Walking Dead S05E02 Recap: Strangers

Terminus burns in the distance. Rick and his group are on the road again. Maggie is glad to have Glenn safe with her again, and so are we after that close call with the baseball bat last week. Rick is suspicious of Tara, but she saved Glenn, and he saved her. Tyrese and Carol fill water bottles. He’s forgiven her, and he needs to talk to the rest of the group. He doesn’t plan on mentioning what happened with Mika and Lizzie that he just needs to forget. A stray walker stands no chance against the group, and Michonne doesn’t even bother drawing her katana, she bashes the walker’s skull in with her rifle. Rick is thankful for everything that Carol has done for him. Not only did she save him, his baby but she recovered his watch. He still isn’t sure about what she did, but he did wrong too. He said she could survive, and she did. He sent her out into the wild, but he wants her back in the fold now.

Carol and Daryl sit in near silence. She needs to forget. Daryl hears noises out in the darkness thinks it’s nothing. But he’s wrong.

In the light of day, the group moves on. Daryl has caught lunch. He was doing more than hunting. He’s found no tracks or anything, but Rick knows that they’re being watched. Abraham plans to take the next road they find, and continue on his mission. Sasha and Bob seem all lovey dovey, and Tyrese finds joy in that. Someone nearby screams as walkers attack. Carl prompts the group into moving, and they kill all the zombies trying to eat the priest. He tosses his cookies at Rick’s feet, which doesn’t impress anyone. It’s Father Gabriel. He has no weapons of any kind. The word of God is his only protection. He called for help, and help came. He asks if they have any food, the last of his, just got spilled on the ground. He notices baby Judith, remarking on her beauty, as the others look at him with suspicious. He asks if they have a camp, they do not, but he has a church. Rick pats him down. He has killed no walkers or people because the lord abhors violence. He is a sinner, he sins almost everyday, but he only confesses those sins to God. Rick asks if he’s the one that has been watching them. He wasn’t. He keeps to his church mostly, the dead are worse than the living now. Father Gabriel jokes that maybe he’s leading them into a trap so he can steal their squirrels. None of them find his humor very funny. The group search the church, and find it to be exactly what he claimed it to be. The Terminus group has made them a mighty mistrustful lot. Abraham is ready to fix up a bus and move on. Michonne and Rick want to rest and gather supplies. Everyone is onboard. One way or another they will follow Rick. The group will head out to a nearby spot and gather supplies. Tyrese and baby Judith will hold the church. Rick is forcing Father Gabriel to come along. Rick doesn’t trust the Father, which is why he’s bringing him along. He tells Carl to stay with Tyrese and baby Judith, because there could be others hiding. Rick wants Carl to make sure he understands that no matter how good some place looks, they’re not safe. Carl understands that, and he understands that they’re stronger as a group. And because they’re strong, they should help people when they can.

Father Gabriel leads the way. Bob tells Rick that Washington is going to happen. But Rick hasn’t decided if they’re going yet, but Bob thinks it has to so that they can get the world back in order. Rick points that this is the real world, but Bob doesn’t think it is. It’s just a nightmare. Eventually Rick is going to say yes, he has to let go.

Daryl understands that Carol doesn’t want to talk about things, but he still needs to know that she’s okay. She has to be. They have to let things go between each other if they’re going to survive, and she got really lucky on their rescue. They find an abandoned car, it doesn’t start. Daryl reminds her that they aren’t dead, and they can start over. She hopes so. In the trunk is a battery charger. They leave the car as back up if things go sour at the church.

Maggie and Tara look over a shop. They can’t imagine the store still having anything left. Glenn scares them as he comes out, both the girls prepare to fire, but it was just Glenn tripping over his feet. He’s found three silencers.

Father Gabriel takes the group to the food bank, where all of the canned supplies he’d been living off of were going to be delivered before the apocalypse hit. Inside, the floor fallen, trapping the walkers below, but with the roof collapsing above, and water gathering, it’s made some nasty walker soup. Unfortunately there seems to be a bunch of supplies on shelves down there too, so they need to head down. They’ll use the shelves to keep the walkers away. The group head down, and they take out the walkers, but the little old lady walker wakes him wig out. Rick goes after Father Gabriel, while the others continue their bashing. Coast clear, Bob goes to open the door and release the water, when one walker comes from under water, and nearly pulls Bob under. Sasha saves him.

Supplies gathered, Father Gabriel apologizes for not doing anything. He knew the little old lady, and panicked. Rick understands. Ricks asks if Michonne misses her sword, and she doesn’t. She misses many things, people, but not her sword. They make it back to the church. Carl is out back. He’s found knife marks on the church windows outside, and a message “You’ll Burn For This.” He tells his father that he’s not sure what it means, that Father Gabriel may not be a bad person still, and no matter the case, they’ll handle it. After the Terminus crew, he really can’t be worse.

That evening the group rejoices. Rick toasts the survivors, who’ve all earned that title. Abraham wants them to be more than just survivors scavenging for food, not much better than the walkers. Once they get Eugene to Washington he will get the dead to die, and the living to inherit the world once more. Washington has been set up for this situation, and while the reset button is getting to work they’ll have the supplies and means to survive. They need to save the world for themselves, for Judith, for the others out there with nothing left to do but supply. The group is silent, only Judith makes a sound. If she’s in them, so is Rick, and all the others. Sasha makes a move to hold the baby before someone can stop her, Bob gets another kiss before she goes. Tara has a confession for Maggie. She was at the prison with the Governor. She didn’t know who he was, what he could do, or who any of them were. She didn’t want it to be hidden that she was there anymore. Maggie embraces her, she’s with them now. Rick thanks Father Gabriel for the hospitality, surprised by the strength of the communion wine. Wine is just wine, until its blessed. Rick knows that he’s hiding something, that’s clear. But the people inside are his family, and if his secrets harm them he’ll kill him.

Carol is alone in the dark. She kills one walker. Daryl sneaks up on her, asking where she’s going. She doesn’t know. They’re at the car, and go to head back when the church hearse drives by. Daryl takes out the car’s back lights, and they speed off after it.

Bob has a little breakdown outside, he’s a crying mess and doesn’t hear anyone approach him. Garrett hits him and down Bob goes. They should have gone back and killed everyone of those Terminus people, instead of letting it go. Nearly eating someone is never something you let go. Bob slowly awakens around Garrett’s fire. The good news is that he’s not dead yet. Garrett warns him not to get crazy, he wishes to evil villain monologue. He didn’t want to hurt Bob, to pull him away from his group and scare him, but they have to. He and his people took away their home, and now they like everyone else out hunting. They didn’t start out eating people, but they’ve been forced into it. Nothing he’s doing is personal. Garrett tells him its cosmic justice that its him, and no matter how much they hate the zombie business, a man has to eat. Bob is missing his leg, and it is delicious.