'The Walking Dead' “Conquer” (Recap & Review)

Let's start with “No Sanctuary”, the first episode of the season, when Rick and the group were trying to escape Terminus. I feel there is a lot here that lends itself to the finale. First, we have the notion of people doing whatever they have to do. We saw Carol step up in the premiere, almost as a new woman, when she helped rescue the group. She was/is determined and willing to do whatever it takes to protect the good of the group. This is something that is echoed by many characters throughout “Conquer”, the finale. Second, is the feeling of home and safety or at least what that means in this world. The titles of the episodes speak to the feeling at each moment in time and serve as nice bookends for the season and this part of their journey. The group has found sanctuary at the end of the season, but must decide how to make it work. Third, we have the constant battle (sometimes physical, sometimes psychological) between good people and bad people. It's becoming increasingly clearer that the group has more to fear than just the walkers. Although usually obvious, the line between good people and bad people is still being determined.

(SPOILERS BELOW!!!)

Another tie-in comes from the special appearance of Morgan in “No Sanctuary” which intrigued and satisfied many fans. “Conquer” opens with Morgan and we finally get the reunion of Rick and Morgan at the end of the episode. I'm eager to see what happens now that Morgan has made the trek to find him. “Conquer” begins with Morgan resting in a car and then beside a campfire. A man marked with a “W” on his forehead soon joins him and starts up a conversation while holding a gun at him. Morgan, calm the whole time, listened while the man described how his group finds camps and sets traps for people. Morgan luckily, and to the surprise of his attackers, defends himself and escapes the ambush.

Meanwhile Rick wakes after being knocked out by Michonne. Michonne asks him what's so funny and he mentions the room and how it's like the train car from Terminus and that it's like he is still there. She says he could have told her what was going on. He says he didn't because she wanted to be there. She adds that they need to be in Alexandria. I think this is important to mention because Terminus was a turning point for Rick. He appreciated Carol for rescuing them and forgave her for what she did in the prison. He understands that he needs to do whatever he has to do and perhaps some of this formed the bond between Rick and Carol at Alexandria. They tell Rick about the town meeting that will decide if he gets to stay or not.

Rick goes home and sees Carl. Home is brought up again when he says it's nice to be home and Carl asks, it is home, right? Rick leaves to check on Jessie. He tells her that “I'm not sorry, no matter what happens or what I have to do”. Pete sees Rick leaving. It doesn't help his mood that Carol shows up, threatens Pete, and basically tells him to “come at me”. Once again we see the cunning bravado of Carol as she tells him she wants her dish back and cleaned when he is finished with it. (Alexandrians might want to watch out if she brings a baked dish to their house and just do whatever she suggests.) Although it's not part of either episode, I must bring up Carol's introduction to Alexandria. She was crafty and intelligent as she spoke with Deanna. Her interview scene and many of this season's cardigan-wearing scenes have been excellent and quite humorous for Melissa McBride. I still love the scene when Daryl told her that she looked ridiculous in new her attire and she told him to take a bath or that she would hose him off later. I think this season worked in moments of humor and allowed the audience and the cast to see a different view of the world.

Maggie is handling the meeting by trying to talk to Deanna. Deanna carefully hides her opinion, but she seems to be leaning towards banishing Rick at this point. Maggie repeats the mantra that all the characters seem to be saying, “I'm gonna do what I have to do”. Glenn supports Maggie's hopes in swaying the town, but seems generally confused by what's going on around him. I think he's probably trying to figure out how to fix everything. He sees Nicholas sneaking out and follows him. However, Nicholas knows Glenn is following him and shoots him while hiding. Fans might have been worried here because there was a rumor that Glenn might die in the finale. After another struggle with Nicholas which left Glenn covered in walkers, he emerged and subdued Nicholas.

Sasha, still confused and unfocused, was putting walkers in a mass grave. She slid in while trying to pull one in. Strangely she laid with them and closed her eyes. It's clear that she is still dealing with the loss of Bob and Tyreese and isn't sure if she even wants to live anymore. This becomes clearer when she visits Father Gabriel, who was also doubting his will to live earlier when he went outside the gates. Although he nearly let a walker get him, he defended himself and returned inside the gates. Spencer asked Father Gabriel to shut the gate, but he didn't notice when it didn't shut all the way.

Daryl and Aaron are still out looking for more survivors and see a man in a red coat. While looking for the man, Aaron tells him about a group he brought into Alexandria before that he had to exile later. They lose the man, but find an abandoned building with food trucks. Aaron suggests getting the food and going back. He says, “there are bad people out here, you saw that last night” in relation to the carnage they saw. Daryl says, “that's why we keep looking for the good ones”. This plays back into the good people vs bad people roles that we have seen for a while and that we will undoubtedly see next season with the Wolves. They plan to take the trucks, but soon realize it's a trap when walkers come streaming out of the trucks. They run and hide in a vehicle, but not before Daryl beheads three walkers with the swing of a chain. Once inside the vehicle they discover a note that warns them not to stay. Daryl offers to sacrifice himself, but Aaron says they will stay together and make a run for the gate. The audience was probably nervous here because of the rumors that Daryl might die in the finale and relieved when Morgan rescues them. Aaron invited Morgan back to Alexandria, but Morgan says he is on his way to somewhere, somewhere else. Then he pulls out the map with Rick's message!

Abraham goes to visit Tara. Eugene apologizes for misleading him about Washington and Abraham apologizes for nearly beating him to death. Michonne and Rick seem to be on the same page again (which is much more enjoyable as they have a good chemistry) when he confides in her about the plan he made with Carol and Daryl. She says they can find a way to be in Alexandria and if not that she will still be with him. She says, “something's going to happen, just don't make something happen”. The audience is in on it here as we already know the gate is open and that something will happen soon.

After this it's a quick-paced fifteen minutes flashing back and forth between the characters. Rick is on his way to the meeting when he sees that the gate is open. He immediately starts searching for walkers. The others are already at the meeting and it's clear that Deanna doesn't want to wait for everyone to arrive. Cut to Sasha and Father Gabriel where he is telling her that none of them deserve to be there. Meanwhile behind a house Rick finds walkers and begins killing them. Michonne is speaking up for Rick at the meeting and says “who he is, is who you're gonna be, if you're lucky”. Sasha and Father Gabriel are struggling with her gun. Carol continues her helpless routine and says that “people like us need people like him”. Cut to Rick shoving his arm up through a walker's neck and head while he is on his back. Back at the abandoned building two men kill the man with the red coat and can be seen leading the walkers back into the food trucks. Deanna reveals that Father Gabriel told her that Rick's group was dangerous. Maggie goes to find Father Gabriel and discovers that Sasha is about to shoot him. Just then Rick carries one of the dead walkers into the meeting area. Glenn decides not to shoot Nicholas, Sasha decides not to shoot Father Gabriel, Tara wakes up, and one of the men at the abandoned building looks at photos. Rick tells the group about the gate and says “I was thinking how many of you I would have to kill to save your lives. You're gonna change. Luck runs out”. Pete joins the meeting, wielding a weapon, and says Rick does not belong in Alexandria. Reg, Deanna's husband, tries to calm him down, but Pete cuts his throat. Unsurprisingly (and maybe hypocritically) Deanna looks at Rick and says, “Rick. Do it.”. Rick shoots the subdued Pete as Morgan, Daryl, and Aaron arrive at the meeting.

The ever-evolving themes of people doing whatever they have to do, the feeling of home and safety, and the constant battle between good people and bad people have been evident throughout the series and really became more evident this season. We are left with a group, a family of people who will do whatever they have to do in order to protect each other and in order to survive. The clear line of who's good and who's bad in their group has been muddled in the past. They have certainly dealt with enough bad people outside of their group while adding new good people along the way. I was glad to see some of the new characters stick up for Rick at the meeting and hope that some of them will become more important to the storyline. I'm intrigued by Deanna's choice to let Rick kill Pete. I wonder what this means for the future of Alexandria and what it means for the power struggle that they have been having. It seems the walker incident and Pete's attack has opened their eyes. They'll definitely have more to talk about while passing around appetizers at their next party.

This episode was beautifully written with many quotable moments. As I've mentioned earlier Melissa McBride continues to surprise and awe me. I'm a fan of this new Carol. I'd like to see more from Sasha and hope that her time with Maggie and Father Gabriel helps her through her dark path and back into the group. I was very relieved that we didn't lose a major character in the finale especially after losing so many of the characters this season. I miss Tyreese in particular. However, I was surprised that no one died because there were teases from the show runners of major blood. The media continued to hype this idea with stories of how Glenn was holding a baseball bat in a recent episode. Could Negan show up at the end, a fan might wonder. The media released stories of how Norman Reedus has sold his home and he teased fans by saying have Kleenex ready. I think some fans were ready to riot already! (If Daryl Dies We Riot). Many of the characters found themselves in positions where they could have died especially Glenn and Daryl. Like I said, I'm more than relieved we didn't lose another major character, but I was very surprised when the credits started rolling and no one died.

It cuts away but has an extra scene of Michonne thinking of hanging her sword back up, but then deciding to wear it across her back again. We're left with the message that the wolves are not far. That's surely true, but let's think back to season four's finale when Rick and the group were stuck in the train car. I think Rick's message is just as thrilling and relevant now as it was then.