Season 5, Episode 16:
Conquer
- Everything hangs in the balance for Alexandria as they debate what to do about Rick Grimes.
In a forest, Morgan wakes up, having slept in the back of an abandoned car. He looks around and smiles when he sees a lucky rabbit's foot on the rearview mirror.
As he makes a pot of coffee, he is besieged by a man wielding a handgun. The man (with a "W" carved into his forehead) tells Morgan that he is a member of a group called the "Wolves", and is planning to take all of Morgan's possessions before killing him. At that moment, another Wolf member runs out of the forest to attack him. Morgan effortlessly dispatches both of them using his walking cane, then learns the handgun the man was carrying is empty. Morgan shoves both Wolves into the back of the abandoned car and honks the horn to ensure there aren't any walkers around, then smiles to himself before taking the rabbit's foot and walking off.
In Alexandria, Rick awakes in one of the homes and looks around. His wounds have been bandaged and Michonne is watching him. When Rick asks what happened, she tells him that Deanna has called a meeting to decide what to do with Rick, and he's encouraged to come and give his side of the story so that he won't be exiled.
Just then, Glenn and Carol enter. They tell him that Pete is recovering in another house, and Carol covers herself, asking why Rick took the guns from the armory. Although he's confused, he still tells the group that if things go south at the meeting, they'll take Deanna and her family hostage before taking the armory over. Carol claims that the Alexandria residents are like easily-placated children, and will listen if Rick lies to them. Rick goes back to sleep as everyone leaves.
At Deanna's house, Maggie attempts to dissuade her from doing anything brash with Rick (and Reg supports her), but she isn't willing to hear any of it.
Elsewhere in the forest, Daryl and Aaron stop their vehicles and continue scoping for other survivors. They see a man from afar who's wearing a red poncho, but Daryl insists that the man is making himself a huge target before they continue on. They eventually find an abandoned canned food facility and clear out the walkers at the locked front gate before going inside.
Rick wakes up later and finds Carol standing over him. She gives him back his gun and tells him that she didn't want everyone else finding out about the guns they took. When Rick tells her he doesn't want to lie, she mockingly points out that he can't lie and want to take Alexandria at the same time.
Maggie meets with Glenn and tells him about Deanna's reactions, and they promise to make things work. When she leaves, Glenn sees Nicholas scaling the town walls and follows. At the same time, Gabriel elects to go outside and have a walk on his own.
At the cannery, Daryl and Aaron go to investigate a group of locked truck trailers, but they actions trigger a trap that releases dozens of walkers. The duo make a break for it, scampering under the trucks and around walkers before jumping into a nearby abandoned vehicle and seeing the horde box them in.
As Glenn follows Nicholas, he loses track of him, only to be shot in the shoulder a few moments later by him. Glenn falls down the slope, but has disappeared by the time Nicholas walks over.
Carol brings Pete some food in an effort to have him check on Tara, but the doctor gets angered and tells her to get lost. In response, Carol pulls out a knife and threatens him not to do something stupid before she leaves. Soon after, Rick gets up and leaves the house to take a walk, and passes several citizens who eye him warily. Pete watches from the house as Rick walks by Jessie and promises her he'll be at the meeting later.
Back at the cannery, Daryl decides that they'll have to fight their way through the walkers despite hopeless odds. As he and Aaron get ready to make a seemingly-fatal break for it, several walkers are killed from outside and a voice tells them to hurry up and leave. Morgan is revealed and helps them beat down the walkers before they escape. Aaron thanks him for his help and tells him about Alexandria, and Morgan says that he was just passing on his way through to another place. He asks for directions and gives Daryl the map that Abraham used to write his message for Rick at the church, and Daryl tries to keep his shock concealed.
Abraham visits Eugene, Rosita and the unconscious Tara, and apologizes to the former for how he acted previously when they were traveling on the road. Eugene forgives him and Rosita smiles.
Outside the walls, Gabriel sees a lone walker and heads towards it, clearly intending to die for his sins. However, at the last moment he catches himself and decapitates the walker, then cries to himself over his actions. He walks back to the town and Spencer asks him to close the gate, but a disillusioned and distracted priest leaves it ajar as he walks inside.
Elsewhere in the forest, Nicholas is walking back when a wounded Glenn ambushes him. Nicholas savagely beats Glenn, taking advantage of Glenn's wounded shoulder, then runs away when a group of walkers attack, leaving the latter to his fate again. Glenn escapes and attacks him once again, taking out all his rage and beating Nicholas to a pulp. Nicholas begs for his life and admits how weak he is, while Glenn holds a gun to his head. In the end, he can't pull the trigger and drags the bloodied man back to the town.
Rick is getting ready for the meeting when Michonne appears again and asks if he's up for it. He tells her about the guns he and Carol took from the armory, and moves to give her his. She tells him to keep it, and says that she will still follow his orders no matter what. When she leaves, he remembers a speech from Bob about how this is the real world, and puts on his jacket before leaving.
As he walks through the town, Rick notices the open gate and quickly closes it, then finds a trail of blood leading towards the town square. Rick breaks into a run and follows the trail.
Deanna calls the town meeting to order as Rick's group watches. Meanwhile, Gabriel walks back to his church and finds Sasha waiting for him. She tells him that she wants to speak to him about what she's going through, but he coldly dismisses her before turning around and goading her about Bob's death. She screams and throws him against the wall, and he tells her that he wants to die.
Maggie, Michonne, Abraham and Carol all vouch to Deanna about Rick's ability to lead, while elsewhere, Rick is following the blood when he gets attacked by two walkers. He stabs one before shoving his gun up through the other's neck and blows the back of its head out.
Maggie leaves the meeting and goes to look for Rick. She comes upon Sasha and Gabriel and tells her to put the weapon down, and Gabriel has a breakdown after telling both women that everyone died because of him.
Back at the meeting, the bloodied Rick barges in and throws a walker corpse down in front of the group. He tells them that someone left the gate open, and Spencer sheepishly admits that he left Gabriel in charge of the gate. She tells him to run and find Gabriel, and Rick tells them that the dead and living will always break in, and that the town needs to change if they want to survive.
A montage of events is seen, including the Wolves murdering the man in the red poncho and resetting the trap at the food plant, Tara waking up, Gabriel praying with Sasha and Maggie, and Carl looking after Judith.
At that moment, Pete runs into the meeting, wielding Michonne's katana and shouting at Rick. Carol gives a glance telling Rick to wait, and when Pete goes to attack him, Reg gets in the way and has his throat slashed. Deanna screams in agony while Abraham holds the furious Pete down, who continues ranting. Deanna tearfully tells Rick to "do it", and he immediately pulls out his gun and executes Pete.
As the group reels from what happened, someone calls out Rick's name. He looks up and sees Morgan standing with Daryl and Aaron, and stares at them in shock...
Some time later, Michonne is hanging her katana back up, but then decides otherwise and puts it in its sheath before strapping it to her back and leaving. At the cannery, the abandoned vehicle has a message claiming that the Wolves aren't far...
Tropes:
- Big Bad:
- The Wolves' presence has been built over the course of the second half of the season and The Stinger shows that they will be this in Season 6.
- Pete acts as this in the episode's main story.
- Bleed 'Em and Weep: Gabriel, after making his first walker and human kills, collapses into a Troubled Fetal Position while crying his eyes out.
- Book Ends: The season opened up with a Nice Guy and some strangers dying from a Slashed Throat and ends with Nice Guy Reg and an unknown stranger receiving a Slashed Throat.
- Boom, Headshot!: How Rick finishes off Pete.
- The Bus Came Back: Morgan, who finally reunites with Rick at the end of the episode.
- The Cavalry: Morgan shows up just in time to aid Aaron and Daryl escape the walker swarm.
- Character Death: Pete and Reg.
- Chekhov's Gun: The map Morgan was using to follow Rick becomes important once Daryl recognizes it.
- Continuity Porn: As expected of a season finale, this episode is heavy on continuity nods and callbacks.
- Glenn rips Nicholas a new one for indirectly causing the death of Noah.
- Gabriel once again brings up the church massacre, and then Bob and Tyreese's deaths.
- Carl and Judith are shown with the music box that Carl gave Maggie back in "Them".
- Abraham and Eugene make peace over the latter's lie about a cure, and over Abraham nearly killing Eugene in "Self-Help."
- Maggie mentions how her father had Undying Loyalty in Rick.
- Aaron is delighted to find an Alaskan license plate; his collecting habit was first mentioned in "The Distance".
- Morgan has been following the map to Washington left behind in the church, which is how Daryl convinces him to come to Alexandria with him.
- Rick once again implores a group of people to change, only for an antagonist to kill a Cool Old Guy with Michonne's katana.
- Rick comes clean about his secret meetings and plans with Daryl and Carol to Michonne.
- It's hard not to imagine Carol is not just telling Pete how it is, but what she'd love to say to her deceased husband.
- The way Rick executes Pete (with his gun in focus as he looks on determinedly) is exactly the same as the way he put down Sophia in "Pretty Much Dead Already".
- Death Seeker: Sasha admits to Gabriel she's become this. Gabriel himself as well, who tries to goad Sasha into killing him near the end of the episode.
- Dirty Coward: Nicholas, if the point hadn't already been driven home in previous episodes. He tries to kill Glenn, and breaks down when Glenn manages to turn the tables, and is seconds away from killing him.
- Driven to Suicide: Gabriel goes to "take a walk", but is really going off to let himself be killed by a walker. He decides he can't go through with it at the last second.
- Faux Affably Evil: The first Wolf.
- Funny Background Event: Daryl and Aaron have a very serious conversation in the car while the walkers in the background are basically trying to chew through the windows.
- Gaining the Will to Kill: Gabriel gets this, though he hates himself for it.
- Gory Discretion Shot: We only get to see Rick firing the shot, we don't get to see Pete's dead body.
- Karmic Death:
- Nicholas comes damn close to being killed by Glenn. He breaks down crying as Glenn holds the gun to his head, but Glenn can't bring himself to do it.
- Pete. He steals Michonne's katana and murders Reg by slashing his throat, forcing Deanna to give in and let Rick execute him.
- Narrowly averted with Gabriel. He lets several walkers in by carelessly leaving the gates open and almost getting Rick (and potentially a lot of other people, if Rick hadn't stopped them) killed, then tries to get Sasha to shoot him by insulting Tyreese and Bob.
- Kick the Dog:
- Nicholas becomes flat-out murderous, luring Glenn out into the woods in an attempt to kill him. Glenn is capped in the shoulder and almost left to the walkers, but manages to escape both times.
- Gabriel encourages Sasha to commit suicide, while insulting Tyreese and Bob. However, it's implied what he actually wants is different.
- Mercy Kill: Gabriel does this to a man he finds outside Alexandria whose face has been gnawed on by a walker.
- Near-Villain Victory: Nicholas almost succeeds in killing Glenn.
- Off with His Head!: Gabriel takes out a walker by decapitating it pulling on the rope around its neck.
- Off Screen Moment Of Awesome: Glenn is pinned down by zombies and looks done for. He's fine when we next see him.
- Red Shirt: A almost literal example in the guy with the red poncho. He gets his throat slit by the Wolves.
- Sanity Slippage: Gabriel and Pete, which doesn't end well for the latter.
- Season Finale: The fifth one.
- Slashed Throat: Pete kills Reg with Michonne's katana. Deanna finally sides with Rick upon witnessing this.
- The Stinger: Michonne is about to hang her katana and then chooses not to, hanging it on her back once again. Then the red poncho man, now a walker, is walking on the yard of the canned food factory. The WOLVES NOT FAR grafitti in seen on one of cars.
- Suicide by Cop: Despite his survival instincts kicking in, Gabriel makes two attempts at this. First, trying to have a zombie kill him. Second, antagonizing Sasha.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute / Does This Remind You of Anything?: The Wolf who chats with Morgan brings back some heavy Martin/Gareth vibes in that all three are monstrous sociopaths that just happen to love the sound of their own voices.
- The Extremist Was Right: The people of Alexandria finally trust Rick after Pete kills Reg.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: Spencer asks Gabriel to close the gate of Alexandria for him. Cue the walkers entering.
- Took a Level in Badass: Gabriel makes his first two walker kills.
- Too Dumb to Live: The man with the red poncho. Daryl said it made him an easy target and it turns out to be right, as the two Wolves capture him by the end of the episode and add him to their swarm trap.
- Spencer asks a Gabriel to close the main gate for him and posts no guards around the walls to make sure it was closed or prevent enemies from infiltrating. A few walkers enter the base, but Rick kills them.
- True Companions: Rick tells Michonne that he concealed the stolen guns from her for fear of how she'd react. Michonne calmly replies that she's with him right or wrong. At the meeting, all present members of Rick's group testify about how he has saved them and made them into a family.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Morgan and Aaron have become this. Morgan by sparing the two Wolves - he did honk the car he left them in to lure walkers but its clear he did to keep them from following him. Aaron by losing his backpack at the walker trap, allowing the long-haired Wolf to find his photos of Alexandria.
- Wham Line: Deanna says three words that symbolize the changes to come in Alexandria."Rick, do it."
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The episode ends before we learn if Nicholas and Glenn make it back to the town.
- What the Hell, Hero?: The people of Alexandria are on the receiving end when Rick calls them out on their incompetence and inexperience in the Zombie Apocalypse.
