Photo Credit: Frank Ockenfels/AMC
Warning: Major Comic Book and Television Spoilers Ahead
With everything totally eff’ed up over at Grady Memorial with Beth and Carol, we return to normalcy in tonight’s episode with Abraham and Co.’s road trip to get Eugene to D.C. Well…sort of. It’s only “normalcy” if they don’t encounter another group of crazy-ass people or a horde on the road — or they don’t find out that Eugene is full of crap. Any of these would suck ass, and given that this is The Walking Dead, it’s a safe bet that at least one of these will happen.
What Do We Know From the Comics?
We have no idea how the Eugene Porter story line is going to play out until the episode airs tonight, but we can get a few hints by looking at the comic book material. To put it bluntly — the comic-book Eugene was one big fake. He was nothing more than a high-school science teacher and when the outbreak hit, found himself with no discernible fighting skills. So, he concocted the whole story of having the cure to the zombie virus, crafted his hair into a mullet to hide his intelligence, and convinced Abraham Ford that he was the savior of humanity in order to gain his protection. Pretty neat trick, eh?
And, it was pretty clever until his handheld radio broke, and it was revealed that it didn’t even have batteries in it. Eugene had always said that he was communicating with people in Washington using that radio, and so, obviously all of that was a big lie. This resulted in Eugene getting the crap beaten out of him by Abraham, and it created a huge wedge between him and Rick’s group for a good while.
Top 5 Predictions For Tonight’s Episode
So, will all of this play out like in the comics? I certainly don’t think it will go down in exactly the same way, but with how closely Scott Gimple has been following the source material lately, I’m not expecting huge deviations. Here’s my top 5 predictions:
1. We finally get a good glimpse into Abraham’s backstory. In the comics, Abraham lost his entire family in the apocalypse, and so when Eugene came along with the promise of a cure, Abraham latched onto it. It gave him a sense of hope and a sense of purpose, and as a result, it became his personal mission to protect Eugene and get him to D.C. no matter what the cost. I have big money on this playing out in exactly the same way.
2. It will be made clear that Abraham and Rosita are officially a couple. And, it will involve a lot more than Tara just stating it — wink, wink.
3. The group will encounter a mini-horde, and Eugene will actually stand up and help out in the familiar firetruck scene we saw in the Comic-Con trailer.
4. Yes, the bus will crash, but there will be no serious injuries, let alone any fatalities.
5. Now, for the million dollar question: will we find out the truth about Eugene and whether he’s on the level? While I wouldn’t necessarily put all my chips on that, I certainly think it’s a strong possibility.
Episode 5.05 of The Walking Dead is titled “Self Help” and airs tonight at 9/8c on AMC.
VIDEO
Sneak Peek
Promo
Inside The Walking Dead Episode 5.04: Slabtown
PHOTOS
All photos courtesy of Gene Page and AMC
