This week’s episode of The Walking Dead, “Strangers,” played with that title in two very specific ways that tied up some fourth-season loose ends, and laid out what we can expect from the fifth season. To that first aspect, The Walking Dead brought “strangers” together and turned the group of survivors into family. There was some healing to be done, and while it may be unrealistic to expect this much healing in such a short period of time, it was important for Robert Kirkman and Co. to bring these people together to set up the rest of the season.
To that end, Tyreese reconfirmed that he had forgiven Carol for the events at the prison, and even offered to help patch things over between her and the rest of the group. That turned out not to be necessary because Rick was quick to welcome Carol back into the fold after she saved all of their lives. Rick also conceded that perhaps Carol knew more than he did about the situation at the prison. Carol, however, still appears to feel a little unsettled by it all, and about her place within the group. When she said to Rick that he knew she could survive on her own, and that she proved that he was right by doing so, my gut suggested to me that she may believe that she’d still be better off — or at least more comfortable — by herself.
Meanwhile, Rick and then later, Maggie, both accepted Tara into the group, even though she was part of the Governor’s crew. There was, however, a bit of hesitation on Maggie’s part, which is understandable given that the Governor killed her father. Meanwhile, newly coupled Bob and Sasha were deliriously cute together, perhaps for the only time this series (goddamnit!).
There was also another stranger in the mix: Gabriel, played by a third alumni from The Wire, Seth Gilliam. Gabriel is something of a mystery, having apparently survived as long as he has without ever having had to kill a zombie or another person. Either that, or he’s full of sh*t, and the message that Carl found scrawled into the church exterior — “You’ll burn in hell for this” — was indicative of something insidious in his past. All the same, Carl preached trust, and Rick eventually came around to begrudgingly accepting Gabriel, past be damned.
At any rate, Gabriel ultimately led Rick and the rest of the survivors to a new shelter, the church where he’s been holed up out since the zombie outbreak. What could be interesting about this character over the course of the season, perhaps, will be seeing a man of peace, and a man of faith, resort to violence in order to ultimately become a man of survival. We haven’t had a chance to see that transformation in a while.
Through the first 55 minutes of the episode, we saw strangers become friends, and a group of survivors become family. It was important to establish solidarity behind Rick as a leader and later, behind Abraham as a guide, as the survivors eventually make their way toward Washington D.C. to “save the world for [Judith]. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there who ain’t got nothing left to do ‘cept survive.”
Of course, it was all too good to be true. For the first 55 minutes of the episode — despite some trust issues with Gabriel — everyone was happy, or at least as happy as anyone gets on The Walking Dead. That sense of family, and of safety, quickly came crashing to a halt when Bob took his leave to go out into the woods. There, he broke down into sobs, and while we are not sure why, we can probably surmise that he was bitten during the encounter with the water-logged zombies.
Not that it will ultimately matter because while Bob was sobbing, Gareth paid him a visit, along with the guy that Tyreese failed to kill last week (DAMMIT TYREESE. YOU HAD ONE JOB) and knocked Bob out cold. When he woke up, he had a bit of a headache AND NO F***KING LEG.
Sucks to be Bob.
And that is when we realized what would be the true threat this season. As Rick suggested earlier in the episode, humans are much scarier than walkers, and no human is currently more terrifying than Gareth and the Hunters, who cannibalize not out of revenge, but in order to survive. “A man’s gotta eat,” Gareth tells Bob, taking a bite out of his leg and more or less promising to do the same to everyone else in Rick’s camp.
It’s gonna be a terrifying fifth season.
Random Notes
— There was a weird water jug exchange between Carol and Daryl that felt like something that belonged in the bloopers, but they decided to keep it anyway. Anyone else catch that?
— Speaking of Carol and Daryl: I didn’t mention it above, but they’re in pursuit of the driver of this car, who should know where Beth is (and if she’s alive). That may take Carol and Daryl away from the group for a while, and in addition to Bob’s absence, raise a lot of red flags.
— I can’t get over how remarkably quiet Lil Ass Kicker is as a baby. There is literally a zombie apocalypse going on all around her, and she’s just happy to ride in a front pack.
— You knew that Bob was going to probably die. There’s just too many survivors right now, more black characters than the show has ever carried, and three The Wire alums on the show. Somebody had to go, and when Bob started his cute exchange with Sasha, his demise seemed all but inevitable.
— If — and we don’t know if it’s true, obviously — but if Bob was bitten, I guess we’ll find out the consequences of eating potentially tainted meat. Maybe the virus can be killed in the campfire?
— A quick shout-out to Andrew J. West, who is doing an unbelievably great job at playing Gareth. He’s terrifying, and all the more so because he’s not doing this out of revenge, necessarily. He’s doing this because he and his men have a taste for human meat. A hungry man is a lot more dangerous than a vengeful one.
