‘The Walking Dead’ Episode 5.2 “Strangers” (8 out of 10) Created by Frank Darabont; Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Chandler Riggs, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan; Sundays on AMC.
Tonight, our heroes found the time to regroup after straight up blowing Terminus out of existence. I sure hope they won’t have to deal with any negative repercussions of the events that transpired in episode one…
Spoilers ahoy!
Gabriel the Priest
In between some slow-mo shots of our heroes walking through the woods and looking badass, they’re given some time to re-forge old connections. There’s definitely a vibe of near-invincibility that is coursing through them as they take some time to reflect back on their lives thus far. It’s a good thing too, since someone is definitely following them on their wilderness trek.
It’s on this ominous note that the team meets a priest named Gabriel who is trying to avoid a group of undead by sitting on top of a rock and screaming for help. After Rick and crew save him, Gabriel is confronted by some of the coldest, mistrusting stares that we’ve seen all season. Interestingly enough, it’s Carl who extends an olive branch to this guy, which is worth discussing. Up to this point, Carl’s been your typical adolescent male. He’s trying to figure out whether he’s tough and rebellious or stoic and noble—all of this taking place during a zombie apocalypse. During this episode, it looks as if the tough guy Carl has given way to a more optimistic character. Despite constant warnings from Rick that he’s never actually safe, no matter how many people he has around him, Carl appears to have maintained a sense of positivity which gives me hope for his future. Based on how the characters of Tyreese, Carl, and Michonne have evolved from tough, world-hating warriors into people who have decided to start living for something other than survival, the contrast between them and the remnants of Terminus will be a big part of this season.
Back to the priest. He’s been surviving by himself all this time, and there are all kinds of red flags surrounding his appearance. Most notably would have to be the words “you’ll burn for this” carved into the outside wall of the church, and Gabriel’s near hysterics when confronted by a zombie that he used to know. Since the best case scenario is that Gabriel locked himself inside his church while his congregation tried to carve their way in before getting attacked by the undead, it’s probably a safe bet that he’s a liability.
The Hunters
After Rick’s group is expelled from the prison in the comic books, they come across a nasty bunch known as the Hunters. They’re called the Hunters because they hunt people and eat them—sounds a bit familiar, right? Led by the creepifying Gareth (Andrew J. West), the remnants from Terminus have been silently stalking our heroes through the woods and snatching them one at a time—starting with Bob Stookey. I knew as soon as things were looking up for Bob, they were going to find an excuse to have someone knock him unconscious, amputate his leg, and eat it in front of him. Oh, and that dude that Tyreese allegedly killed in episode one? Yeah, he’s still alive. Tyreese has some ‘splaining to do with that one. And is the dingy car with a cross decal in its rear window—you know, the one that belonged to whoever kidnapped Beth—is it associated with the Hunters? Is it Gabriel? Or is it someone far more deranged? Either way, Daryl and Carol tear ass after him or her.
Verdict
Tonight’s episode was definitely about recuperation. The team had been through a terrible ordeal, and we needed to see them regain their ground. The gore in tonight’s episode was sparse, but used to great effect—water zombies continue to be the most disgusting type of zombies. They’re just so gray and pruny. We had some minor conflicts involving whether or not Rick was going to help Abraham get Eugene to Washington D.C., and it seems like Carol is thinking about going all Whitesnake on the group—both of which seemed to come to rather abrupt and convenient conclusions. There’s still quite a bit of potential nastiness in store for our heroes, and I’m pretty sure at least one of them is going to die before the mid-season finale. Keep watching, friends!