RECAP: The Walking Dead Trouble Inside and Outside The Gate “Now” [Season 6, Episode 5]

Deanna is on the lookout, surveying what is left of the town. “How much faster could this horror have ended had the town just been armed?”, she must be wondering.  We see the Alexandrians carry their dead away for burial. We watch as Michonne breaks the news to Maggie about Glenn not making contact in the overrun town. Just then, Rick is dodging walkers and heading toward the gates of the city, followed by a herd, which scares the hell out of Deanna as she watches in disbelief, until the gate is fully closed.  Rick recovers quickly and tries to rally the Alexandrians, telling them that the wall is reinforced, they have to get themselves together and do the same.  They have to be ready for what comes next since the others will return.  He tells them that the city will have to go dark, and quiet, until the walkers go away.

Aaron steps up and confesses about falling into the wolves’ trap, back at Arno, which led them back to the city. Morgan listens, but does not confess his own wolf secret. Jessie drags the wolf she’s killed from the blood pool in the middle of the kitchen floor to the graveyard, preparing to bury her when Rick reminds her that killers are not to be buried behind the walls. The troubles are only beginning as the soft living Alexandrians are already panicked at the thought of going hungry and start raiding the food pantry, pushing poor Olivia aside. Deanna watches as Spencer is taunted for leaving the gate open the night Reg was killed. He reminds them that while they were in hiding, he stopped the truck from crashing the wall. He reminds them that they will remember this moment if they let others starve and destroy the community in order to save themselves.  As they walk away, leaving everything behind, Deanna shows the kind of pride any mom would.

Guilt ridden Aaron keeps an eye on Maggie, who is in the midst of planning an escape. He watches his fellow townspeople use the walls to post the names of those lost on the last mission, to honor their memories. He confronts Maggie about her plans to go. He decides to go with her, since he knows a safer way out-of-town. While they are making plans, Deanna makes plans of her own, seemingly to save the town by planting crops and expanding the town’s function. She is disrupted by a drunken Spencer, who has taken food from the pantry despite his speech. He claims he deserves it after stopping the “run on the bank.” They fight as she asks if his speech was bullshit and he responds by telling her that the real bullshit is how she’s done all of this to the town, to his father and brother, because of her dreaming –  since they were never really safe behind the walls.

Near the wall, Ron is being as unpleasant as always. Carl is worried about Enid, who is most likely trapped on the other side of the wall after running away, Ron speculates that she is dead. Carl wants to go find her, but Ron, who calls Enid his girlfriend, tells him he can’t go and attacks Carl to try to force him to stay. Knocked on his butt, Ron threatens to tell Rick knowing he’ll chase after Carl and others will too. Ron reminds him that someone will end up dying. He says that since Carl saved his life earlier, he is returning the favor. At the clinic, Denise is afraid that her patient, Scott, will die and is not at all persuaded by Tara that she has made a difference. (P.S.the actor playing Scott, Kenric Green, is the real life husband of Sonequa Martin-Green, Sasha).  Denise keeps hoping a “real” doctor will show up one day soon.  

As Jessie walks down the street, she notices a walker in the window of a local home.  It appears that the woman committed suicide. She opens the door wide enough to stick the walker’s head in the door and end her life. She turns to tell the onlooking Alexandrians to either fight back against what is really going on, or die.  Maggie seems to have a death wish as she tells Aaron she’s going under the city, into the sewer system he’s shown her, alone. He convinces her to take him that he can’t stand by and watch another person die. Bravery becomes stupidity as both are nearly killed by walkers who were stuck in the muck of the sewer tunnels, but are freed from a ladder Maggie and Aaron move (hitting Aaron in the process). They dispatch the walkers, and Aaron refuses to turn back to get the stitches he needs to close the wound (bait?).

Speaking of bait, Rick stands on the wall with Ron, overlooking the walkers banging at the walls.  I can’t believe the kid didn’t push Rick over! Ron tells Rick about Enid and Carl’s plan.  Just as Rick takes off to look for Carl, Ron asks to learn to shoot to protect his mother and brother.  I hope Ron really has made a true turn around.  Rick tells him that the walkers, who are guarding the gates and keeping the wolves away, are his first targets.

Denise, thrilled that she has saved Scott, plants a kiss on Tara. At the end of the tunnel, Maggie refuses to let Aaron go on and screams loud enough to bring walkers to the gate of the sewer (sweet lord, throw her over, already). Yes, yes, she’s pregnant. She is upset that she burned Glenn’s picture because she said she would never be without him again. Aaron holds Maggie with the snarling walkers as their backdrop. Let’s hope they don’t break through the gate.

We find out that Sam doesn’t like being downstairs in his home because things are different down there.  Deanna hears a couple arguing about what a joke it is that they are even alive when a wolf-walker comes out of nowhere. He was apparently shot earlier and hid under a nearby porch where he must have died.  Deanna, who dropped a basket with bottles, takes a cut piece of glass and shanks the hell out of the walker, ripping open its chest and face.  She tells Rick, who has run to her (unnecessary) rescue, that she wants to live and wants the place to stand. Covered in walker blood, she tells Rick that the town needs him to lead it. (Showdown with Morgan coming, folks.. mark my words!).  He reassures her that her dreams for the place were good, not just pie in the sky.

It’s evening and Aaron and Maggie are standing watch. She leaves long enough to remove Glenn’s name from the memorial wall. Aaron joins her and mentions that Aaron/Erin works for a boy or girl, depending on the spelling. Rosita, who appears to be crying for Abe, is relieved from wall duty by Spencer. She praises Spencer for taking out the driver of the truck, keeping the wall standing.  He pulls stolen crackers from his pocket, when she leaves, and begins eating (so not heroic). Last, Rick explains to Jessie that he wanted to wait for his people to return before taking the wolf bodies outside. She tells them that his people could still be out there, safe, and they discuss the fact that this is what life looks like, now. She wants to know there is more and a make out session begins right in the garage… stay upstairs Sam, stay upstairs. The night ends with Deanna ruffling the dead by banging on the front gate before walking away.

We see what appears to be break in one of the walls. Blood is coming in from somewhere. Oh.EFFING.No.  What fresh hell is this? I am already fatigued and there’s MORE? Thank you, writers!

 

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