The Walking Dead – Recap: “No Way Out” (06×09)
[WARNING: THIS IS A RECAP SO THERE WILL BE SPOILERS]
The Walking Dead returned this Valentine’s Day with one of the best episodes of the series yet. With the last episode finishing with an anticlimactic ending, this episode was quite satisfying for those of us who have been sitting at the edge of their seats since last November.
The episode starts off where it left off the last time–Daryl, Sasha and Abraham are surrounded by a dozen motorcycle guys who don’t exactly look friendly. They’re associated with a man named Negan who has yet to appear, but has been mentioned multiple times on previous episodes. The leader of the motorcycle group tells the trio that their property (the massive truck full of guns and ammunition) now belongs to Negan. Then, he collects their sidearms and sends one of his men to scavenge the back of the truck with Daryl. Not a smart move on their part, of course. Daryl returns from the back of the truck and RPGs Negan’s gang. If this doesn’t redeem Daryl from losing his crossbow and motorcycle a few episodes back, then I don’t know what will. Sasha and Abraham laugh off their nerves and finally the trio return to Alexandria without anymore road bumps.
Meanwhile, things aren’t going too well in Alexandria. Walkers have completely taken over the community, roaming around the streets, while the Alexandrians hide in fear inside the safety of their homes. Father Gabriel, Michonne, Rick, baby Judith, Carl, Jessie, Ron, and Sam are the only people outside (besides Denise who’s being held hostage by the Wolf). They’re still wearing rags of Walker guts so that they can mask their scent to keep them from being Walker lunch. Rick changes plans and decides to head for a car to lead the Walkers away rather than go to the armory like previously planned. Father Gabriel decides to take baby Judith into the church to hide with him because they fear the baby will cry and draw the Walkers attention. Jessie wanted her youngest son, Sam, to go with him, but the boy refused to leave his mother’s side. Little did they know that this decision would cost three lives and Carl’s right eye.
Right, I’ll get to that in a bit. In the mean time, Tara is complaining to Rosita and Eugene that they need to go out and help Denise. However, Rosita shuts down her idea and tells her that they’ll die before they even reach her. She says they’ll think of something once Carol and Morgan regain consciousness. I’ve got to give credit to Rosita here. She was built for a zombie apocalypse. From using her earrings as a Wolverine-like weapon back in Season five, to teaching the Alexandrians how to use a machete at the beginning of this season, Rosita truly is a resourceful survivor. I feel like she’s a bit unappreciated. So, shout out to Rosita! Rosita tells an anxious Tara not to worry about Denise. The Wolf is injured so he needs Denise because she is a doctor. Carol and Morgan finally wake up conveniently at the same time. They find out the Wolf escaped with Denise. Morgan looks like he regrets ever trusting the Wolf. Carol just looks like she regrets not killing Morgan. Outside of Alexandria, Glenn and Enid are inside a church looking for weapons. Sure it sounds absurd, but nothing’s absurd, really, in a zombie apocalypse. They also look for anything they could use to make a rope such as a priest’s tassel. The rope is to help Maggie get down from an unsteady watchtower. They form a plan to save Maggie, which includes Glenn being “Walker-bait” and drawing the Walkers away from Maggie, while Enid climbs over the wall with the rope to where she is. Again, nothing’s absurd in a zombie apocalypse… Inside of Alexandria, Ron, Sam, Jessie, Rick, Carl, and Michonne are still walking amongst the Walkers in their Walker-gut coats. Suddenly, Sam starts to hear Carol’s creepy voice inside his head, while he tries to (unsuccessfully) contain himself from freaking out. Carol says, “The monsters will come and you won’t be able to run away when they come for you… And they will tear you apart and eat you up all up all while you’re still alive.” Then, Sam stops walking and starts to whimper. Jessie tries to calm her son down, but he keeps crying. It’s sad, but also unsurprising when a Walker appears from behind him and starts munching on his head. Jessie starts screaming and refuses to let go of Sam’s hand. She watches aguishly as her little boy gets eaten by Walkers. Attracted by her screams, Walkers start to eat her. Rick watches in distress. After all, Jessie had taught the broken man how to love again since the death of his wife (remember Lori?) back in season 3. Things get even more dramatic when Jessie–who’s being devoured by Walkers–won’t let go of Carl’s hand. Carl calls out to his dad desperately and Rick grabs his ax and chops off Jessie’s hand off. Carl is freed, but drops his gun in the process.
“The law of averages is gonna catch up.” – Rick #TWD A photo posted by The Walking Dead (@amcthewalkingdead) on
Ron picks up Carl’s sidearm and aims it at Rick. Ron’s whole family is gone and now he has nothing left to lose. Before he has a chance to shoot Rick though, Michonne kills him with her sword. However, he still managed to pull the trigger while he stumbled to the ground. Rick nods at Michonne, silently thanking her for saving his life, and then turns around to see if Carl’s okay.
Then, we see a heart-wrenching scene of Carl with a bullet hole where his right eye used to be. He mumbles a, “Dad?” before fainting.
Rick carries Carl, while Michonne leads the way, slashing out at the flesh-eating monsters violently with her katana blade, making a clear path for them. Change of plans, again. They head out to the infirmary.
Meanwhile, the Wolf and Denise try to climb up a guard post, but a Walker gets ahold of Denise. The Wolf saves her (still debating about whether he did this out of kindness or not–you decide) and is bit in the arm in the process. Denise tells the Wolf that she’ll save his life if he takes her to the infirmary, but Carol shoots him from the balcony of a building. He then tackles a Walker with the little strength he has left, allowing Denise to run into the infirmary. He’s somewhat redeemed, right?
Rick and Michonne arrive at the infirmary next. Rick leaves Carl in Denise’s care and then walks out of the building casually with an ax in his possession.
He goes on a rampage and starts to slaughter countless Walkers. Michonne, his sidekick, quickly goes to his aid. The Alexandrians leave the safety of their homes and join the zombie-killing spree too.
Father Gabriel even joins! He left Judith in the care of a lady at the church and told them that God has given them the courage to save Alexandria themselves by showing agency rather than just praying for something to happen. Pretty soon, everyone is outside killing a bunch of zombies.
Glean and Enid, in the meantime, put their plan in motion. Enid climbs over the wall to help Maggie get down from the unstable guard post, while Glenn distracts the Walkers and plays his traditional role as the Walker-bait. Walkers quickly surround him and to make matters worse, he runs out of ammo. Maggie also runs out of ammunition and just stands above the guard post, shouting out Glenn’s name in despair. I was seriously cringing while this terrible scene was unfolding. Luckily, Glenn is saved by Abraham and Sasha who have finally arrived with Daryl.
Honestly, if I had a dollar for every time Glenn defeated Death, let’s just say I would be typing this article on my own Macbook rather than my school’s Chromebook.
Daryl then spills oil from a truck. He RPGs the oil and flames burst everywhere. The Walkers slowly walk towards the fire, being drawn to the flames. I couldn’t help, but notice a small parallel from the episode “No Sanctuary” back in season 5. Remember when Carol blew up Terminus? I’m telling you, Daryl and Carol are perfect for each other. They’d dominate this zombie-apocalypse.
Anyway, everyone kills the Walkers as the Walkers make their way to the flames. And by everyone, I mean EVERYONE (except Denise, Carl and baby Judith, of course). Intense music plays in the background, while everyone slashes out at the Walkers dramatically. This scene is so intense. You should seriously just go ahead and watch it. I really can’t describe it.
In the end, they kill all of the zombies and Alexandria is left with thousands of corpses lying all over the place. On the next several episodes of AMCs The Walking Dead… the group deals with cleaning up Alexandria.
Just kidding. (Seriously though, how are they going to clean that mess up?)
The next morning, everyone is outside of the infirmary wearing their bloodied clothes–Alexandria’s new uniform.
Again, kidding.
Inside the infirmary, Rick holds an unconscious Carl’s hand and has a moment. He tells Carl that he was wrong about the Alexandrians. He realized that he underestimated them and that they are capable of becoming stronger. He says that they can rebuild the walls. Expand them, even. He says that everything Deanna said was possible. As corny or overused as this sounds, he basically says that anything is possible as long as they work together. And it’s true. Just watch that intense night battle with the dramatic music playing in the background again. I’m not kidding, I watched that scene several times.
“I had this feeling,” Rick says. “It took me a while to remember what it was. Because I haven’t felt it since before I woke up that hospital bed. I want to show you the new world, Carl. Please, Carl. Let me show you.”
And Carl responds to this by enfolding two fingers around Rick’s hand.
