The Walking Dead 'Strangers' Review: You Are Not Safe

After a stellar premiere, The Walking Dead Season 5 continued Sunday night with "Strangers." The episode featured two major moments from the comic book, but of course remixed them, as the show has done in the past.

Sunday's episode featured the debut of Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel Stokes. As in the comics, Gabriel has been hiding out in his church until he ran out of food, which forced him to scavenge. Rick and crew save him from some walkers, but it's clear Rick does not trust him one bit.

Rick is becoming more ruthless by the episode, as he immediately assumes the worst about someone when he meets him or her, and that person has to work damn hard to win his trust. He tells Carl that he is never safe no matter what happens, and he pessimistically tells Bob that the world they live in now is the real world and that there's no going back. Rick will likely further devolve when he realizes what has happened to Bob, but we'll get to that in a minute.

Rick and the rest follow Gabriel to his church, where they stay the night as a few of them go on a mission to retrieve some food and supplies. When they return successfully, Carl shows his father two clues about Gabriel: a series of scratches on the window frame (as if someone was trying to get into the church) and a carving on the wall that reads "You'll burn for this." It's obvious Gabriel is hiding something dark. Fans of the book likely already know what it is, but the show has proven it can subvert expectations in these cases.

The survivors celebrate with dinner and wine in the church, at which point Abraham delivers a speech in which he implores the group to join them on their way to Washington, D.C. and save the world. Rick agrees, and the mission for Season 5 appears set. The show could have easily started wandering aimlessly again, but the definition of a clear mission provides the catalyst for the action for the remainder of this season.

Bob, meanwhile, decides to go outside and cry for some reason, at which point a man in a hood kidnaps him. Fast forward a few minutes later, and we see Gareth has returned with some of the Terminus survivors. He blames Bob's group for taking away their home and turning them into Hunters (sound familiar, comic fans?). In a sickening moment, we then learn that Gareth and his friends are eating Bob's leg and does anybody else want Rick to take that machete with a red handle and shove it through Gareth's mouth right now?!

The survivors are ready to head to Washington and stop all this madness, but one of their own has been taken and is slowly being eaten by a group of cannibals. It looks like that trip north will have to wait a little while longer.

Notes:

-       The walker dragged Bob underwater during the mission to pick up that canned food, and he was down there for a few seconds at least. Then he wanted "one more" kiss from Sasha and went outside to cry by himself. It's possible the walker bit him and he thought he was going to die, in which case the Hunters just ate some tainted meat.

-       Daryl and Carol took off in a car after they saw the vehicle that kidnapped Beth. Are these people related to Terminus, or are they another new threat entirely?

-       What do you think Father Gabriel is hiding?

-       How disgusting was that final scene?

What did you think of "Strangers"? Let us know in the comments section.