The Walking Dead: looking back at The Distance

On February 22, 2015, AMC aired the eleventh episode of season 5 of The Walking Dead, “The Distance.” This episode was written by Seth Hoffman and directed by Larysa Kondracki.

This episode picks up where “Them” left off with Maggie and Sasha meeting Aaron. They bring him to the barn, where the group took shelter during the storm. Rick is immediately on guard and is not impressed with anything Aaron says.

The rest of the group is more willing to listen as they have been without food, water and shelter for quite some time. They are still grieving the losses of Beth and Tyreese and have had an extremely difficult time.

The Walking Dead season 5

When they meet Aaron, they discover he was the one who left the water on the road from them and that he had been watching them for days. He explains that he is a recruiter for a community that will keep them safe if they join him.

Rick knocks him out and sends the group out to scout for others from Aaron’s group. When Aaron regains consciousness, he is still jovial, which prompts Rick to say that he can’t trust a man who still smiles after being beaten.

The majority of the group feel they can trust Aaron but Rick and Glenn are the most outspoken about not trusting. Michonne points out to Glenn their group saved a Priest, a girl who was on the side of the Governor and even a crazy woman with a sword herself. When they found the RV and car that Aaron told them about, they knew they could trust him.

They return to the barn with the news and decide to go with Aaron to Alexandria, but on Rick’s terms. They travel by night and encounter a roadway crawling with walkers. The RV misses the horde and travels in a different direction. The car that Glenn is driving crashes through, many of them making a mess of the vehicle with all the walker guts. After they stop, the car which won’t restart. This requires them to head out on foot; when they see a flare in the sky, Aaron tells them the deal is off as he runs towards the flare, his hands still tied.

Believing the others set off the flare all of Rick’s group head in that direction and meet up again. This is where Eric, Aaron’s boyfriend, is introduced. He suffered a broken ankle but was otherwise ok.

Earlier, Rick shared with Michonne that they were greeted with silence when they arrived at Woodbury and Terminus, implying this should have been a warning. But, as they stop their vehicle at the gates of Alexandria, he hears chatter and children laughing. Still cautious, he agrees to enter Alexandria.

A little trivia about this episode: This marked Steven Yeun and Chandler Riggs’ 50th appearances in the series. Glenn knowing where the batteries were in the RV is a throwback to when Dale was teaching Glenn to repair his RV in earlier seasons.

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