I think, we can say, without any hesitation, that Carol isn't working out. This episode, perhaps better than any other, demonstrates why I've started calling our heroes Team Carol; she tells Rick what the policy is going to be, and Rick tries his best to carry it out and make it seem like his idea. Darryl is in on the secret, but the other Team Carol members still like to think of Rick as their leader. Carol, now, is carrying out a lot more than reconnaissance; Carol has already "appropriated" a secret gun stash for herself and Rick. And now, she's literally advising Rick to kill the town drunk/wife beater/doctor.
Has Alexandria really not seen what an all-around louse Peter, Jessie's husband, is? He drinks during the day. However, he's the town doctor, and medical knowledge is now rare. His ability to heal the townspeople has probably protected him from accountability. And, it's not like Team Carol brought a fully trained doctor to the town. And, we know Rick has an ulterior motive to kill the guy- he's already fiddling with his wedding ring, itching to take it off as soon as Jessie is free to be his. Will Rick use his "broken windows" policing to try to arrest Peter for public drunkenness, and eventually kill Peter if he resists arrest?
Does Rick think Deanna will let him get away with that scenario? The woman's already having doubts about the newcomers' being in charge of everything they're now involved in. Which leads us to someone who is going to work out for Alexandria- Abraham. Yes, the guy's a hardass. But, he's demonstrated that he's Deanna's hardass. He likes Rick, but he doesn't have the others' unflagging devotion to the man, and he's much more of a team player. Abraham certainly earned the construction crew's trust. It's Abraham who knows what birds suddenly fleeing means. When a pack of zombies, maybe about thirty, crash the party, it's Abraham that refuses to leave behind Francine, who had been a lookout until faulty shooting caused her perch to tumble her on the ground. It's Abraham who gleefully slices heads while Francine, eventually safe in the bulldozer cab, can pick them off with the rifle. It's Abraham who insists that since they've all survived the zombies, they can continue working with just an extra pair of eyes scouting for more zombies. It's Francine and the rest of the crew who decide that Abraham is their new superintendent.
Hey, can we play too?
Deanna worries about the newcomers accumulating more power in front of Maggie; but she's worried about the wrong guy. Maggie tries to remind her that Alexandria needs them; Deanna doesn't disagree, but she didn't need them to take over Alexandria; just protect it so she can expand it for the future. Maggie is still able to talk Deanna into calm, reassuring her it's for the best that the newcomers have taken on so much responsibility. And if I saw the newbies interacting more with the established town, I'd probably believe that. Deanna's party showed that the newbies are very divided over whether to fit in. Carol and Rick pretend to, but plot behind her back. Rosita and Abraham appear ready to give it a try. Maggie and Glenn are ever helpful. Darryl accepted Aaron's job offer, even Aaron's gift motorcycle, because he realized he could fit in with the right job. Michonne has already hung up her katana. Sasha just wants to live in the nearby church tower, about 150 feet from the town gate.
Does Gabriel fit in? He tries. He tries to reclaim his old job, getting a new priest's collar. But the good book just isn't inspiring him anymore. The Beatitudes just don't have anything that can help him process zombies, cannibals, and feral dogs. Remember, this guy did relatively fine without Team Carol. He was scared outside, and had no fighting ability. But he hadn't needed any until he ran out of food. Various members literally tore up his church and frightened him so much he snuck outside, ruining the church as a hideout in the end. I think it's fair to say that Gabriel has contributed as much stupidity as the others have contributed brutality. But, is it fair when he absolutely must run to Deanna, and insist that Team Carol is evil?
Deanna tries to fend him off, and it's obvious that she doesn't really care for his talk about Satan. Deanna looks like she's more interested in reality. Gabriel's plea that she get rid of Team Carol for the town's safety and well-being, though based in cowardice and a supernatural she doesn't seem interested in, dovetail nicely with her concern that the newbies are taking over. They dovetail so nicely, that Maggie is frozen on the stair where she can hear everything. If Gabriel were really wrong, wouldn't Maggie emerge and openly confront him? Is Maggie worried that Deanna will believe Gabriel over her and Rick and Michonne?
Gabriel and Maggie both want to work out- but it's doubtful if they will. Dividing over how much to fit in and trust their new neighbors can rip Team Carol apart as easily as Carol and Rick can rip apart Alexandria.
Eugene and Tara are divided over how much they really have to do to fit in. Tara's gung ho to fully contribute. Eugene thinks that his original lie to get to D.C. is all the contribution he ever needed to make. Has anyone explained to Eugene that pulling your weight doesn't stop?
I pulled my own weight once. It was terrible.
Even in safety, everybody has to pull their weight. It ends up being an interesting discussion, especially when Eugene defies the odds and his own fears to literally carry a comatose Tara and her weight to safety. It's a real crowd pleaser, since Eugene is rarely brave. But, Tara is his only friend. Neither Abraham nor Rosita have spoken openly to him in weeks, and Abraham can only care about his survival if it means hitting him. Eugene can't make head shots, but he can shoot for the legs and scurry off while zombies lie on the floor.
Which gets to the real crowd pleaser. Eugene can't fight and openly admits he doesn't want to. The only reason he comes with the team to an abandoned factory is to make sure they scavenge the right part for Alexandria's solar panel system. They're looking for the gizmos that will convert the panels' DC power into the AC power the town actually needs, and Eugene can spot the part much better than they can. Eugene, once things turn to shit, isn't helpful. But, after an initial scare, the guy remembers he's clever. Hence, carrying Tara to safety by making the shots he can. Hence, appearing just in time out front with a loud, techno music and a noisy van and his own Southern accent calling to the zombies that have trapped the others.
Eugene and Glenn could have saved the day. Aiden ruined the supply run when a badly aimed bullet hit a grenade. After losing Aiden in a horrific eating, which Aiden is fully conscious for, Glenn, Noah, and Aiden's friend Nicholas literally are trapped in a revolving door between two sets of zombie packs. It has the potential to be the best scary close call yet; it becomes one of the nastiest deaths we've seen. Eugene makes an escape possible with his diversion in the van. Glenn is inspired to break the glass outside the revolving door; all Nicholas has to do is help hold the door steady and they can all walk out.
Nicholas proves to be even more of a coward than Eugene. Eugene, in danger, tends to freeze up and wait for someone to come get him. Nicholas just abandons his team. The trapping at the revolving door requires teamwork; if someone decides to be a selfish asshole, the others in the opposite door are screwed. Sadly, we already know Nicholas isn't a team player, and he very predictably squeezes his revolving door open for himself, leaving Noah to be dragged back inside the factory. Noah turns to Glenn right before going, asking him to not let go.
Noah's face says the guy must have known it was his end. Multiple zombies have his leg out of the door; Glenn has nothing to hold him back to in the door. Although, with Nicholas out, why not just drag Noah out the door? That question is left unanswered, as Noah is dragged away and Glenn gives up to watch his friend be chewed apart into a bloody mess against the glass door. It's a terrible way to go. Once again, there is always that moment where the pain and terror of being eaten gives into the inevitable, catastrophic blood loss. Aiden continued to moan pitifully as his body lost feeling; Noah goes silent as his face is torn apart.
Be honest, you cried too
I think, deep down, that Glenn saw himself in Noah. Like Noah, he was no one important or even well-suited to the end of the world. Glenn was smart, quick, and happy to help. And he would have appreciated Noah helping out despite his bum leg. He would have admired Noah for becoming a survivor. And now, he's lost Noah due to a stranger's cowardly abandonment. When Eugene fails to restrain Nicholas from leaving them all behind at the factory, despite his best efforts, it's Glenn who knocks him out. And, grudgingly decides to bring him home.
Is it a good idea to bring Nicholas back? The guy will, definitely, lie about everything that happened. But can Glenn go back with both Aiden and Nicholas dead and expect Deanna to accept that? He chooses to have useless, cowardly Nicholas to deal with in the next episode. After all, they lost Aiden and Noah. So, Deanna will know something went horribly wrong that probably wasn't Glenn's doing. But will she believe Glenn and Eugene over Nicholas?
Rick finds that he's going to have his own problems to resolve when he finds Jessie trying to clean up the owl sculpture in her garage. Someone has destroyed it; Rick offers to find the culprit, explaining that if owl sculptures are allowed to be vandalized, pretty soon they'll have drug gangs. Jessie doesn't want any big deal made over it; a pretty sure sign she already knows who it was, and wants to protect the culprit. Jessie's husband, Peter, shows up already sloshed at Rick's sometime that day, offering more booze and wanting Rick to know that it hasn't been all book clubs and potlucks in Alexandria. He also doesn't think the attack on the owl sculpture is any big deal, probably because he also already knows who it was. Doesn't Rick know what it means if nobody outside the house actually saw anything?
Rick, nobody wants you to uncover how awful I am
It's Carol who figures it out, despite her fervent desire to not to. When Jessie's kid, Sam, turns into a cookie-obsessed stalker, it's Carol he turns to. After all, she did promise him cookies. I mean, if you're going to use that as your creepy bribe, at least come through. Especially when the kid steals the chocolate for you. Carol does her best to not bond with another kid who's going to die on her, but Sam's eventual sort-of confession that he destroyed the owl leads her to wonder why. Which leads her to Peter's door, where he shoos her away. So, Carol figures out what the rest of us knew the first time we saw the guy. And she goes right to Rick with the secret. Rick doesn't know what to do; he's got nothing on Peter except maybe public drunkenness. Carol says screw due process; Rick's got to kill him. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But eventually. And hopefully, Carol will get to burn the body.
Look, I hate abusive spouses too. But usually, some investigation has to show that someone's abusing their spouse. Or, the abused spouse files a complaint. Does Deanna know about the new justice system in Alexandria? Is she willing to exile her doctor to save Jessie? Or, will she try to come up with some way of separating Peter from his family, like a restraining order. Which Rick will have to enforce. Which, could be easy if Rick removes his wedding ring and moves in with Jessie. There, see? I just came up with an alternative right now. Carol's problem is that everything has become simple. The old ways are gone, and certainly didn't protect her from Ed, anyway. So she's come up with a new way. Kill threats to the group. Because that's the only way to take them seriously. I could be wrong, but that doesn't sound like the future Deanna had in mind. Is the resulting power struggle going to be between Rick and Deanna, or will it only appear that way? Because it looks like the real power struggle, over Rick and Alexandria, will be between Carol and Deanna.
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