THE WALKING DEAD Season 5 Episode 7
Episode Title: “Crossed”
Writer: Seth Hoffman
Director: Billy Gierhart
Previously on “The Walking Dead”:
It’s almost time for the annual midseason break on “The Walking Dead.” And that means one more episode of setup before next week’s midseason finale (hopefully) delivers something worth waiting for.
And for the first time since the second episode of the season, all of the main characters shared the stage in this week’s episode. But some storylines were more interesting than others.
The Voice of Reason
Remember that weird and awkward cliffhanger at the end of episode three in which Daryl (Norman Reedus) called for someone unseen to come out of the bushes? It was clearly Noah (Tyler James Williams), but we never see that moment in this episode. Instead, the action cuts to several hours later as Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Noah, Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman) and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) join Daryl and Noah on the rescue mission to save Beth (Emily Kinney) and Carol (Melissa McBride) from the evil post-apocalyptic hospital run by corrupt cops.
The surprising thing here isn’t that Rick is in a “slit throats first” state of mind or that Tyreese is opposed to that plan… it’s that Daryl joins Tyreese in backing a relatively non-violent solution of kidnapping two of the police officers to use as an exchange for their friends. Without Daryl’s support, Rick agrees to try Tyreese’s plan.
Beth Rises To The Occasion
In the hospital, Beth overhears an officer telling Dawn (Christine Woods) that the still unconscious Carol is a drain on resources and she should be taken off of life support. Beth angrily intercedes on Carol’s behalf, but Dawn sides with her officer. Privately, Dawn tells Beth that she forced her to do that, but Dawn has enough sympathy for her that she gives Beth the key to the drug cabinet.
From there, Beth pulls a “Hogan’s Heroes” style heist as she bribes a fellow patient with strawberries to create a distraction while she procures the drugs for Carol. Beth even gets Dr. Edwards (Erik Jensen) to tell her what Carol needs… but Carol is still unconscious from her injuries as the episode ends…
Team GREATM
On the road, the other group of survivors hasn’t moved since Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) knocked out Eugene (Josh McDermitt) for lying to them about his mission to Washington. When Rosita (Christian Serratos) tries to get Abraham to drink some water, he seems to have violence in mind before Maggie (Lauren Cohan) pulls a gun on him and tells him to sit down.
In a more lighthearted turn, Tara (Alanna Masterson) dubs their group GREATM while she, Glenn and Rosita search for clean water. Glenn and Rosita even create a makeshift fishing net after Rosita demonstrates the water filtering technique that Eugene taught her. Glenn is so impressed by Rosita’s skills that he offers her a place in the new group wherever they end up.
Back at the disabled firetruck, Maggie challenges Abraham to get over himself. Abraham admits that he almost wanted Maggie to shoot him before realizing that he wanted to live. However, Abraham doesn’t get up until Eugene regains consciousness.
The Father Gabriel Mysteries
In an unintentionally funny subplot, Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) freaks out when he sees the group tear apart his church to create weapons and defence measures against the walkers. Gabriel also becomes obsessed with getting the blood of the Terminus hunters off of the church floor. Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Carl (Chandler Riggs) attempt to help Gabriel adjust by teaching him how to defend himself, but the good father is horrified when Carl explains the intricacies of cutting a walker.
Gabriel sets up his own escape from the church and his new “friends” by tearing through the floor and crawling out from under the building. It isn’t long before Gabriel steps on a nail and finds a female walker that almost puts the bite on him. Gabriel manages to get the upper hand on the zombie, but he can’t bring himself to put her down after he traps her.
The 7 – 10 Split
Back in Atlanta, Rick’s team puts Tyreese’s plan in motion by using Noah as bait. It seems to work out really well, as the group gets the drop on two of the cops. But a third cop manages to shoot at the group and get his people into a car before they attempt to escape. The car doesn’t get very far after it runs over one of several melted walkers in the streets.
As the rest of the group chases down the original two hostage cops, Daryl finds himself locked in a desperate fight with the third cop… who actually seems stronger than Daryl. With no other weapons in reach, Daryl gouges out the eyes of a walker and he uses the walker’s head like a bowling ball as he bashes the cop. In the aftermath, Daryl shows mercy by convincing Rick to spare the man’s life.
Hail Hydra
Never trust a character played by Maximiliano Hernández.
Sure, Bob Lamson seemed like the lesser evil of the hospital cops, as Noah vouched for his decency and he even tried to make Noah comfortable before Rick sprang his trap. Bob shared details about Dawn that seemed designed to ensure a peaceful hostage exchange. He came off so well that it seemed like the new Bob may actually find a place in the group.
But Sasha lets her guard down around new Bob and she pays the price for it. While attempting to put down a walker that Bob identified as friend, Sasha is blindsided by Bob and knocked out as he makes his escape.
There was a lot of filler in this episode as the hospital storyline continued to be drawn out. And while it was good to see all of the characters in a single episode again, it felt like four different episodes when the action jumped from one storyline to another.
Share your predictions about next week’s midseason finale of “The Walking Dead” in the comment section below!
