Spend 

Eugene is forced to step up when a run led by Glenn goes awry. Back at Alexandria, Carol uncovers a secret.

Director:

Jennifer Lynch

Writers:

Frank Darabont (developed by), Robert Kirkman (based on the series of graphic novels by)

Stars:

Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Andrew Lincoln	...	Rick Grimes
Norman Reedus	...	Daryl Dixon
Steven Yeun	...	Glenn Rhee
Lauren Cohan	...	Maggie Rhee
Chandler Riggs	...	Carl Grimes (credit only)
Danai Gurira	...	Michonne (credit only)
Melissa McBride	...	Carol Peletier
Michael Cudlitz	...	Abraham Ford
Sonequa Martin-Green	...	Sasha Williams (credit only)
Josh McDermitt	...	Eugene Porter
Christian Serratos	...	Rosita Espinosa
Alanna Masterson	...	Tara Chambler
Seth Gilliam	...	Gabriel Stokes
Tovah Feldshuh	...	Deanna Monroe
Tyler James Williams	...	Noah

Storyline

Abraham is assigned to a work crew but soon demonstrates leadership skills that result in him being put in charge. Carol has a conversation with Sam and begins to wonder about his home life. When she tries to visit Jessie, Pete refuses to let her in. Glenn, Noah, Eugene and Tara head off on a supply run with Aiden and Nicholas. When they get to their destination, Glenn wants to secure the building and learn more about the area. Aiden however ignores him and they soon find themselves surrounded by walkers. It all leads to tragedy and unexpected losses. Deanna begins to wonder if it's wise to have so many of Rick's people in positions of authority. Father Gabriel adds to her worries.

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Plot Keywords:

construction crane | van | warehouse | gore | knocked out | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

This episode debuted on Greg Nicotero's birthday.

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Goofs

Fragmentation grenades have a kill radius of 5 meters (~15 feet) and a casualty radius of 15 meters (~45 feet). It's impossible that the only effect Glenn and the group experienced was concussion. They would have been severely wounded or killed by the fragmentation and the cardboard boxes and packing peanuts would have done virtually nothing to impede the shrapnel.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Reg Monroe: [Noah talks to Reg Monroe about Alexandria] Sorry I'm late. The power's out again. How is it that you called this extremely early morning meeting, yet I'm the one bringing breakfast?
Noah: 'Cause you're a good guy?
Reg Monroe: The evidence seems to go in that direction. What's up?
Noah: Can we start, meeting in the mornings?
Reg Monroe: So I can bring you steel-cut oatmeal and ask you why we're meeting?
Noah: So you can teach me how to build things.
Reg Monroe: You want to be an architect?
Noah: I want to make sure those walls stay up.
Reg Monroe: Do you think ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in The Walking Dead: The Journey So Far (2016)

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Soundtracks

The Walking Dead Main Title
(uncredited)
Written by Bear McCreary
Performed by Dominik Hauser

User Reviews

Two sides to the same coin

I'll tell you, it takes lots of guts to create a show like this. Sorry, couldn't help it.

So... stuff is happening, some really tough stuff is going down And that may mean... The Walking Dead is back.

So after, in my opinion, a big decline in the second half of its 4th season and in the first half of its 5th, the show is once again starting to show some very fresh ideas and also delivering some very intense and "TV Gold" moments. It started of with that Tyreese episode that caught everyone off guard with how stylish and different it felt and after that, Rick's group entered a new situation that is now proving to be quite interesting, Alexandria. The beautiful but shady shady Alexandria has given us little glimpses of something awry within its walls but we can't yet tell if it is just our "Rick paranoia" or if these people can't really be trusted. I personally think that they are people of good will but there certainly are a few bad subjects in there.

More noticeable than anything this week was "The Group" gaining a lot more of ground and importance within this community. Abraham started off by gaining himself the employee of the month award and getting the lead at the construction job. This also gave us the chance to have a nice inside look into one of the other jobs at Alexandria. Carol, in the other hand, is still "under cover" but gets to express her true nature by interacting with the little annoying kid who ends up revealing that his douche dad is, in fact, a complete douche. I think that Rick and Carol taking this issue into their own hands will prove to be a breaking point between the people of Alexandria and Rick's group, but more on that later. Something small that was a quite big shock was watching the characters listen to some dub step song. It served as a realization of how far away they are, mentally and emotionally, from the previous "real world".

Outside the walls, the scouting party ran into some really deep excrement and Eugene got to show off his abilities, his courage and his best impression of Sam Gamdgee. A good day for Eugene in general, as he passed his test to prove that he has got what it takes to be a reliable member of the group. But while Eugene got to play the hero, other members of the Alexandria community got to show their true cowardly nature. Nick admitted to being a big puss in boots and got to face a gruesome end that was showcased amazingly. You felt this man's pain as Glen tried to yank him off his deathbed and that gut- spilling death... holy hell. Again, the Walking Dead showed us how amazingly they can put practical effects into good use. I just hope they use these more often instead of going for the computer animations because they really give weight to a lot of scenes.

This discussion reminds me that I have to talk about that big punch in the face we received by watching this episode, and a good punch by all means. Noah-dea why he had to die ;) :( . That's right, Noah bit the dust while taking part in a horrible jigsaw trap-like situation. Glenn watching as his friend get torn apart in front of him was deeply disturbing and will surely bring repercussions, as that p*ussy prick responsible for Noah's death won 't get this problem off his shoulders so easily.

The episode Spend ended with a gut-wrenching revelation by Gabriel. While he confessed to Deanna about the true nature of "The Group" I could help but feel dazzled. It is true that Rick and company bring chaos to whatever they touch, I think we all knew that, but listening to Gabriel compare them to the Antichrist was a very dark and gritty realization. Are they truly aiding the inexperienced people of Alexandria or is their harsh polar opposite nature categorizing this community as cowardly and bringing an early doom to them? We will have to wait and see. But as for now, there are truly two sides to this coin.

I personally liked this episode a lot, not just because of how intense and gory it got or because it surprised us with an unexpected death to show us that they haven't reached paradise yet, but because it capitalized on the speculation that Rick and company may not be saints and may actually be a dangerous and harmful group. And this information coming from someone trusted and known, just made the impact greater. I can't wait to see how this goes down on the season finale, but for now I am giving this episode a golden 9.5 out of 10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 2015 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Douglasville, Georgia, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Idiot Box Productions, Circle of Confusion, Valhalla Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD