It's that time of week again! Yours truly, Chris "The Dace Man" Dace, is back with another review and synopsis of AMC's horror drama The Walking Dead!
With only two episodes left this season and after the shell-shocking episode we had last week, let's see what's in store for us on the episode entitled "Us."
To recap last week, we witnessed the effects of the postapocalyptic zombie world on the young. In one of the toughest decisions Carol has had to make since we met her, she killed Lizzie. Lizzie had murdered her sister Mika, and talking to Lizzie had shown no potential for redemption or comprehension of the world around her. She was fine with murdering the living but would not kill the dead. Mika, on the other hand, had refused to harm any living thing, and her optimism ultimately led to her demise. After a lot of emotional back-and-forth, we also saw Carol reveal that she'd killed Tyrese's girlfriend at the beginning of the season. Tyrese would forgive her in the end, and the two hit the road again (along with baby Judith), heading toward Terminus.
It's been some time now since we've seen Rick, Carl, and Michonne. Beth is still missing, and Daryl has joined a new group after his failed pursuit of her captors. Maggie, Sasha, and Bob are still heading to Terminus, and from the looks of it Glenn and Abraham's groups are heading that way too. Will they all unite this week? Will Daryl find Beth? Hopefully we will get some answers and reunions this week on The Walking Dead.
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 4, EPISODE 15: "US"
We kick off this week's episode with Eugene talking Tara's ear off and Glenn walking as fast as hell toward Terminus. We cut to night; Abe sits next to Tara and starts talking to her in an attempt to learn what's keeping her up all the time. I particularly enjoyed the lesbian theory. The scene ends with Tara asking Abe, "What happens when the mission is over?" Then we cut back to day. Glenn comes upon a sign with a message from Maggie telling him to go to Terminus. He pauses and then hauls ass down the track. The others stare in shock as he takes off, and we start this episode off on somewhat of a high note. Cue the intro and our first commercial break!
We come back to Daryl's new group resting in the woods and being startled by a walker. They think at first that Daryl has split but realize he's left his stuff behind. We then cut to Rick's group, heading down the same tracks to Terminus. Michonne and Carl are having a balancing competition, and Rick seems happy that Carl still acts like a kid at times.
Then we're back to Daryl's group. He's hunting, but his targeted rabbit gets picked off by another member of Joe's group. The two argue over the carcass; Joe appears and grabs Daryl's hand before he stabs the other guy. Joe explains the rules of "claim" to Daryl and how it maintains order among the group. I kind of like Joe, but I fear that he's gonna be a problem down the road. We cut back to Glenn's group. Glenn is hell-bent on continuing on, but Abraham tells him it's time to rest. A walker falls from a platform above them, and Abe shoves Tara to save Eugene. Tara gets hurt a bit, and Rosita yells at Glenn that they need to stop. After some arguing, Glenn strikes a deal with Abe: he will give Eugene his riot gear for protection if they can continue moving forward until sundown. Returning to Joe's group, we see Joe and Daryl walking down the tracks and talking about being alone in the world. They go further in depth about "the rules" and how those rules maintain order. Joe asks Daryl if he's leaving and tells him that if he's staying, then he's part of the "Us." The group sets up camp for the night, and we roll into our next commercial break.
We return to Glenn's group, who have come upon a tunnel. They debate going through or around the tunnel and ultimately decide to part ways. Eugene tells Tara she's hot, and Tara responds with "I like girls." That was an awesome moment. Glenn and Tara head into the tunnel, and Glen tells Tara he understands what she's going through. She explains everything she saw the day the Governor attacked the prison. Unfortunately I think our time with Tara might be coming to a close. Back with Daryl and Joe's little faction, we see them scoping the warehouse and preparing to hunker down for the night. They all start "claiming" the available junk cars and other potential sleeping areas, cutting Daryl off at each turn. We then return to the tunnel, where Glenn and Tara have come across a collapsed section. A number of "live" walkers are trapped under the fallen debris (it looks like a level out of a 1990s video game). Tara notes that the collapse had to have happened that day because the dead walkers' blood is still wet. The two scale the rubble only to find a horde of walkers on the other side. We see their panicked looks and moaning walkers coming their way and then naturally cut to a commercial. Like I said earlier, I don't think Tara will make it to season 5.
Returning to the tunnel full of zombies, Glenn is happy none of the walkers is Maggie. Tara insists they turn around, and we cut to Abe and his group scoping out some cars. They find a van and clear it of the walkers. As we progress through this season I'm totally digging the arrogance of Eugene and the way he talks, and on top of that he has a pretty sweet mullet going. Back in the tunnels, Glenn has figured out a way to distract the walkers with his flashlight and sneak out, but Tara falls and becomes trapped under the rocks. Cut to yet another commercial!
When we return we're traveling down the road with Eugene, Abe, and Rosita. Abe's asleep, and Eugene has tricked Rosita into driving to the location where he believes Glenn and Tara will emerge from the tunnel. They argue and awaken Abe, who argues some more, but then Eugene becomes distracted and begins yelling. Cut back to Daryl's group; the guy from the morning's hunt fight accuses Daryl of stealing his half of the rabbit. Joe had already seen him plant the rabbit on Daryl but had chosen to let him play out his scheme before having the boys teach him a lesson. On to the tunnel, Glenn is still trying to get Tara out of the jam and she keeps telling him to leave and save himself. Glenn begins to take a noble stand, shooting all the walkers he can hit, when suddenly a car shows up and saves their asses. Eugene and crew found Maggie and crew, and they have saved Glenn and Tara, and now we have our first reunion! The little girl inside me is screaming with joy! Commercial time.
After the sunshine and lollipops reunion, the group starts to hunker down in the tunnel. Tara and Maggie meet for the first time, and Glenn covers for Tara about her actions at the prison after seeing the horror and guilt on her face. Eugene says their new path should be to go to Terminus, pick up supplies, and adjust a course from there. Abe's loyalty to Eugene is spot-on from the comics and is going to set up for an awesome season 5. The group decides to head to Terminus. We cut back to Daryl and his new group and see him again walking with Joe. Daryl sees the map to Terminus, and we learn that Joe's group was the one in the house with Rick and is now tracking him. We end this week's episode with Glenn's new supergroup arriving at Terminus, which at first appears empty and abandoned. They approach a woman named Mary, and we are set to head into the finale next week! If I'm a betting man, we've just met one of the Hunters.
That's it! See ya next week, walkers! As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until then, for the few, the proud, and of course the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and, in this case, a plate—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
Hey, hey, hey, Dacetacular Ones! Ready for a road trip out to Chicago? Pack your bags and bring your concert gear, 'cause we're heading to Chicago on August 1–3 for Lollapalooza!
