Enid has had a tough journey.  Her family was wiped out by the walkers and she was left to find her own way, which she did, hiding from walkers, devouring a passing tortoise and leaving the letters “JSS” scrawled along the way.  She did make it to Alexandria, but it’s almost a given that she was never going to fit in with what the community had fashioned for itself.

Inside the walls of the gated community,  everyone is carrying on with their normal, everyday lives.   Carol and a few of the other women are sharing creative recipes with the assortment of supplies they have on hand, including Carol’s amazing cola canned ham.    Carol  tells one of the women that she isn’t to smoke inside the house anymore.   She also stops to tell Pete’s son that he has to get over the death of his abusive father.   You either get beyond it or it eats you up.  Ron and Jessie exchange a few words about Pete’s death, too.  He wants to hold his mother responsible for the fact that his dad isn’t alive.   Deanna and Maggie discuss life after loss and plan on planting a garden as a sign that things go on. There’s a new doctor, now that Pete’s gone.  Denise is a psychiatrist, because she found out in medical school that treating patients and the thought of performing surgery gave her panic attacks.

This near idyllic day goes terribly wrong as Carol, who, after putting a casserole in the oven, is watching her neighbor enjoy a cigarette on the lawn,  sees the woman hacked to death.   Alexandria is under assault by The Wolves, and everyone is forced to act or be killed.

Carol grabs a gun, tells Carl to watch Judith, and goes outside, making her way between houses and trees.   Jessie and Sam hide in a closet and Ron is nowhere to be found.    Carol sees Alexandrians being hacked to death, and delivers the final cut to one of the women who, only a few moments ago, was trying to figure out the best use for celery soup.

Spencer, Deanna’s son, is firing on an 18 wheeler as it barrels towards his guard tower, smashing into it and finally revealing the sound  that sent the walkers into a frenzy as that of the truck’s horn.    Spencer crawls down, opens the door to the truck and finds a walker inside.   When he seems to be unable to react,  Morgan appears and dispatches the walker and stops the horn.    Morgan also tells him that he might be better off staying outside the walls.

Inside Alexandria, Morgan confronts one of The Wolves and tells him to leave, but Carol shoots the attacker.  Carol has managed to disguise herself as one of The Wolves, Aphid, so that she can move about town without drawing suspicion.   She also drapes a chain around Morgan to further her disguise until Morgan runs off to help someone who’s injured.

Carl is doing his best at keeping Judith and Enid safe, even shooting one of The Wolves.   Carol has made it to the armory, where she finds Olivia and gives the woman a two minute lesson in how to point and shoot a gun.   A Wolf has entered Jessie’s house and the woman turns into the worst – or best – Mama Bear ever, grabbing her hair scissors and stabbing The Wolf to death.  Morgan saves Gabriel from a Wolf and proceeds to tie the attacker up, but Carol comes along, shoots the Wolf and gives Morgan and Gabriel guns.  Carol don’t play.  Seriously.  She’s the honey badger.

After she goes back to her one-woman mission of Wolf annihilation, Morgan encounters a group of Wolves.   He warns them to leave, telling them that what they’re doing will only mean more of them will die.  They’re unarmed and have little defense against the Alexandrians.  And Carol.   They take his advice and leave the town, and Morgan closes the gate behind them.

The battle seems to be winding down.  Denise is trying to treat one of the more severely injured, but she’s finding that this type of thing gives new meaning to panic attacks.   he’s urged on by Eugene, though, who tells her she doesn’t want to be a coward.   Aron comes across the body of a Wolf and finds his own backpack on the body, with a stack of pictures from Alexandria inside.   Morgan is confronted by one more Wolf, a familiar one who he’s come upon before.  The two men fight and the Wolf seems confident that Morgan won’t kill him.   After taking the Wolf to the ground, Morgan says’ “I’m sorry”  and drives his stick through the man.

Carl tries to find Enid but only sees a note she left.  Just survive somehow – JSS.   Morgan and Carol are walking the streets, passing each other without acknowledgment, through the smoke.   Carl  hears the sound of the oven timer and takes Carol’s casserole out.  This battle is over, but there are thousands of walkers headed for them.

During ones of the scenes, The Wolves said that the people inside Alexandria don’t belong there, as if they were warning them.   It wasn’t clear what they meant, if anything, or if they’re just crazy and say crazy stuff.

Everyone who watches TWD can’t wait to see what kind of disguises Carol will come up with in the future.  She’s got an outfit for every occasion  – Terminus Carol,  Suzie Homemaker Carol and now, Carol in Wolf’s clothing.  Great for Halloween.  Trick or treat.  

Empress