Season 5 (TV Series)

Season 5 of AMC's The Walking Dead consists of sixteen episodes; it premiered on October 12, 2014 and will conclude on March 29, 2015. It was confirmed on October 29, 2013 that AMC had renewed The Walking Dead for Season 5. Scott Gimple, showrunner of Season 4, continues to serve as executive producer for this season.

The season picks up shortly after Season 4 left off. What follows is a story that weaves the true motives of the people of Terminus with the hopeful prospect of a cure in Washington, D.C., the fate of the group’s lost comrades, as well as new locales, new conflicts, and new obstacles in keeping the group together and staying alive.

The premiere episode, "No Sanctuary", has surpassed various records for achieving a viewership of 17.3 million on its initial broadcast and 8.7 million in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic, making the series once again the most-watched drama series telecast in basic cable history.

"No Sanctuary"
In a flashback, Gareth and the residents of Terminus huddle in a Terminus train car while marauders torture and rape members of their group outside. Alex laments posting "Sanctuary" signs, saying they left themselves vulnerable and brought the marauders right to them. "We were trying to do something good," Gareth reflects. "We were human beings." "What are we now, Gareth?" Alex asks. Gareth has no reply. One of the marauders taunts them by saying "you're either the butcher or you're the cattle".

In the present, Rick and his group are imprisoned in the train car. They quietly build weapons using scraps stripped from their clothes and the car's interior. Their captors release tear gas into the car, catching them off guard.

Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Bob are brought to a human slaughterhouse, where Terminus residents begin bludgeoning and slitting other captives' throats in a disturbingly neat and precise manner, allowing the blood from their slit throats ooze into a trough, presumably draining them of their blood before preparing them to be eaten. The first to be slaughtered is Sam – the young man Rick and Carol met on a supply run before Carol's exile.

Before Glenn can be killed, Gareth interrupts to interrogate Rick about the bag he stashed in the woods. At first Rick refuses to comply, but after Gareth threatens to stab Bob in the eye, Rick admits it's filled with weapons, including rifles, handguns, a compound bow and a machete. Of the latter, he tells Gareth, "That's what I'm gonna use to kill you."

The butchers behind Glenn prepare to kill him again but, before Glenn is hit with the baseball bat, gunshots are heard outside, followed by a massive explosion.

Earlier that day: Carol, Tyreese and Judith make their way toward Terminus. They hear gunfire erupt and watch a herd of walkers flock toward the noise.

They arrive at a cabin where Martin, a Terminus resident, is setting up fireworks to deter walkers away from Terminus. Carol and Tyreese hear him mention the group and on his walkie-talkie and hold him at gunpoint.

Carol takes Martin's explosives and sets off toward Terminus, slathering herself in guts to disguise herself. Tyreese, meanwhile, keeps watch on Martin in the cabin. Martin tries to convince Tyreese to take his car and leave with Judith.

At the perimeter fence, Carol sees Gareth's men drag Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Bob to the slaughterhouse. She fires at a propane tank within Terminus, then launches one of Martin's fireworks toward the breach, setting off a massive explosion. Walkers begin to swarm into the building and killing its residents.

In the slaughterhouse, Rick quietly cuts his handcuffs (fashioned out of rope) with a wooden stick that he hid in his sock. He frees himself and fights his way out with Daryl, Glenn and Bob.

Mary sees walkers flooding through a hole in the fence and runs inside to the memorial room. Carol, disguised as a walker, infiltrates Terminus with the herd.

Maggie, Carl, Michonne, Sasha and Abraham's crew anxiously wait in the train car as they hear the commotion outside. Chaos reigns as walkers feast on Terminus residents. Carol takes advantage of the confusion and shoots down Terminus snipers.

As Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Bob leave the slaughterhouse, they see human body parts suspended from meat hooks. Rick tells his group that if they come upon any other Terminus residents they should kill them without hesitation. They hear someone screaming and banging from a storage unit.

En route to rescuing the other survivors, Glenn insists on opening another train car to free the captives inside. But when they do, a deranged man runs out screaming wildly before a walker attacks him.

Carol discovers a room filled with items pilfered from Terminus victims. She retrieves Rick's watch – which he had given Sam -- and Daryl's crossbow.

Rick's group ambushes a team of Terminus residents and takes their weapons.

Carol discovers the Terminus shrine. Mary confronts her and they struggle. As Carol gains the upper hand, Mary explains that Terminus used to be a real sanctuary until a group of marauders raped and killed her people. The lesson, Mary explains, is "You're the butcher or you're the cattle." Carol, unconvinced, shoots her in the leg and leaves her to be devoured by walkers.

Back at the cabin, Tyreese becomes distracted by approaching walkers. Martin gets a hold of Judith and threatens to kill her unless Tyreese steps outside. Tyreese complies, and Martin listens to his shouts as the walkers attack. Martin then goes to check if Tyreese is still alive; Tyreese bursts through the door and pummels Martin. Outside, the ground is littered with walkers Tyreese killed hand-to-hand.

Back in the train car, Eugene reveals that before the fall, he helped engineer harmful diseases to fight other harmful diseases. He says his team devised a system that could kill all humans on the planet — and that same system might be able to kill off the walkers.

Rick's crew rescues the rest of the group from the train car. Newly reunited, they fight their way out of Terminus.

Rick leads the group to the weapons cache in the woods. He insists they go back to kill the remaining Terminus residents, but the others disagree. "The fences are down," Maggie reasons. "They'll run or die." Carol appears. Daryl runs up to Carol and hugs her tightly, both of them share tears of joy seeing each other being alive and well. "Did you do that?" Rick asks, embracing her as well and thanking her for saving them.

Carol leads everyone to the cabin, where Tyreese awaits with Judith. Rick and Carl sprint over and joyfully reunite with the baby, while Sasha embraces her brother.

As the group rests, Tyreese tells Carol that he killed Martin. Rick decides that they will get as far away from Terminus as possible. Abraham intends to tell Rick about their mission but not yet. The group follows the railroad tracks until they happen upon a Terminus sign. Rick crosses out most of the text and modifies it to read, "No sanctuary."

In a flashback, one of the marauders – the same deranged man released during the Terminus firefight – enters the train car where Gareth and the others are imprisoned. He throws Mary into the car and selects a young woman, who is dragged off to be raped again. Gareth comforts Mary but as he tells her its alright the man backhands him across the face with a flashlight and informs Gareth, "No, it's not." He leaves and Gareth vows to Mary that they will take back Terminus. "You're either the butcher or the cattle," he declares.

Weeks after Rick's escape from Terminus, a masked stranger marches down the railroad tracks. He stops to see the Terminus sign Rick modified, and hangs his head. He removes his mask. It's Morgan. He starts to follow a series of markings on trees - a circle with an X inside - to an unknown destination. It is unknown who it was that left the signs.

"Strangers"
The episode begins with a shot of the smoke rising from Terminus. The group are on the road once again and decide to take a break. As Glenn and Maggie share a tender moment, Tara approaches Rick. "You didn't wanna be there. That’s why I tried to talk to you," Rick tells Tara, referring to how he called Tara out before the bloody showdown with The Governor. He's thankful she saved Glenn and welcomes her into the group, and even accepts her offer of a fist bump. Carol and Tyreese are filling water bottles from a creek and talk about whether the group will accept Carol for killing Karen and David at the prison. Carol says they don't have to accept it, but Tyreese insists that they do. Tyreese states that they don't have to tell them about Lizzie and Mika as he feels that explaining what happened to Mika and Lizzie might be a tougher sell and that he wants to forget what happened.

The group continue on their journey and come across a lone walker. Michonne says she's got it, and reaches reflexively for the katana that she lost to Terminus. Sighing, she takes it out by striking it with her gun and bashing its head in with the butt of her gun. Abraham sees this and tells Rosita, "right there is why we're waiting for our moment."

That night as the group makes camp in the woods, Rick talks to Carol. "I owe you everything," he tells her. Carol responds, "You owe Tyreese, he was at the prison." Carol pulls Rick’s watch out of her bag and gives it back to him. He tells Carol he saw the Terminus residents murder Sam. He offers her watch back, but she refuses. Rick admits some regret at sending her away, to which she responds, "you said I could survive. You were right." He notes the irony of kicking her out and then having to live with her on the road. "Will you have us?" he asks. She nods.

Later in the woods, Carol and Daryl are sitting in the woods and have a chance to talk about the horrible things that have happened recently. But after a long silence, she says she doesn't want to. "I just need to forget it," she says, echoing what Tyreese said. They both hear a noise and get up to look. Daryl says it’s nothing, but something is watching them and moving around.

Walking around in the woods again, everyone hears a noise and prepare their weapons. Daryl comes out of the woods with some squirrels he caught. "We surrender," he jokingly says. Daryl mentions to Rick he didn't see any tracks of what was watching them from last night. Abraham starts trying to talk Rick into his plan, innocuously suggesting they find a road and go north until they find a vehicle.

Bob and Sasha are playing a game called "Good Out of the Bad" where Sasha mentions a bad thing and Bob has to find a silver lining. For example, "Danger around every corner" equals to "Never a dull moment." The two of them kiss, and Sasha explains the game to Tyreese, who is observing happily.

The group hears cries for help, and Carl convinces Rick to help. There, they find a man up on a rock surrounded by walkers. The group dispatch all of the walkers and immediately forms a perimeter. Rick tells the man he can come down and he does. He asks if he’s okay and the man throws up, apologizes, thanks the group, and introduces himself as Father Gabriel Stokes to the distrusting group. Gabriel says he has no weapons and that The Word of God is the only protection he needs, which gets a cynical, "sure didn’t look like it" from Daryl. Gabriel says he called for help and God answered with their arrival. He asks for food and Carl offers a meager handful of pecans. Gabriel says Judith is a beautiful child. When pressed by Rick, he says he has a church. Rick makes him put his hands above his head and starts searching him for weapons, asking him the 3 questions from the prison.

"How many walkers have you killed?"

"Not any, actually."

"How many people have you killed?"

"None."

"Why?"

"Because the Lord abhors violence."

"What have you done? We’ve all done something."

"I am a sinner, I sin almost every day. But those sins I confess them to God, not strangers."

As they head to Gabriel's church, Rick asks if Gabriel was the one watching them. Gabriel says he keeps to himself because people are just as dangerous as the dead. "No. People are worse," Rick says. Gabriel says that the rock was the furthest he’s been from his church since it started, but then starts defiantly joking that maybe he’s lying and leading them into a trap so he can steal all of their squirrels. "Members of my flock had often told me that my sense of humor leaves much to be desired," Gabriel says when he sees the less than friendly reaction to his joke.

The group soon arrive at the church. Rick cautiously asks to go in the church first so they can "hold on to their squirrels," and the group does, guns drawn. Inside Carol finds a book on a desk that shows Gabriel, or someone, has been copying the Bible by hand. He’s written "Thou Shalt Not Kill" in huge letters on one page. Rick finds empty food cans around the altar. Glenn, who almost got the group hurt by releasing the crazed man previously, finds a a picture with the words of Galatians 6:9: "and let us not grow weary of doing good. For in due season we will reap if we do not give up." Michonne takes notice of children's drawings. Rick calls the rest of the people in. Abraham suggests fixing the church’s short bus and taking it to D.C. Michonne wants to rest and gather supplies first, though, and Rick agrees. Abraham looks like he wants to object, but Glenn tells them that one way or another they’re following Rick and not splitting up. Tara adds a "What he said" and even Bob piles on. Inside, Gabriel says he’s been living off the food from the church’s annual canned food drive and scavenging. He says he’s cleaned out every place nearby except for one that’s overrun by about a dozen walkers. Bob and Sasha agree to go with Rick to check it out and Tyreese agrees to babysit Judith. Rick thanks Tyreese for his help.

Rick makes Gabriel go with them because he doesn’t trust him. Before he leaves, Rick has a talk with Carl. Carl says he does trust Gabriel because he feels that everybody can't be bad. Rick tells Carl that Gabriel may have friends and he needs him to stay to help Tyreese protect Judith. Rick tells Carl that no matter what, he's not safe and makes him promise to never let his guard down. Before he leaves, though, Carl calls Rick back. He tells him that they are strong enough that they can still help people, and that they don’t have to be afraid or to hide. However, Rick still believes that Gabriel is hiding something.

On the way to scavenge the food bank are Rick, Gabriel, Bob, Sasha and Michonne. Bob is trying to talk Rick into going to Washington. He notes a double meaning of Rick's words that the Terminants "don’t get to live," pointing out that when you push yourself too far there are things you can’t get back. Although Rick is not even sure he’s going to go, Bob is convinced that Eugene can cure the virus and that things will go back to something like the way they were. "And if you let too much go along the way, that’s not going to work," Bob says. Rick says this is the real world and Bob says "Nah, this is a nightmare. And nightmares end." But he also admits his optimism is maybe, "just one of those parts of not letting go."

Carol and Daryl are walking down the road. Carol is reluctant to talk about what happened when she was separated from the group. Daryl says they can start over and that Carol saved them, but she just says they got lucky. They come to an abandoned car and Carol checks it out. The car's battery appears to be dead, but Daryl interrupts her as she's checking the trunk. "Whatever happened, happened. Let’s start over," Daryl says. Carol says she wants to, and Daryl says she can. Inside the trunk Carol finds an emergency starter. She pushes a button on it and shows its got a little battery power left, so she says they should leave the car for backup in case things go bad at the church.

Maggie and Tara are on a separate mission to loot a gun store. The door is kicked in and they both agree the chances of leftovers are super slim. There’s a noise from inside and they draw their guns. Glenn comes out and admits he tripped over a stack of boxes and mop, and that he found three silencers stashed in a mini-fridge inside. "There's nothing left in this world that isn't hidden," he says, words which stick to Tara.

Rick’s group arrives at what Gabriel says was a food bank that served the whole county. They draw their weapons and go inside cautiously. There’s a huge hole in the floor. It leads to a basement filled with water and stinky, decayed walkers. "If a sewer could puke, this is what it’d smell like," Bob says. Sasha suggests using some metal shelves in the muck to block the walkers and Rick agrees it’s a good plan.

They climb down the shelves and Rick forces a terrified Gabriel to go with. Inside, the water is up to their waists. Gabriel sees a walker that looks like a church lady with big glasses and panics. He tries to get up the stairs but the stairs break. The others push down the shelves and fight their way through the walkers to save Gabriel. Rick catches up to the church lady walker and busts her rotten head open before she can get Gabriel.

Bob walks over to get some supplies and confidently says, "I know which way it’s gonna break." As he's pulling a box of supplies, a walker pulls him down into the water. Bob comes back up fighting a walker that looks like it has rotted away to nothing. Bob impales it on a pipe and Sasha smashes its head open with a storage container. She goes to Bob and asks him if he’s okay and he says that he's fine, though apparently shaken.

The group loads up huge carts with lots of food and are leaving. Gabriel apologizes for panicking. Rick asks if he knew the church lady walker when she was still alive and Gabriel won’t answer. "Yeah, I get it. You only tell your sins to God," Rick says sarcastically. On the way Rick asks Michonne if she misses her katana. She says it really wasn't hers anyway, she found it at the beginning of the outbreak. She says she got so good by killing all day with it but it wasn't life for her. "Stumbling around in three feet of slime for some peas and carrots, that’s living," she says. Michonne says she misses Andrea and Hershel, but she doesn't miss what was before and that she doesn't miss her katana.

They arrive at the church, and Carl shows Rick some deep scratches that indicate that people had tried to get into the church. He also found that someone scratched the words, "you’ll burn for this" into the outer wall of the church. "Doesn't mean Gabriel’s a bad guy for sure. But it means something," Carl says.

At night, the group has a cheerful celebration. Abraham proposes a toast. He says each and everyone of the group has earned the title of survivor and toasts. "To the survivors," and everyone toasts back, but he continues, "is that all you want to be?" he asks, and makes his pitch again for Washington. He says just surviving is just surrender. Carol considers making a run out the door to that car she found at this moment.

Abraham says Eugene will make the dead die and the living will have this world again and that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip. Eugene says there's infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this "FUBAR magnitude" which means food, fuel and refuge and an end to the walker plague. Looking at Judith, Abraham asks them to save the world for that little one or for themselves, or for the people out there. Rick hears Judith coo and jokes, "she’s in. If she's in I'm in. We're in. Let’s do it," and everyone cheers. Bob asks Sasha for one more kiss, and then he gets up and leaves, clearly consumed in thought.

Tara takes this time to tell Maggie that she was at the prison with the Governor. She says she didn’t know who he was or what he could do. Maggie forgives her as well, saying "You’re here with us now," and offering a hug. Rick thanks Gabriel for the hospitality and letting them drink the Communion wine. Gabriel is drinking it too, he says it’s just wine until its blessed and anyway there’s no one left to take communion. Rick tells Gabriel he knows he’s hiding something. "These people are my family. And if what you're hiding til now hurts them in any way, I’ll kill you," Rick says.

Carol has made a run for the abandoned car. She’s got it started but the engine noise draws a walker, which she stabs. Daryl comes out of the woods and asks what she’s doing, she states that she doesn't know. He tries to lead her back to the church and it looks like she’s going to go, but just at that moment they hear, and then see, a car with a white cross in the back like the one that took Beth speed by. "They got Beth!" says Daryl, and as he breaks the tail lights of the car Carol was going to use to run away. They both pile in the car and give pursuit.

Bob’s outside, smiling a happy smile that fades as he looks at the church. He then wanders off into the woods and leans against a tree and cries. A hooded figure in a robe knocks him out. A symbol that looks like a horizontal line with a small vertical line descending from its right edge, possibly related to the marks Morgan saw, is seen on a tree.

Bob wakes and sees blurry faces and a fire. They are the remaining residents of Terminus. One of them is Martin, beat up but not dead as Tyreese claimed. "The good news is, you’re not dead yet," Gareth says. They have Bob tied to a pole. Gareth says they didn't want to hurt them, before, but these are things they have to do. "You and your people took away our home, and in order to survive, we have to hunt." During a montage of the group celebrating and eating, Gareth gives a speech about how the Termites didn't start out eating people or doing the things they've done. One shot shows Gabriel looking at a picture of the church lady, who was a church organist, with him while she was alive.

"We evolved. We had to. And now we've devolved into hunters," Gareth says. "I told you. I said it. Can’t go back, Bob." He says he just hopes Bob understands it's not personal, that even though they put them in that situation they would have done this to anybody. Gareth says that at the end of the day no matter how much they hate all this ugly business, a man’s gotta eat. Bob is shown to be missing his left leg, amputated about at the knee. He begins panicking out of shock.

Gareth takes a bite of Bob’s cooked leg right in front of him. "If it makes you feel any better, you taste much better than we thought you would," Gareth says. The Terminants feast on Bob's leg, now roasting on a spit.

"Four Walls and a Roof"
As Gareth continues to calmly speak to Bob, while walkers growl at them from inside the elementary school they are camping outside of, Bob becomes more and more visibly distressed. Finally, Bob begins chuckling, then breaks into a laugh as Gareth tries to chastise him for not listening. The rest of the group come over, commenting that Bob has "lost it". Bob, however, gleefully pulls his shirt down, revealing a bite wound on his shoulder, and laughing as he explains that he has been bitten and is therefore "tainted meat". As the members of his group are react in horror, Gareth angrily kicks Bob into unconsciousness, while explaining that they will be fine. Sasha exits the church searching for Bob, and, after killing two walkers, is joined by Rick and Tyreese, who take her back inside. Sasha claims that they are being watched by unknown assailants, and angrily confronts Gabriel, accusing him of being involved in Bob's disappearance. Rick pulls her away from Gabriel and calmly confronts Gabriel himself, demanding to know what Gabriel had done in the past to warrant someone writing You will burn for this on the side of his church. Gabriel tearfully reveals that during the beginning of the apocalypse he denied anyone else entry to the church, allowing them to be killed by the walkers, and tearfully declares that Rick's group has been sent by God to finally punish him. As Rick listens, a faint whistling can be heard coming from outside, and Glenn reports that someone has been left lying in the grass.

Rick's group rushes out to discover Bob lying in the grass, and begin carrying him inside as walkers approach. However, The Hunters open fire on them from the trees, and Rick blindly fires off all of his bullets into the trees. Inside the church, Bob regains consciousness and reveals that Gareth and five other Terminus survivors are responsible for his missing leg, and attempts to describe where they had been staying. Sasha asks if they have any thing they can give him to ease his pain, but Bob refuses, revealing his bite to the group. As they wonder how long he has, Glenn reminds them that Jim had survived two days before they left him to turn. Gabriel tells them that they can put Bob on a couch in his office, and Sasha thanks him.

As Sasha tends to Bob, Rick asks Gabriel if he recognized the place Bob described. Gabriel says that it sounded like an elementary school within walking distance of the church.

Rick meets with the group to discuss what to do next, his choice being to hunt down Gareth's group. Abraham, however, insists they leave, as it is too dangerous for them to keep Eugene in such a hostile zone. Rick and Abraham begin arguing, and nearly come to blows until Glenn finally gets Abraham to agree to stay for one more half of a day, in exchange for Glenn's guarantee that he, Maggie, and Tara will accompany them to Washington, D.C..

As the group prepares to leave to confront Gareth, Sasha spends time comforting Bob. As Bob sleeps, Tyreese approaches Sasha, and asks her not to come with them to confront Gareth. Sasha reminds him of how he felt when Karen was killed, but Tyreese claims that he had simply been blinded by anger at the time, and that only forgiveness was truly facing your demons. Sasha angrily asks if he is asking her to forgive Gareth for everything he had done, and pointed out that they had no choice but to kill him. Tyreese disagrees, saying that while the rest of the group doesn't have a choice she does. Sasha finally consents, and gives Tyreese her dagger, telling him to put it through Bob's temple after he was killed.

Under the cover of night, Rick, Michonne, Abraham, Glenn, and Maggie leave the church to go to the elementary school. As they disappear into the woods, the Hunters appear, arriving at the church from a different route, and break in. As they search the church, Gareth asks the group to come out, revealing that he knows that Rick had taken some of their members and most of their guns to the elementary school. When they don't comply, he calls for Father Gabriel saying that if he reveals himself and the group, they will spare him, and even let him leave with Judith. As they search, Judith begins crying and gives away the group's location. Gareth and the Hunters give the survivors one last chance to come out before they break down the door, and, when no one replies, orders the Hunters to force their way in.

Albert and Mike approach the door but are both shot in the head from behind. The Hunters turn around as Rick orders them to drop their weapons. Gareth begins to panic and tries to get Rick to back down by threatening the rest of his group, but Rick unceremoniously shoots off his middle and index fingers as he points at the door. Gareth fall to his knees and tells the rest of the Hunters to do as Rick says. All of them except Martin kneel, who insists they haven't been beaten. Abraham steps out of the shadows and puts his rifle to Martin's head, and orders him to get down, which Martin does. Rick then walks to Gareth, who tries to tell Rick that they used be good people who really did accept newcomers into Terminus until "they" arrived and changed everything, and tries to convince Rick to let them go. Rick explains why he it's too dangerous for him to do that, then reminds Gareth of a promise he made to him back in Terminus, before pulling the machete with the red handle from his belt and slicing Gareth's head apart. The rest of Rick's group slaughter the remaining Hunters.

When it is all over, Gabriel opens the door and surveys the carnage, as Rick, Michonne and Abraham walk past him to check on the rest of the group. Gabriel is shocked, and looks at Maggie an Glenn in astonishment, meekly exclaiming, "This is the Lord's house!" Maggie looks at him, and coldly replies, "No, this is four walls and a roof." The morning after, each member of the group says goodbye to Bob as he begins to succumb to his bite. Bob asks for a moment alone with Rick, but when Rick attempts to give Judith to Carl, Bob tells him to let Judith stay, joking that he trusted her. Bob thanks Rick for showing him that there were still good people in the world, and for taking him in. Rick takes Bob's hand for a minute before leaving, and Sasha returns to stay by Bob's side in his final moments. Slowly, Bob dies, and Sasha breaks down in tears and leaves as Tyreese uses the knife she gave him to stab Bob in the head.

Later, after burying Bob, Abraham gives Rick a map depicting the route they would be taking to Washington. The group has decided to split up, with Abraham's group, along with Glenn, Maggie, and Tara leaving for Washington, and the rest of the group promising to follow after Daryl and Carol return. Rick then opens the map to find the message, "Sorry for being an asshole. Come to Washington. The world's gonna need RICK GRIMES". As the church bus carrying Abraham's group departs, Rick sees Tyreese digging graves for the Hunters, goes to help and asks him what it was like for him getting to Terminus. Tyreese replies "It killed me", after awhile Rick says "No it didn't".

That night, Michonne is sitting outside the church, inspecting her katana, which she had found in Martin's backpack. Gabriel comes sits on the steps next to her, commenting that he can't sleep after what has happened. Michonne tells him that although that feeling never goes away, it will lessen over time. They are interrupted by rustling from the forest. Gabriel returns into the church as Michonne goes to inspect. As she slowly walks to the tree line, she sees a few bushes rustling, and Daryl appears. Michonne grins at the sight of Daryl, but the smile fades as she asks where Carol is. Daryl pauses, staring at her, before looking over his shoulder and telling someone they can come out.

"Slabtown"
Beth wakes up on a hospital bed with her arm in a cast and sutures on her cheek. She gets up and looks out the window, and finds herself in Atlanta. Beth bangs the door, asking for help. Someone opens the door, and Beth steps back. A doctor and a female cop enter the room and introduce themselves as Dr. Steven Edwards and Officer Dawn Lerner. They tell Beth that she is in Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and she was found on the road, wrist broken and was alone when they found her. In an ominous tone Dawn tells Beth, "You owe us."

Beth accompanies Steven as he makes his rounds. His first stop is a man they found under a bridge. He unceremoniously pulls the plug and stabs his brain. Resources are scarce, if a patient doesn't improve almost immediately they have to cut them off. They take the body for disposal. "Come on, the body’s getting cold," Dawn says. They take the bodies and drop them down an elevator shaft to the basement. Dawn explains that if the body is still warm the walkers will take care of most of it.

When Beth gets food she runs into Gorman, who states that he was the one who found and saved her. He reminds her that everything costs something as she gets her food and suggests that she be a bit friendlier. On her way to the Dr. Edwards' office, Beth passes Dawn’s office and hears Dawn lecture Noah about how to do her laundry. "If you’re safe enough to be bored, you’re lucky," Beth tells Dr. Edwards when he complains about his job.

A new patient is whisked in, Gavin Trevitt, who fell from a second floor window. The officer who brings him in whispers to Dawn, who suddenly becomes much more involved. Dr. Edwards says that it’s a losing battle but Dawn insists that he try anyway. Things aren't looking good. The doctor shows Dawn his bruised stomach and that he is suffering from too much internal bleeding. When the doctor delivers the bad news Dawn turns and slaps Beth, re-opening her sutured cheek. Dawn tells Beth to "try and grasp the stakes here."

Dr. Edwards re-stitches Beth’s cheek and leaves so she can put on a fresh shirt that Noah left for her. She finds a lollipop in the pocket and smiles. Beth walks down the hall and finds a woman, Joan, who's been bitten. Her arm has to be amputated but she refuses treatment and was caught trying to leave the hospital. Beth is forced help hold her down while the doctors saw her arm off.

Beth goes to the laundry room with her bloody clothes and meets Noah, who left her the lollipop. Beth wonders why Joan would try to escape and why couldn't she just work off her debt and leave. Noah informs her that they tend to save people that are weak and unable to fight. They save them and force them to stay until they've worked off their debt. Noah states that he was from a walled community in Richmond, Virginia, and he's taking off when he gets the chance.

Dawn brings Beth some food and Beth tells her she's not staying any longer than they make her. Dawn tries to sell her on staying at the hospital. She thinks that the world will return to normal and it's important to keep safety and order. However, Beth stays strong on her decision to leave. As she mops up blood in newly-amputated Joan's room, Joan wakes up. She tells Beth that Dawn could control her men but she doesn't because it's easier. She refuses to tell Beth what they did to her and tells her, "It doesn't matter. I guess it's easier to make a deal with the devil when you're not the one paying the price."

Back in her room, Beth looks for her lollipop under the mattress. Officer Gorman walks in sucking on it. "Lost something?" He offers Beth a taste and pushes it in her mouth. Dr. Edwards comes in before the situation escalates. "Girl should've been mine," Gorman says. Dr. Edwards challenges him over his "ownership" of Joan, telling him that no one is anyone’s property. Dawn comes by and Gorman threatens the doctor by saying Dawn won't always be in charge. When they all leave, Beth asks the doctor why he stays. In response he takes her to the ground floor.

He bangs on the metal shutters with a pipe. Walkers immediately attack. Atlanta is a bad place to be. Then they head up to the roof. Edwards tells her how it all started, with Atlanta destroyed, they started to trade care for service. The man in charge, Hanson, started to crack and got people killed. Dawn "took care of him" and kept them safe. "As bad as it gets, it's still better than down there."

Dr. Edwards tells Beth to check on Mr. Trevitt and instructs her to give him 75mg of Clozapine. Beth goes down and injects it. Noah stops by just as Trevitt starts to seize and flatlines. When Dawn demands to know what happened, Noah takes the blame, saying he accidentally unplugged the ventilator. Dawn tells an officer to take Noah to her office. When Beth tries to explain what happened to Dr. Edwards, he says, "You gave him Clonazepam, right?" Beth is confused and hears Noah being beaten in the other room.

Later, Dawn comes to Beth's room. She knows that Noah didn't unplug the ventilator. She says she had to beat Noah. She proceeds to tell Beth that she isn't the greater good and hence isn't keeping her worth. "The wards keep my officers happy. The happier my officers are the harder they work to keep us going." Beth goes to see Noah who had sustained a cut on the eyebrow and a black eye, who says he's fine. He tells her that he knows that Trevitt was important to Dawn for some reason. Beth says she'll leave with him. He tells Beth that he'll distract Dawn while she makes a play for her spare elevator key.

When they get their chance, Beth goes through Dawn's drawers. She finds a wallet and finds an ID with St. Ignatius Hospital on the back. Then she looks over and finds the body of Joan on the floor. It is revealed that she killed herself by opening up the sutures on her amputation and bleeding out.

Ignoring the body, she finds the spare key in a drawer just as Gorman walks in. He offers to keep quiet if Beth will be friendly. Beth looks over and sees Joan reanimating. She agrees to go along with Gorman to buy some time, then smashes a jar on his head, knocking him to the ground where he's bitten in the jugular by Joan. Beth grabs his gun and runs.

When she sees Dawn in the hallway, she says that Joan was looking for her and that she saw her and Gorman heading toward her office. Noah and Beth make a break for the elevator shaft while screams echo from Dawn's office. Noah lowers Beth down the shaft on a makeshift rope. As he climbs down the rope after her, a walker reaches through some partially open elevator doors. He falls into the pile of bodies at the bottom of the shaft. Beth jumps down after him.

Noah's leg is injured, but he can limp. They fight their way out of the basement into the parking lot. More walkers on the other side of the fence arrive. They climb through and Beth fights walkers while Noah squeezes through a gate on the other side. Beth, having been slowed down by walkers, is tackled by an officer. As she's wrestled to the ground, she sees Noah escaping and smiles.

Dawn dresses down Beth in her office. Beth pleads self defense. She accuses Dawn of letting these things happen. Dawn says she has to. "NO ONE’S COMIN' DAWN. We’re all gonna die and you let this happen for NOTHIN’!" Dawn looks at the floor and sees a shattered picture of her and a man before knocking her out.

Later, Dr. Edwards is seen examining Beth's new forehead sutures. As he leaves the room Beth confronts him, "How did you know Trevitt was a doctor? That's why you had me give him the wrong meds, right? Why did you have me kill him? 'Cuz if he had lived there'd be another doctor and Dawn wouldn't need you." Edwards doesn't fight the charge. He says they would have kicked him out or had him killed. He states, "When they arrested Christ, Peter denied being one of his disciples. He didn't have a choice, they would have crucified him too."

He leaves the room. Beth picks up a pair of scissors and follows him. She stalks him down the hallway and sees Carol brought in on a stretcher.

"Self Help"
The episode starts with Abraham driving down the road in the church bus. Rosita is teasing Abraham about his hair getting long, and Abraham jokes that he’s thinking about becoming a plumber. Rosita says she’ll cut Abraham’s hair later that night.

Tara tell Eugene that his hair is getting a little long in the back and suggests he gets it cut. Then, she jokes, “Or is it your source of power?” Eugene responds, “I ain’t slaying a lion anytime soon.” Tara asks Eugene what’s up, and he says he’s thinking about what that preacher did.

Maggie tells Glenn that maybe Daryl and Carol came back and the rest of them are right behind them. Maggie turns around and asks Eugene how long it will take once he gets on the terminal and does what he needs to do. Eugene says it depends on the density of the infected around target sites worldwide. After Eugene rattles off some more scientific mumbo-jumbo, Glenn asks Eugune, “Why the hair?” Eugene says because he likes it, and he adds no one is taking scissor or clipper to it anytime soon. Eugene says that the smartest man he ever knew, his old boss T. Brooks Ellis, the director of the human genome project, loved his hair.

As the bus passes by a group of walkers, the engine suddenly blows out. The bus swerves and flips over on its side. Walkers start to approach the motionless bus. In a flashback, someone is beating a man to death with a can. The camera pans out and it’s Abraham doing the beating. Abraham stands up and steps on the throat of the beaten man, killing him. The camera pans out again to reveal that they are in a grocery store, and there are several other bodies on the floor. Abraham turns around and calls out the name "Ellen."

Back on the flipped over bus, Abraham is calling out for Eugene, as everyone on the bus is starting to regain their composure from the crash. Because the engine is on fire, Abraham, Glenn, Maggie, and Rosita bust out the back door of the bus to fight off the walkers. Tara stays on the bus to protect Eugene. When a walker tries to get in through a bus window, Tara stabs it and tells Eugene it’s time to be brave. Tara gives Eugene a knife, and they both leave the bus to help. At first, Eugene just stands around petrified. However, when he sees a walker coming up behind Tara, he rushed over to stab it to save her.

After all the walkers have been dispatched, Abraham barks out an order to check Eugene to see if he’s hurt. Eugene says he’s fine, but he notices blood on Abraham’s hand and asks if it his blood. Abraham says yes that his cut just reopened again. Before they can head into the bus to retrieve their supplies, the bus burst into flames.

Eugene suggests that they head back to the church, but Abraham insists that they have to continue on the mission. Abraham says retreat means they lose, that they don’t go back. Glenn says they are going with him that he’s calling this thing, but he just needs to know that Abraham is good. Abraham says he took a pretty good hit with the crash, but as long as they are rolling on, he’s good. Glenn says, “We’re rolling on.” Tara suggests that maybe they can find some bikes because bikes don't burn. Eugene goes and looks at the walker he stabbed, then he spits on it. Abraham and the group continue their journey on foot.

In a flashback scene, Abraham is in the grocery store yelling out for Ellen. Abraham stumbles down the aisles until he finds a woman (Ellen) and two kids crouched down behind a counter.

Back in the present, Abraham and the group break into a book store. Once inside, they start setting up shop, by getting water from the toilet, building a barricade with bookshelves, and tearing out book pages to use in a fire. Rosita uses some string from a book spine to sew up the gash in Abraham’s hand.

After Rosita finishes patching him up, Abraham says that he’s going to take a sweep. Glenn finds Abraham watching walkers outside the window. Abraham thanks Glenn for coming with him. Glenn asks Abraham if he’s going to wrap up his hand, but Abraham says he’s going to let it get some air that he cut it pretty bad back at the church.

Abraham says it’s kind of reached the point where everyone alive is strong now. Abraham says he wants to say it’s never easy to kill someone, but it’s not the truth, that it’s the easiest thing in the world now. Glenn tells Abraham that he should turn in and get some rest, but Abraham says he really needs some ass first. After Abraham needs, Glenn says, “I didn't need to know that, but cool.”

As Abraham and Rosita are having sex, Rosita looks up and says Eugene is watching them from the self help section. Abraham laughs and says don’t worry that he’s harmless.

Tara comes up behind Eugene, and Eugene admits to watching Abraham and Rosita. Eugene says he enjoys the female form, and he considers it to be a victimless crime which provides a distraction. Tara says that she was looking for Eugene to thank him for saving her life back at the bus. Eugene reveals that he sabotaged the bus to make it crash. Eugene says he put crushed glass in the fuel line back at the church and that the vehicle should have failed before it even got to the road. When Tara asks why he did that, Eugene says that he couldn't survive on his own. Eugene says that if he couldn't save the world that there is no way they would keep him around. Tara says they would because their friends. Tara says that Eugene needs to keep secret what he did and not to do it again.

Glenn is sleeping next to Maggie. Maggie is staring up into space. Glenn asks if she’s thinking about them, and Maggie says she feels guilty. Glenn jokes around about having a vacation on a bookstore floor. Maggie says it’s just good having this because it’s not about what was it’s about what’s going to be.

In another flashback, Abraham tells Ellen and the kids that they are safe now that he stopped them. Ellen is shaking and the kids are hiding behind her. Abraham tells them that it’s okay and then looks down at his blood covered hands.

Rosita is wrapping up Abraham’s hand in bandages. Rosita says she thinks that they should stay here today, but Abraham says they need to keep moving. Abraham says every minute they waste in getting Eugene to Washington people are dying. Maggie says that this store was hardly touched that they could spend one more day searching for supplies. Rosita says they will sweep as they go.

Abraham says they have a vehicle, and he looks out the window at a fire truck. He adds that the vehicle has 500 gallons of water on it. At first the fire truck won't crank, but Abraham eventually gets it started. However, after they pull out, the fire truck chokes down. As Abraham starts to work on the fire truck, a tire goes rolling by them. Then, a whole bunch of walkers come out of a building, released after the fire truck moved forward and allowed the building's door to open free. Abraham and the rest are overrun, but Eugene turns the fire hose on the walkers and takes them out. Abraham says he's been to eight county fairs and one goat rodeo and he’s never seen anything like that.

Glenn says there's a Goodwill where there might be some supplies. But Abraham is against waiting, he climbs on the roof of the fire truck to clean out the intake for the engine. Abraham starts laughing when he sees written on the ground, "Sick inside let them die."

In a flashback, Abraham wakes up on the floor of the grocery store from earlier. He looks around and Ellen and the kids are gone. There is a note that says, “Don’t try to find us.” He then leaves to look for them.

Abraham and his group are now a ways down the road in the fire truck. Evidently, Abraham got the truck running, but it’s stopped again. Eugene is reading the H.G. Well’s book "The Shape Of Things To Come" on the back of the fire truck. Maggie tells Eugene that she knows why he has the haircut. Eugene says that it’s because he likes it, but Maggie goes into a story about how it lets everyone know he’s not like everyone else. Maggie says a lot of people in his position would have given up.

Glenn smells something, and they look ahead down the road where they spy a horde of walkers, and large farms equally infested at both sides. Glenn tells everyone they have to turn around and head back. Abraham says that he’s not giving up the ship. Abraham says that they can get through that they aren't going around or back.

Rosita tells Abraham no that the others are right. Abraham grabs Eugene and starts walking back to the fire truck. Everyone else tries to stop Abraham but then, Eugene starts screaming, "I’m not a scientist." Eugene says he lied, that he’s not a scientist, and that he doesn't know how to stop it.

Everyone is standing around staring at Eugene. Rosita insists that Eugene is a scientist. Eugene says that he just knows things and is a good liar and knows that he’s smarter than most people. He says that he just wanted to get to DC, because he believes that locale holds the strongest possibility for survival. He just wanted to trick some people into taking him there.

Rosita says that people died trying to get him to DC. Eugene says that as the reality of getting to DC came closer that he tried to slow their path. Eugene says he also says he also lied about T. Brooks Ellis liking his hair. Abraham gets up and punches Eugene out. Eugene falls face flat into the pavement.

As Abraham goes at Eugene again, Rosita steps in front of him and puts her hand on her gun. Maggie roles Eugene over, but he’s out cold. Abraham walks away and falls to his knees on the roadway.

In a flashback, Abraham is looking at the bodies of Ellen and the kids. He’s about to commit suicide by bullet, when he hears someone screaming for help. It’s Eugene being chased by three walkers. Abraham kills the three walkers, then starts to walk away. Eugene calls out to him to stop, saying that he can’t leave. Abraham asks why, and Eugene says he has a very important mission.

"Consumed"
''Cautiously, members of our group must venture into a familiar location on a heroic rescue mission. It's a huge stage, but so are the stakes.''

"Crossed"
Some members hold down the church while the others are on a rescue mission.

"Coda"
New enemies disregard rules and morals; although Rick wants to find a peaceful agreement, the enemies seem to prefer a more violent resolution.

Cast
Season 5/Starring|Starring Season 5/Also Starring|Also Starring Season 5/Co-Stars|Co-Stars Season 5/Uncredited|Uncredited

Deaths

 * Sam
 * Mary
 * Crazed Man
 * Mike
 * Albert
 * Gareth
 * Theresa
 * Greg
 * Martin
 * Bob Stookey
 * Hanson (Confirmed Fate)
 * Gavin Trevitt
 * Joan
 * Gorman
 * Ellen Ford (Flashback)
 * A.J. Ford (Flashback)
 * Becca Ford (Flashback)
 * At least 11 Terminus residents
 * At least 4 Terminus captives
 * 1 unnamed Grady Memorial Hospital patient
 * 1 unnamed Atlanta Police Officer
 * Four unnamed survivors (Flashback)

Trivia

 * This season debuts a new opening sequence, replacing the one used from "Seed" to "A".
 * There were numerous changes within the main cast in Season 5.
 * Despite being regulars since Season 4, Emily Kinney (Beth) and Chad Coleman (Tyreese) are listed in the opening sequence for the first time after being listed under "Also Starring".
 * Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha) and Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (Bob) are still listed under "also starring" despite being regulars since Season 4.
 * Michael Cudlitz (Abraham), Josh McDermitt (Eugene), Christian Serratos (Rosita), Alanna Masterson (Tara), and Andrew J. West (Gareth) were upgraded to series regulars from the recurring cast in season four.
 * Michael Cudlitz was added to the opening credits, while Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Alanna Masterson and Andrew J. West were listed under "Also Starring".
 * Seth Gilliam (Fr. Gabriel) is a series regular from his first appearance in the season, although he is listed under the "Also Starring" section as well.
 * Following the deaths of Gareth and Bob in "Four Walls and a Roof", Andrew J. West and Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. are no longer credited in the "Also Starring" section in succeeding episodes.
 * Gilliard and West are the first series regulars to be written off whilst credited as "Also Starring" and to not appear in the opening sequence.