Season 5 | Episode 11 | The Distance [AMC] [SPOILERS]

NUTZZ

The Walking Dead - Season 5

Episode 11 - "The Distance"

Airdate - February 22nd on AMC at 9/8c | February 23rd on FOX UK at 9pm

Lasting through a spectacular storm, Rick and the group meet a seemingly friendly person. Can they be trusted or are they just manipulating Rick?

After withstanding a spectacular storm, Rick and the others meet what appears to be a friendly person, but find themselves mistrustful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiWjVpJFpsE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKV6JHbnKJA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcaXrPYB6bk

Omackeral

6

Definately a 'bridging' episode but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it. The characters of Aaron and Eric seem to be nice, but are they too nice? We've seen the group mingle with 'nice' people before and it's always gone south. Just ask Hershel, Andrea and Bob. I think the fact that I dunno if I can trust these boys is a testament to the actors to be honest. I wanna like and trust them but I cant fully do so one way or the other. For example, the story about the photograph containing any people not turning out right didn't really wash with me but then again everything else seems to add up.

I'd rank this one a little higher than the previous episode and I'm excited to see where it goes next, which is always a good sign for any series. I have to laugh at people who consistently rank episodes at 2 and 3 yet still watch each week. Why would you bother? Thumbs up from me anyway, looking forward to the next arc of their journey.

thegreengoblin

8

Really enjoyed that. It had a nice 'back to basics' feel about it and was well paced compared to a lot of episodes. No long speeches, no singing, no stupid deaths, some drama in the woods... Even though there's always that underlying fear as the gang step into the unknown, we can cling to the hopeful things like the sound of the kids playing, the sight of the Washington DC monument in the distance and the (apparent) humanity and good intentions of Aaron and Eric.

I liked the tension between Rick's safety first paranoia and the others wanting to go straight to Alexandria. Carol summed it up nicely at the end when she said to him 'Even though you were wrong, you were still right.'

Also Starring LeVar Burton

9

Really enjoyed this episode, as it sets up my favourite arc from the comics. Should be interesting to see how it translates from page next week...

ricero

6

The shot of rick eyes when he hears the children playing beyond the walls was very well done. You could see the humanity flooding back into him

LandoCalrissian

7

Very good episode thought there was a nice pace throughout

I am certainly intrigued to see what's behind the wall???

Shane St.

7

Really enjoyed it too. Interesting to see how it plays out w this new community after the last two gated communities

naughto

6

Enjoyed this ep even if it was a bit of a filler ep.
Link below is of the pics that where on Aron's camera
http://m.imgur.com/a/93jJu

PirateShampoo

7

Even though as already mentioned it was a bit of a filler episode, I found myself not wanting the episode to finish.

I loved the final scene on Ricks eyes when he heard the children playing.

DMcL1971

Did I miss something, was there a scene missing?

Five of them go off to check out Aaron's story about the two cars parked up the road. They come back with the car and the RV. They all decide to head off at night to Alexandria in the car and RV. Glenn crashes into a bunch of zombies, while the others in the RV just disappear. The car won't start and they get attacked by zombies in the forest. The next thing you know, Glenn, Rick, Michone and Aaron arrive at some building I've never seen before where everyone is waiting for them along with the new character Eric and there is no explaination of why everyone is at this building and where Eric came from. What did I miss?

maximoose

7

DMcL1971 wrote: »

Did I miss something, was there a scene missing?

Five of them go off to check out Aaron's story about the two cars parked up the road. They come back with the car and the RV. They all decide to head off at night to Alexandria in the car and RV. Glenn crashes into a bunch of zombies, while the others in the RV just disappear. The car won't start and they get attacked by zombies in the forest. The next thing you know, Glenn, Rick, Michone and Aaron arrive at some building I've never seen before where everyone is waiting for them along with the new character Eric and there is no explaination of why everyone is at this building and where Eric came from. What did I miss?

Eric set off the flare, seemingly because the guys in the rv ran him over or something breaking his ankle.

The other guys saw the flare when broken down, ran into forest to escape walkers, made it back to the road then headed towards the water tower where the flare came from, and then followed Daryl's whistling I guess.

Good/great ep IMO, walkers being a threat again was nice, Aaron is a good character and I'm really liking him in the show...and we've finally made it to Alexandria. Huzzah!

DoozerT6

Aww my favourite part of that episode was the little nod to Dale, when Glenn knew where the spare battery was kept in the RV.

brianregan09

8

I have to say this was one of my favourite episodes in the season , Especially seeing the start of a savage comic angle involving Alexandria

I do love the paranoia angle too and it looks from the preview as if its going to continue next week

DMcL1971

maximoose wrote: »

Eric set off the flare, seemingly because the guys in the rv ran him over or something breaking his ankle.

The other guys saw the flare when broken down, ran into forest to escape walkers, made it back to the road then headed towards the water tower where the flare came from, and then followed Daryl's whistling I guess.

Good/great ep IMO, walkers being a threat again was nice, Aaron is a good character and I'm really liking him in the show...and we've finally made it to Alexandria. Huzzah!

It's really not very clear. The RV is visible in Glenn's rear view mirror when he hits the zombies. Only a couple of minutes later they see the flare in the direction of the water tower. When they make it back to the road, Rick decides to head in the direction of the water tower, which appears to me to be about a mile away. The next thing we see is Rick's group arriving at the building where the others are, presumably this is somewhere near the water tower.

There is no explaination of how they others in the RV ended up at this building. There is no explaination of how Eric ended up there either, the last we saw of him was hiding in a field near the hidden car and RV. Eric says he was being stupid and got stuck under a rust bucket of a car surrounded by zombies and that is where he hurt his ankle.

Rick had decided he was taking a different road from the one that Aaron wanted to take, so this water tower couldn't have been some pre-arranged meeting point. How did Eric get to this building, with no transport, from the field that we last saw him in?

Outside of that we could assume that however Eric got there he must have fired the flare when he got injured and this attracted both groups to that point where they were re-united.

It seems to me to be either dreadful writing or editing.

DaisyD2

I thought is was very clear, RV slowed and seemed to turn as Glen floored it through Zombies afraid they would hit him from behind he said. He eventually stopped (he was travelling very fast for minute or so, probably covered more distance then you would credit) and as they were trying to see where RV was the flare goes up, know it must be Aarons companion & I thought I heard them say thats where RV would head too so after getting back on Route16 (that they should have taken in daylight in first place but it all plays to Ricks paranoia) they all head toward flare/water tower.

I'm probably biased as I've toured that part of States but I loved that episode & seeing Washington come into view was magic. Those roads would be full of spidery interconnecting roads that we couldn't see as they barrelled along in dark so, for me, its plausible they could splinter off & once flare went up all head toward Water tower which appeared to be beside some sort of agri/fuel warehouse type deal, not a town so again easy to find each other.

IMO they have played last couple of episodes very well without overstating or simplifying story - that would bore pants off viewers & leave us nothing to talk about after :-)

Mr.Nice Guy

5

I gave it a 6. I thought it was a filler episode that strained logic at times.

Rick really annoyed me in this episode. Punching Aaron in the face was just ridiculous. I think even Shane at his worst would have found that OTT.

Then there's the scene where Rick is very suspicious about the apple sauce. Eh Rick, you've all been drinking the water he left you. If he wanted to poison you then the effects would have kicked in by now. Or they could have drugged you and picked you off at ease.

The woods scene was good but the rest was not exactly unmissable.

Also thought the role of the women was really muted in this episode (with the exception of Michonne). This was an episode where Sasha could have really stepped up as a voice of discontent and previous episodes seemed to tease this direction, but nah; nothing more on that.

Really hope it picks up next time.

sabhail

8

How come they all forgot about the 'audition' they need to do to see if they can stay? think episode was good, Def something off about Alexandria tho.... The photos with no people were ...odd

Adamocovic

7

I liked the episode and at first I liked Aaron, but after Michonne asked about the lack of photos of the people there I am quite sceptical. I think we are used to the promised safe zones being a let down and there is certainly something fishy going on.

Really want to see inside the walls to find out is it as good as he said. Next week should be decent but I imagine it's all now build up for a big finale.

Adamocovic

7

Also when Aaron was afraid about the flare and saying they hadn't cleared that route was it because of zombies and Erics safety or does his survivor group have an enemy or rival group like Rick and the Governor did, and are simply recruiting Rick and his group for more numbers to help protect themselves? Only a theory but I can't been the only one that thought it when Aaron started panicking. Seemed a bit odd.

MadYaker

6

I don't know, but I reckon it's just the 2 of them in that place. Good episode though I enjoyed it.

MythicalMadMan

8

Tonight I think they nearly knocked it out of the park. The pacing of the episode was a bit off for me but thats it.

The best for me the scene where they took out all the walkers with the car brilliantly shot I thought (and the malleability of the walkers at this moment in time shown by Abraham pulling off an arm earlier in the episode)

Plus the scene where rick shot the flare into the walkers eye and his skull lit up as he hit the ground. That was great cinematography. (reminded me of the green mile)

Ive never seen a show so split in terms of people who still watch and disagree so much over how good an episode was. This half season has had the 3 best visual secenes so far while inkeeping with slow build up which comes from living in a world of zombies.

Lastly the scence where they were all in the store room showed me how hard in its to intigrate people. Many had 1 or 2 lines some like Carol said nothing i think.

It made me think is WD out on its own having so many main characters and the writers havent found a good way to integrate them to the audience. While Rick stands out has there ever been a show with so many main actors.

Tonight I think had something for everyone and ive voted 9

chrisguy116

7

Adamocovic wrote: »

Also when Aaron was afraid about the flare and saying they hadn't cleared that route was it because of zombies and Erics safety or does his survivor group have an enemy or rival group like Rick and the Governor did, and are simply recruiting Rick and his group for more numbers to help protect themselves? Only a theory but I can't been the only one that thought it when Aaron started panicking. Seemed a bit odd.

I'm almost sure aaron mentioned something along the lines of " no you cant drive I usually do when bringing in recruits" when he was tied up in the barn after michonne & co got back with the rv.

Cant wait to see the next ep i thought the pace was fantastic and i liked the nostalgic nods to dale and the cheeky look when they came in view of wash DC.

maximoose

7

A recap in pictures :pac:

naughto

6

MadYaker wrote: »

I don't know, but I reckon it's just the 2 of them in that place. Good episode though I enjoyed it.

I am thinking that as well no one in the pics that where taking and your man saying he only killed two people that tried to kill him
Was the priest in the barn in this ep?

maximoose

7

Loved this moment

http://i.imgur.com/Wb2L8Fq.gif

Mod: Changed to link (image is 28mb!) - mobile users beware!

mrkiscool2

8

This is what I love about TWD. It's how the world so dramatically and systematically changes a person. I've complained about the whole "I'm not a monster really, I'm just doing what I have to" plot device they use all the time but it was so obvious from the episode this week and last week that Rick was on the brink of no return. The world was changing him so much that it was about to turn him into a husk, a man who couldn't trust anyone or anything but the people he already knew for ages. He was saved in the end by the sound of the children, bringing back that humanity in him. The scene of him hiding the gun shows how much distrust he has for not only Aaron and Eric, but for even members of his own group.

The little nods to other things in the series, Dale etc as this main arc ends was fantastic. I love when shows do that and none more than The Walking Dead. Also, I love how the RV made a comeback. How deformed and degraded the zombies have become is also awesome. It's been over 2 years since the outbreak happened so it makes sense that they are starting to turn into things that fall apart very easily.

The pacing was quite good, not brilliant but it was good, Aaron and Eric are great, loving how they stayed true to the comics with that. Overall a very good episode, 9/10 for me!

yourdeadwright

Really enjoying this season,
I wonder will we see any of the current character become romantically evolved with each other,
I think its a good break from the norm in tv these days that it doesn't happen in TWD, we only have Maggie and Glen but they never really romantic ,
Just wonder with the group looking like they may settle somewhere now, it may happen and de a plot device to cause conflict between them ,

Adamocovic

7

maximoose wrote: »

A recap in pictures :pac:

haha that's brilliant, does the person do it for every episode?

Agricola

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Rick really annoyed me in this episode. Punching Aaron in the face was just ridiculous. I think even Shane at his worst would have found that OTT.

I thought it the punch in the face was great tbh! I mean in earlier series people were complaining about all the pussy footing that these characters were going on with, too much goody two shoes stuff. People wanted characters like Rick to be more ruthless in the cut throat world they now live in.....

When that guy walked into the barn sounding a snakeoil salesman, my first feeling was this is another trap. After Woodbury and Terminus, Rick isn't going to entertain any bullshít for a second.

sonofenoch

Zombies seem to have become a real threat again as it should be (you would think).....throughout the last few stories and series they appeared to be nothing more than a hindrance dispatched with ease, which kind of annoyed me

Idrive

7

I thought it was a good episode.
Im weary for the group at this stage and was itching to see past the barricade.
I just want them to find some peace for a little while, get their thoughts together etc and breathe for a little
Im sure it wont turn into The Walking Dead 90210 in " alexandria " for long.

I thought it might turn out that its just aaron and his partner but did we hear the sound of children playing when they approached the gate ?

The apple sauce scene really annoyed me - just eat the damn thing and bet on with it. Poor Judith must be starving at this stage. Was Rick grinding acorns down for supper ?

maximoose

7

Adamocovic wrote: »

haha that's brilliant, does the person do it for every episode?

Yeah, there's a link at the start to previous recaps! S05E01 is great.

Oops, didn't realise that gif was massive

Liam McPoyle

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Really enjoying this season,
I wonder will we see any of the current character become romantically evolved with each other,
I think its a good break from the norm in tv these days that it doesn't happen in TWD, we only have Maggie and Glen but they never really romantic ,
Just wonder with the group looking like they may settle somewhere now, it may happen and de a plot device to cause conflict between them ,

Id say Abraham and that soldiery girl with the pig tails will get it on.

MrWalsh

Business Cat wrote: »

Id say Abraham and that soldiery girl with the pig tails will get it on.

I thought they already were a couple?

I enjoyed the episode. I'm suspicious about the new place. It's confusing for me that the two new people are called Eric and Aaron but Aaron looks likes Eric from That 70s Show.

clever user name

8

Great episode! Enjoyed it much more than last week. I managed to avoid the preview at the end so have clue what is going to happen.

Saw a couple of people mention on twitter about a 90 minute finale?! Hope its true.

ThisRegard

Anyone else thinking to themselves, turn the fecking wipers on!

Diabhal Beag

There was one shot where the walkers were walking up to the car and it wouldn't start with the flare gone off. The imagery was legit fantastic looking at the walkers closing in through the windscreen and the red background.

ThisRegard

I really enjoyed those red hue visuals, and along with the synth style sound track, it was in a very 80s horror style, the most atmospheric scenes in the show in a while.

DeadHand

7

Just glad oul Merle died before the group ran into a gay couple.

He would not have approved of such things.

woodchuck

Idrive wrote: »

I thought it was a good episode.
Im weary for the group at this stage and was itching to see past the barricade.
I just want them to find some peace for a little while, get their thoughts together etc and breathe for a little
Im sure it wont turn into The Walking Dead 90210 in " alexandria " for long.

I thought it might turn out that its just aaron and his partner but did we hear the sound of children playing when they approached the gate ?

The apple sauce scene really annoyed me - just eat the damn thing and bet on with it. Poor Judith must be starving at this stage. Was Rick grinding acorns down for supper ?

I thought they were snail shells

wandatowell

8

Just watched EP 11, very good. Nice upping of pace.

Cartman78

Playing catch up on TWD and just watched this one last night.

Easily the best episode of the series and possibly beyond that also - loved the gritty, grindhouse feel and a return to treating the characters a bit more seriously.

The call out to Dale was nicely handled - very subtle when it would have been easy to lapse into mawkish sentimentality.