Four Walls and a Roof

"Four Walls and a Roof"

"Four Walls and a Roof" is the third episode of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on October 26, 2014.

Plot

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 should he turn into a walker; 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."

Reception

Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode an 8.6 out of 10, saying the episode "once again showed us what a powerful force Rick's group can be by having them pretty much annihilate Gareth's posse on one fell swoop. Everyone's on the same page, morality wise, and their fighting skills are, for far, unrivaled. Which is why it's frustrating to see them get cut in half and split off into two separate storylines at the end. I do understand that the show can't realistically handled [sic] such a giant ensemble always being together in one spot, but I just wish I'd bought more into the reasons for the split." Alan Sepinwall of HitFix said "this was another effective, pulpy episode, and a good illustration of the ways "The Walking Dead" has improved itself over time." In regards to the church massacre, he said "I appreciated both that the writers didn't keep the cannibals around as a long-term threat — and excuse for wallowing in the sadism of what they do (even if Gareth doesn't see it that way) — and that Rick didn't turn out to be nearly as stupid as they wanted him to seem when he led most of the good fighters away from the church when that was so obviously what Gareth wanted him to do. The massacre of the remaining Termites[...] was brutal, and illustrated how cold and rough Rick can be when you push him to this point."