“The Walking Dead:” Episode 709 “Rock in the Road”
February 14, 2017
The dreaded mid-season break of “The Walking Dead” is finally over, and our favorite zombie fighting characters are back, highlighting every Sunday night. When the hit drama departed nearly two months ago, the spark for a potential uprising against Negan’s group was ignited. Rick and friends had the idea to team up with all of the other communities who are controlled by Negan, and revolt against the violent dictator himself.
The episode opened with Gabriel, the priest, on his night watch duties. He mysteriously abandons his post and steals all the food and weapons that the community of Alexandria has, packs it all into a car and leaves. Gabriel’s intentions are unclear, as he has seemed very loyal to the group in the past season. It is very unsettling because as Gabriel drives off, a mysterious figure appears in the back seat of the car and Gabriel seems unaware of it. Fans were left very confused with this peculiar action by a character that everyone has gained trust for in the past season.
During the other part of the episode, Rick and some of the members of Alexandria visit The Kingdom and speak with King Ezikiel. They try to persuade him to join them in the uprising against Negan. The Kingdom has a significant number of people, who are all able to fight, and adding more people to the army will only increase the odds of defeating Negan’s Saviors.
Rick makes a persuasive argument; however, Ezikiel is not convinced and he decides not to aid them in their cause. Rick’s group heads back to Alexandria, but Daryl stays behind at The Kingdom. On their way back, Rick’s group finds a zombie booby trap set up by Negan’s Saviors. They quickly disarm it and take all the explosives attached to it. As a heard of walkers is approaching, Rick’s group covers up their tracks; then in an epic sequence, Rick and Michonne drive two cars side by side with a steel cable connecting the cars through the giant heard of walkers. It was one of those scenes that would make viewers cheer out loud.
At the end of the episode, Rick leads a search party out into the woods in search of Gabriel. They don’t get too far before they are stopped by a huge group of unknown bandits, all armed with many weapons. It looks like a scary situation, but in the face of danger Rick tries to hide a smile. Many fans were confused about why Rick smiled; maybe he saw someone he knew? While this may be a possibility, I think it is because Rick knows the number of people and armory that he is confronted with is exactly what he needs to defeat Negan.
Next week’s episode should be very intense, and fans can’t wait to see what happens. Be sure to tune into AMC next Sunday at 9 p.m. to catch the next epic installment.
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