Episode 9: What Happened and What's Going On
Alright! We are back at it with the back half of Season 5 and boy do we hit the ground running!
We are greeted right away with some seriously ominous imagery. Those who said this episode is like an acid trip are right on- well, that is we can only guess what an acid trip is like and that'd be our guess.
What is not apparent right away is that we are bouncing back and forth through time, from Tyreese's point of view. We see what we think is Beth's burial... but nay nay, this is the art of misdirection. The group decides to take Noah home as he and Beth planned to do, and we find out they've made a 500 mile trek since we last saw them (according to Nicotero, 17 days have elapsed since Beth's death). Can it be, Daryl Dixon has finally made it out of Georgia? One can't help but wonder if he was watching the landscape outside the van window change in secret excitement. You could imagine the little boy squeal inside his head when he saw the first State line sign.
Rick, Tyreese, Michonne, Glenn, and Noah trepidatiously approach Noah's walled-off neighborhood. There is no sign of anyone near the gate. Peering over, it is clear the worst has happened and only walkers are there to greet them. Burned out homes and walker body parts are all that's left. As they jump over the fence, Noah breaks down and Tyreese stays to comfort him while the others scavenge. Haven't we learned our lesson not to separate?
Noah makes a break for it, headed for his own house to see what has happened to his family, with Ty in hot pursuit. Ty goes in first to clear. Noah's family has been killed and his brother is now a walker... who decides Ty's arm looks like a nice snack. And from here, we're taken on an intentional battle between optimism that Tyreese will make it and despair that he will not.
Tyreese's delirium brought on by blood loss brings about discussion on his past wrongs with the likes of Martin (the Termite he lied about killing), The Governor who wants him to pay the bill on the keep he failed to earn after promising it, Mika and Lizzie, Bob, and finally Beth. It is the quintessential final reckoning/welcoming, and despite how polarizing these characters could be, made us smile with delight at this brief reunion.
The group tries to save him by removing his bitten arm, but ultimately- yes, they fail and we find out the burial from the beginning was actually Ty's. So what now? The group has traveled 500 miles only to find their destination has fallen and lost a member in the process. Thanks to a brief discussion in the street of Noah's neighborhood, we know that Michonne has talked Rick into continuing on to D.C.... so we have a new direction, or yet a resuming of the previous one. After all, we've been teased about Morgan and he has the map to Washington, right? So it would naturally follow that the group would have to end up there so that he can be worked back into the story.
All in all it was a very well written, well executed mid-season premiere. The trip to Noah's fallen neighborhood did not consume more screen time than it should have, which was a major complaint with the first half (not enough forward progress). No one saw Tyreese's death coming for sure, particularly not immediately after Beth's death, so it definitely was not predictable. The only thing we didn't like about the episode was it's name!
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