This week on The Walking Dead, we have a kindler, gentler episode, giving us a break after the utter misery of the last one. Not a whole lot happens but we get some character work that doesn't entirely feel like filler and although it isn't a fantastic episode, it's a pretty decent one.
We pick up back in Alexandria, a couple of weeks after the massacre. The walls have been rebuilt, Carl is up and at 'em, Rick is actually calm, happy and at peace. He and Daryl are going on a supply run since everything is quiet: in addition to the necessary food and medical supplies, Michonne has requested toothpaste and Denise ADORABLY asks Daryl to bring back some pop for Tara as a surprise, if he comes across any. As the guys head out, Eugene suggests that they check agricultural supply spots for sorghum wheat, which would be a good crop for them to grow. They pick up speed heading out of town and Rick pops in a CD of perky country music. "No," Daryl protests in vain, "Don't, don't, please don't." And then he gives Rick some serious side-eye as Rick snaps his fingers along to the music. Aw, it's a buddy-roadtrip episode!
Back at Alexandria, Michonne notices Spencer heading out into the woods outside the walls with a shovel on his back. She climbs down from the walls to follow him. Inside the walls, Maggie finds Enid who is by herself, writing in her journal. She asks the younger girl what she's been doing with her time and when Enid can't/won't account for herself, suggests that maybe she could help out. "I'm around," says Maggie, in a friendly tone, "Come find me."
Rick and Daryl slam on the brakes and pull to a stop in front of a barn with SORGHUM written on its wall. In the barn they find a small box truck loaded with all kinds of food and toiletries. They are thrilled and get the truck started, deciding to take it back to town and return later for their car. On the way back, they stop at an old gas station. Daryl breaks into a vending machine, pulling out orange soda and some chips. Rick is all, ???? and Daryl explains that it's for Denise. Rick nods, saying that she has really stepped up, saving Carl's life and all. He admits that he was wrong in his initial assessment of the Alexandrians.
Just then they are interrupted as a guy in a leather coat, wool beanie and a kerchief over his face runs up, knocking into them. Our boys pull their guns and the guy introduces himself as Paul Robia (?), "Jesus" to his friends (because of the resemblance when he reveals his face). He says that there is a small herd of walkers coming this way and he's not sticking around to deal with them. He says that he's on his own, with no camp, and when Rick starts to ask the three questions, Daryl stops him, saying, not this guy. When Jesus runs off, Rick points out to Daryl that Jesus was too clean and put-together to be out on his own. They wonder if they should follow up and then a series of small explosions erupt behind them: firecrackers, that Jesus put in a barrel. Daryl says to Rick, he swiped your keys, didn't he? and they run back towards the truck, only to watch as Jesus drives away in it. Daryl: Shit. Rick: Shit.
Michonne catches up with Spencer out in the woods. He says he's just walking and she tags along, wondering what he's up to. Also out in the woods, Carl and Enid. Apparently this is where Enid has been going, accompanying Carl who has become a little bit withdrawn after his eye got shot off, needing some alone time. He's content to read comics out in the woods but Enid has come to the end of her patience with that. They see Michonne and Spencer walk past but don't say anything. A little later, they come across a lone walker. At first Carl is bent on killing it, since their friends are out in the woods, and then he refuses, to Enid's dismay. "This is bullshit! It should be dead!" she cries. He pushes her away, saying that he's not going to kill it, that she wouldn't understand. Carl tells her to go home and then leads the walker off in the other direction.
Rick and Daryl run and run, finally catching up to Jesus and their truck when he has to stop for a flat tire. They overpower him eventually - he puts up an awfully good fight - and tie him up, leaving him sitting on the road ("The knots are loose," Rick assures him) as they drive off in their truck. A bit down the road, they see a farm near a small lake and turn in. As they drive through the field, however, there is some banging coming from on top of the truck. "It's that guy," snarls Daryl. Rick slams on the brakes, throwing Jesus off the truck (how the hell did he get up there that quickly?) and Daryl jumps out, chasing him through the field. As Daryl and Jesus tussle, Rick parks the truck to deal with some walkers that are approaching. Jesus makes a run for the truck, Daryl close behind him. They struggle again in the cab of the truck, Jesus stealing Daryl's gun. He points it at Daryl's head and then says, "Duck!" Daryl ducks and Jesus shoots the walker that was quietly approaching. Daryl says thanks and then pulls Jesus out of the truck, knocking it out of park in the meantime. The truck begins to roll backwards, towards the lake. Jesus gets a hard knock on the head from the truck door and collapses. But Daryl and Rick are too slow to save the truck and can only watch in disbelief as it rolls into the lake and submerges. They shrug: what can you do? Rick's all, we can't just leave that guy here, passed out in the field. Daryl suggests that they just stick him up in a tree, out of reach of any walkers, but Rick insists that they take him back, let Denise patch him up and then question him.
Michonne and Spencer see Carl running through the woods. Then they see the walker that is following him: it's zombie Deanna, Spencer's mom. Spencer has been out looking for her; Carl led her to him, understanding that Spencer needed to be the one who puts her down (just like he had to do for Lori back at the prison). Michonne grabs zombie Deanna's arms, holding her still, and Spencer puts a knife into her skull. They bury her together, Michonne marking a nearby tree with a carved D, and then she insists that Spencer come back to Alexandria with her. "It's where you live and you still have family there."
Back in town, Michonne finds Carl sitting on the porch with Judith. At first she chastises him for not killing zombie Deanna, then he explains: it needed to be someone who loved her. "I'd do it for you, Michonne." Michonne pulls him and the baby into her arms, saying "Me too."
Rick and Daryl bring Jesus to Denise, then after she's bandaged him up, they lock him in that house they use for new people, leaving some water and a note, probably explaining that they brought him here for safety and that they'll talk soon. As they head out, Rick says, "It is pretty stupid for us to be goin' out there." Daryl: "Yup. Do it again tomorrow?" Rick: "Yup."
Rick goes back to the house and crashes on the couch. This is where Michonne finds him. They sit companionably for a while, each not much wanting to talk about their day. He hands her some mints that he scavenged, since all the toothpaste is at the bottom of the lake. Michonne: "Oh, so you had a day!" Then their fingers touch, and their hands, and then they lean in and kiss. (Apparently a couple of weeks is all he needs to get over Jessie.) Michonne laughs a bit and then they go at it. Some time later that night, they sleep in bed together, naken, her sword on one side of the bed and his gun on the bedside table. A man's voice: "Rick. Rick! Wake up." Rick and Michonne lunge out of bed, stark naked, grabbing their weapons. It's Jesus (christ - this guy is supernatural in his ability, Houdini-like). "We should talk," he says, smiling a little.
Previously on The Walking Dead / next time on The Walking Dead
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