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The Walking Dead Recap: S5E14 ‘Spend’

By Susie Graham

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This is the beginning.  ~Noah’s notebook

Capable, brave, brutal, loyal, loving, crushed, naive, fearful, confused, guilty,sheltered, insulated, innocent, smart, self-assured, visionary.

Father Gabriel is still having trouble reconciling the brutal act he witnessed in the church with Gareth and the hunters and the goodness of our people. He has his own guilt and knows now of the evil in the world and of the walkers, but he sees our group as “Satan disguised as false light”.  He warns Deanna that they “have done unspeakable things…can’t be trusted…don’t deserve paradise”.  Gabriel longs for the paradise he sees in Alexandria and feels justified in his warning Deanna who says she has a lot to think about. Thankfully, for Rick’s group, Maggie overhears the conversation from the basement steps.

Deanna does have quite a bit to think about because our group is showing the people of Alexandria that they are much better equipped to help run things in Alexandria because of their experience outside the walls and to Deanna’s surprise and perhaps chagrin, the eyes of the people of Alexandria are opening and they are quite amenable to letting Rick’s group take the lead in several areas.

Abraham showed off his walker killing skills and gave us a classic Abraham line while out on the construction site. He saved a woman named Francine whom the Alexandria construction workers would have left for dead in their fear, ineptitude and panic. The construction workers were so impressed that the foreman recommended to Deanna that Abraham be promoted to take his place. Deanna agreed, but verbalized to Maggie her nervousness about the pattern that is emerging with Rick’s group becoming positions of authority so quickly. Maggie reassured her that they know what they are doing and that’s why she wanted them here and that’s why Aaron and Daryl are out looking for more people.  But now with Father Gabriel’s warning, how will Deanna feel?

Aiden, Nicholas, Tara, Eugene, Glenn and Noah leave on a run to get some parts for the power grid that Eugene will be able to identify easily.  Eugene doesn’t want to be there because of the walkers. He thinks he’s done his job by getting them to Alexandria–putting the idea of Washington DC in their heads got them there.  Tara points out his cowardice and he readily accepts the critique. Inside the warehouse Glenn’s insights about perimeter checks and walkers likely being trapped behind something finally impress Aiden making him realize the group knows what they are doing. Tara lets him know they’ve been out there. This admiration doesn’t prevent Aiden from panicking and causing  a grenade explosion severely injuring Tara, whose status is still unknown and pinning Aiden who confessed to Glenn just prior to being torn apart by walkers, that it was “us” (Aiden and Nicholas) who panicked and caused the deaths on the earlier runs.

Meanwhile, an unconscious Tara has given Eugene courage and he has managed to get her to the van. In a most spectacular scene, Glenn and Noah find themselves stuck in a revolving door across from Nicholas with walkers in the remaining two diagonal compartments.

Nobody can move.  They are all pushing to stay in place. Eugene arrives honking the horn to attract most of the walkers away giving hope for a plan of escape. Glenn plans to break the glass on three. Trust me. No, it won’t work. Panic. Nicholas panics and escapes his section of the revolving door leaving Noah vulnerable to be yanked by the leg by walkers and pulled away from Glenn into his own section. Don’t let go. A literal and metaphorical plea from Noah as he gets pulled from Glenn and his face is smashed into the glass, horror clear and visible to Glenn as if he were at zoo watching animals eat their prey through a glass cage. We as the viewer must watch Glenn watch the horror from the safety of his triangular glass bleacher.

Sam wasn’t as terrified from Carol’s threat as one would’ve imagined. Carol finds him hiding in the closet. He begs her to make cookies. He asks her lots of questions so it won’t be quiet in the kitchen as they bake. Questions including: Why did you steal the guns? Can I have one? Carol’s interactions with Sam lead her to conclude that his father is abusing him. She lets Rick know about it and her only option for Rick is that he must kill Pete.

We have been left with many questions for the penultimate episode:

How will our group deal with the loss of Noah? Will Tara survive? How will Deanna and Reg deal with the loss of their son? How will Nicholas spin the events of the run? Who will Maggie tell about Father Gabriel’s warning? Will, when and how will Rick kill Pete? The Walking Dead always has more questions than answers!

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