Warning: Spoilers ahead for those who have not seen episode 5.14 “Spend”

We are nearing the end of season 5, and as with any other season, people are starting to get nervous with the smell of death getting closer and closer. As I said in my preview, it’s particular nerve-wrecking this year because with the addition of Alexandria, the cast of the show has more than doubled. Way too many characters to keep track of, and so, it seems obvious that we are heading for some serious heartache with the deaths of several characters before the season’s end. Well, it all started tonight with the loss of not only one but 2 characters. What’s more, they went out in such an utterly horrific way that could only be possibly topped by Dale’s death scene, thus proving that Greg Nicotero still has the impeccable talent of creating the most disgusting, grotesque scenes that will stay with you for days.

The trouble begins with a supply run for some parts for the solar farm. Eugene (Josh McDermitt) had been given the job of engineer in Alexandria, and he needs the parts for some much-needed repairs. The team for the run consists of Glenn (Steven Yeun), Tara (Alanna Masterson), Noah (Tyler James Williams), Nicholas (Michael Traynor), Aiden (Daniel Bonjour) and of course, Eugene. Basically the same group as the totally effed-up run in “Remember” plus the addition of Eugene. They gear up, hop into an old crappy van, and head out — oh and with very loud music blasting BTW. If that isn’t an omen that this run is about to go very South very fast, I don’t know what is. I mean, come on, you just don’t turn on music full-max. All that will do is attract every walker in the area thus insuring you’ll have a mini-horde on your hands in a matter of minutes.

Once they arrive at the electronics store, it doesn’t take long for it all to hit the fan. We all knew Aiden was dumb as horse sh*t with his tying up that walker in the episode “Remember,” but his actions tonight are a definite confirmation. The team stumbles on a group of walkers and without thinking, Aiden fires his gun at a walker in riot gear. Well, one of the bullets hits a grenade, thus causing a massive explosion. Once all of the smoke clears, the group is immediately alarmed to find Tara on the floor with a massive gash on her head and blood everywhere. But, it gets worse.

Even though he’s still alive, Aiden is impaled by 2 steel poles. Ouch! Nicholas, who we supposed was Aiden’s friend, panics like a girl and runs out. But, before he does, he whispers in Aiden’s ear that he’s sorry, but “this is what we do.” So, I guess this means to become an Alexandrian, you agree to never put yourself in danger for someone else. What an asshole! Aiden may have been a self-professed “douchebag,” but I think Nicholas comes much closer to the definition. This leaves Glenn and Noah to clear the room of walkers so that they can try to rescue Aiden. They give it their best shot, but it doesn’t appear like they are going to leave Aiden. But, Aiden gives the cue to Glenn that he needs to go.

The other ones before. It wasn’t their fault, it was ours — Aiden to Glenn

And, kabob Aiden is left to be munched on by the remaining walkers. Wow, that really sucks. I didn’t like Aiden and saw him as a liability to any group he worked with, but I still wouldn’t have wished this on him. RIP brother.

One good thing does come out of this totally effed-up situation — Eugene finally decides to grow some balls and ultimately saves Tara. Yay, you go Eugene! While everyone else is working on Aiden, Eugene scoops up the bleeding Tara and is able to get her out of the warehouse. It is here that he waits for the rest of the group to emerge. After Glenn and Noah finally has to give up on Aiden, they, as well as Nicholas, are running to get out of this deathtrap. Then, the most ridiculously screwed-up thing happens — they get caught in a revolving door and is surrounded by walkers. Glenn tries to do the logical thing by breaking the glass, but Mr. Dumbass, Nicholas, pushes the door to get out, which causes Noah to be exposed to the walkers.

I actually had to turn away from this scene because I knew it was coming, and I just couldn’t bear to watch. Noah’s face is pressed against the glass, and we can see dirty walker fingers reach around and rip apart his cheek. Horrible, horrible, horrible scene and very reminiscent of the Dale disembowel scene from season 2. And, poor Glenn. He’s left standing there, completely helpless, and has to watch while his friend is ripped apart.

These 2 deaths are by far the biggest things that happen in the episode but there’s plenty of other drama brewing elsewhere in Alexandria. Carol (Melissa McBride) has another run-in with Sam, but thankfully, it’s not as unsettling as last time (well, at least for Sam). She bakes some more cookies for the boy, and after spending some time with him, develops a strong suspicion that Sam, and quite possibly his mother Jessie, are being abused by his father, Pete. I knew it! I knew that creep had a dark side lurking. Even still and given her history, if there is one thing that will press Carol’s buttons it is someone who is abusing their child or their spouse. It is almost as if Carol and Sam were fated to cross paths and meet like this.

But, what Carol does next is completely, utterly shocking and in my opinion, clearly illustrates how unstable Carol has become. Some may call it badass, but I call it stupid. She reveals to Rick (Andrew Lincoln) her suspicions, and she is very blunt in her recommendation — that he should kill Pete.

Rick, I know how this will go with Pete. There is only one way it can go. You need to kill Pete — Carol to Pete

WTH?! What. The. Hell! This is totally messed up and for a number of reasons. Carol isn’t the leader of this community, and even if Rick agreed with her, I would think he would have to go through Deanne (Tovah Feldshuh) first. Carol, I have a news flash for you — you’re not running the show anymore. Second, even if Pete is abusing his son, such a crime isn’t punishable by death the last I checked. I know in the comics they actually had a jail in Alexandria; so, throw him in jail! But, killing him? I understood killing Lizzie, but Karen, David, and now, Pete? This woman is starting to cross some serious lines in my opinion. Lastly, Pete is a doctor and surgeon and their ONLY doctor. In the comics, Alexandria had a 2nd doctor, Dr. Denise Cloyd but not true in the television series. So if Rick kills Pete, then what? They are left without a doctor, and oh, BTW, Tara has just been seriously injured and will be requiring medical attention. In my eyes, Carol is starting to be a liability, and someone needs to put a leash on her before she gets somebody killed or gets the entire group exiled.

Finally, let’s talk about Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam). And, here I thought the man had finally come face-to-face with his sins by throwing his collar in the fire in the episode “Them.” What a fool I was. Gabriel arranges to have a private conversation with Deanna and informs her that Rick’s group isn’t what they seem. They have done unspeakable things and even calls them “Satan’s minions.” OMG, Gabe, isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? That’s a really nice thank-you for Rick and the group saving your sorry ass not once but multiple times. And, did you tell Deanna everything that YOU have done? I’m not sure if revealing that you locked your entire congregation out and let them die just to save your own coward ass would go over well with her. The good news is Maggie (Lauren Cohan) overhears the conversation, and hopefully, it will give the group time to react and explain themselves before Deanna decides to act on what she’s been told. And, we all know that Maggie isn’t a fan of Gabriel at all, given her big confrontation with him in “Them.”

Regardless, Gabriel’s actions will more than likely only make a bad situation much, much worse. I’m sure Aiden’s death will create somewhat of a wedge between the Alexandrians and Rick’s group, with Deanna quite possibly questioning whether they did everything they could to save her son. And, Rick and Carol shooting darts and making accusations at Pete Anderson really isn’t going to help their case either. Make no mistake, a major sh*tstorm is on the horizon, and things are not looking good for Team Rick.

THE VERDICT

All in all, I thought this was a good episode and had only a few minor complaints. The only thing that really irked me was the predictability of the 2 deaths. Let’s look at Aiden first. In the comics, the Monroes have only 1 son, Spencer, and so, Aiden doesn’t even exist. I knew the first time Aiden was mentioned that he was there for one purpose and one purpose only — to move the plot forward by being killed off quickly thus creating a divide between Deanna and Rick’s group. Not to mention, he was an asshole and most viewers wanted him dead anyways. As for Noah, yeah, most people knew he was going to die too. It was announced a good while back that Tyler James Williams had been cast in the Criminal Minds spin-off, and so, it didn’t take a genius to figure out Noah’s days were numbered. They really need to figure out a way to keep casting news under wraps because Tyreese’s death was spoiled for the very same reason.

Aside from this, the episode was a good installment, and just like the season premiere, took a back-to-basics approach to the series. As I said in my review for “What Happened and What’s Going On,” Tyreese’s death was the first time in a good long while that a character had died at the hands of the walkers. This is going all the way back to the introduction of the Governor and Woodbury and with people replacing walkers as the primary threat. Now, we seem to be going back to walkers as the things we should be watching out for, and honestly, that’s how it really should be. The show’s title is The Walking Dead, and so, the fear and the terror should be coming from, well, the dead. I’m sure the hard-core zombie fans out there will agree me.

Next week, we are heading into the season 5 penultimate episode, and a great deal of things will have to be dealt with. The fallout of Aiden’s death. What Deanna decides to do with the information provided by Gabriel (if she decides to do anything at all). And, what action Rick decides to take against Pete. We already know that Rick has been itching for an excuse to go after the man, but will he act on impulse and risk his entire family’s future at Alexandria?

Most memorable quotes

• Mother dick — Abraham (TOP quote of the hour!)
• This is the beginning of this place, you should record all that. Along with all I’m going to teach you about building things — Reg to Noah
• You keep the windows intact, you keep society intact — Rick to Jessie
• Pull the cobwebs out of your ass and get to work. We’ve got a wall to build — Abraham
• Let’s be friends, man. We kind of have to be — Pete to Rick

Critic Grade — A

The Walking Dead airs on Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

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