sasha asks if he remembers how he felt when she died and what he wanted to do.  Tyreese says that his anger made him block the need for forgiveness.  The only thing Bob will want is to see her sitting there.  Sasha hands her knife to Tyreese and says that Bob would want the knife through his temple the moment he stops breathing.

Half of the group leaves while the other half stays locked in the office with Bob.  Meanwhile, the glass at the school is about to break, and that means a herd of Walkers will be unleashed.  Slowly but surely Gareth’s group makes they way to the church.  He signals to the members of his group to move slowly.  They try the door and manage to break it open.  They go inside and it’s pitch black.  Gareth calls out to them, pointing out that they know they’re in there.  They have been watching.  They know who is inside, and he starts naming off the people inside.  Carl stands in the office with the gun pointed at the door.  Gareth names exactly who is inside, down to baby Judith.  He tells them to come out.  They have a choice between two doors.  (Easter Egg: the Bible passages refer to scenes where the dead rise and walk again)  Gareth offers an opportunity for the priest to take Judith and leave.  But Judith starts crying, which alerts Gareth’s group.  Gareth smiles.  He might keep Judith.  She’s helpful.

The gang has their guns pointed at the door.  They’re about to go in when two of Gareth’s men are shot in the head.  Gareth threatens to blow the door, but Rick shoots him in the hand.  Martin (the guy Tyreese beat up) doesn’t want to surrender, but Abraham is beside him with a gun to his head.  Rick tells Gareth they didn’t want to waste the bullets on them.  Gareth tries to reason with him, saying that they used to help people but things went bad.  They were hungry.  He can tell that Rick has never known hunger.  Gareth says Rick doesn’t have to do this.  They can walk away and never see each other again.  Rick knows that they will continue to kill other people.  Besides, he had a promise to uphold.  He took the knife that Gareth almost killed him with and plunges it into Gareth’s head.  The rest of the gang kills the other members of Gareth’s group, but no shots are fired.  They do this job by hand.  When they finish, Rick stands back and reminds everyone that this could have been them.  And Gareth would have killed them.  Michonne retrieves her blade from the body of one of the men.  The four bodies lie on the floor and the altar is covered in blood.  Gabriel walks in and sees it.  In a shaky voice he says that this is the Lord’s house.  “It’s just four walls and a roof,” Maggie replies.

The gang lines up to say goodbye to Bob.  Maggie says he’s always be a part of them.  As they leave, Bob calls for Rick and asks him to keep Judith.  He wants to thank Rick because before the prison he didn’t know if any good people were left, but Rick took him in.  He says that days shouldn’t end who you are.  “And that’s just a dead man’s opinion.”  “We’ll take it.”  He tells Rick to look at Judith and tell him that the world isn’t going to change.

Bob smiles peacefully.  When he wakes up, he’s still smiling.  Sasha is there and he tells her that he’s smiling because she was smiling at him in the dream.  She wants to know what good is coming from the bad.  Before he can reply, he stops breathing.  Sasha starts crying, knowing what she has to do.  She grabs her knife.  Tyreese comes in and asks for the knife.  She hands it over gratefully.  Tyreese turns back to the couch and gently grabs Bob’s head.  He slides the knife into Bob’s temple just as gently.  There is a carving of the Last Supper above.

Abraham gives Rick a copy of their route map.  He says that Eugene will work his magic in DC, and Rick’s group should be there for it.  Abraham starts the bus and away they go, leaving Rick, Carl, Judith, Tyreese, Sasha, Gabriel and Michonne.  Rick looks at the map and there’s a message from Abraham: “Sorry I was an asshole.  Come to Washington DC. The New World’s gonna need Rick Grimes.”

Rick helps Tyreese dig graves for the Terminus folk.  He asks Tyreese about his trip to Terminus.  Tyreese says telling the story will kill him.  “No, it won’t,” Rick assures him.

Michonne is keeping watch outside that night.  Gabriel comes outside and tells her that he can’t sleep.  It’s not because of the night before.  He sees all of it.  She says that will happen, but in time it will fade.  Suddenly there is a noise.  Michonne approaches the woods. Daryl steps out.  Michonne smiles, then asks about Carol.  “Come on out,” he says.

End of the episode.

So.  A lot happened tonight.  Gareth is dead, the gang split up and there are a ton of Walkers in the school nearby.  And Daryl seems to be back.

What did you think?  And it looks like next week we get to see what happened with Beth.

Leave your comments below!

The Walking Dead Recap S5E2: Strangers

The Walking Dead S5E2: Strangers

Original Airdate: October 19, 2014

Recap by Sarabeth Pollock

 

Terminus burns in the distance.  Rick and his crew carry the bag of munitions through the forest.  They feed Judith.  Maggie and Glen kiss.  Tara introduces herself to Rick and they make amends.  He knows that she didn’t want to be with the Governor.  Since she saved Glen’s life, they are cool.  They exchange fist bumps.  All is well.

Rick leads the way as they walk through the woods.  Tyreese and Carol fill water bottles.  Tyreese asks if the others know what she did back at the prison.  He doesn’t want to tell them about the girls.  He needs to forget that whole incident.

Their numbers have grown now that Abraham’s group is with them.

A Walker approaches and Michonne goes for the sword, but it’s gone.  She kills it with the butt of her gun.  Abraham watches, and as he passes Rosita he tells her that “this” is the reason they have to wait for their moment.  Moment for what?

Later that night, Carol gives Rick another watch to make up for the one he gave her.  He still doesn’t agree with what she did back at the prison, but he knows he sent her away, and now his group is joining her.  She says it proved to her that she can survive.  He asks if they can join her.  She says yes.

Carol sits with Daryl and says she can’t talk about it, and then she uses Tyreese’s lines and says she needs to forget what happened.  Daryl accepts this.  The sound of a possible Walker approaching startles them, but he decides that there’s nothing there.  He’s wrong about that, though.

The next day, Rick, Carl and Michonne are out on patrol.  They come across Daryl, who “surrenders” with his squirrel booty.  Daryl said there is no sign of anyone watching them, nor were there any tracks.  Abraham asks if they will soon return to the road, and Rick agrees.  Sasha and Bob exchange a kiss, which makes brother Tyreese laugh at his sister.

Suddenly they hear a man crying for help.  Carl urges the group to go to his aid.  They find a priest on a rock being attacked by Walkers.  As soon as they kill the Walkers, the priest gets down and throws up.  He is incredibly grateful.  He says his name is Gabriel.  Rick asks if he has any weapons.  Gabriel just needs the word of God.  Daryl scoffs, but he says that he called for help and help came.  Gabriel asks for food, and then he comments on how pretty Judith is.  He asks if the group has a camp.  Gabriel says he has a church.  Rick starts his three questions.  The group notices how nervous Gabriel seems.  He says that he’s a sinner and that he confesses his sins to God.  As they trek toward the church, Gabriel jokes about possibly leading them into a trap so he can steal their squirrels.  Apparently even his own flock said that his sense of humor “leaves a lot to be desired.”  When they arrive at the little church (which seems way too clean and remote to be of use), Rick wants to search the place so the group doesn’t lose its squirrels.

The group conducts a thorough search.  Carol finds journals. It looks like Gabriel was copying the Bible.  There are colorful drawings on the walls depicting Bible scenes.  Rick and the group reconvene outside.  Abraham has found a bus in the back that he can fix in about a day.  He wants to get on the road.  The rest of the gang mutinies—they need a break.  Gabriel explains that he stayed alive because there was a canned food drive right before the apocalypse.  He explains that there is more, but it’s overrun by Walkers.  Rick says they can handle the Walkers.  Sasha and Bob volunteer to go on the run with Rick.  Tyreese is staying behind to watch Judith.  Rick says he doesn’t need a map, because Gabriel is going with them

Rick pulls Carl aside and tells him that he doesn’t trust Gabriel.  Carl trusts him because he has to believe that there are still good people left.  Rick says that no matter what, Carl is not safe, even when people say they are.  He urges Carl to remain alert and make sure that he stays safe.  Carl says that they are still in danger, but that people can’t really hide anymore.  Regardless, Rick still doesn’t trust Gabriel.  Carl vows to stay safe for his dad.

Gabriel leads the way through a rundown town.  Bob tells Rick that he isn’t wrong about not letting the Termites live.  But they need to focus on Washington.  Rick isn’t sure they’re going to Washington, but Bob says that Eugene will save them all and life will go on as usual.  Bob calls it—life will return to normal.

Daryl and Carol are out scouting.  He says he gets it, that she doesn’t want to talk about it.  But she saved them all, all by herself.  That counts for something.  They come across a car.  Carol checks it out and suggests that they leave the car in case things go bad at the church.  Daryl says that no matter what happened back at the prison, now she can start over.  They all can.

Maggie and Tara keep watch outside a gun shop.  They hear a noise inside.  Glen rushes out.  Walkers? The girls ask.  No.  He tripped over some boxes and a mop.  But he did manage to find three silencers in a mini fridge.

Rick, Sasha, Bob and Michonne find the food bank, and there are Walkers inside that have fallen through the floor.  The water has caused their faces to melt.  They’re going to have to go through them to get to the food.  Rick reminds Gabriel, who still watches nervously, that he is coming with them.  The group jumps into the water and uses the shelves as a barricade.  They draw the Walkers to them and take them out methodically.  Gabriel loses his nerve and runs to the other side of the basement.  He cowers in fear as the rest of the group fights to clear the area.  Once it’s clear, Bob starts to grab supplies and he’s attacked by a Walker who is nothing but skin and bones.  Sasha saves him.  Rick asks Gabriel if he knew the Walker that was about to attack him.  He doesn’t reply because he reports his sins to God.

On the walk back, Rick asks Michonne if she misses her sword.  She says she found it in the beginning.  She misses Andrea, and Hershel, but not her life before.  And she’ll miss her sword.

When Rick returns, he finds Carl outside.  Carl shows his dad that there are scratch marks on the windows in the back of the church.  They’re deep, as if they came from a knife.  There’s more.  Carl is careful to remind Rick that what he found doesn’t mean Gabriel is evil.  The words “You’ll burn for this” are carved into the wall.  What does that mean?  Did Gabriel keep people out of the church?  Whose side is he on?  Is Gabriel a huge chicken who locked himself away while keeping other people out and condemning them to death?

As night falls, the church is full of laughing people enjoying a good meal. Abraham rises to propose a toast to the people in the room.  They’re all survivors, and they’ve all earned that title.  But he wants to know if that’s all they want to be.  Wake up day after day and keep fighting.  He reminds them that Eugene can make the dead die if they get to Washington.  He asks Eugene to tell them what’s in Washington.  Eugene says that there is a whole network designed to withstand any pandemic, with enough food and supplies to last until things restart.  He suggests that they do this for Judith, and for their future lives.  It comes to Rick, but Judith interrupts the moment and so Rick says that if she is in, he’s in.

Sasha gets up to hold Judith, giving Bob a kiss.  Bob asks for another kiss before getting up to go off on his own.  (Something seems off with him since he was attacked)  Tara joins Maggie and confesses that she was at the Prison, but they didn’t know anything about Brian’s past or who they were.  Maggie offers Tara a hug.  Tara is one of them now.

Rick goes to Gabriel and thanks him for his hospitality, and for sharing the communion wine.  Gabriel says that there is no one left to take communion, so it’s just wine.  Rick can see that Gabriel is hiding something, and it’s so awful that he can’t speak of it.  Rick says that this group is his family, and if Gabriel’s secret hurts his family, he will kill him.

Carol is outside fixing her car.  A Walker comes out of the darkness and Carol kills it.  Daryl comes out of hiding and asks what Carol is doing.  She doesn’t know.  Before they can say anything else, a car approaches and drives past.  It’s the car that Beth drove away in, but she’s not alone.  Daryl knocks out the tail lights of Carol’s car and they jump in to pursue it.

Bob is outside the church.  He starts crying.  Suddenly he is knocked out by an unseen assailant wearing black.  There is a mark on the tree like the one that Morgan was following.  When he returns to consciousness, there is a fire burning. He’s fallen right into Gareth’s hands.  Gareth says that he isn’t dead “yet.”  Gareth explains that they didn’t want to lure him away from his group.  They’re just trying to survive.  Bob’s group has taken away their home.  They weren’t always cannibals, but they have evolved, and then devolved.  It isn’t personal.  They don’t like this ugly business.  As the camera pans down, Bob’s leg is gone.  As Gareth and his friends munch on Bob’s leg (including the guy that Tyreese fought with in the cabin…apparently he isn’t dead after all), Gareth confesses that Bob tastes much better than they thought.

Well.  BobBQ, anyone?

See you next week!