The Walking Dead New Episode Review: 'Remember' Hints at Rick Grimes The Villain?

AMC's The Walking Dead returned with a brand new episode on Sunday entitled "Remember" that brought Rick Grimes and his friends into the walls of Alexandria. By the end of the hour, we were left wondering whom we could trust inside those walls, but not in the way you might expect from this show.

One of the concerns about introducing a place like Alexandria into the series is that an oasis like this removes much of the show's essence. The Walking Dead can't be a show about Carl going to school and Rick being a cop. Well, it could, but it wouldn't be very good. These survivors have to be in danger and there has to be some chaos in order for the show to work.

So when Rick and company entered the gates of Alexandria, it was easy to assume that something nefarious had to be happening inside the walls. After encountering the Governor at Woodbury and the cannibals at Terminus, it's understandable that Rick would be suspicious and mistrusting. The viewers, too, should be cautious about this new environment because everything has gone to hell so many times that it's almost impossible to fathom a true victory for these people.

But throughout the hour, we saw the survivors soften and come to accept Alexandria for what it purports to be. By all accounts, this community is an oasis, a safe haven, and a place for these people to truly live rather than to just brutally survive. Alexandria survived throughout the early portions of the apocalypse, and now they have a thriving community. It doesn't seem that anything sinister is happening here.

Sure, there are a couple of bad seeds. Jessie's husband appears to be jealous of Rick (perhaps rightfully so) and not too welcoming toward him. Deanna's son Aidan is a jerk, and she even knows it. But other than that, everything here is on the up and up.

So it was a bit of a shock, then, when Rick declared at the end of the episode that he and his group would simply take Alexandria for themselves if the residents there turned out to be weaklings or if something went sideways. But it now seems that Rick could be the one to destroy the peace here. He's still not completely trusting of anyone other than his group, as evidenced by the gun he hid outside the walls of Alexandria. So if something bad happens here, it wouldn't be surprising if Rick is to blame.

Carol even mentioned that the group needs to "keep up appearances," which indicates that she and/or others in the group are planning something. But now that we've finally arrived at Alexandria, we'll get to see how this all shakes out.

Notes:

- Who took the gun Rick stashed outside the walls? And was that a trap with the zombie hiding under the pile?

- How long until this Alexandria situation goes to crap?

- It was refreshing to see Rick clean shaven and back in a cop uniform again.

- Carol acting like a housewife was oddly unsettling.

- "We brought dinner." Don't ever change, Daryl.

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