TWD S5E8 – “Coda”

Mid-Season finale. Let’s just jump right on in.

Notice the photo of Evil Bob and son on the dash? Pretty sure Rick saw it, too. Also pretty sure he doesn’t give a fuck.

Evil Bob is on the run, being hunted by walkers and Rick in a squadcar alike, but not for long as Rick runs the motherfucker down. Evil Bob asks for help as Rick gets out of the car, saying that he thinks his back is broken, like that wasn’t Rick’s idea. Like Rick wasn’t trying to kill him to keep him from escaping and doing who knows what with the knowledge of Rick’s groups whereabouts/plans. Evil Bob asks to be taken back to the hospital, saying that he had done that for one of his, but Rick says you can’t go back. A possible reference to Morgan..? Well, either way, rick puts a bullet in his head, so… Whomp whomp.

After the opening credits, we catch up with Father Gabriel, who really needs to stop calling himself a priest, and who is rummaging through a cannibalistic survivor’s campfire, losing his shit, and being trailed by dozens of walkers. Naturally, he leads them back to the church… Where he has left a gaping hole in the floor.

He could have easily stabbed a dozen walkers in the head by the time that damned door even opened.

Michonne is starting to be too good for this world, as she chops down the barricade on the front door to let him (and dozens of walkers) in. They book it to eh rectory, to escape back through the hole in the floor, and Gabriel makes it due to a combination of luck and ineptitude, and they lock the remaining walkers in the church.

In Atlanta, Rick’s solo re-entrance tells the others that Evil Bob is no more, and Rick and Daryl pow wow with their remaining prisoners to see whether they need to rethink their plan. The female cop is suddenly willing to play ball, claiming that Evil Bob’s death was “rotter”-induced. The other cop agrees that that’s the better story to stick to.

Inside the hospital, Dawn is frustrated by the fact that none of her officers are responding to radio call, but that doesn’t always happen anyways, so she starts a conversation with Beth out the previous dude in charge once Beth prompts her. Turns out the previous captain was mutinied upon. Little bit of foreshadowing for Dawn’s future, maybe?

Outside of the church, Michonne asks where Gabriel went, and he tells her to the school to see for himself, but the front door of the church splinters more… And GREATM shows up in the truck to save the day! Glenn tells them that the Mullet s the hairstyle desired most by cowards, liars, and cowardly liars, and Michonne tells Maggie that Beth is alive and at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Many happy tears ensue… And now I’m worried.

Betcha you’re regretting chopping down your damned shelter now, aren’t you?

At Grady, yet another sociopathic officer is seen abusing patients and with an eye towards Beth, but Dawn pulls her away, claiming to need her help. Beth goes to sit on the edge of the elevator shaft, but Dawn doubt she’s going anywhere, but Beth tells her that she’s not going anywhere either. The world is over, after all. Dawn tells her that she’s saved Beth twice now; she altered Gorman’s death scene to absolve Beth of any suspicion. Creepy cop #2 comes in to confront Dawn, and she pulls her gun on him. He tries to talk her down by reciting moments they’d shared as rookies and friends, but she forces him towards the elevator shaft, but he takes her by surprise and a really baller brawl ensues, ending with Beth having to make her first kill by shoving Creepy cop #2 down the open elevator shaft.

Later, Dawn finds Beth asleep on the floor of Carol’s hospital room, trying to comfort her. Beth tells her that Dawn had covered her tracks to save her own skin, not Beth’s, and Dawn realises that the doctor who Beth gave the wrong medication to a few episodes back was killed because of the resident physician’s actions. She then offers Beth a place at Grady, sort of as a thank you for offing Creepy Cop #2. In the background, Carol stirs.

Perched on a rooftop across the way, Tyreese and Sasha talk. Tyreese recounts the events at the church with the remaining Termites. He says that the one that Sasha had killed was named Martin, and that he himself had lied about killing the cannibal back in that cabin that he and Carol had found. He laments how they’ve changed. Sasha tells him that he’s the same, which is awesome, but she doubts her ability to ever be the way she used to be.

Sasha, you can just go and sleep off that injury, girl.

Below them, Rick meets with a pair of Grady officers, proposing the trade. They ask where Rick’s people are, and one of the snipers picks off a walker that had been sneaking up on the officers.

It looks like a deal as the officers lead Rick and company into the hospital. Meanwhile, Beth is ready to move, with a fair of scissors tucked into her cast, her sunny yellow shirt and white cardigan, and Carol, AWAKE(!) and in a wheelchair. Dawn asks where Evil Bob is, and her officers volunteer that he’s gotten got by walkers.

Carol is brought to them first, and Daryl comes to get her.

❤

Frankly, I’m surprised this hasn’t happened on the show yet…

Then the second trade, for Beth.

And then… Dawn expects to get Noah back. But Rick and company are less than enthused about the idea. Things look to be getting rather heated, but Noah volunteers to go back himself. Beth gives him a goodbye hug, then approaches Dawn to tell her that he gets it now… And stabs her in the gut, making Dawn shoot her in the head on reflex. Daryl shoots her in the head, but the formerly prisoner female officer calls a ceasefire, saying that it had been about Dawn the whole time, so no one needs to die. In fact, Rick and his are invited to stay there. Rick tells them that it’s not better there, and he invites any Grady people to come with them.

WHO IS GOING TO SING NOW?!

In the end, it looks like Noah is the only one going with them, and Maggie and he others arrive just in time to see Daryl carrying Beth’s body outside of the hospital. Maggie, her only recently granted hopes having been beyond dashed to pieces, collapses in anguished tears.

The fucking Greene family, I swear…

RIP, Beth.

 

We’ll always have the music.

(ALWAYS.)

In fact, the title’s episode prety much told you from the start that Beth was a goner. A “Coda” is a the closing bit of music in a composition. The end of music. The END. Of MUSIC.

BUT! As terrible as that way, we get another Morgan moment. He is at the high school Gabriel was at ealier. He then finds the church, where he takes a moment to kneel before the altar, finding a map with a message from Rick.

Ah!

But are they still going to Washington..?

I feel bad for Beth. I was starting to like her which, of course, was the whole point of making her so central to a lot of the plot this past half-season. But, see, I also feel like her death was totally unwarranted. WHY? Why would you stab a bitch on your way out the door?! With everyone facing each other heavily armed and on edge and having no cover? Frankly, they’re lucky to have escaped with only the one casualty…

But yeah, boo, poor Beth…

But I find myself so relieved that it was neither Maggie, nor Glenn, or Carol for that matter to bite the big one.

I really feel like their loss would make me stop watching the show.

So, yeah. We’ll never get our musical episode.

But, this also means that I am tougher than Daryl, because I was too busy being confused by the blonde songstress’s possible motives to shed a single tear over her death.

Really. They could have waited a day and asked for Noah post-mutiny.

Sigh…

Fucking Beth.

You will (kind of) be missed.

 

See you all in February when TWD returns!