The Walking Dead, “Four Walls and a Roof” (5.3) - TV Review

The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 3, “Four Walls and a Roof”

October 26, 2014, 9:00 pm (EST), AMC

After last week’s shocking end, we weren’t sure what would become of Bob. Gareth knows where the group is hiding, and they seemed intent on hunting them down one by one. Rick’s reign of brutality continues, and the group is threatened to split again. “Four Walls and a Roof” takes a little break from zombie massacres to show that humans are once again the greater threat in this world.

The episode picks up where it left off, with Gareth and the remaining members of Terminus feasting on Bob’s leg. Gareth tells Bob that they “marked the way here to find our way back” though he isn’t sure why since there isn’t anything to go back to. He tries to appeal to Bob, telling him that they let people in and gave them a choice: “join us or feed us.” Bob’s maniacal laughter is unsettling as he shows Gareth what we feared from last week: Bob was bit by the zombie in the food pantry. He then starts screaming “tainted meat!” He almost rejoices in the fact that they may turn, or at the very least lose their dinner.

Sasha’s reaction towards Gabriel is something we haven’t seen in her before. She’s ready to torture him in order to find out what happened to Bob, Daryl and Carol. Gabriel finally breaks down, calling himself a sinner and confessing that he left his entire congregation to die as he heard their screams while they said he’d burn in hell. It’s almost a sweet release for him to finally get it off his chest, though he has a slight mental breakdown as he keeps saying “I always lock the doors at night.” She reunites with Bob as Gareth leaves him outside the church. Her happiness is short-lived as he tells the group he was bit. Gabriel offers a sofa, which is the most genuine thing he has done for another human in quite some time. It’s sad that the only other happy couple will be forced apart. Watching them together was a nice reminder the relationships can still happen in this world. Their playful banter was a nice change from Glenn and Maggie.

Glenn continues to be the voice of reason in the group when Rick and Abraham butt heads about Abraham taking Eugene and leaving for Washington D.C. without waiting for Daryl and Carol to return and so Rick can go after Gareth to kill him. After unsuccessfully persuading him to stay the first time when Tara offers to leave with them, Glenn tells Abraham he and Maggie will go to D.C. with them if they wait one more day. Glenn inserts his authority, something he rarely does, when Rick tells him he can’t leave the group. Glenn’s response, telling Rick he doesn’t get to decide, is something Rick rarely hears.

Gareth and his group don’t get to live much longer. After feigning leaving the church to go after Gareth, Rick and several other ambush Gareth’s group as they’re in the church ready to kill the remaining people in there. Rick lived up to his promise and slaughtered Gareth with the sword he first saw when they were going to be killed in Terminus. The brutality with which Rick, Sasha, Abraham and Michonne was surprising as Maggie, Glenn and Tara looked on, horrified. When Gabriel comes out and sees the corpses in his church, he exclaims “This is the house of the Lord,” to which Maggie replies “it’s just four walls and a roof.” Gabriel long lost the right to claim anything holiness to his church after what he confessed to.

Sasha and Bob’s final few scenes together were incredibly heart-breaking. Before Sasha left with Rick, she asked why Bob didn’t tell her right away. He said it would all be about the end for them, and he really enjoyed the middle. As if that wasn’t bad enough, when Sasha said her final goodbyes, she humored him by asking what possible good could come from him getting bit. Before she can get a response, Bob sadly passes on. Bob was one of the few good, genuine people in the group.

After saying goodbyes to Tara, Glenn and Maggie, Rick goes to help Tyreese dig graves for Gareth’s crew. He finally asks Tyreese how his journey to Terminus was. When Tyreese says it killed him, Rick reassures him it didn’t, letting him know he still has humanity left in him.

While on watch, Michonne creeps up on a sound, only to encounter Daryl. When she asks where Carol is, he replies to the shadows “come on out.” If it was Carol we would’ve seen her. Who does Daryl have with him? Did Carol split again like she promised Tyreese earlier? Only time will tell.

The Roundup

• Michonne’s look as she finds her sword and holds it again was a nice setup, showing she feels complete again.
• The sign in Gabriel’s office while the remaining group was hiding was nice: Stupidity is also a gift from God. Was this foreshadowing for what was to come for Gareth, or referencing the group hiding in the small church where they would be found?
• It was an interesting choice that Tyreese made, deciding to bury the bodies of Gareth’s group, despite everything they did.
• Rick finally got his wish to end everyone at Terminus once and for all.