The Walking Dead S5E12 – What’s the Catch?

So Rick and his crew have officially entered Alexandria, and by the end of the episode, some of them looked very different. None moreso than Rick himself…

Much like it is in the comics, Alexandria seems to stand as a time capsule from the old world, complete with houses, running water, etc. And you thought you loved a hot shower.

Throughout this episode, the one thing running through my mind was: “What’s the catch?” In the world of The Walking Dead, something very good is usually followed by something very bad. People died after they found the prison. Woodbury was home to The Governor, etc. So what’s the catch here?

Among the Alexandria survivors is Enid, a girl Carl’s age who came from the outside. If you’re reading the comics these days, you know that Carl’s taste in girls is somewhat…odd. I’m just saying. If there isn’t a catch with Alexandria itself, there’s definitely some kind of weird catch with this girl.

 Deanna, Alexandria’s leader, interviews Rick and his group individually before allowing them into Alexandria. This gave the episode something of a found footage vibe, which of course we haven’t seen before on The Walking Dead. I get the impression we’ll see more of those tapes before the season is over. If there’s one thing this show has taught us, it’s that everybody has a skeleton in their closet.

Daryl doesn’t seem to fit the Alexandria mold. Daryl only began to thrive after the zombie apocalypse. As odd as it sounds, he’s not made for the more civilized lifestyle they’re going for in Alexandria. He’s good at killing zombies. That’s his calling in life, seemingly. Betcha 10 bucks he ends up getting exiled, which would bring Deanna into conflict with Rick.

Glenn gets into a fight with Aiden for toying with a zombie. I don’t understand the notion of playing with these things. They make horrible sounds and eat people. They’re the stuff of nightmares. Unless you’re killing them or running from them, just leave them the hell alone!

 “Sheriff Rick” returns. By the end of the episode, Rick looks much as he did in season 1. Oddly enough, the one thing that stood out to me about the return of this look was that Rick is still wearing his wedding ring. Has he always done that? That’s interesting…

Written by: The Fanboy Wonder, Rob Siebert