Last week, we saw Michonne reunite with Carl and Rick.
This week, we find out how the rest of the survivors are doing. And what's driving most everyone is a purpose, mixed with hope. People are hoping others are still alive and want to find them. Will they?
They've splintered into four other groups. Let's do a quick review of how each is doing:
Beth and Daryl: Beth and Daryl are wandering about, exposed. He is evidently in a bad mood. She is trying to get up and about. Beth at first is holding up well considering she saw her daddy die and has no clue where her sister is. Then they kill three walkers and she sees a baby shoe. That causes her to cry. She finally breaks - just a little.
Lizzie, Mika, Judith and Tyreese: Lizzie and Mika somehow escaped the mayhem, thanks to Tyreese. And Tyreese had grabbed Judith so she isn't dead, as Carl and Rick suspected after seeing the empty baby carrier at the prison in episode 8. Tyreese is the rock of this group. What choice does he have? He has three kids to watch over. Mike even runs off at one point. They spend a night totally without much protection. The baby keeps crying. Judith is clearly not helpful when trying to evade walkers. At one point, Tyreese hears humans screaming. He runs out and tries to save two dudes from a horde. Both dudes get bitten by walkers. Tyreese survives. Then out of nowhere, Carol arrives from exile. Naturally, Tyreese knows nothing about Carol's role in the death of his girlfriend from earlier this season, the reason she was banished by Rick several episodes earlier. She lies to him about that situation, said she simply hung back to look for more supplies while Rick returned, which is why he hadn't seen her in awhile. Carol is just happy to be reunited with Mika and Lizzie. She said she saw the aftermath of the prison attack and even spied Tyreese in the distance but lost him. One of the guys bit by walkers tells them to walk the tracks, that there is potential sanctuary up ahead. They see a sign that says so. Is it - really?
Sasha, Bob and Maggie: Maggie is bereft with grief over losing Glenn. She knows he left with the bus. She wants to find him. Sasha would rather hang back but Bob follows Maggie so Sasha reluctantly joins them. They find the bus, which is packed with walkers. I'm not clear if some of them are former prison folks or outside walkers that ate the prison crew. Maybe a combo of both? Maggie looks for Glenn in the walker mix. They kill about a dozen zombies, none who are Glenn. Maggie is relieved.
Glenn and Tara: Speaking of Glenn, he is still alive. He got out of the bus before it sped off but Maggie didn't know that. He ended up on the elevated landing where she and Glenn used to make out a lot. He wakes up and finds out he's alone. All alone. So he packs up supplies, including some protective riot gear and shoves his way from a horde of walkers. Then he sees Tara trapped in a little cage. He doesn't know Tara but presumes she's part of the Governor's group. She feels so guilty by what happened and he notices she didn't shoot a single bullet during the attack. He surprises her by asking her to help him escape. He needs her for cover. He throws a molotov cocktail at a car, which causes the walkers to be drawn away from them. They escape the prison but as they walk out, she informs him that Herschel is dead. He tells her he is out to find Maggie, his wife, that Herschel told him to have hope, to believe. Then some walkers arrive on cue. Glenn fights a few off but given his weak state, he isn't as sharp as he's used to. She helps out and fends off a bunch. Glenn faints. The walkers are vanquished. But then three newcomers arrive in a military vehicle, one who looks like Michael Cudlitz ("Southland"). They exit, looking ominous, like they came from an episode of "Son of Anarchy."
"Hope you enjoyed the show a**holes!" she said, feigning confidence.
"You got a damn mouth on you, you know that?" Cudlitz's character says to Tara, who looks rightfully scared. "What else you got?
RATINGS
Last Sunday's mid-season return episode drew 15.8 million viewers. comparable to the season four debut of 16.1 million. And the 8.2 18-49 rating demolished even the Olympics in that demo.
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