“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War
The pre-credits scene of episode three of The Walking Dead‘s season five, “Four Walls and a Roof”, picks up right 
where the previous episode, “Strangers” left off. Bob Stookey (Lawrence Gilliard, Jr.) lies grieving as the Terminites eat his amputated left leg. Gareth (Andrew J. West) taunts him, vowing to eat Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and the others. Bob’s sobs turn to laughter as he shows them a gash on his shoulder where he was bitten by a walker, telling them he’s “tainted meat”…
Post-credits, Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) patrols the church’s perimeter, looking for signs of the missing Bob. She catches a glimpse of someone spying on them, but is distracted by walkers. Joined by Rick and Tyreese (Chad Colemen), they realize that Bob isn’t the only one who has gone. Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) are missing, too…
Inside the church, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) gazes at a bible, holding the thick book in her hands silently before returning it to its place. Sasha comes in from the outside and confronts Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) at 
knifepoint, claiming that he is connected to the terrifying events: they are being watched and three survivors are missing. Gabriel stammers a denial, but Rick steps in, demanding to know what Gabriel did that he is hiding from them. The preacher reveals that at a certain point during the initial walker epidemic he began denying refuge to his congregation, since they helplessly began bringing the undead with them. Gabriel insists he’s damned to hell for his sins and breaks down crying.
Alerted to noises, they run outside and find Bob unconscious on the front lawn. Rick blasts away as cover 
as the others rush to carry him inside. Laying him down in the aisle, Bob gasps out his story, explaining that the Terminites – Gareth and five others – held him at a school and ate his leg. He reveals that he was bitten at the food bank (in “Strangers”) and shows them his gash. Although feverish and in intense pain from his leg and shoulder, he refuses painkillers. With Gabriel’s help, Rick clarifies the school’s location and plans a raid in retaliation, but Sgt. Ford (Michael Cudlitz) – agitated and somewhat hyper – backs out: the unfolding events threaten the life of Dr. Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt), and he declares his intention to leave immediately for Washington, D.C. with Porter and Rosita (Christian Serratos). Rick objects, explaining that two survivors – Daryl and Carol – are missing and that Ford’s help is needed. After a heated argument, where the two almost come to blows if not for the others intervening, the two factions cut a deal: Ford will stay for another twelve hours to help with the fight against the Terminites, and in return, Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Maggie will join them on their mission.
Rick sets out with Sasha, Ford, and Michonne (Danai Gurira) on the raid. Moments after disappearing into the woods, Gareth and the Terminites, who have been hiding yards away, break into the church, armed. The survivors hide in the back office, 
as Carl (Chandler Riggs) and Rosita ready their weapons. Gareth and the others slowly approach, calling out their intentions and demanding that the survivors give up. Once baby Judith’s cries reveal their location, the Terminites prepare to barge in, but Rick and the others enter, shooting and killing two of them. Rick shoots off Gareth’s fingers and demand the others drop their weapons. With the tables now turned, Gareth tries to reason with Rick, claiming that if he frees them, they will never bother them again. Rick reacts savagely, hacking him to death with a machete, as the others bludgeon, mutilate, and kill the remaining Terminites. In the aftermath, Michonne finds that one of the dead Terminites has her katana and she reclaims it. Meanwhile, the other survivors are shocked at the brutality, staring in horror. Gabriel speaks up in a feeble protest:
Gabriel: “This is the Lord’s house.”
Maggie: “No, it’s just four walls and a roof…”
The next morning the others say their goodbyes to Bob. Sasha is unable to put Bob down to prevent him from re-animating as a walker, and Tyreese volunteers to do the job. The big man buries him next to the church. Rick comes to help, but Tyreese is mostly uncommunicative.
Ford hands Rick a spare map with which 
he marked his route to Washington, and sets out – with Glenn and Maggie, as agreed on, along with Tara (Alana Masterson) – in the repaired church bus. Rick looks at the map, and finds a message from Ford, explaining that the new world needs men like Rick Grimes and asking him to join them in Washington.
That night, Michonne, sitting on the front steps, hears a noise in the bushes and goes to investigate. She sees Daryl, and asks him about Carol. In response, Daryl looks towards the bushes and says “Come on out…”
Raw. Savage. Nasty. “Four Walls and a Roof” brings The Walking Dead closer to its Darwinian roots – the source comics – arguably more than any other episode. Gone are the ponderings of a lost humanity or quasi-poetic soliloquies of a better world (how many of you fast-forwarded over those parts in seasons one to four?). Rick is back with a ‘tude, taking charge and cleaning up the town like the cop that he once was. Action and surprises are back, big time. The episode’s centerpiece began early on – in fact right after the credits – and played out as a mini-drama in itself, with the darkness adding a moody and frightening ambience (a filming style echoing “Bloodletting” and “Save the Last One” in season two). The result was a masterpiece of nailbiting suspense. Rick’s ruse to draw the Terminites into the church – by faking the raid on the school – was cleverly filmed and reinforces Rick’s abilities as a successful strategist and tactician. And finally, the episode’s major scene – the climactic church confrontation and its accompanying butchery – is a major change in graphic violence even for this show and I can’t begin to imagine how they will outdo it. It was so intense that the writers didn’t even try to hold the raw extremeness of the scene after that point, closing out the show with drawn-out goodbye scenes and forgettable conversations.
It seems that Walking Dead Heads are split into two camps, those who feel that Gareth and his cronies should have stuck around for a major part of the season, perhaps tracking the survivors until a season-closing standoff, and those who feel that it’s best that they got greased early on. There is no right or wrong answer. I personally thought Gareth was going to be around for a while, with flashbacks detailing the horrible events that turned his group into cannibals. It’s obvious the show has a plethora of surprises waiting for us, and this is just spring cleaning for more shockers later on.
Some assorted comments, in no particular order:
- Goodbye to Bob Stookey (and to Gilliard’s
excellent portrayal of him). As a trained medic and soldier, they will sure miss his skills. - It was a shock to see Martin (Chris Coy) still there with his fellow Terminites. How did he survive an ass-whuppin’ from Tyreese? You could, however, see the swollen shiner that he got.
- My hunch regarding Father Gabriel’s selfish past was correct, although it was fairly obvious from the clues. Will he redeem himself?
- On the subject of Gabriel, Gilliam’s portrayal of the preacher praying as the Terminites enter the church was a silent tour-de-force, as we could sense him shaking with fear.
- The show has attempting to institute a continuity factor – note the return of Sam (Robin Lord Taylor) and Morgan (Lennie James) in this season’s episode one, “No Sanctuary”. In “Four Walls and a Roof”, Glenn mentions the shell shocked Jim (Andrew Rothenberg), not seen since the early days of season one.
- According to IMDB, the producers released a short involving the back story of Theresa (April Billingsley), the ill-fated terminate, also starring Chandler Riggs. I am unable to locate this. Anyone?
- The scene where the Terminites are about the break into the church’s back rooms to locate the survivors: AMC cut to a commercial at the wrong time, taking a slight edge of the scene. Bad move, guys. However, they made up for in spades with the grisly aftermath.
So what is next? Can anyone make sense of the coming attractions regarding Beth? There are some out there who slow it down and scrutinize every frame for leads and clues. I have resisted that urge, but would be interested if anyone gleaned anything useful. Who is Daryl leading with him? What happened to Carol? Will Ford and the others decide to turn back and re-join the group? In my humble “o”, splitting up the group was a bad idea, especially with Bob gone and their muscle whittled down by two-thirds. Not great odds. If the Terminites are a sign of what waits for them in the wild, they’ll need all the strength they can get…
Evan Rothfeld
Deadloggers 