There’s a reason that the people under Rick Grimes’ leadership on The Walking Dead have survived as long as they have: Rick is now the least merciful of the crew, and while that leadership style can occasionally raise hackles, it’s been the most effective means toward survival. Remember when Rick and Co. didn’t go back and finish the job of killing off Gareth and his people after Terminus burned down? Bob lost a leg as a result. You’d think they’d learn that mercy kills.
That lesson may come back to haunt them once again. In this week’s stage-setting penultimate episode of the half-season, Rick hatched a plan to retrieve Carol and Beth that required several in his crew to force their way into Grady Memorial Hospital, kill a few of the cops inside (by slashing their throats, if necessary) and extract Beth and Carol.
They should’ve listened to Rick.
Instead, big-hearted softie Tyreese and Mr. Compassionate, Daryl Dixon, talked Rick into another plan: Take two of their cops hostage and exchange them for Beth and Carol. That way, no one would have to die, except this is the zombie apocalypse, and it never works out that way, does it? Instead, Sasha took pity on one of the officers taken hostage, Bob — who seemed like a really nice, helpful fella — and Bob knocked Sasha out cold and took off running. How’s that going to bite them in the ass?
That’s the kind of mercy that can get a person killed. So, put Sasha on death watch for next week’s finale. May as well put Tyreese on there as well because he’s the guy who came up with the plan. Daryl’s not going to die next week, but his mercy will lead to more tragedy. Daryl shouldn’t have prevented Rick from killing the bad cop when Rick clearly wanted to kill the bad cop. It was one thing for Daryl to save Noah; but that cop tried to kill Daryl with melted zombies. That’s not cool, and we know for a fact that Daryl will suffer for it.
Meanwhile, back in the church, Father Gabriel is getting the hot sweats and going stir crazy. He desperately wanted to get away from Michonne and the crying baby. Michonne showed him some mercy by letting Father Gabriel hang out in his office alone. Father Gabriel repaid that mercy by sneaking out underneath the church and making a run for it. That was dumb. Maybe he’ll stumble upon Morgan out in the woods.
Elsewhere, in Grady Memorial, Dawn showed mercy to Carol by sneaking a key to Beth to get Carol some medicine and, hopefully, save her life. By episode’s end, Carol was still out cold, but rest assured that Dawn will pay for that small mercy, too, in the midseason finale. Carol, who helped Noah last week, may pay for that mercy, too.
Back at the bus with Maggie and Glenn, Abraham was still on his knees contemplating the meaning of existence, while Eugene remained unconscious. When Abraham got out of line, Maggie pulled a gun on him and threatened to kill him (a rare bad-ass Maggie sighting this season). Killing him might have been a small mercy for Abraham. Keeping him alive, however, might save Maggie’s life down the line because Abraham is the strongest member of their group. Good move, Maggie.
Meanwhile, Tara, Rosita, and Glenn went fishing, found a yo yo, and bonded. Mostly that subplot just killed some time while they waited for Eugene to regain consciousness and Abraham to come to his senses.
“Crossed” was, more or less, part one of the mid-season finale, an episode that moved all the pieces into place for the bloody Grady Memorial showdown next week. Who will die? If history is any indication, those who offered mercy may suffer the most.
