Beth and Daryl are just two of the surivivors on the run in the new episode of “The Walking Dead.” Credit: AMC Network
“Alone” continues the “On the Road” theme of the last few episodes of “The Walking Dead” as our heroes try to find Terminus, a mysterious place just down the railroad tracks where “those who arrive survive.”
The episode begins with a flashback to a shell-shocked Bob wandering the Georgia woods after the last group he was with was killed. We see him build a lean-to and hide on top of a bus from herds of walkers that roam the landscape, until he runs into Daryl and Glenn, who are on patrol.
After quizzing him to make sure he is not dangerous, Daryl and Glenn ask if he wants to know who they are. “Nope,” Bob tells them. You can tell from his look that it doesn’t matter who they are; they are other survivors, and that is enough in this bleak future.
The story picks up as we cut to the present with Bob, Maggie and Sasha back-to-back in the woods, pea-thick fog rolling in as walkers appear out of the mist. The three are down to their last bullets and must use knives and sticks to brain as many of the zombies as possible.
While they fight for their lives, Daryl and Beth discover a seemingly abandoned house next to a cemetery. The teen becomes verklempt when she stumbles across a headstone reading “Beloved Father,” remembering her own recently deceased father, Hershel. Daryl picks wildflowers and places them on the marker.
After escaping the fog, Maggie, Bob and Sasha discover a sign telling survivors to head to a camp called Terminus. Sure that is where Glenn would go, Maggie sets off, with Bob and a hesitant Sasha following. When they pitch camp, Sasha pleads with Bob to find a place where they can live, and to forget whatever is at Terminus. She is sure her brother Tyreese and Glenn are dead.
“Odds are we will be dead, too. That’s the reality,” she says.
As they debate what to do, Daryl and Beth enter the house next to the cemetery. It was a funeral parlor and a few walkers have been cleaned up and laid out on display. The two find a stash of soda, peanut butter and pickled pig’s feet in a cabinet. “That’s a white trash brunch,” Daryl says.
Once they make sure the house is clear, Daryl lays down in a coffin and Beth serenades him with songs on the piano.
Back at the other camp, Bob and Sasha wake to discover Maggie has left and written a message that reads, “Don’t risk your life for me.”
We cut to Maggie, who kills a walker so she can use its blood to write a message for Glenn so that he will know to go to Terminus.
Bob convinces Sasha that they can’t let Maggie go alone. As they race to catch up with her, Sasha asks why Bob is always smiling. He tells her that with the first two groups he was with, every person died, and that this time there other survivors. “I’m not alone,” he says.
Night has fallen at the house by the graveyard when Daryl and Beth hear a sound outside. Daryl throws open the door to discover a one-eyed dog that runs off. As he and Beth talk about the future, she asks him, “So you think there are good people around now?” Daryl, uncomfortable with feelings, searches for words, and Beth finally realizes that she has made him believe that not everyone is bad. At that moment, there is another sound outside; Daryl throws open the door thinking it’s the dog again, except this time a swarm of walkers overruns the house. Daryl tells Beth to run outside and wait for him. He leads the walkers to the basement, where he hides behind a gurney, stabbing at many as he can before barely escaping.
He runs out to find Beth. As he approaches, he sees her belongings scattered on the ground and sees a car streaking off into the night. Someone has kidnapped her.
As Sasha and Bob follow after Maggie, she won’t stop badgering him about finding a place where they can settle down and letting Maggie go off on her on. “She needs us,” Bob tells her.
They reach a town, where Sasha finds exactly the kind of place she was looking for: a high brick building where she can grow vegetables on the roof and that is easily defendable. She tells Bob that she won’t go any farther, but he says that he has to. After a kiss, he sets off alone to find Maggie.
Sasha goes into the building. We see her looking around as she realizes she is alone for the first time. When she goes to a window to open it, the glass falls out and shatters. Right then, Sasha sees Maggie sleeping outside — the noise draws walkers, and Sasha runs down to help Maggie fight them off.
When they are finished, Maggie admits she heard Sasha say she thought Glenn was dead. She tells Sasha that she can’t make it alone. They patch up their differences and set off to find Bob.
As the sun rises, we cut to Daryl still running after the car that has kidnapped Beth. It’s long gone but he refuses to quit, until he eventually collapses. When he comes to, there is a gang of rough men with machine guns around him. One of them says, “I get his jacket.” Daryl snaps to and punches the leader in the face and points his crossbow at him. The man starts laughing and says, “I’ve been looking for someone like you.”
The episode closes with Maggie and Sasha catching up with Bob, and the three of them continue on their way to Terminus.
