5 Reasons Why - Hocus Pocus is the Best Halloween Movie. Ever.

As a kid, I loved 'Hocus Pocus'. Admittedly, I was squarely in the target demographic for the movie at the time, being a 10 year old kid who loved Halloween, but I recently watched it and I truly believe that it held up over the past two decades.  It not only holds up, but I’m going out on a limb here and declaring it the BEST Halloween movie of all time. Here’s why.

One – This movie is actually horrifying. Well, the premise is horrifying.  Three witches are able to achieve immortality by literally sucking the lives out of little children.  This is happening IN A MOVIE MADE FOR CHILDREN.  Mind.  Blown.

Two – Sarah Jessica Parker.  I’d argue that SJP’s portrayal of the youngest Sanderson Sister is the best comedic performance of her career.  She’s totally hilarious as a doddering, boy-crazy idiot.  (You know, kind of like Carrie Bradshaw…but only funnier and more likeable.) SJP goes for broke, her giggly positivity drawing attention to her character in scenes where she could just basically be considered a throwaway background sight gag.  She clutches at her corseted chest for emphasis when she’s excited, stuffs giant spiders in her mouth, and uses noise effects instead of words to convey her emotions. And, oh yeah.  She flies on a broom while singing.  Crazy amazing.

Carrie Bradshaw would totally covet this dress.
She'd probably wear it to brunch.

Three – Talking cat. Binx is actually a super realistic talking cat, especially for the 90’s, an era notorious for frequently god-awful digital animation. Interesting Bonus Fact: The cat was created by Rhythm & Hues, a digital effects company that went on to win a technical Oscar almost twenty years later for their ground-breaking 3D work in ‘Life of Pi’.  #TheMoreYouKnow

Four – Misunderstandings with culture.  The Sanderson Sisters have been locked away from the world for 300 years.  It’s always fun to see how characters react when they’re out of their element.  They gawk at the seeming sorcery of a lighter (“He makes fire in his hand!”), balk at a paved road (“a black river!”), and are awestruck by a kitchen (“a torture chamber!”).  In one super weird sequence, the Sisters stop at a house of a couple giving out candy for Halloween and discover the magic of television, Cheetos, hair curlers, and a vacuum. They’re also delightfully confused by everyday slang, such as when the man of the house says he wants to introduce them to his ‘little woman’.  Super Creepy Bonus Fact: The ‘couple’ is played by IRL siblings Garry and Penny Marshall.  Ew. That’s creepy no matter what century it’s in.

Five – BooooOooook.  Watch this, and I dare you to not want to howl that at any old paperback novel lying around your house.  I have no shame in admitting that I’ve belted out this mournful wail on more than one occasion when I’ve misplaced a book lying around my house.  It’s super fun and satisfying to do.  Now go do it!

Happy Halloween!!!

Walking Dead - Four Walls And A Roof Recap

What I learned this week: Bears are capable of eating their young, Glenn found some leadership balls, and a church in the apocalypse is just four walls and a roof.  Hey, that’s the name of this episode!! 

From what I understand from the twitters and the reddits, this episode brought some fan favorites from the comic to life.  However, it also continued to bring up the question of humanity for our survivors.  Rick kills the Termites, not out of some larger purpose to keep the world safe, or even to keep his group safe, but primarily out of revenge.  It looks like he’s almost starting to enjoy doing it.

More importantly, our group is once again fractured after a brief moment of reunion.  Admittedly, things are more exciting when they’re separated, but this time it was by choice.  Maggie and Glenn take up with Abe and Co on their journey to save the world, and both Carol and Beth are both still MIA at the end of the episode.  And who the eff is with Daryl at the end?

But let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

The episode opens where the last one left off.   Gareth is basically acting like an idiotic Bond villain.  He openly discloses all the Termites motivations as he continues to chomp away on his Bob drumstick.

Gareth rambles on, continuing to justify his actions by talking about bears.  Apparently if bears are in a situation where they’re about to starve, they will eat their young first.  Except, um, that’s not the situation here Gareth.  Never mind.  God this is the most boring monologue ever.  Until Gareth mentions Carol, who he calls “that gray haired Queen Bitch”.  Amazeballs nickname for Carol, Gareth.

Apparently Gareth is the foodie of human flesh.  He breaks down his theories of why women and pretty people taste better.  Ew.  File that under ‘Cooking Tips I Will Never Use, Ever’.  Bob inexplicably starts to cackle.  All the Termites think he’s lost it, but in reality Bob has a secret.  He says, “You idiots!  I’ve been bitten you stupid pricks!  I’m tainted meat!  TAINTED MEEEATTTT!!!”  The Termites start to panic, and Gareth tries to smooth things over by coolly saying, “we cooked him, we’re going to be fine.”  Guess we can rule out Health Inspector or Professional Chef as possible past careers for Gareth. 

In the meantime, Sasha, Rick and Tyreese have started searching for Bob in the woods.  They note that Carol and Daryl are also missing.  Inside the church, Sasha pulls a knife on Gabriel and confronts him about the situation.  Rick pulls her away and morphs into full cop interrogation mode.  (Side note - It’s odd, but I can’t help but notice here that these two men are the individuals who most identify with their professions from the life before.)  Gabriel sobs and gives his lame confession.  When the shit hit the fan, he locked his parishioners out of the church, and let them be eaten by walkers.  Pretty bad under normal circumstances, but in the grand scope of things in the WD world it’s relatively innocent.  He’s a weak man, and Rick looks at him the way someone might look at a puppy who’s piddled on the rug. 

Glenn peers out a window, and sees a body lying on the grass outside.  In a world with no streetlights, I don’t see how this is possible, but maybe Glenn has super sight.  Sure, that’s probably it.  Anyways, the body is a one-legged Bob.  They go to retrieve him, and as they retreat back inside, the camera pulls back to reveal a large ‘A’ emblazoned in blood on the side of the church.

They bring Bob in, and he tells them the whole horrific story, including the part about Carol and Daryl driving off.  The group wants to give Bob pain meds, but he refuses, saying, “save them” as he shows them his gnawed off shoulder.  A Terminus nibble, it ain’t.  Sasha winces as Bob passes out.  Gabriel gallantly offers the sofa in his office, and Tyreese leans down to scoop Bob up. 

Abe starts to lay down the law.  He says, “Time for a reality check.  We all need to leave for DC right now.”  Rick opposes this thought, saying that they’re not leaving Carol and Daryl behind.  As the situation escalates, it is clear that Rick and Abe are from two different schools of anger.  Abe is more explosive and loud, whereas Rick is quiet and full of simmering rage. 

As things escalate and threaten to get physical, Glenn interjects.  Tara has a moment and says she has an idea.  If the DC gang stay and help she’ll go with them after the situation is handled.  Abe considers and then counter offers by saying he wants the Glaggie duo in the bargain.  Rick says no.

Abe growls at a reluctant Rosita and Eugene to come join him.  As they start to walk out the door, Rick goes into control freak mode saying, “you’re not taking the bus.”  “Try and stop me,” counters Abe, and the two men advance on each other.  Glenn gets in between the two of them again, and quickly proposes a deal.  “You stay and help us, and we’ll go with you.”  Rick says no, but Glenn quickly counters by saying it’s not his decision to make, standing up to Rick as an individual.  Abe agrees to stay for a half day.  

(Side note – Is Rick trying to instigate a fight with Abe?  Why does he care about the bus? Abe has openly admitted that he likes to fight, but Rick is still trying to hold his ground as a rational man who only uses violence in extreme situations.  Why is Rick poking him?)

As Sasha tends to Bob’s wounds, he’s still focusing on the positive.  She wonders why he didn’t tell her about his bite sooner, and he makes a lot of sense as he says, “I knew when I told you it would become all about the end.  And I really liked the middle.”  His sentiments are so sweet, so simple, and so true.  Bob, why are you making Sasha and us love you even more?  This is hard enough as it is.  How selfish can you be? **Weeps into sweater**

The remnants of our gang plot their revenge.  Sasha says that she wants to go with the rest of the crew, and exact her vengeance on the Termites.  After this declaration she goes to tend to Bob, and Tyreese follows her.  He implores her to stay with Bob, and to take this opportunity instead of going on the murder spree.  Tyreese goes on to encourage Sasha to forgive the Termites, and she’s incredulous.  She says, “What the hell is wrong with you?  You think we have a choice?”  Tyreese says, “Not all of us.  Just you.”  It seems incredibly important to him that his sister retains her humanity, but she’s all like naaaah, I’m good.   

Half the gang leaves the church in the dead of night.  The camera pans over the church sign in the dark of night.  Nothing happens.  For awhile. Ummmm, is my DVR on pause?  Did my cable freeze?  Op!  Wait! We’re back!  Another group of people starts creeping down a well-lit path to the church.  It’s the Termites.  They silently enter the front door.  

As Gareth slowly makes his way up the center aisle, he rattles off the names of all the people who are still there like any good horror villain should.  He specifically mentions “Martin’s good friend Tyreese”, and I can’t help but smile a bit.  Oh, Gareth, you might just be the most charming cannibal psychopath since Hannibal Lecter.

Gareth goes on to say that he knows Rick and Co walked out with the majority of the guns.  The Termites wander around the front of the church and wiggle the knob to the office.  Gareth tries to appeal to Gabriel by saying, “How ‘bout the priest?  Father, if you help us out, we’ll let you walk away from this.”  Unlikely that Gareth would follow through on that promise, but I’m surprised that ole Gabie didn’t jump at the chance to get away. 

Just then, Judith starts crying.  Damnit!  Kid, you had ONE JOB!

The Termites hone in on the location and prepare to unhinge the door, when a sniper silently takes out two of their group.  Gareth starts to protest, still thinking he has the upper hand when Rick cocks his pistol and…SPLAT!  Gareth’s fingers explode in a firework of pain.  Damn, Rick!  This Gareth guy never shuts up, and this turn of events somehow makes him even chattier.  He tells Rick he’s not going to beg….and then proceeds to beg.

Beautifully backlit and framed by stained glass windows, Rick looks at Gareth with dead, determined eyes.  Gareth tries to save his people by saying, “we will never cross your path again.  I promise you.”  Rick tilts his head and says, “you’ll cross someone’s path” as he fingers a red handled machete.  “Besides.  I already made you a promise.”   

And oh does he deliver on that promise.  Rick violently hacks into Gareth’s skull with the machete, over and over again; evoking memories of the time he went all feral on the Goon Squad last season.  Abe, Sasha and Michonne take out the rest of the Termites in an equally brutal manner – in particular Sasha goes all stabby stabby on Martin, finishing the job that her brother failed to do back at Terminus.  Tyreese looks on with a horrified hang dog stare in his eyes. 

Then, a wonderful thing happens.  Michonne surveys the damage.  She catches a glimpse of her sword in a Termites backpack.  Slowly, she unsheathes it and….she is back.  Framed from below, she holds the katana aloft like a badass superhero ninja.  YESSSSSSSS!!!!  It’s not just any katana. It’s HER katana.  Back in it’s rightful place.  That thing is damn near magical.  Dear WD writers, Thanks for listening.  Love, Rainey.

As I do my ‘the katana is back’ happy dance on my couch (best sung to the tune of ‘Backstreet’s Back’), Gabriel peers out and surveys the damage to his church.  He gets his first glimpse of how much humanity has changed since everything started.   He says, “This is the Lords House.”  And Maggie, the preacher’s daughter, coldly responds, “No.  It’s just four walls and a roof.” 

The gang has a little ‘Bob Voyage’ party, and they all say their goodbyes.  Bob asks that Rick and Judith stay behind.  He thanks Rick in a rambling but beautiful way.  He emphasizes his hope for humanity, saying, “What I said yesterday, I ain’t revising it.  Nightmares end.  They shouldn’t end who you are.”  To his credit, Rick does appear to be genuinely listening, and taking this in.  He still wants to believe he’s a good guy, and that he can come back.  On the other hand, he’s starting to become very comfortable in the role of vigilante cop. If this nightmare of a world did somehow end, would Rick be able or willing to give up that power?

Bob fades in and out of consciousness.  When he wakes in the morning, he is smiling, and Sasha asks, “So what is it, the good that comes out of this bad?”  Bob doesn’t get a chance to answer as he passes out.  He has presumably died because Sasha sobs for a moment, and then draws her knife.  Intuitively Tyreese comes in and tenderly takes the knife from his sister. Sasha leaves the room, and Tyreese slides the knife into Bob’s temple, doing what Sasha could not. 

(Side note - There’s an interesting parallel here between the two siblings.  Tyreese could not kill Martin, but Sasha is able to do so with brute force.  However, when it comes down to a more delicate, humane task, Tyreese steps up.  He is the new ‘voice of morality’ on the show, and given the WD track record with moral voices, it is likely only a matter of time before he starts to adapt or dies.)

A bit later, Sasha constructs a cross of twine and sticks.  She is wearing Bob’s jacket.  Abe hands Rick a map as they leave with Glenn and Maggie in tow.  For such a heavy moment on the show, there is very little fanfare.  The couple looks sadly at the group and Abe and Rick nod slightly at one another. 

As the bus rolls away, Rick unfolds the map.  A loooooong red line indicates the path Abe and Co intend to take.  A note from Abe on the bottom:  “Sorry I was an asshole.  Come to Washington.  The new worlds gonna need Rick Grimes.”

That night, Michonne stands watch.  Gabriel comes out to join her because he can’t sleep.  Honestly, who can blame him?  They chat for a minute about the horrors they’ve experienced, and Michonne gives him a bit of friendly advice.   There’s a rustle in the bushes, and Michonne instinctively draws her sword (YAY!) as scaredy-cat Gabriel shifts himself behind her, and immediately pops back inside.

As Michonne approaches the tree line, Daryl reveals himself.  Michonne gets a huge grin on her face, which quickly fades when she asks, “Where’s Carol?”  Daryl grimaces for a moment and then calls back to an unidentified person in the woods.  “C’mon out!”

END CREDITS.

What?  Huh?  Who is it?  WHERE IS CAROL???!?  Scenes from next week promise to reveal where Beth is, but who are we kidding?  We care WAY more about Carol than we do about Beth at this point in time.  What would we do without our gray-haired Queen Bitch?

Some thoughts before I go:

- Favorite needlepoint in the church: ‘Stupidity is also a gift from God, but one mustn’t misuse it.’  Not sure who this is referencing in the episode, or if it’s just a bit of visual comic relief, but I enjoyed it.

- The cinematography in this episode is gorgeous.  I don’t read the comic, but a few of the shots looked like they were lifted right from the cells of a graphic novel.  I was struck by how effective the shot of Rick was, as he was framed by the stained glass in the moments before killing Gabriel.  Also, the shot of Abe, Rick and Glenn standing in a row in the church aisle earlier in the episode was beautifully composed.

- We never do get to find out what consumption of ‘tainted meat’ does to the Termites.  But I guess we don’t have to worry about that, as our gang won’t be eating any people in the near future.  At least I hope not.

Walking Dead - Strangers Recap

The episode opens on a plume of black smoke.  Terminus still burns in the distance.

As our gang treks through the woods we check in with various pairs throughout the group.  Maggie and Glenn smooch.  Awwww.  Tara and Rick share a heart-warming moment as he welcomes her into the group, despite her involvement with the Governor.  They make it official when Tara reaches out her fist to Rick for a ‘pound’, and Rick returns it with a smile.  Awwww times two.

We catch up with Tyreese and Carol as they fill their water bottles at a stream.  Tyreese is adamant that the group accepts what Carol did to Karen and David back at the prison.  Carol isn’t too concerned about their acceptance.  Tyreese goes on to say that he doesn’t want to tell the rest of the group about Lizzie and Mika.  He says, “I need to forget it.”

The group approaches a walker.  Michonne says she’s got it, reflexively reaches for her sword and smiles when she realizes it isn’t there.  I’M NOT SMILING! TERMITES YOU HAVE COMMITTED A CRIME AGAINST WD HUMANITY!!! YOU HAVE STOLEN MICHONNE’S SWORD!  That sword was practically a character on the show, and now it’s gone.  Since Michonne is still badass Michonne, of course she’s able to handily dispatch the walker with the butt of some non-descript gun, but c’mon.  It’s not the same.  Dear WD writers – Please ‘find’ a katana for Michonne.  Soon.  With love and thanks, Rainey.

Here's one.  It looks sharp, and it will do the job.  Just give it to her already.
You're welcome.

It’s Carol and Rick’s turn to catch up.  They’re basically equals at this point, with Rick having committed some murder in the past few days away from the prison as well. In their time apart, Rick seems to have realized some things that Carol already knew.  Survival is paramount, and self-preservation is key.

Carol hands Rick his watch that she picked up for him at the Terminus Gift Shop.  Rick offers Carol her watch back, but she declines with a shake of her head.  That watch represented a life with her abusive husband Ed, and she is totally not that person anymore.  Rick seems incredibly remorseful and humble as he apologizes for sending Carol away.  He says, “I sent you away to this, and now we’re joining you.  Will you have us?”  Carol smiles and nods slightly.  Rick smiles back and says, “Thank you.”

That night, Carol and Daryl sit watch.  Daryl keeps stealing glances at Carol, like she’s some sort of exotic animal, when Carol finally says “I don’t want to talk about it...I just need to forget.”  Daryl asks why, but just then an inconvenient rustle in the woods interrupts their heart to heart.   Oh rustles in the woods, without you everything would be so straightforward in the WD world.

(Side note – What is it exactly that Carol needs to ‘forget’? Since most of our gang saw Carol last she killed Karen and David because they were sick in body, Lizzie because she was sick in the mind, and the Termites because they were just plain old sickos.  The group is grateful for her role as savior at Terminus, but can they forgive her actions at The Grove?  Tyreese is hell bent on giving himself a case of Lizzie amnesia, and Carol seems to be respecting his choice, so the rest of the gang may never find out. But they probably will.  Because, you know, drama.)

As the gang’s walkabout continues, Daryl reports back to Rick about someone watching them in the woods the previous night.  There were no tracks, but he felt a presence.  It could be ghosts Daryl, duh.  99% of the world’s population is dead.  Ghosts are totally in the realm of actual possibility.  Rick totally doesn’t think of my ghost theory, and immediately tells the rest of the group to tighten up their formation.  

We check in with Bob and Sasha as they engage in some adorable banter.  They’re playing a game where he turns every negative she can throw his way into a positive.  They smooch a few times, him saying “one more” after each peck.  Awwwww times three.

In the distance, the group hears a call for help.  Carl wants to go help, so they do.  A man who appears to be a priest is stuck at the top of a large rock outcropping, several walkers clawing at his legs.  Daryl, Carol and Michonne take out the offending walkers with expert precision.   The priest slinks down off the rock, wide eyed at the sight of our battle-ready gang in front of him.  He promptly vomits, composes himself, and then introduces himself as Gabriel. 

Rick starts in with the three questions.  Gabriel says he has killed no walkers and no people.  Why?  Because the Lord abhors violence.  Rick is dubious, and asks, “What have you done?”  Sensing the tense nature of the situation, and always the practical thinker, Michonne interrupts this line of questioning and says, “you said you had a church?”

The group follows Gabriel through the woods to his church.  Rick sends in a small team to case the joint, and each explorer encounters different religious iconography.  Daryl sees some sort of wooden tableau of the Last Supper, Carol lingers over a table full of Bibles, with one handwritten page open to THOU SHALL NOT KILL. 

Glenn searches an office, walls papered with children’s drawings of the ‘burning bush’.  The basic story of the Burning Bush can be found here and it’s deliberate inclusion in this episode cannot be ignored.  The long and short of the story is that the Lord spoke to Moses through the Burning Bush, asking him to shepherd the Israelites away from danger.  More on this later.

Once the recon team returns to the rest of the group outside, Abe approaches Rick, saying he wants to fix up a small bus out back so the group can head north in the next day or so.  Michonne and Rick say no - they want to rest and gather supplies.  Abe stands, slightly defeated at the entrance to the church, as the rest of the crew pass by him.  Starting with Glenn, the rest of the survivors pull a ‘Rudy’, throwing their proverbial jerseys in with Rick.  Each of them tells Abe in no uncertain terms that they go where Rick goes. 

And then this song plays in my head….Thank you Sister Act.

As they make camp in the church, the group asks Gabriel how he survived.  He explains that everything went down just at the end of the churches annual can drive.  Since he ran out he’s scavenged every place in the area except one because there are about a dozen walkers there.  Rick gets together a team, and Tyreese happily offers to stay back and watch the baby, making his role as Judith’s babysitter official. 

Before Rick leaves, he has his obligatory once-per-season discussion with Carl about the state of affairs.  Rick makes it very clear to Carl that they are not safe, ending his speech with, “Never let your guard down.”  As wise as those words may seem, Carl gently suggests to his father that their group is strong, and that they have the ability to help others.  It’s odd because Carl seemed to be going cold hearted after Lori died, but now after the fall of the prison and Terminus he is becoming one of the positive thinkers in the camp, playing the role of Rick’s remaining humanity and conscience.  And as annoyed as I generally am by Carl, this moment is truly touching and uplifting.

On the water run, Carol and Daryl chat.  He says, ok, maybe Carol doesn’t want to talk.  But is she ok?  She says, “gotta be.”  Daryl is clearly in awe of what Carol did, staring at her in that weird way again as he says, “you saved us, all by yourself.”  They approach a sedan, and Carol checks it.  A little too conveniently, the keys are still in the ignition and there’s a fully operational charger in the trunk.  Carol says they should leave it there in case “things go south at the church.” (Side note – Ok Carol, how do you propose to fit 14 people and one baby in that sedan, hmmmm?  WD clown car?)  Daryl says that Carol can start over, and she says she wants to.

On the ammo run, Tara and Maggie wait outside a gun store for Glenn.  There’s a commotion inside, and the two women raise their weapons and ask Glenn if it was a walker as he steps back outside.  Glenn says yes, but then sheepishly admits that he tripped over a mop.  Teehee.  However, he found three silencers tucked inside a mini fridge.  Glenn declares, “Rule Number One of Scavenging:  There’s nothing left in this world that isn’t hidden.” Upon hearing this, Tara gets a screwed up look on her face, probably remembering her own ‘hidden’ secret.  Both Glenn and Rick know, but they haven’t told Maggie….yet.

On the food run, the group enters the Food Pantry.  There’s a gaping hole in the floor, the hardwood rotted out due to a gaping hole in the ceiling.  The walkers wade around in a waist deep basement swimming pool.  Bob says that it smells like if “a sewer could puke”.  Ugh.  Grossest swimming pool ever.   Sasha quickly comes up with a solution to contain the walkers, by utilizing the metal shelves as a shield.  Rick agrees.  Yay Teamwork!

The group splashes down, and starts to take care of the walkers.  Even though Gabriel is in a sweet spot, protected by the Grimes gang, he panics and tries to flee when he spots a walking skeleton outfitted with glasses and a floral dress.  Gabriel becomes cornered against a concrete wall, golden sunlight streaming down on his face and torso, his arms spread in a ‘t’.  This continues the spate of blatant religious iconography in this episode, but Gabriel is certainly no martyr.  Rick comes to his rescue just in time, smashing the walker’s skull in. 

Once the coast appears to be clear, Bob wades over to a floating box.  Just then a genderless sponge of a walker roars out of the water.  Bob tussles with the form, bobbing underwater for a moment before he’s able to impale it on a pole.  Wide eyed, Sasha asks, “Bob, are you ok?!” He averts his gaze and responds, “I’m fine now.”  But Bob doesn’t look okay…

As they wheel their bounty away from the pantry, Michonne and Rick talk.  They chat about her sword. She says she, “found it in the beginning…it was just me and them out here all day every day.  I don’t know what that was, but it wasn’t life.”  She goes on to say that she misses Andrea, she misses Hershel, but not “what was before.  I don’t miss that sword.”  MICHONNE, I MISS YOUR SWORD!  PLEASE FIND ANOTHER ONE!!!

Upon returning to the church, Rick finds Carl.  While everyone was away, he did some exploring, as Carl is wont to do.  He found scratches at the windows of the church, and a carving on the back of the church that says, ‘YOULL BURN FOR THIS’.   Carl succinctly sums up the situation by saying, “It doesn’t mean Gabriel’s a bad guy for sure, but it means something.”

That evening, they all feast on canned goods and Communion wine.  Abe gives the speech he’s been itching to give for days.  “I see survivors.  Each and every one of you has earned that title.  Is that all you want to be?”  He lays out his pitch.  Help Eugene get to D.C., restart their lives.  Abe appeals to Rick’s sense of fatherhood, and the group’s sense of wanting a happy, normal future, saying they can rebuild for the little one.  Judith coos, and Rick says she’s in.  “She’s in.  And if she’s in, I’m in.  We’re in.  Lets do it.”

The mood turns a bit more celebratory.  Our gang now has a sense of direction and purpose.  In a way, Abe, with his fiery red hair is like the proverbial ‘Burning Bush’, appealing directly to ‘Moses’ Rick, encouraging him to get his disciples to safety.  Am I reaching?  Maybe, but the inclusion of the Burning Bush on the walls of the church in this episode is definitely saying something to this effect. 

Amidst the celebration, Sasha kisses Bob and gets up to hold Judith.  Bob says, “wait, one more”, and she leans back down to give him another smooch.  A morose Bob then wanders out the back of the church.

Tara goes to reveal her secret to Maggie.  She admits to Maggie that she was at the prison, and that she was with the Governor.  Throughout this exchange, Maggie’s eyes are thoughtful and teary.  She looks at Tara and says, “You’re with us now” and hugs her tightly.

Gabriel’s in the back, and Rick thanks him for his hospitality.  The mood quickly turns however when Rick gives him a stern warning.  “You’re hiding something…these people are my family.  And if what you’re hiding somehow hurts them in any way, I’ll kill you.”  Gabriel looks at him, eyes wide.  Did Rick just threaten to murder a priest?  The answer is  - Yup.  Sure did.

Looks like Bob isn’t the only one who’s snuck away, as Carol jumpstarts the sedan she and Daryl found earlier in the day. Daryl approaches, and asks what she’s doing.  Clearly trying to leave the group, but why, Carol?  Why??!?!  However, in the grand WD tradition of external sources interrupting character expository, a car whizzes by.  And lo and behold, it HAS A WHITE CROSS ON THE BACK!  Daryl uses five words to explain to Carol, “They got Beth!  Come on!”  This can only mean one thing.  Road trip! 

Back at the church, Bob stands in the woods and stares through a window at the merriment unfolding inside.  He begins to wander away into the thick of the woods and starts sobbing against a tree.  All of a sudden someone rudely interrupts his private moment by bashing him over the head. 

As Bob comes to, we see the world from his blurry POV.  He catches foggy glimpses of Rando (I knew that SOB was still alive!), a fire pit, and then Gareth’s smug and shiny face.  Bob is leaning against some sort of stake, and he is forced to listen as Gareth attempts to justify his actions.  His speech is juxtaposed over cuts of our gang happily feasting away on canned food and drinking holy wine. 

Gareth finally gets to the meat of his confession, literally and figuratively.  He says, “It didn’t start that way.  Eating people.  It evolved.  It had to.  Now we’ve devolved.  Into hunters.” He gives Bob the worst ‘I told you so’ in history, as he says that it’s cosmic justice that it’s Bob they got. The camera pans back to expose Bob's full body.  Well….not his entire body.  He's only got one leg.  The other….is on the BBQ.  As Bob starts to whimper, Gareth takes a juicy bite out of a hunk o’ Bob.  Ew.  Gross. 

And people everywhere who were still naïvely left wondering what exactly the Termites were doing with all that slaughterhouse equipment after the most recent episode all get their due.  The rest of us go….oh, yeah…..but can you really show that on television?!?!

Some thoughts before I go:

- It sort of makes sense that after the ungodly experience our survivors had at Terminus that this episode would center on reaffirming their faith in humanity, as well as add a dash of hope back into the equation.

- Bob totes magotes wasn’t going into the woods for a casual stroll.  He was sneaking away, possibly because of a bite from the swimming pool walker earlier in the episode.  But why wouldn’t he tell his new love Sasha?  And will eating the flesh of a person who has been bit turn the Termites into walkers?  Wow, that’s a sentence I thought I’d never write….

- Where is Morgan?  Damn you teaser trailer people, you set us up for a big ole disappointment last week.  

- Looks like Daryl and Carol are on a mission to find Beth, but in a world with no cell phones, will they be able to reconnect with the group once they find her?  P.S. - A world with no cell phones is totally horrifying to me. 

- What’s up with Gabriel?  Will he come clean about his secrets?  Will Rick have to kill him?