As Bob fights for his life, Rick and the group take a stand to defend the church against Gareth and his gang of cannibals.

Right away the episode kicks off catching up with Bob and Gareth as Gareth continues to rant about eating people. Bob then drops a bomb on them about his condition, something I wondered about during last episode. But, moving from him back to Rick’s crew, it’s clear that someone is watching them. Finally Gabriel admits what he did. All of this is within the first 10 minutes of the The Walking Dead, one hell of a start.

We also get the first butting of heads between Abraham and Rick, something that’s been brewing for a bit. It’s clear there’s two alpha males, and they won’t always agree. Interesting enough though, Glenn steps in, continuing his interesting role in the group dynamic.

What plays out is some amazing strategy played out between Rick and Gareth with some highly tense moments played out in very dark quarters. To say it’s all cathartic is an understatement with Rick completing a promise he made to Gareth. Just beyond cathartic.

But here’s the question, with the violence shown and committed, is Rick’s crew any better than Gareth? Both are done out of necessity. Both are done out of survival. The difference really plays out at the end between Bob and Rick. If you want to know if there’s a difference between Gareth and Rick’s actions, it’s summed up by Bob.

It’s the last 10 minutes of the show that hits you. If you can watch the end, and not tear up a little, you have no heart. Truly the end of the episode sums up what the series is all about. The Walking Dead might have zombies, and scares, and lots of blood and death, but at its heart, the show is about people and humanity. A stellar episode, one of the best of the series.

Overall rating: 10