The Details

• Gareth’s group eats tainted meat.
• Gareth leads an attack on Rick’s group that fails. They slaughter Gareth and his people in the church, which Maggie says, is just “four walls and a roof.”
• Gabriel confesses that he locked his congregation out during the height of the infection.
• Abraham refuses to wait for Carol and Daryl to return. He later writes an apology on a map he leaves with Rick.
• Carol and Daryl return.

The Big Q

Do we need to go backward in order to go forward?

The Impact

At the beginning of the episode, Gareth says there’s no going back to Terminus, but later when Rick threatens his life, he promises to go back. The church, even before the slaughter, had become “four walls and a roof.” It had lost its sanctity, either because of the apocalypse, Gabriel’s actions, or Rick’s actions. Maggie was raised a person of faith, so for her to reduce this symbol to nothing is significant. Time marches on, and things don’t stay the same. The only place in this episode hinting of positive progress is the trip to Washington D.C. This is the only place we see true contrition. Abraham is willing to speak of the past and apologize. It seems the only way to truly go forward is to find a way to go back. Throughout the show there’s a sense of returning to an uncivilized past. The question remains, will it lead to a good end?

What do you think? What Big Q’s did you see last night?