The Walking Dead: Crossed is the 7th episode of the season and has the crew tracking down the members of the mysterious group responsible for taking Beth and Carol. It opens up with everyone breaking down pieces of the church in order to fortify it. Sasha is still reeling from Bob’s death and it’s very noticeable with the way she’s breaking down the benches. Gabriel watches all of this and wonders how much more of his church will be ripped apart considering the massacre that took place, and he can’t get his mind off the blood stains that still remain on the wooden floors. He doesn’t understand or maybe he doesn’t want to understand the necessity of Rick and Michonne boarding up the windows as part of the fortifications as his concern is more about the overall integrity of the building. But considering the news Noah brought regarding the group that took Beth, and Daryl’s brief experience with them, they’re not taking any chances as they prepare to mount a rescue mission to retrieve Beth and Carol. It won’t be the entire group as a few of them will remain behind since they all have to eventually rendezvous with the group that got a head start on the road to Washington. What they don’t know is that trip has been everything but easy with supplies running low and Eugene knocked out cold in the street by Abraham, who was enraged Eugene was lying about a cure. So even if the rescue operation is successful, what lies ahead for the group once they discover everything about Washington D.C. was a false? And who is this mysterious group at the Atlanta hospital?

After last week’s episode, which had its ending somewhat spoiled with the events in the previous week, I was looking forward to seeing the aftermath in these situations. And this episode started off really well in all of them whether it was Sasha taking out her emotions on a church bench, Rick and Michonne talking about going to Atlanta, or Abraham being so pissed off he refused to talk to anyone. Sasha’s behavior would mirror Father Gabriel’s in terms of the almost obsessive-compulsiveness regarding church property. And it’s not so much what this would say about Sasha but about Gabriel, who still refused to adapt to the world of the zombie apocalypse. Sasha would however be a part of the rescue mission along with Tyreese, Daryl, Noah, and Rick. Sasha wouldn’t be ready to talk to Tyreese about Bob despite him reminding her that he’s been there himself with Karen. And I’ve been up and down with Tyreese’s portrayal but this was definitely one of his better episodes. Not only would he be there for Sasha offering his support but he was active in discussing the options in the rescue plan and the initial focus on stealth. So the plan wouldn’t be to go in guns blazing, and with Noah’s knowledge of the hospital’s structure, guards and wards, they could assess what they needed to do to get in and out. However, Tyreese would suggest capturing some of Dawn’s officers while they’re on patrol and use them as part of a prisoner exchange. So they would get to work and use Noah as potential bait in order to ambush the officers.

SUMMARY

The Walking Dead: Crossed is a very good episode that sets up the mid-season finale in an impressive way. This wasn’t the most action-oriented episode this season but the character development was excellent, and even the characters appearing for the first-time were impressive in their roles. So at this point in the show there are more characters with various motives, personalities, and backgrounds than I can think of in recent memory, and probably since the prison. The plan put into motion to save Carol and Beth would move at a deliberate pace but still enjoyable as a result. And the situation at the church and on the road to D.C. would be just as intriguing. I’m hoping the overall situation in the hospital becomes clearer in terms of motivation and not just about Dawn trying to maintain a tenuous alliance within the hospital. I’m not sure what’s ahead in the mid-season finale but this season overall has been excellent, and I can’t wait for the next episode.