‘The Walking Dead’ S5 Ep9 Recap: ‘What Happened & What’s Going On’

After the tragic event at Grady Memorial, “The Walking Dead” gang began to pick up the pieces in the mid-season premiere titled, “What Happened and What’s Going On.”

But while trying to honor the late Beth Greene by taking Noah home, our group of survivors found more heartbreak.

Here’s our blow-by-blow recap of “The Walking Dead” Season 5, Episode 9, “What Happened and What’s Going On”:

A New Plan For The Survivors

Rick & the gang, sometime after the death of Beth: Understandably devastated by loss, most recently Beth Greene in last year’s mid-season finale, we pick back up with the gang, finding some in tears (like Maggie and Noah), others shoveling the earth, Father Gabriel giving a sermon (for Beth, it seems), and still others (like Rick and Glenn) looking to what’s next. After finding out that Beth wanted to get Noah home – a place outside of Richmond, Va. – Rick suggests they make good on her wish for her friend. And maybe, it can be their home too. “What if it’s not there anymore?” a still-deflated-after-finding-out-Eugene-is-not-a-scientist Glenn asks. “Then we keep going,” Rick replies. “Then we find a new place,” Michonne adds.

After a few more picture-esque (by “Walking Dead” standards) flashes of scenes — empty train tracks and abandoned cars (one with a walker pawing at the window from inside) — we are (strangely) met with two familiar faces from episodes gone by: Lizzie and Mika! “It’s better now,” Mika, the younger of the two sisters says, her stomach covered in blood (presumably the mortal wound she sustained when her sister killed her). A smiling Lizzie has blood dripping down her own forehead (from Carol’s gunshot, we assume). Something is going on here. This is no ordinary episode of “The Walking Dead.”

On The Road To Richmond

Rick, Glenn, Noah, Michonne & Tyreese in a car, on the road: Half of the gang are in an SUV motoring toward Noah’s home when Rick picks up the walkie-talkie to radio Carol. “We’re halfway there. Just wanted to check the range,” he says. “Everybody’s holding tight. Made it 500 miles. Maybe this could be the easy part,” she replies, revealing the gang is far from Atlanta. As the journey continues, Tyreese and Noah, in the front of the vehicle, discuss events of the recent past. Tyreese tries to lift Noah’s spirts, telling him things happened the way they were supposed to. He also shares a story from his own past, one about facing tough realities.

Back when Tyreese and Sasha were children, their dad told them it was their “duty as citizens of the world, to keep up on the news.” When there was “some kind of horror” a thousand miles away on the radio, his dad would leave it on. “He didn’t turn it off, he just kept listening, to face it. Keeping his eyes open. … My dad always called that paying the high cost of living,” Tyreese explains in the bonding moment. Noah says his dad may be gone, but he has younger twin brothers and a mom he “hopes” are still in the community outside of Richmond.

At Rick’s suggestion, they pull the SUV off the road and into the woods to approach Noah’s home through the foliage. It’s there that our gang walks past the walker in the car, and human bones, rotting away among the leaves (both scenes from “TWD’s” opening montage). Walking past them, Rick and the group make their way through barbed wire, Noah less successfully – he cuts his forehead (hmm… his forehead was cut in the opening sequence where we saw him crying).

It’s eerily silent as the gang take the final steps up to Shirewilt Estates (Noah’s home). Glenn jumps up to peer over the side of the fence. Nothing.

Inside Shirewilt Estates

“Wolves not fair” reads some white paint on a small fence inside Noah’s old housing community, which seems to be empty (except for random, stray walkers). The truth hits him hard and the young man falls to the ground as he rocks back and forth, sobbing. “You’ll be with us now,” Tyreese says. Rick sits by Noah’s side. “I’m sorry, Noah. I truly am,” Rick says, before suggesting they see look for supplies before leaving. Tyreese offers to stay with the devastated Noah, while Rick radios Carol to let the rest of the gang know that Shirewilt Estates won’t be their new home.

Michonne, Rick & Glenn, on a supply run inside Shirewilt: Rick and Glenn have a heart to heart. He admits he wanted to kill Officer Dawn after “it happened” (meaning when she shot and killed Beth). And while Glenn never thought Noah’s old community would be there, Rick reveals that this mission was their way of paying tribute to her. “She wanted to get him back home. This was for her. And it could’ve been for us too,” he tells Glenn.

Tyreese & Noah, just inside the gate: As Noah continues to cry, Tyreese shares his own story of coping with the loss of Karen – how he took on a whole walker herd, he cared so little for his life after her death. But he survived and because he did, he was there to save baby Judith. “Noah, this isn’t the end,” Tyreese says. Noah stands up and looks around and then bolts toward his old home.

Michonne, Rick & Glenn, on the supply run: It’s time for Glenn to share his take on things, telling Rick that even though he found out Washington, D.C., wasn’t real, he wouldn’t have stopped if they hadn’t run into Rick. And, he would have shot Dawn, “right or wrong.” The voice of reason, Michonne, then chimes in. “We need to stop. You can be out here too long,” she says.

Tyreese & Noah, at his former home: To protect his young friend, Tyreese goes inside the house Noah grew up in first. Noah is close behind. A grisly sight, Noah’s mom (we assume) is dead on the living room rug. He puts a blanket over her head and says his peace, while Tyreese cautiously heads down the hallway. A horror greets him in the bedroom — a dead boy, one of the twins. Tyreese gets distracted looking at pictures of the twins on the wall, when – Crunch! – the other twin (a walker) turns Tyreese’s arm into a meal. Rushing in to help, Noah uses a model toy jet to save Tyreese (killing the walker). Seeing his friend in bad shape, Noah runs to get help. Staring into the distance, Tyreese spots a radio on the shelf.

In his hazy state, Tyreese hears something on the radio – a British newsreader sharing bad news. “At least 68 citizens of the republic have been killed in four deadly attacks along the main coastal district,” the man on the radio says. Looking around (after more random flashes of images) Tyreese sees a familiar face. It’s a hallucination of Martin, the gum-chewing Terminan who threatened to hurt Judith! Martin may be dead, but he’s haunting and taunting Tyreese from beyond the grave. “You think Gareth would’ve been able to follow you guys if you’d just put a bullet in my brain?” he asks Tyreese, putting blame on the beanie-wearing survivor for Bob’s death.

“Man, that’s bullsh**. I got bit at the food bank,” Bob chimes in, as – shocker — Tyreese has a vision of his sister’s late love, who he now sees in the corner of the room. “It went the way it had to, the way it was always going to, just like this.”

Sweating and holding onto his arm, Tyreese hears another radio report about revenge attacks. But then, Martin chimes in to torment him some more. If Tyreese had killed him, “maybe the bill would’ve been paid,” Martin says. Another vision finishes that thought.

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“The bill has to be paid,” says an imposing man with an eye patch in the doorway. Welcome back, (even if it’s just a vision) The Governor!

Hallucination help quickly arrives to argue against the nastiness of Martin and The Governor – Lizzie and Mika, who try to tell Tyreese that, “it’s better now,” presumably meaning the afterlife. But hallucination Governor won’t have it and he lunges for Tyreese, only it’s actually a walker. With little strength to fight off the biter (The Gov always preferred that word), Tyreese uses the only thing he can – his bloody arm — to fight the biter off. The arm chum gives Tyreese the moment he needs to use his other arm to shove and kill the walker.

Rick, Glenn & Michonne, on the streets inside Shirewilt: While trying to convince the boys they could make this place their home, Michonne runs over to a broken down fence, only to realize this place isn’t actually safe. The fences are crumbled and there are bodies everywhere. Time for a change of plans! “Washington – Eugene lied about a cure, but he thought Washington for a reason,” she says. “Don’t you want one more day with a chance?” she asks. Rick agrees. “It’s 100 miles away. We should go to Washington.” But it won’t be today. Noah’s screams in the distance send the trio running back toward the sound, weapons drawn. After freeing Noah from an attack, they learn the bad news – Tyreese has been bit.

Tyreese, inside Noah’s house: Martin, The Governor, Bob, Lizzie, Mika and now… BETH! “Love is all that we have to give,” she sings, playing a guitar in the room where Tyreese is barely clinging to life, another one of his hallucinations. But while Lizzie, Bob, Mika and Beth tell Tyreese it’s okay he didn’t want to be a part of it (the brutality of this world that makes someone leave their humanity behind), Terminan Martin disagrees. The Governor too torments Tyreese for not adapting and for forgiving the woman (Carol), who killed the woman he loved (Karen). “You didn’t show me sh**,” Tyreese tells The Gov. “Everything that you were is dead and it’s not over. I forgave her because it’s not over,” he adds, crying.

And then, the story Tyreese told Noah on the car ride over comes up. “I didn’t turn away, I kept listening to the news, so I could do what I could to help. I’m not giving up,” Tyreese adds. “Ain’t nobody got to die today.”

Rick and the gang believe that too and they do what they did when Hershel was attacked in the prison – they cut off the infected limb. “Hold on!” Rick screams as they rush Tyreese back to the car, radioing Daryl to get Sasha and Carl out of the way. “They don’t need to see this,” Rick says.

On The Road Back To The Rest Of The Group

Rick, Michonne, Noah, Glenn and Tyreese in the SUV on the road: “Troubling reports of cannibalism,” says the British newsreader, as Tyreese looks out the window at the trees (only he hears the radio). “Turn it off,” he says to the people in the car. But it’s not Rick, Michonne, Glenn or Noah that he sees. It’s Bob, Beth, Lizzie and Mika, all of their mortal wounds now gone. “It isn’t just okay,” Lizzie says. “It’s better now,” Mika adds, as they all smile at him.

After speeding down the empty road, the SUV pulls over to the side and they get out of the vehicle. It’s no use. Tyreese is gone. They lay their late friend in the road. Michonne unsheathes her katana (to stop him from turning).

Back With The Group

The survivors, at a stop in the road: All those scenes at the beginning of the episode – they weren’t about Beth at all. Tyreese is gone. His face is covered by a white sheet, and they take turns shoveling the earth into the grave to say goodbye. Rick fills the grave in and they hang Tyreese’s beanie on the cross marking his grave.

“The Walking Dead” continues Sunday nights at 9 PM ET/PT on AMC.

— Jolie Lash