Claiming your territory is the law of the land, Carl and Michonne really like candy, a wall o’ zombies, and Rosita’s smoking hotness, all that and more on this episode of “The Walking Dead”! Once again the casting crew for “The Walking Dead” have really done their job in sticking true to the comics by casting Christian Serratos as series hotty Rosita. She was always cute during her years on Nickelodeon, but she virtually disappears in the character garb and has proven to be an interesting heroine. This time around the episode is split between three portions of characters, all of whom are getting ever closer to the enigmatic Terminus. Except Glenn has finally found a sign by Maggie to meet her there, and he’s more desperate than ever.
One of the more intriguing sub-plots of the episode involve Daryl now living alongside the murderous clan that raided Rick’s safe haven a few episodes ago. Daryl will do literally anything to survive, even if it means living among a group of men that will kill each other for the sake of claiming food and shelter. It becomes even worse for him when a member of the group decides to start giving him a rough time of it. We’re still not sure what happened to Beth, but Daryl is angered by it suffice it to say. It’s not hard to see why Daryl begins taking a liking to the group’s leader Joe, as he’s so much a clone of Merle, it’s kind of pathetic. He also takes a shine to Daryl, but one wonders how this relationship will play out in the season finale. Daryl has no idea that the group is hunting Rick and his group, and are hot on their tails. Even worse, they know what he looks like and they don’t seem very forgiving.
Would it have hurt Daryl to ask them what the guy they were hunting looked like? I mean it’s entirely possible they may have been talking about one of the groups he’d been cut off by. I figure by the finale that Daryl will either have to turn on the group and massacre them all to help Rick, Michonne, and Carl, Daryl will fall in an effort to help Rick, Carl, and Michonne, or Daryl will eventually keep going on with Joe and his crew to meet the impending big baddie down the pipeline. In either case, Jeff Kober as leader Joe has really managed to steal every scene he’s taken on during his stint on the series. He’s an interesting marauder with a firm but very vicious series of rules that he’s serious about being upheld. That said, there really hasn’t been much that the writers have been able to do with Rick and his group since the raid of their house.
Their moment in the episode involves Carl and Michonne splitting a candy bar, which is only a set up for Daryl’s scene in the finale walking by the candy wrapper on the railroad tracks. I wish we’d seen a lot more from Rick and co. But as with most of the season finales, it always boils down to Rick fighting for his life and looking for a way to survive just one more day with the least possible casualties. With Terminus looming, the marauders inching closer, and the walkers still ever present, I’m sure Rick will once again end the finale blood covered and holding on to the remaining shreds of his sanity. “Us” is a very good appetizer before the finale, and closes up old storylines while introducing new ones. Will Tara ever tell Maggie she led the charge in to the prison that resulted in the violent murder of Hershel? How will Maggie respond to Glenn hiding Tara’s back story from her? We shall see in time.
One More To Go.