This past Sunday, TWD delivered another brutally paced episode with an even more brutal ending. In case anyone has not seen the latest episode of the Walking Dead, I suggest turning back now. This review is spoiler city.

We head back to the group outside of Alexandria and the panic that the horn has caused their walker parade. Our main group (excluding Father Gabriel) and some Alexandrians are in the woods trying to figure out what to do.

Rick splits off from the group, but warns Michonne that not all of them will make it, but to try to save as many as she can. This made me a bit happy as Rick finally showed the smallest amount of empathy towards other people again. Sorry but emotionally-dead-I’m-almost-like-the-Governor-now Rick is not the kind of guy I can root for in this show. Heath overheard the two speaking and is not as happy about it. I can’t say I blame him.

It then turns into which Alexandrian will die off first. A couple get ate, two get hurt, one guy gets bit and is surprisingly calm about it for the rest of the episode, another runs off leaving everyone behind. They head into the town closest to Alexandria, trying to find a way out and there get caught by some of the diverted walker parade and end up hiding inside a pet store.

Glenn and Nicholas head off on their own even though Michonne doesn’t want them to. Glenn tells her they all have a job to do, making us all remember Hershel and getting misty eyed over our favorite dad on TWD. Glenn even takes time to look at the pocket watch before leaving. I didn’t think it was a good idea for them to go on their own (when is it ever a good idea to split away from the main group in any kind of horror setting?), especially with Nicholas leading. Glenn kept giving Nicholas chances and I love the merit of that, but making him the leader was too much.

Michonne stays in the pet shop with Heath and the other hurt Alexandrians. She then sends, I think, very mixed messages to them. She and Heath have a heated argument where Heath flat out tells her that she and the others of Rick’s group will end up leaving them behind. I thought this was fair since the group has literally been saying this since they arrived at Alexandria. Michonne makes a good point too though, that while some of them do have experience being out there (as in surviving in that apocalypse with no safe place to go back to), it’s not the same as theirs, not as bad and cannot be compared.

While I think that is something the Alexandrians need to understand, for the sake of understanding Rick and his family and why they make the decisions they do, I also don’t think it’s the kind of contest you want to be winning. Having to leave people behind, act in ways that make you afraid of yourself-these are not things to throw up in an argument that make you ‘the winner.’ It’s the exact opposite.

Michonne also refuses to take a note written by the bitten man for his wife. Michonne states that he’s going to make it home. I really didn’t understand this scene or her motivation. They have done nothing but mention how the Alexandrians ‘don’t get it,’ but this man who knows he can’t go back into Alexandria being bitten and just wants a letter taken to his wife. Why would Michonne want to give him hope? They both know he can’t go back, they both know he’s going to die. Why would you not take that letter for him? It makes no sense to me.

The group finally leave the pet store where soon the hurt woman is ate by a horde of walkers. The group watches for a minute instead of running or shooting her so she won’t have to be eaten alive (seriously what the hell). They go on and are almost caught by another large group of walkers and have to climb a fence. They all make it except for the bitten man. He is also eaten alive while the group watches from the other side of the fence. Michonne notices the bloody letter on the ground. Also again why the hell didn’t they put that poor man out of his misery instead of just watching?

The group continues on and we move back to Rick. He’s been running down the road the entire time it seems back to where the walker parade had been. He has a short conversation with Glenn and the show throws in another memory when Glenn tells him, ‘good luck dumbass.’ For anyone who doesn’t remember, this is what Glenn had told Rick the very first episode they met when Rick was stuck in the tank. While I got lovely nostalgia feelings, it also made me nervous. Why that throwback? Why now? I had no idea until it was too late. Rick drives the RV (Dale!) they had been using to hold up part of a wall to direct the walker parade and ends up farther down the road where he hopes to meet up with everyone to drive them safely back to Alexandria. He sees some people in his side mirrors, it’s the wolves.

Again the scene moves away and now we’re back to Glenn and Nicholas. No matter where they go, they seem to be running into more groups of walkers. Any plans they make are quickly disbanded due to bad circumstance. It finally leads to them being pinned by walkers on both sides of a barbed wire fence and the scene cuts away.

Back to Rick, he takes out the wolves and if you looked closely you realize it’s part of the same one’s that Morgan had made run away earlier in the last episode. They should have learned their lesson as Rick is not into teaching like Morgan. They all die and Rick sees a large group of walkers coming towards him. He tries to start the RV, but as in all bad horror movie clichés, the vehicle won’t start. Rick gets a look on his face that is a mix of panic and hopelessness. I think much like the last time we saw Carol, this is getting to be too much and he’s starting to break down. The scene cuts away from him for the last time on that cliffhanger and all I can say is get on top of the RV Rick! You learned that in season one!

Now I’ll reveal the biggest shocker of the episode. Glenn and Nicholas are still pinned and they climb up on a commercial trash bin. The walkers have them surrounded and there is no way out. No Rick coming to mow down a bunch of them with the RV. No group coming to divert them or take them on. It’s just Glenn, Nicholas and hundreds of walkers. Nicholas loses all hope and even though Glenn is trying to keep him calm, he just tells Glenn, “Thank you,” and kills himself. This in itself was not a shocker and I don’t think anyone was sad about it in the least. The fact that his falling body brought Glenn down into the walkers and they started eating Glenn was. (Noooooooooo! Anyone but my Glenn!)

Now this is still up for debate, and I don’t blame people for wanting it to not be true. TWD even admitted they shot the scene a bit ambiguously to throw people off. I’m on the side of Glenn’s dead. Why? Because one, TWD is not known for saving their characters or doing a big ‘gotcha!’ to save a character either. It would make no sense for them to start now. Two, I saw a lot of people think (and so did I for a minute) that what we saw was Nicholas’ body being torn open. How I wish this was true because no one deserved it more this episode, but it’s not. If you’re lying down and you raise your head up, you can see your chest and belly. Now if someone is lying on top of you and you raise your head, you are only going to be seeing their side and a bit of chest or belly. Glenn had a full view of internal organs, which means it has to be his own. Three, while the show has diverted from the comics in many ways, it still generally follows the characters arcs. Almost everyone that has died in the comic dies around the same time/way as their comic counterpoint did. I knew Glenn’s time was coming up soon with the wolves’ arrival. I was just hoping that they would spare him for one of the other characters or that he would get to make it through this season at least.

Believe me I’m with everyone hoping that somehow that wasn’t Glenn and he has crawled under that trash bin and there’s a manhole or something and he’s escaped once again. I’m afraid our beloved pizza delivery boy made his last run though. Was this the last time we see Glenn? On this I can only give you a hunch. From listening to the Talking Dead and Gimple’s message, I think we will see Glenn again, just not the Glenn we know. We may see him in flashbacks other characters are having. Maybe Maggie will start hallucinating him in a white dress like Rick did Lori. Sorry trying for a little humor here. I also have a terrible feeling that we may see walker Glenn too. That way the show can not only shatter the other characters when they see him, but also all of us. Hey some shows live for its audience happiness, ours lives for our tears.

RIP Glenn Rhee, you were one of the best of them and I hope you, Hershel, Beth and the others are up in that big RV in the sky of Dale’s and having an awesome time with Spaghetti Tuesday together.

Also here’s a pic of a bunny and piglet touching noses, feel better everyone.