This week’s episode TWD was hotly anticipated, the previous episode ‘Strangers’ ended on a significant cliffhanger. Was Bob infected by walker? Will Gareth die when he eats Bob’s meat? And what the hell are Daryl and Carol up to chasing Beth’s kidnapper? The latter issues won’t be resolved in ‘Four Walls and a Roof’ which deals primarily with Gareth’s attempt to kill and eat everyone in Rick’s group and Gabriel admission of what he had to do to stay alive. It is a good episode, its timeline spans just a few night-time hours which will have significant consequences for the rest of the season. I suggest you stop reading if you don’t like spoilers…..

One good leg top stand on….

Gareth (Andrew J. West) starts to taunt Bob Stookey (Lawrence Gilliard, Jr.) after his group eats Bob’s left leg. Gareth expresses his anger over Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) killing his mother Mary (Denise Crosby, in the episode “No Sanctuary“); he then says his group saw her and “the archer” (Daryl, Norman Reedus) drive away earlier. Gareth continues to say that he will kill Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group. Bob begins to sob, but then hysterically laughs and shows the group that he was bitten by a walker (in the prior episode, “Strangers“). Those who ate his leg begin to spit out what is in their mouths and then panic. Gareth angrily knocks Bob out.

Back at the church, Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) confronts Father Gabriel Stokes (Seth Gilliam) over the disappearance of several of the group members. Rick then asks what Gabriel did before that he is so ashamed of: he admits that before, he locked the church doors from everyone — including his own congregation — leaving them to die. He shows remorse over his actions and says that he is damned to Hell. The group then notices Bob lying outside the church unconscious.

Once inside, Bob tells the group about Gareth and his group, and that Daryl and Carol drove off somewhere; he then shows everyone his bite mark on his shoulder. Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz) begins to argue to Rick that they have to leave for Washington as soon as possible; but Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) convinces him to stay and help them retaliate against The Hunters. Before Sasha leaves to join Rick and the group, she tells her brother Tyreese (Chad Coleman) to kill Bob immediately; Tyreese reluctantly promises.

Gareth and The Hunters later break into the church. Rick then kills two Hunters, and shoots two of Gareth’s fingers off. Though surrounded, Martin (Chris Coy) hesitates kneeling before them, but does after Abraham holds a gun to his head. Gareth explains to Rick that they were once good people, but they changed after other people and the environment changed. He then says that Rick does not know what being hungry is. Rick and the others then kill them. Some in the church look on in horror as Rick, Abraham, Sasha and Michonne (Danai Gurira) mutilate The Hunters. Rick justifies their actions by saying “It could’ve been us.”

The following morning, everyone says their goodbyes to Bob as he lies dying. Bob thanks Rick for taking him into the prison and giving him a home. He then says that he hopes Rick does not change who he is and should be, especially for his daughter Judith’s sake. He dies shortly after. As Sasha is about to stab Bob in the head, Tyreese offers to do it to spare his sister’s emotions. He slowly and reluctantly impales the side of Bob’s head. The group then buries Bob beside the church.

Abraham shows Rick the route to Washington, and expresses hope that they will follow. Abraham, Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt), and Rosita Espinosa (Christian Serratos) drive off in a repaired bus. Rick then reads a message from Abraham on the map, saying “Sorry, I was an asshole. Come to Washington. The new world is gonna need Rick Grimes.”

That night, Gabriel talks to Michonne, expressing his discomfort over the horror he saw the other night and before he met the group. Michonne then hears a noise in the bushes, and walks over. She finds Daryl, and asks where Carol is. Daryl then says behind him “Come on out.”

Conclusion

This episode of The Walking Dead is difficult to judge, it doesn’t do much wrong. The audience isn’t cheated, not even by the fake-out of Rick leaving with a posse and only then to turn back to ambush Gareth’s posse inside the church. It does what needs to be done, for once every member of Rick’s group has agreed to the same immoral things they need to do even if they go about it differently. The only shame I saw was that Gareth and his posse died by being butchered with knives instead of being allowed to turn after eating Bob’s infected leg. It undoes the revenge that Bob so deserved, though his character didn’t complain about their deaths. The confrontation between Rick and Eugene may have been settled by the end of the episode it did cause the group to be split up. So for the rest of the season will be about Rick catching up to Abraham, Eugene, Glenn and the rest. This brings me to the only major gripe of the episode: we didn’t get to see how Daryl and Carol were doing pursuing the people who abducted Beth. I would have liked even a small update of them giving chase even if it would disturb the flow of this episode. Instead we have just a small scene in which Daryl returns to the church and says ‘come on out’ before the screen fades out. As Rick and the remaining gang are waiting for Carol, Daryl and Beth to return I guess we know what will happen in the next episode. This story telling method of focusing on a single group through a pivotal moment does mean others have to sit on the bench for an episode. As far as Father Gabriel is concerned, I am not certain if he will ever fit into the story. After the massacre at the church and his admittance of not helping his flock when they were eaten by walkers, you know there cannot be more of a difference between him and Rick. During Bob’s deathbed he told Rick things will get better, Michonne told Gabriel things aren’t always bad, so I guess this is an attempt to bring Gabriel and Rick closer together by the shows writers but Gabriel will always be a liability.

Score; 8.5 / 10. A good episode TWD that settles the Terminus storyline and sadly sees the end of Bob as well.

Source; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Walls_and_a_Roof

This was The Walking Dead S5Ep3 Four Walls and a Roof Review, I hope you enjoyed reading it.