So, it's not much of a surprise that Rick never really trusts Aaron, who spends the episode semi-patiently putting up with his bullshit and sometimes, violence. Aaron wants to start by describing, in detail, a stack of photos he's brought. They're grainy and black and white and Aaron really likes to go on, despite the fact that he's in a barn full of people who don't like outsiders. So, perhaps it's not a surprise that Rick shuts him up by knocking him out.
It is, at least, a surprise to Michonne, who wants to give Rick a red flag. Because it hasn't been clear enough that Michonne is taking Hershel's place. But Rick isn't done; he wants Aaron tied up to one of the barn posts before he comes to, so he's even more helpless than before. From there, Rick decides that they have to be ready for Aaron's gang to attack. Opinion in the barn is mixed; when Aaron comes to without vowing revenge, and claiming to have left them the water they found the day before, Rick brandishes the flare gun in Aaron's pack, demanding to know how many other people are in sight of it.
Hey, this was mine! Why does Mom always give you my stuff?
Aaron ponders whether it even matters if he answers; he knows that Rick and at least half the group don't believe a word he says. But, Rick wants an answer on record, even if it's a lie. He can always kill Aaron later if it's not true. So, Aaron admits there's only one other person with him. At this point, some of the others are wondering whether Aaron could be a threat, even if he wanted to. In order to illustrate how lucky Rick is, Aaron recites, a little to chirpily, how he would have killed Rick the night before if he had really wanted to do that. The group has no supplies to steal, except water Aaron claimed he gave them anyway; so why would anyone attack, except out of pure delight in killing? And, let's face it, Aaron is really good at not seeming like that kind of guy.
Aaron's probably never had this much difficulty in persuading people to trust him. He's tried cooperating, he's tried photos, he's tried talking, So, at his wit's end, he tells Rick that he has vehicles for them all to travel, together, to his walled town. To boot, they could get there by lunch. I would have been hooked by the word "lunch". Rick still insists it's all a trick, and only Michonne, Maggie and Glenn can convince him that it's even worth checking out. Rick sends them with Abraham and Rosita, telling them that the radios are out of juice, so he's giving them sixty minutes to check out the cars, and come back. Rick then sends out everyone remaining to patrol the area, so if Aaron does have a gang of murderous thugs who want those three water bottles, those thugs will know how many people Rick has and catch them split up.
Welcome to our hazing ritual, newbie
Maybe that's why, when alone with Rick and Judith, Aaron gets a little confidence and informs Rick that he's keeping it together, because he's been through worse as an aid worker in Africa. Armed militia members held him at gunpoint while he was bringing locals clean water. He declares that Rick isn't going to kill him because Rick is a good person. Rick says what kind of person he is isn't going to protect Aaron. The only chance Aaron has is if the others come back in an hour with a good report.
On their field trip, the five are walking in a line, attentive to the road and the field beyond. It's sunny and hot and all guns are drawn. Only Michonne isn't pointing a weapon somewhere, with her katana strapped to her back. Glenn issues a warning to shoot anyone they see, Michonne thinks Glenn should slow that roll; they might see Aaron's one buddy, or someone looking for shelter like they are, or someone who just walked into the action and isn't involved. Glenn says anyone approaching them while they're armed, is involved. And not coming to say hello. He may be right; around the bend, lurking behind a tractor, is some unidentified person. We never see a face.
What if you see someone selling sunglasses? Will you still shoot?
Back at the Barn of Paranoia, Judith is hungry and crying and Aaron reveals his one fear; the dead. He practically begs Rick to open his backpack and feed Judith the applesauce inside. Rick the great single dad that he is, balances Judith in one arm while sticking a spoonful of the stuff in Aaron's face. Aaron balks, trying to reassure Rick that he'd never hurt a baby. Rick doesn't buy it. And he's got the dirty beard, so Aaron has to squeamishly admit that he hates applesauce. He only brings any with him to show people how well fed his town is. His mother forced him to eat it as a child, something about teaching him to "man up". Aaron refers to her as confused, but Rick's has no time to talk about Mommy issues. Aaron loses to the spoon, after which Rick also takes a taste, and then tells Aaron to make the most of the next 43 minutes.
That, hopefully, isn't necessary, because Team Field Trip has found the vehicles. They're surprised by a couple zombies, and Rosita and Abraham messily end them. Together, they search the RV, finding nothing suspicious, and plenty of food. Rosita's been largely blank and evasive with Abraham, not wanting much to do with him after she almost had to pull a gun on him weeks ago. Abraham looks ready to get his nooky again, wanting to reminisce about the last time they had any Gorbelli's Spaghetti-O's. If this is the same Gorbelli's of Tara's dad, something tells me she'll pass.
Abraham segues from the nostalgia moment into trying to find out if he and Rosita are still a thing. But she's not afraid of him, despite his baggage from his past. She just seems more or less done with him. There are other groups and other leaders and Abraham's not in charge any more. Maybe she feels she just needs him less. She literally tells him it's not him. I guess Eugene will have to watch Glenn and Maggie get it on, now.
Rick, back at the Barn of Paranoia with all his friends back and now with a stash of new food, is still not happy with Aaron. He insists that he's keeping the food, whether they go with Aaron or not, and Aaron seems resigned to just never gaining Rick's trust. But, he has gained the others'. Carl outright demands to know why they can't go with Aaron. Michonne looks deeply into everyone's eyes as she insists that Aaron isn't lying and isn't a threat. And Darryl's tired of the horse-shit-smelling barn. Even Rick has to admit that they're going, and then gets into another fight with Aaron over whether they get to know where the town is, and who's driving. Michonne, Aaron's only ally, insists that Aaron needs to play ball.
Rick won't take Aaron's limited directions, mostly because Aaron doesn't want to reveal the final location. Rick wants to take a road Aaron openly tells them isn't safe, and nobody likes the idea of traveling at night. But with Aaron starting to wonder if he's made the right choice, still bound to a post and the others eating his food, he's going to have to play it Rick's way.
Michonne follows Rick out to demand to know whether Rick really plans on taking Aaron's directions or using him for information. Rick confides in Michonne that he's only going to see if he can actually hear something behind Aaron's home's walls. Because, like farts, the silent towns are the deadly ones. And there's no word on even attempting to find Aaron's companion and give him a lift back home.
Rick, Michonne, Glenn and Aaron take the sedan; everyone else is going to follow in the RV. Route 23, which Aaron told Rick not to attempt, looks fine at first. It's so quiet, with no blockages, that Rick even gets to invade Aaron's license plate stash, and we find out that Aaron has very touristy taste. Michonne wants to see what he means when he says he has his own house, and Aaron refers her to his pictures. At first, Michonne browses through them, but something they should have seen, should have looked for before, comes to her and she needs to know why there are no people in Aaron's pictures. He tells her that he took a very blurry photo of his townspeople, but Michonne suddenly realizes Rick didn't ask his questions three. Why would he? He didn't trust Aaron anyway, and Aaron didn't want to join Rick's group; he wants Rick to join his. But, Michonne actually believes in the Power of the Three Questions, so we get a rehash of the three stupidest questions from Season 4. Aaron's answers are pretty tame, and what I imagine would be typical of people in the time.
Just as things could get chummy, Rick, who was literally searching the car earlier in the day and missed it, suddenly discovers the parabolic mic that's enabled Aaron to listen in to their conversations, and Rick freaks out and realizes that Aaron's friends could literally know their Route 23 plan. And in case the situation wasn't bad enough, we find out that Aaron was right; Route 23 isn't safe. It's covered in zombies. Meaty, juicy, zombies splatter the car repeatedly, making the windshield completely useless. When they finally stop, they've lost sight of the RV, and decide to double back. Only trouble is, the car isn't working. And now, Aaron is starting to panic. Once again, the dead are his only real fear. Until, that is, the signal flare goes off. Suddenly, Aaron has lost his patience with everyone. Or, maybe he realizes some jig is up and wants out while he's still alive. Rick doesn't know, and he has other problems. So, Aaron manages, hands still tied behind his back, to open the car door, knock Michonne over with it, and dash off.
Rick decides to let him go. There's a forest full of zombies coming, and Rick's got bullets to waste and noise to make. Glenn manages to find Aaron, helpless against a zombie that won't leave, and not only saves him but cuts his ties. Will he stick with Aaron? The guy was right about Route 23. And he can fire a gun, which saves Rick's ass when Rick uses Aaron's only signal flare to turn a zombie into a jack-o-lantern. Even Rick has to admit he'd rather chase the other, prior signal flare than re-tie Aaron. However, there's always time for threats, because Aaron hasn't heard, enough times, that he's going to die if anything's wrong.
Luckily, all turn out safe and sound. It's Aaron's friend, Eric who's not so good. It's not a big deal, he's quick to tell Aaron, it's what happens when you're careless playing volleyball. It was Eric who sent up the flare, and the others in Team Rick who found him. And Maggie who gave him the splint made of sticks and rope. But Eric has another license plate for Aaron. And a passionate kiss. So, they're more than friends. And, this is why Aaron's mother was so worried that he wasn't manly enough. They're here, they're queer, get used to it. They laugh over the sedan that died that night, and even Rick gets the clue. Eric is all bonhommie, even to Rick, who's been a dick to his partner all day. It was easy for Eric, despite breaking his ankle; he hasn't had to deal with Rick's paranoia all day.
Saving Eric has convinced Aaron that they can know they're going to Alexandria. Now, it's Aaron who's got the group's attention. And loyalty. When Rick wants to keep Aaron and Eric apart, Aaron stands up to him for the first time, telling Rick to try to keep him away from Eric. Maybe Aaron knows his bluff will work because Rick is out of bullets. Maybe he knows it will work because now everyone else trusts him.
The next day, their only enemy is the RV's dead battery. Abraham and Rosita are cheered by the sight of their original destination; Washington, D.C. and the Monument loom in the distance as they pass on the highway, cleared just as Aaron said it would be. Noah and Aaron chat, with Aaron giving Noah hope for helping his leg. Noah doesn't reveal too much emotion over it; but maybe he's spent since leaving Shirewilt. He limps off, maybe thinking about walking again. The gang is in a good mood. Rosita is smiling at Abraham. And Abraham is sure they're going to keep driving 'til they arrive. Abraham's optimism doesn't persuade the RV's battery to keep going, though. Good thing they have Glenn along. Good thing Glenn learned something from Dale.
Michonne, waiting with Rick to get going again, tries to prepare Rick for the end of wandering on the road. The survival instinct can keep you alive in extreme situations, but it can also eat you up, like zombies with fresh innards. Rick admits that Bob tried to tell him the same thing. Michonne says give peace a chance, but Rick has old habits. And one extra gun, which he stores in an abandoned blender by an abandoned house. It's not much of a stash, but it's a stash.
Their journey ends at the end of a secondary, residential road. There's a metal wall, just as Aaron predicted. Carol tells him he was a jackass about the whole thing, but his caution wasn't wrong. At first, we don't know why Rick looks so freaked out. After all, the sound of kids playing comes from the gate. But it's just Rick, realizing that the town isn't silent. There are real people who let their kids play. Like Rick, who lets Judith play on the back seat while the car is moving down the highway. Because, apparently, scavenging a car seat for the baby isn't possible. And they never get into accidents.
Take me away from this guy, I'm not safe with him!
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