The Walking Dead: Alone (4x13)

Another great episode. That makes two in a row that I thoroughly enjoyed. This time, we checked in with a lot of our characters, although we didn't see Rick at all. I'm guessing we've got to check in with him next week, right? This week, however, we followed two of our main groups. Let's take each in turn.

In flashback, we see Bob on his own. Glenn and Daryl find him, ask him the three questions, and invite him back to the prison with them. In present day, Maggie, Bob, and Sasha are traveling around, searching for Glenn. Bob has a close call with a Walker, but he only gets bit on his bandage. Maggie overhears Bob and Sasha talking about the fact that Glenn is most likely dead. Sasha wants to set up a permanent base when they next find a good building for it. Bob wants to help Maggie continue to look for Glenn. In the morning, Bob and Sasha discover that Maggie has left them a note and set off on her own, not wanting to burden Sasha with the choice.

Maggie continues to work her way towards Terminus, leaving notes for Glenn along the way. Bob insists on trying to catch up to Maggie, but Sasha wants to stay put. They separate. Bob moves on, while Sasha finds a building. However, she notices Maggie lying disguised among a pile of corpses, but inadvertently makes a loud noise and brings a crowd of Walkers to her. Sasha helps save Maggie from the Walkers, and the two of them catch up with Bob, deciding to travel together and attempt to find this sanctuary. In the tag to the episode, we see Glenn find one of the signs leading to Terminus.

This was pretty good. It gave me a chance to get to know Bob and Sasha a little better, since they haven't gotten a lot of screen time in the past. Bob's optimism is infectious, and even Sasha's more practical nature must bow to his hopes for a better future. In particular, I love how Maggie tries to be strong and set out on her own, but you can tell she's scared, and doesn't want to leave Sasha and Bob. Initially, when the episode ended, I was a bit annoyed by the fact that nothing had really changed for these characters in the course of the story. They started off together, looking for Terminus, and then they ended up together, looking for Terminus. But in all honestly, I think the emotional state of these characters is what really altered during the course of this one episode. They were together before, but now they're properly unified. I'm also excited to see if anything more happens between Bob and Sasha.

The other story continues to follow Daryl and Beth. Daryl teaches Beth how to use a crossbow, but in an effort to sneak up on a Walker, she gets her ankle caught in an animal trap. Daryl has to help her walk on, and eventually even ends up giving her a piggy-back ride for a while. They find a funeral home. Inside, several Walkers are dressed up in formal attire, as if awaiting burial. They also find a stash of food, and due to the lack of dust, they figure this must be someone's stash. Daryl and Beth decide to eat some of it, but leave the rest. Beth starts to write a thank you note, but Daryl suggests that they stick around for a while. Maybe the person who put the food there is still alive, and maybe they won't be so bad.

Then, disaster strikes. When Daryl goes to the door to investigate a stray barking dog, he is nearly bowled over by a huge crowd of Walkers just outside the door. He tells Beth to run to the road, as he tries to hold them off. Daryl manages to escape, but when he gets out to the road, he sees Beth's bag lying on the ground, as a mysterious car drives away. Daryl tries to follow, but he can't catch up. Alone and upset, Daryl is startled to be confronted by a group of six men. At first Daryl tries to fight them, but then their leader asks Daryl to join their group. These men, as we see, are the same ones we saw in the house previously occupied by Rick, Carl, and Michonne.

I love Daryl and Beth. They are such an interesting pair, since they are so very different from one another. If I had one complaint about the episode, though, it's that for one moment there, I thought they might be starting to develop some sort of a romance thing, and I was like NO OH MY GOD NO DON'T GO THERE! Their age difference makes that all sorts of icky. Luckily, nothing happened. I could have just been imagining it, anyway.

But, besides that, I loved this plot thread just as much as the other one in the episode. In particular, it was heartbreaking to see how desperately Daryl tried to catch up to Beth. I'm also really curious to know who was driving that car! See you next time.

8.5/10