Every once in a while there is an episode where everything is calm and things go well for Rick’s group of survivors. Those times when they have all they need, get some peace and rest, and everything is happy and butterflies and unicorns and fluffy bunnies!!! Oh, wait, I forgot that we are watching the Walking Dead Season Five and this is a recap of Episode 2.
So, yeah, things were not really all wonderful. Rick’s group meets Father Gabriel Stokes, a character that has appeared in the comics back in issue #61. This man of God may not be all that he seems, but he does lead the group back to his church, giving them a safe (?) place to stay for the time being. He also leads them to town where they are able to raid the local food pantry and pick up some food while killing some walkers, everyone’s favorite pastime.
These are the basics. I could talk about the symbolism introduced through the wood carving of the last supper and the feast that Rick and the group have near the end of the episode. I could tell you about Bob, who I personally thought was going to die this episode, but… most of him survived. I could talk about Tyrese and something interesting we find out about his actions, or lack there of. But, any of that would be spoiling, which is something that I do not want to do with this series of articles. This is to start some discussion and get people talking about the Walking Dead.
I will say that this episode begins a test that may push Rick’s humanity, and his battle to maintain it, past the edge. There are things coming, very soon, that will tear apart the group and make for some very interesting, and possible dangerous, episodes to come. Also, Daryl and Carol are now off after Beth. So much for keeping the group together.
What did you think of Episode 2, aptly titled “Strangers”? Did things go the way you thought or were you thrown for a loop with some of the twists? Could you have figured out what was going to happen at the end?
I am going to get into one thing that may spoil things for you, but, at this point, it needs to be discussed. Many people are speculating about the symbols that we have seen carved several places. One is the circle with an “X” in it at the end of Episode 1 and the other is the horizontal slash that we see in the tree near the end of Episode 2. What are they? I am going to tell you.
Back in the days before Yelp! and Facebook, there were groups of people that used to travel from place to place using the roads and rails. Many called them hobos or vagabonds or vagrants. These people looked out for each other and would leave marks, a special language to inform people what was up ahead as either an invitation or a warning. I am going to include an image here that you can print out and use as a reference for future episodes so that you know what you are looking at.
As you can see, the sign people would see when heading into Terminus said that this was a good place for a handout… Just don’t ask where the meat came from. And the slash on the tree outside the church means “doubtful”. Not clear on that one yet, but we shall see. So, there it is. You need to learn something new today and you did.
Leave your comments and talk about what you thought of this episode. Is Beth still alive?
she’s still alive… for now.