The Walking Dead
Season 5, Episode 15 “Try”
Directed by Michael E. Satrazemis
Written by Angela Kang
Starring Andrew Lincoln, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohen, Norman Reedus, Michael Traynor, Tovah Feldshuh, Michael Cudlitz, Melissa McBride, Major Dodson, Alexandra Breckenridge, Seth Gilliam, Josh McDermitt
AMC
Air Date: March 22, 2015

Warning – Spoilers for The Walking Dead Episode 515 “Try.”

Tonight’s Episode 515 “Try” of AMC’s The Walking Dead, the residents — old and new — of the Alexandria Safe Zone are coping with the loss of those who perished in the last episode. But, in the zombie apocalypse, there’s no time to grieve. Throw on some Nine Inch Nails and have a little cry, but then it’s back to business.

And the business of the day is what exactly happened out there on that supply run that ended so disastrously? It’s up to Deanna (Tovah Feldshuh) to decide. So far, the leader of the Safe Zone has come across as an intelligent, fair, and intuitive person who seems to see through all the lies and deceit. She’s exactly who you’d want to be the final word in the community. But, is she too good to be true? If so, will she last? Let’s hope.

Then there’s the whole Pete situation. Peter (Corey Brill) was swarmy the first time we saw him sitting that night on the porch when Rick (Andrew Lincoln) was passing by (“porch dick”). Over the last few episodes, we’ve slowly learned that things aren’t right between Peter and his wife, Jessie (Alexandra Breckenridge), who Rick obviously has feelings for. But, in “Try,” we learn that his domestic abuse has been going on for a while now, and while it’s not condoned by the other residents, it’s tolerated because Pete’s a surgeon and at times like these, you can’t afford to lose someone with medical experience. Rick, on the other hand, thinks Pete should be made to separate from his wife for her protection or face death. But drastic punishments like that are not how Deanna governs the town. Deanna holds on to the old code, but Rick has faced the harsh ways of the new world, where there’s new rules.

Episode 515 “Try” also brings us back around to Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), who we’ve seen slowly coming unhinged over the last few episodes. She’s lost so much, and she’s not handling it well. Her coping mechanism is to withdraw from the group and spend her time hunting Walkers. There’s nothing else for her to do. When we see her out in the woods where Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) find her, she doesn’t care about herself anymore — it’s all about wiping out Walkers, the creatures responsible for taking away everyone she’s cared about: Bob, her brother Tyreese, and now her new love interest, Noah. While picking off Walkers with Sasha, Michonne appears to have an epiphany about how she’s been living in her new situation, complacent as a member of the Safe Zone law enforcement. It might be time for the warrior to take her sword off the mantle.

The episode also sees young Carl (Chandler Riggs) finally — finally — in a real position to get some action. This is a teenage boy who has been living the life of a celibate monk with a gun at this point. Now, he’s met other teens his age, including young Enid (Katelyn Nacon), who we see him together with in the woods. It’s been five seasons already, and I know from experience from attending Walking Dead panels at conventions that the fans want Carl to have a romantic storyline. What will dating be like in the zombie apocalypse? That seems like a spin-off series in and of itself.

Who would have thought that the prison that Rick’s group previously made their home would be the best situation they’d face? Rick’s group knows how to be a family and how to be a team. Just give them the bare minimum to survive and not only will they survive, but they’ll be happy together. But, most of the other people they run in to have not abandoned their pre-apocalypse proclivities. If they acted a certain way before — abusive, sadistic, pathological, etc. — their attributes are more pronounced in this new world. Rick is willing to risk everything to get the point across that the old world is dead; it’s time to live like true survivalists.

Wow, what a season this has been so far. And what a great ending to this penultimate episode. Rick went from being a level-headed leader to seemingly coming unhinged — even though what he’s saying is true, and that’s with him NOT even knowing about the evil that lurks outside the sanctuary walls, which Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) are coming across in their travels to find people to join the Safe Zone community. It’s time to end those dinner parties, put down that beer, end those squabbles, and get ready to defend the Safe Zone.

The 90-minute Season 5 finale of The Walking Dead, Episode 516 “Conquer,” directed by Greg Nicotero, airs on AMC on March 29, 2015 at 9pm.

Episode 515 Image Gallery

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