Season 5, Episode 13
Forget
- Carol makes preparations for what she believes will be the inevitable during Deanna's welcome party for Rick's group.
As the sun rises over Alexandria, Sasha wakes up and retrieves a rifle from Olivia at the armory. She goes outside the gate and practices target shooting on a group of photos before daring any walkers in the area to attack her.
Rick, Daryl and Carol meet outside the walls to discuss the missing handgun, and how to get their weapons back from the armory. As they talk, Carol dispatches a walker and notices that it has a "W" carved on its forehead.
Afterwards, Daryl roams through the forest and finds Aaron, who is also out scouting for a horse named Buttons, who won't consent to being corralled by him. They find the horse, but a group of walkers spook it and cause it to run away. They dispatch the walkers and tail it, only to discover that it became boxed in and was being eaten. The duo dispatches the rest of the walkers, and Aaron reluctantly puts the dying horse out of its misery.
At Deanna's house, she tells Michonne that it will be her and Rick's job to maintain order, and that Maggie will be helping out with government matters at her home. Sasha arrives and asks to take on many shifts at the guard watchtower, and Deanna agrees on the condition that she attend a welcoming party for the group that night.
Later, Rick and the others arrive at the party. Abraham expresses apprehension and confusion trying to adjust to "normal" life, but he eventually goes with the flow after finding out they have free alcohol. Rick talks with Jessie and slyly steals a kiss from her when Pete isn't looking, and Sasha begins to have violent flashbacks of past events and envisions the party guests as walkers before telling them that they're not safe before storming off. Deanna finds Sasha and attempts to have her come back in, but the latter claims they're not safe and walks off to man the guardtower.
Daryl doesn't bother to go to the party and roams around town, and Aaron sees him and offers for him to join he and Eric for dinner. The trio has an awkward conversation over dinner, and Aaron shows Daryl a motorcycle that he was helping to restore. Aaron tells Daryl that he wants him to become the town's new recruiter, as Eric will be out of action for a while due to his injury and Daryl knows good people from bad ones.
Carol executes her plan of breaking into the armory, and uses a break in the party to sneak away. Jessie's son Sam follows her and asks her to make more cookies. In an effort to keep him quiet, she threatens him by insinuating that she could leave him tied to a tree for the walkers, and promises to make the cookies.
The next morning, Carol brings Rick and Daryl handguns she took from the armory. Rick goes for another walk and sees Jessie walking with Pete, and contemplates killing the latter for a moment.
Rick is distracted by the noise of a walker futilely pounding on the reinforced steel walls. He walks to the gate and listens while looking at the party stamp on his hand.
Tropes:
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
- Carol is purposely becoming this, hiding her true nature behind a friendly, affable and chipper facade. Sam learns the hard way who she is underneath it all.
- Heavily implied with Pete.
- Blatant Lies: Carol claims she's not terrific with a gun. Anyone who watched the season premiere knows this is one of the biggest lies ever told on the show.
- Break the Cutie: Cute, cookie-craving kid Sam gets rocked to the core by Carol's threat.
- Co-Dragons: Inverted, as Daryl and Carol function as Rick's right and left hand supporters in this episode.
- Continuity Nod: For an episode titled "Forget," there was a lot of remembering going on.
- Sasha has a series of flashbacks to Terminus, Bob's death, the Hunters, and memories of her brother, to mention a few things.
- Olivia asks Sasha to bring her back a leg, obviously reminding her of Bob.
- Daryl eats spaghetti with Aaron and Eric; in the prison, Hershel once said they should have "Spaghetti Tuesdays every Wednesday."
- Rick walks past Morgan Street at the end of the episode.
- Daryl gets a new motorcycle, after he lost Merle's bike at the prison.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Rick gives a less than platonic kiss on the cheek to Jessie, a married woman. Then, his hand lingers on his gun when he sees her walking with her husband.
- Dr. Jerk: Pete mentions that he's a doctor and makes an unfriendly, almost aggressive remark to Jessie that says a lot.
- Eaten Alive: Add Buttons to the list of horse fatalities in this show.
- Fish out of Water: Rick's group doesn't feel terribly comfortable at the welcome party. Though Abraham eases into it better than the others.Abraham: I don't know about this.Rosita: They have beer.Abraham: ... I'm going to try this.
- Freudian Trio: The inner circle comprised of Rick, Carol, and Daryl, who represent the Ego, the Superego, and the Id, respectively.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Carol came into Alexandria fearing they were Bitch in Sheep's Clothing. Yet, this is how she comes off to poor Sam when it comes to defending her group.
- Rick appears to consider shooting Pete when he sees him walking with Jessie. The second season culminated in Shane trying to kill Rick so he could get Lori back.
- Innocently Insensitive: Sam stamps Rick's hand with an 'A' - the letter of the Terminus train cart he was held in. Made worse by how Terminus consistently referred to their prey as cattle, which are usually branded much like Rick was stamped.
- Mercy Kill: After he and Daryl kill the walkers eating Buttons, Aaron puts down the poor horse.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Rick considered to do this to Pete.
- Odd Friendship: Daryl and Aaron.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Rick and company except Daryl during the party. Although even Daryl is wearing a button-up, long-sleeved shirt beneath his vest when he decides not to go.
- Ship Tease: Carol charms Tobin when trying to open the latch of the armory. Rick and Jessie get more of this, as well as a drunken Abraham and a sober Michonne.
- Shout-Out: the red letter 'A' both Rick and Jessie have stamped in their hands could be a reference to The Scarlet Letter
- Sexy Secretary: Maggie becomes one to Deanna Monroe.
- Token Good Teammate: Daryl becomes this in his trio with Carol and Rick, having warmed to Alexandria.
- That Came Out Wrong: When he meets Rick, Pete invites him over so he can check him out. Only then after an awkward silence does he then say he's a doctor.
- To the Pain: Carol gives a frighteningly detailed explanation to Sam on what she'll do to him if he tells that she snuck into the armory.
