The Walking Dead Series 5 Blog: Strangers

After the frantic season premiere, The Walking Dead slowed down the pace with “Strangers” in an episode that fell into some of the traps of old clichés in the entertainment medium. If a central character suspects that they are being followed, chances are that is exactly the case. If the “good guys” don’t finish off the “bad guys”, you can bet that their hesitation to do so will come back to bite them in the ass and walking alone into the woods at night is never a good idea, especially in a world full of roaming zombies, or “walkers.” Nevertheless, “Strangers” was still a solid episode due in part to the introduction of Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) and that ending.

There’s just not enough time to focus on every individual with the whole cast back together again meaning that some of the characters could easily drop into the periphery. Thankfully, the show seems to be dealing with this by highlighting dialogue between small groups such as Bob (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green). Carl (Chandler Riggs) now appears to serve as the “moral compass” for the survivors as he reasoned with his father about Gabriel by suggesting that there are still people they can trust in this world. I don’t think Carl is in any immediate danger, but it is interesting to note that the last two characters who adopted this role, namely Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) and Hershel (Scott Wilson) both lost their lives. It was thought that they provided a strong sense of security, which led to Rick and the others feeling too comfortable.

If the good guys don’t finish off the bad guys, you can bet that their hesitation to do so will come back to bite them in the ass

Anyone who is still alive at this point but can’t bring themselves to kill a walker is automatically very suspicious but as we learnt more about Gabriel it soon became clear that the guy is hiding something big. In fact, Rick asks Gabriel why he hasn’t killed anyone yet, as if it’s some sort of twisted pre-requisite for being alive. Nevertheless, the survivors found refuge in his church, which may provide the central setting for this season, like the prison for seasons three and four. Once again, The Walking Dead was way too heavy-handed during the scene in which Carol opened up what seemed to be a written copy of the Bible to find the quote “thou shalt not kill”, having of course done her fair share recently. It’s at moments like this where I feel the show should at least try to be a bit subtler and less in-your-face with it’s various themes.

Gareth and his crew of cannibals will probably stick around until the mid-season finale, having taken the role of “the hunters” from the comics. These guys are a lot creepier and menacing than the other villains presented so far which is a nice change from the Governor’s antics. Whilst feasting on Bob’s leg, we caught a brief shot of the man who Tyreese (Chad Coleman) claimed to have “taken care of” when he was with baby Judith in the previous episode. Tyreese allowing him to survive probably meant that he found Gareth and the other cannibals, directing them in the way of Rick’s group.

Bob, the optimist and arguably most positive person left on the show was crying before he was captured. Most viewers, myself included, believe that Bob was actually bitten by a walker concealed underwater during the attempt to find some supplies earlier on in the episode. Knowing that his time was limited and that he posed a danger to the others, it seems probable that Bob went into to end his own life, which is also why he asked Sasha for one more kiss.  Ironically, this means that cannibals may have actually saved him by cutting off his leg, presuming this was where he was bitten. The grotesque ending, which will be surely be one of the highlights of the season kept “Strangers” from otherwise being a rather dull affair.

Meanwhile, Daryl and Carol set off on a quest to find the whereabouts of Beth (Emily Kinney), after spotting the same car that she disappeared in last season. With these two now off on their own, it leaves the main group far more vulnerable to a potential attack from the hunters. Whether the show intended for this or not is another matter, but Daryl seems to care for Beth a lot more than her own sister, Maggie (Lauren Cohan). Maggie mentioned her sister briefly in “No Sanctuary”, but was more concerned with finding Glenn throughout last season. Still, Beth’s location remains the greatest mystery on The Walking Dead at the moment. It was theorised that Gabriel may have been the person to take her but we now know that isn’t the case.

It would be impossible for The Walking Dead to continue in the same extravagant action of the season premiere so “Strangers” quieter approach wasn’t much of a disappointment. At times the episode was too predictable but the haunting images of Bob’s dire situation was a memorable way to end. The next episode, “Four Walls and a Roof” will hopefully shed some light on where Beth is and what Gabriel is hiding.