Comic book recap: The Walking Dead issue 164 ‘A Fallen House’
By Adam Carlson
What happened during issue 164 of The Walking Dead comic book series titled ‘A Fallen House’ that was released on February 15, 2017 by Image Comics?
The Walking Dead issue 163 was a huge issue that put Alexandria in all kinds of danger. Released on Wednesday, Februrary 15, 2017, issue 164 titled ‘A Fallen House’ showed the survivors attempting to deal with at least some of these issues.
As a warning, this recap will cover the events from ‘A Fallen House’, so it is highly recommended that you be caught up on the comics or have read the reviews to understand what is going on right now.
***WARNING: The Walking Dead 164 comic spoilers below***
Maggie, Carl, and the people from The Hilltop arrive to find Alexandria swarmed by zombies. Maggie is quick to tell Carl not to think the worst about Rick as Jesus and Michonne arrive on the scene.
MIchonne says they were ready, as Rick had a plan to draw people away and secure the gates. However, Carl informed her that the gates have fallen and the undead are now inside the community.
Jesus says the people of the town are smart. They likely did what they could and then found shelter away from the massive group of walkers. Then, he says they should get back to work on thinning the herd, when Maggie and The Hilltop join in their efforts.
Carl wants to help too, but Maggie says it is a bad idea. She says he isn’t a good enough rider of horses for this task and instead tells him to set up a perimeter and keep Briana in the loop about what is going on as they ride toward the zombies.
Meanwhile, in Alexandria, Negan is helping Rick away from the walkers who nearly grabbed him at the end of last issue. Rick tells Negan to get to the door and open it, since he’s faster than the walkers even though he’s injured.
Finding a house, Negan opens it and gets inside. For a moment, it looks like Negan is going to shut the door on Rick and feed him to the walkers, but when Rick cries out “NO!”, Negan reaches out to help him inside the house before the door closes.
Inside, Negan confronts Rick about what just happened. Rick, out of breath and unsure what to say, listens to him talk about going back for him when others were running to safety. Finally giving up, Negan says it’s probably best they stay quiet anyway, as to not draw walker attention to themselves.
However, Negan isn’t known for his silence. He talks about seeing fear in the eyes of Alexandria’s residents as they fled from the walkers. He goes on to say that he and Rick are different. That they are calm and cool, even in deadly situations.
Andrea is outside blowing a horn to get the walkers attention hoping to pull them out of Alexandria. Yumiko and Magna arrive to help make sure the group doesn’t split apart or become fractured while pulling them out.
Meanwhile, several residents have taken shelter in Eugene’s house. Siddiq sees the radio inside, and wonders what it is. Others are rallying to keep spirits alive. Negan, on the other hand, wants to make time go by faster by talking about the worst thing they’ve ever done.
Even though Rick initially didn’t want to play this game, he eventually came around. After some thought, he said the worst thing he ever did was live when so many others around him did not.
Negan says he understands that, but then goes off on a massive rant about how weak people will die even under strong leadership. He talks about how death has made him numb and he finds it hard to find humanity in people at all anymore.
He used bashing in skulls with Lucille as an example of things he did when he didn’t see people as humans anymore while saying what he did with Glenn was messed up. He says Rick helped him to see that.
But the worst thing Negan has ever done is leave his wife to rot. He opens up about the hospital where he couldn’t find the strength to take her out once she became a zombie. He regrets not giving her a burial or being able to put her to rest himself.
Heath is impressed by Eugene’s efficiency when it comes to managing the herd. In terms only Eugene would use, he broke down how he was able to use their own drive against them. Heath says he is more used to supply runs where staying away from the undead is the major goal.
Thanking Eugene for the crutch, Heath says he feels useful again. Eugene replies that he understands totally and being able to contribute in other ways helps to make him feel like part of the community as well as they get back to work on the horde.
The situation continues to get worse inside Alexandria for now. There is concern from individuals that the houses may not hold for long if they don’t draw the walkers away. After some consideration, Dwight convinces Laura to fire off some gunshots and draw the attention of the walkers.
Andrea joins in, pulling walkers away from Alexandria with the horn and by making more noise. The group splits to ensure they are getting as many as possible to follow, with Dwight meeting up with Eugene and Heath to manage the herd.
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Sneaking a peek out the window, Negan realizes that the walkers are now moving out instead of in. He is relieved to tell Rick, but Mr. Grimes stands up to get weapons to help out with the undead removal.
Negan says that is a bad idea and that he will force Rick to stay in the house if necessary. Negan says he’ll do the dirty work. Rick opens the door and tells Negan to jump back in if things get out of control. Negan seems pleased they are working together.
Carl rallies the people of The Hilltop to take up weapons to eliminate what is left of the undead. Lydia watches on, admiring Carl’s leadership.
The Saviors are still watching. John reports back to Tara that things are winding down from the walker invasion. Tara says in just a few hours they will go in to clean up whatever is left of Alexandria as the issue comes to a close.
Next: The Walking Dead 165 cover spells trouble
Issue 165 of The Walking Dead is titled ‘Opportunity’ and will be released by Image Comics and Skybound on March 1, 2017. That’s right, another 2 weeks is all comic book fans will have to wait to find out what is next for Rick Grimes and the rest of the survivors!