TWD 5x14 "Spend" episode discussion... **SPOILERS WITHIN*

[MinionZombie]

Please keep all talk of episode 5x14 "Spend" specifically inside this thread. If you have a theory for a following episode, please use the "spoiler tags" (visit the HPOTD FAQ to find out how to use them if you don't already know). Similarly, if you're going to discuss plot points from the comic book, please use "spoiler tags" - not everyone is up-to-date on them, and some people don't read them at all. Enjoy! "Episode 5.14: Spend - While trying to secure a new home, Rick and his group face challenges, and question the utopia they find themselves in." Directed by: Jennifer Lynch (yes, David's daughter, and the lady who made "Chained") Written by: Matthew Negrete

[Moon Knight]

What an amazing episode. Truly brutal and shocking. I was actually deeply disturbed. I need to think about this one haha.

[carpetbeggar]

Definitely two of the goriest deaths.

[Cykotic]

Agreed! But why do I sense a Macbeth thing going on with Rick and Carol?

[facestabber]

Damn that was violent. Glen is a leader and a tremendous asset. Gabriel is a communist cocksucker and needs to die.

[zomtom]

Man; what an incredibly great episode!! That revolving door scene had me on the edge of my seat. I have to admit, the first two episodes of Season 5B were a bit disappointing to me. After 6 to 8 weeks on hiatus, I wanted to see more than some artsy-fartsy episode of the death of Tyrese. All I can say is the last three episodes have been fantastic. Each better than the previous one. If they keep up at this rate I can only imagine what the finale will be like. Also, I'm not one who needs to see lots of blood and guts but kudos to Nicoterro for his work on this episode.

[Wyldwraith]

I'll wait a little longer before weighing in substantively, Just going to say Maggie is making a mistake by not revealing she heard what was said, telling said politician about Gabriel's responsibility in the deaths of his parishioners and how he's trying to shift the guilt and blame for that onto them and explaining *in detail* about the Terminians and the situation in its totality. They'll instead allow this to fester and become additional fodder feeding the Alexandrian leader's unease over Team Rick's growing influence in the community, as well as fuel to help start the fire of division that turns it back into Us vs Them regarding Team Rick and Alexandria. Said it LONG BEFORE, Gabriel should've been abandoned when the truth of his locking out of his parishioners came to light, he CERTAINLY never should've been brought with them, and had it been me I would've simply killed him while I was already blood-spattered from killing the Terminians. Saves having to wash up twice. Spineless cowards are ALWAYS evil, in one way or another, and if I held absolute dominion over the earth they would be eliminated upon conclusive identification to prevent contamination of future generations, either genetically or by environmental influence. Man I hate that character!

[MinionZombie]

Crikey! Noah's death sure was shocking! Really quite sad in many ways - Glenn's reaction, Noah was finding something to do with his life, that look he gave just before he was ripped to shreds (tearing his agonised face open genuinely dropped my jaw). Fare-thee-well, Noah. Also - Aidan - OUCH! That looked like it stung a bit ... blimey! Good to see Eugene stepping up to the plate and Glenn laying down some smack. Abraham kicking ass also rocked, and I like that they're using Carol's past to reveal Jessie and Sam's situation. Gabriel - grrr ... ruddy turncoat ... although to be fair and level-headed about it, he's only known them for a few weeks at this point and no sooner had they arrived than they'd hacked up a bunch of people inside his church (which they tore up in the process). As for Maggie - well she's only just heard, so we don't know what she's gonna do just yet, but let's say she did confront Deanna - might that not possibly force Deanna to make a (bad) decision and try and seize control of Team Rick, which would then force Team Rick to fight back, and then you've got a bloodbath on your hands. Maggie confronting Deanna could just as easily lead to a problem as not confronting her, and really it's only her word against Gabriel's ... and he is a man of God, which might hold sway for some folks, and clearly he's terrified. Yes, context is important, but again - Deanna wasn't there - so it's just her word against Gabriel's ... but we also don't yet know how Deanna is going to react to what Gabriel has said. Maybe she'll weigh things up in Team Rick's favour ... have some patience, it's only just happened! Generally I found the episode to be quite tense and when they were setting out on their mission things were quite ominous in a subtle way, so I was really on edge for the whole episode ... excellent tension building. Also, agreed, the revolving door sequence was awesome! It demonstrates how important team work is, as well as how poorly trained Alexandria's scavengers truly are (but it was good to see that Aidan wasn't being all pissy-arsed about Glenn's swatting him down, he was actually learning from him ... but hadn't learned enough evidently) ... very claustrophobic too and you can really picture yourself being in that kind of situation. Scary stuff! Another excellent episode ... dark things are coming, I'm sure!

[Moon Knight]

"Spend" was probably the closest since the Pilot that the show captured the feeling and true essence of the comic book.

[MinionZombie]

Thinking about Deanna further - with the panicked return of Glenn/Eugene/Nicholas with a seriously wounded Tara and without Noah or Aidan - Gabriel's words will either be bumped down the agenda, or perhaps more likely, get twisted up in Deanna's grief. However, with the loss of Noah (and serious wounding of Tara), Team Rick are going to be properly pissed off too ... events have conspired to set the two parties against one another over who's to blame (blatantly Aidan/Nicholas) and whether Team Rick can be trusted (we know they're good, but Alexandria don't know that for sure ... they've only just started to get to know these people). Glenn/Yeun's reaction to Noah's death (and that brief moment of shock on Noah's face on the other side of the glass!) was superb, too ... you really felt the mixed emotions - the horror, the disgust, the grief, the shock - excellent work from Yeun, there! Also loved Abraham getting to unleash the beast and have some dark fun slaying walkers - mother dick! Oh! Daryl's new bike rocked. Interesting that, if recriminations do break out between Team Rick and Alexandria, both sides will have a member missing (Daryl and Aaron are off out on a recruiting run) and Tara's stuck there laid up with serious head trauma ... so that nicely complicates things. And Carol sure does love stealing chocolate, doesn't she? ... TWD 5x14 Memes: http://deadshed.blogspot.co.uk/2015/...s-edition.html

[Moon Knight]

Abraham was indeed awesome here. His lines were great and he was a true super hero the way he didn't think twice about saving Francine. Him machine gunning down walkers point blank was just pure epicness. Gabriel really did show his true colors here, man. Not really cool to throw the group that saved your ass under the bus like that. Did they name drop "Holly"? Carol telling Rick what needs to be done about Pete was pretty cold too. Even know we as viewers already knew this, just hearing her straight out tell Rick that was cool. Props to Greg Nicotero once again for that awesome Noah puppet. I was actually disturbed for minutes on end after witnessing that carnage. Glenn's reaction was perfect and his emotion was very heartfelt. Eugene has more balls than the fine people of Alexandria. What does that say about these cowards? Mother Dick!

[MinionZombie]

Gabriel really did show his true colors here, man. Not really cool to throw the group that saved your ass under the bus like that. Did they name drop "Holly"? Props to Greg Nicotero once again for that awesome Noah puppet. I was actually disturbed for minutes on end after witnessing that carnage. Glenn's reaction was perfect and his emotion was very heartfelt. Eugene has more balls than the fine people of Alexandria. What does that say about these cowards? 1) Aye! I wonder what Team Rick will make of it once they find out. 2) Yeah I heard that too! Theory/Comic Spoiler:   Although I'm wondering if they'll replace Holly with Francine after that little skirmish at the construction site in this episode ... I think they're going to definitely do the story with Abraham cheating on Rosita - did you notice that short of him at the sink looking back at her in the bed in the mirror's reflection? 3) Agreed! That agonised expression on Noah's face as it got torn to shreds really sold it in conjunction with that wide-eyed look of terror just before he got devoured ... even though he wasn't a major character and in some ways had limited potential, they show makers really made me feel his death in a big bad way. Poor Noah. 4) Hooray for Eugene stepping up to the plate when the time called, in spite of his fear and lack of combat skills. Seeing him luring the walker gang away was good fun.

[Rottedfreak]

The senator son is dead, I suspect this season will end with Rick and co rounding the community up and lining them up in front of Rick on their knees while he gives a speech about safety, then he'll bash Pete's brains in with a baseball bat.

[facestabber]

I can't believe how lucky we are to have this show. Last night was so enjoyable on many levels. It's clear to me that the Alexandrians are just beyond lucky. They don't have the skills at all. Strong walls, non stop luck has been there technique. Aiden can't score a head shot on a full valley target lumbering slowly directly toward him? Maggie is so close to being my favorite character but I don't like seeing her like this. She should be Ricks other constable. Michonne should be on supply runs.

[DayoftheZ]

One of my favourite episodes, but the last three have been way up on the list for me. As Facestabber said we are some lucky Living Dead fans having this series. I loved, Loved, LOVED Aiden going out with the homage to Rhodes. I loved, Loved, LOVED the death of Noah which made me feel like I had just seen the death of a long lost friend. I rather suspect that, that was butcherd for UK TV though, I wonder if anybody noticed any differences that have seen the US version. Great episode for Eugene, Glenn, Noah (Well not so great for him!!) and Abe. I rather think Abe is becoming my new favourite although Glenn is definitely in with a shout on that one. Also YAY for Rick's numerous camera eye f**ks. You know is a great episode when I shouted NO at the TV like a spoilt child when it ended abruptly.