The Walking Dead 901 recap: A New Beginning
Walker Bait
Rick baits a walker inside the museum so that they can get inside. It looks like they’re at the Smithsonian. There are walkers all over the place, including the former clerk who worked there. Rick grabs a map and they head inside. The museum is filthy, with birds nesting in the rafters. Rick tells everyone to check their lists and meet back once they’re finished. Most importantly: Be safe.
The group clears the museum as they go. When they reach the grand staircase, Maggie says this is going to work. The floor, which is made of glass, reveals that there are dozens of walkers beneath them. They press onward, and a walker falls from the upper floors and lands on the glass floor. Daryl shoots it.
A walker with bugs coming out of its face grabs Siddiq, who fights it off. Rick asks if he’s okay and he says he doesn’t like spiders.
Father Gabriel kills a walker at the evolution exhibit, clearing the path. He smiles at “intelligent design” and Anne (formerly Jadis) likes it. Daryl asks Cyndie if she’s ok and she says she was thinking of memories like fighting with her brother. Daryl also has those kind of memories, but he wasn’t alone when they dealt with him.
They break into the horticulture office and find seeds. Anne says she brought her classes here when she was teaching and remembered that they talked about their supply of seeds.
Maggie, Carol and Michonne marvel that Gregory called for an election, and he’s sore that he lost. Carol laughs, noting that she lives with a king. Michonne stops when she sees a poster about the Constitution. Michonne says she’s glad Maggie won her election. Maggie is glad she grew up on a farm.
The group works together to lower a covered wagon over the glass floor. The walkers below are watching them closely. They can hear the floor creaking as they lower the wagon, and soon it starts to crack. They pull the wagon off the glass and start working to move the other equipment. This time it’s the ladies moving the blacksmith equipment. Rick and Daryl grab a canoe while Carol and Ezekiel grab a plow. The floor gives out and Ezekiel falls through, but the ropes catch him. He’s dangling over the walkers while the group tries to pull him up. When they get him out of the hole, Carol hugs him and gives him a big kiss.Twice.
Outside, they load everything up into the wagons and Rick gets on his horse. Alden is also there. Daryl is on his bike and they all ride away.
The street signs have been painted with a new set of directions. One says “Route B” and Daryl rides out ahead so that he can kill any walkers in the way. Rick and Michonne lead the caravan. Alden and the other young men ask about taking apprenticeships. Shoeing horses is a full time job. Ezekiel tells Carol he was scared back there and she was, too. He asks her to marry him, but she won’t take the ring because it will get caught on things, and it wasn’t a great proposal. He loves her anyway and promises to keep the ring until she’s ready.
The bridge is out so they have to go off to other communities to spend the night and continue on the next day. Rosita marks the sign with “Bridge Out” so people know not to go through.
The horses are getting tired and they won’t be able to pull the wagons through the mud. The wagon gets stuck in the mud and they try to pull it out one more time as walkers approach on the road. There are quite a few of them. Daryl and Michonne move to clear them out, which Michonne does gleefully, while everyone else loads the wagon once again. The horses are anxious with the walkers around and they fight the walkers off so as to not spook the horses. One of the young boys, Ken, goes back to free the horses and is bitten in the process. Come on, Ken. You should know better by now. But the horses make it, so there’s that.
Siddiq jumps into action and tries to make a tourniquet but Ken says he won’t be going home to his mom and dad, and within minutes he is already dead. Maggie holds his hand and weeps, then she looks up at Rick.