Final Thoughts From the Walking Dead Episode "East"

I'm just not convinced the show writers have reached a point where they are ready to kill off the series' most popular character. Even without the threat of riots, it would be the equivalent of Happy Days deciding to kill off the Fonz (Henry Winkler) because, let's face it, there are times he's pretty much carrying this show because he seems to be the only character that isn't in a bit of a rut.

My guess is he either has some sort of flesh wound or will be in critical condition but still able to be saved if he gets help in time.

On this subject, was anyone really surprised he was ambushed at the end? Heck, Glenn (Steven Yeun) even went out of his warn him and, for some reason, Daryl just chose to ignore that warning until it was too late.

Of course, Glenn and Michonne (Danai Gurira) also weren't exactly innocent in all of this. Could they have been any noisier as they walked through that field "helping" Daryl? They sounded like a herd of elephants, pretty much ruining any chance of surprise.

To tell you the truth, I'm not even that big of a Maggie (Lauren Cohan) fan because there are times when she has an unneeded nasty streak (and this can't just be blamed on pregnancy hormones). However, now that she seems to be calling the shots in Alexandria, I can't argue with some of her decisions.

In particular, I like the decision to arm all of Alexandria's residents. While I understand why the previous administration wanted to keep the guns under lock and key, that choice, in hindsight, seemed pretty dumb considering it left Alexandria defenseless when the walkers and the Wolves got inside. Giving everyone at least a side arm is a definite improvement.

She (assuming she doesn't die from her latest pregnancy-related health scare) still has a lot of work to do.

For one, even though she seems to be the one everyone wants in charge, her control does seem limited. After all, in less than a day, Carol flew the coop and six of her most experienced fighters went out beyond the walls despite being in agreement an attack was imminent. She needs to step up her game and make sure people understand that is not acceptable, regardless of the reason.

On top of it, there are obvious gaps in security in Alexandria. Not only did Carol get outside unseen, she took one of the cars and nobody noticed it was missing for several hours. And, I'm sorry, using the shift change as an excuse just doesn't work for me.

I fully understand her reason for leaving Alexandria, she isn't willing to kill for anyone inside the walls and doesn't feel like she deserves to live there as a result.

However, I also found it a bit ironic she feels this way but had no issues leaving with some of the town's guns, ammunition and food. Apparently, she also doesn't care if they go without a meal or are a few bullets short of being able to protect their walls.

But, to be fair, that car she was driving was pretty cool. It looked like something out of Mad Max.

The majority of this episode, to be honest, was a bit dull and the only reason it was even halfway memorable was because of the cliffhanger involving Daryl. But, I will give it the benefit of the doubt because it did a good job setting up next week's season finale.

My Grade: B