The Walking Dead S5E12: Remember
Original Airdate: March 1, 2015
Recap by Sarabeth Pollock
We’re finally inside the fence!
Aaron and Eric lead the group into the camp. There’s a double-steel gate that they must pass through, but Rick and Company are reluctant. A trash can moves and an opossum rushes out. Daryl shoots it. “We brought dinner,” he says.
They move inside and are asked to drop their weapons. That’s part of the deal. Aaron suggests that they will be more trusting if they can speak to Deanna, the leader. Beyond the gates, a Walker approaches. Rick motions to Sasha, who turns and shoots it in the head with deadly precision. “Good thing we’re here,” Rick mutters.
Rick waits for Deanna in a beautiful living room filled with every luxury imaginable. When Deanna appears, she asks Rick if she can film their meeting for posterity. This is a new beginning, after all. Rick agrees. Deanna is a middle-aged woman who ended up in Alexandria after she was stopped by the military on her way back to Ohio to help her district deal with the crisis. She’s a legislator. The neighborhood they live in now was being touted as the most modern development available with solar power, its own water tanks…all for the low $800,000s. Her husband is a professor of architecture and he helped design and build the walls, which were made from the construction materials at a job site for a new box store. They have never dealt with what’s going on outside the walls. They need people who have lived it, which is why they’re so interested in Rick’s group. He tells her that he didn’t know the people in his group before the change. But they’re his family now. Deanna reveals that she exiled three men who didn’t work out. That’s like killing them. She wants Rick to help her group survive. She can read people…if she didn’t win reelection she would have played poker. She offers Rick a chance for his family to grow up in a safe place. Deanna tells Rick that it’s 3:37pm so he winds his watch. Rick reveals that he was a sheriff, which makes perfect sense to her.
The group relinquishes its weapons. Deanna says that the guns can be checked out when they go outside of the walls, but they can’t be present while inside. Carol unloads her impressive arsenal. She smiles at Rick.
Aaron offers Rick two houses for his group. He says that Deanna has ordered the community to give Rick and his company space as they adjust. He lives four houses away.
Inside the house with better curb appeal, Rick and Carl see the furnishings that have been provided. Everything is modern, along with running water. Rick takes a shower for the first time in who knows how long. He sees his appearance and grabs some scissors. Pretty soon Rick is back to being the clean-shaven guy from the first season.
There’s a knock at the door and a woman from the pantry has brought food. Her name is Jesse. She offers to cut Rick’s hair. “You don’t even know me,” he says. She laughs. As she cuts, she reveals that she has two boys, and one is Carl’s age. He can’t believe how nice it is to have a shower. She can sense how emotional he is and jokes that haircuts were never going away. She gives him a mirror and he sees himself the way he was before.
It’s Daryl’s turn to meet Deanna. She asks if he wants to be there. He says that Carl and Judith deserve a roof over their heads.
Outside the house, Daryl guts the opossum while Carl and Carol watch Rick carry Judith. Everyone is clean and…clean. Carl can’t believe the mansions they’re being offered. Carol remarks that they’re just giving them away. After Daryl and Rick scout the perimeter of the two houses, they agree that everyone should share a house for the night.
Carl goes upstairs and pulls his knife when he sees a closed door. Inside is an unfinished room full of tools and books. Someone has been camping there.
Later that night, the group gets ready for bed. Judith has a crib for once. Michonne emerges from the bathroom after brushing her teeth for twenty minutes. She has never seen what’s under his beard. There’s a knock on the door. It’s Deanna, come to see how they’re doing. She laughs when she sees that they’re all in the living room together, but she says they’re playing it safe. It amazes her how so many people from so many backgrounds can come together and coexist as a family. She has jobs for everyone, but she hasn’t revealed them to Rick or Michonne. She’s close to finding something for Sasha and she’s still trying to figure Daryl out. (He’s sitting at Judith’s crib with a knife in his hand) Deanna bids them goodnight.
As everyone sleeps, Rick lays awake toying with his wedding ring. He hears a noise and grabs a knife from the kitchen.
Michonne reveals in her interview that the group is ready for “this.” They’re not all there yet, but they’re close.
Rick tells Daryl that they should explore. Daryl wants to stay behind. Rick remarks that he and Lori used to drive through neighborhoods like this and think of the future. Rick loses sight of Carl and takes off running. He knocks over something and Jesse hurries out to see him. She assures him that Carl is fine. He’s with an elderly couple who are fawning over Judith, since they had a dozen grandchildren. She asks if Carl can come over so her son Ron can meet him.
Ron tells Carl that they go to school, only it’s held in a garage. He introduces Carl to Mikey and Enid. Carl shows them they comics he found and they reveal that they go to that house to listen to music. The boys are much more boisterous than Enid, who is content to read sullenly on the bed. They apologize to Carl for coming on so strong about playing pool and hanging out, but Carl snaps out of it and says they can play video games.
In Carl’s interview, he tells the camera that he didn’t lose his mother. He killed her. And he had to be the one to do it.
Rick goes into Carl’s room to find out how it went at Ron’s house. Carl is lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. Carl asks his dad what he thinks about this place. Rick thinks it’s nice. Carl likes it here and he likes the people, but they’re weak, and he’s afraid that they’ll lose their strength by being there.
That night Michonne finds Rick staring out the window. She tells Rick that Deanna hasn’t given her a job yet. He knows that by signing the papers they are giving in. Rick leaves to take a walk.
Outside Rick finds a man who knows who he is. It’s Jesse’s husband. “Welcome to Alexandria,” the man says from his porch.
Rick awakens suddenly from his sleep. Was that interaction a dream?
Carol talks about her family life in her interview. She misses her stupid, wonderful man. (Oddly enough) She sees herself as a den mother to the group. Deanna wants to know where Carol sees herself, and she sees herself with a Junior League of some kind. Later she emerges from the house in a smart outfit. She tells Daryl that she’s off to cook for the elderly and to meet people. She tells Daryl that he needs to shower or she’ll hose him down in his sleep. They need to keep up appearances.
Glen says that they need Alexandria to work. He says they were almost out there too long.
The gates pull back and Rick steps outside. He has his gun again and he walks the perimeter of the fence.
Carl watches as Enid sneaks through the field to the fence. She climbs the fence with a backpack on. Clearly she has done this before.
Aidan, Deanna’s son, meets Glen, Tara and Noah. He was ROTC before all of this happened. He knows that Glen is an expert at supply runs. They want to do a dry run to show the group the terrain. They proudly hand off some “sweet ass” guns. Glen and Company aren’t impressed.
Carl tracks Enid through the woods. He loses sight of her.
Rick comes upon a Walker but doesn’t kill him. He continues off to the shed where he hid the weapons, only to find that his cache is gone. So who took them? He notes that there are more Walkers approaching. He drops his bag and grabs a knife, then he spots Carl. Together, father and son tackle them together. When a Walker grabs Rick’s leg from under a pile of rubbish, Rick takes a metal rod and starts to impale him, but Carl asks to do the honors.
Aidan leads Glen, Noah and Tara out into the field and explain that they lost four people the month before because they didn’t follow orders. Aidan knows that he’s a douchebag. But his orders reign supreme. They caught the Walker who killed their friends and strung him up as a reminder. Glen is appalled. Aidan flips out when he sees that the Walker is gone from its chains, so they start calling for it. Soon the Walker appears and Aidan tries to chain it up but he loses control and it comes after Tara. Glen and Tara manage to kill it, which enrages Aidan for disobeying his orders. They stalk back to the camp and Aidan gets into Glen’s face when Glen says that it’s not his group that isn’t ready for runs—it’s Aidan’s group. Aidan pushes Glen and tries to antagonize Glen into getting physical. By now a whole group of people has gathered, including members of both sides. As Aidan takes a swing at Glen, Glen ducks and punches Aidan. Daryl tackles the other guy and Rick arrives in time to pull Daryl off. Carl notes that Enid is back, too. Deanna arrives and tells Aidan to back down. He’s in trouble. She names Rick and Michonne as the town’s constables and she tells everyone that Rick’s group is equal to everyone else now. She thanks Glen for knocking her son on the ass.
Rick comes down the stairs in a sheriff’s uniform. His household smiles at him. Outside, Daryl asks if this means they’re staying. Rick says that they’re trying it out for now. Carol comes out and says that while she likes the place, she’s concerned about becoming weak, echoing Carl’s fears. Rick says that they are never going to become weak. If anything, they will remain strong and if the others are too weak to survive, then they will take the place over.
Ah…so that’s his plan….
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