Season 5

S5E1 · No Sanctuary

Carol and Tyreese capture a Terminus ally, Martin, learning their friends have been captured and will likely be cannibalized by Gareth and the other Terminus survivors. While Tyreese stays back with Judith and Martin, Carol uses a herd of walkers as a distraction to free Rick and the others. Rick and Carl finally reunite with Judith. Once regrouped, the others convince Rick to forget attacking Terminus and instead head towards Washington, D.C.

S5E2 · Strangers

Rick's group saves Father Gabriel Stokes from walkers, and he provides them shelter in his church; his motives are suspicious, leaving some anxious to continue on. Carol withdraws from the group, followed by Daryl, when they see a car with a white cross on its window, the same as the one Daryl saw abduct Beth, and the two follow it. Bob is captured by the remaining Terminus survivors led by Gareth, who proceed to amputate and consume his leg.

S5E3 · Four Walls and a Roof

Father Gabriel is forced to reveal he had let his congregation be consumed by walkers while he barricaded himself inside, and is now experiencing a crisis of faith. Gareth leaves Bob outside the church, and Rick leads a group to finish off Gareth in retribution. Gareth uses this opportunity to attack the church, but is ambushed and killed by Rick's group. Rick insists they wait for Daryl and Carol's return before leaving, but Abraham and Rosita decide to continue on escorting Eugene to D.C., with Glenn, Maggie, and Tara coming along. Abraham leaves a map for Rick to follow him once he is ready to leave.

S5E4 · Slabtown

Beth awakens in Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, finding it run and protected by police officers led by Officer Dawn Lerner. Though they provide medical treatment, they force those in their care to help and forgo medical treatment on the weakest. When Beth goes against these policies, she is berated by Dawn. Beth befriends fellow patient, Noah, and the two attempt to escape together. Noah escapes, but Beth is caught, punished, and instructed to kill a corrupt doctor; just then, she sees an unconscious Carol being wheeled into the hospital.

S5E5 · Self Help

Abraham's group heads north, where Eugene's insecurities lead to some conflict within the group. They come across a wide expanse of fields that are filled with walkers, and Abraham and Glenn get into an argument on what to do. During this, Eugene reveals that he lied about being a scientist or knowing a cure, only using that to inspire Abraham to help protect him when they first met. Abraham punches Eugene out, and then drops to knees in shock and disbelief.

S5E6 · Consumed

Daryl and Carol follow the car to Atlanta, where they have their gear stolen by Noah. They discover the white cross vehicles are from Grady Memorial, and use a building across the street to study the hospital. There, they encounter Noah again, who apologizes and gives back their gear, as well as telling them about Beth. With the police from the hospital en route to their building, the three escape, but Carol is hit by a speeding police car and taken to the hospital.

S5E7 · Crossed

Daryl returns to the church with Noah, informing the group of Beth and Carol 's whereabouts. After some discussion, Rick, Daryl, Noah, Tyreese, and Sasha head to Atlanta. They fortify the church by hacking apart the pews and the church's pipe organ to board up the doors and windows and build outer defenses to provide protection for Michonne, Carl, Gabriel, and Judith. Carl gives Gabriel a machete and tries to teach him how to defend himself, but he is unwilling to learn. Troubled by the desecration of his church and the slaughter of the Terminus survivors, Gabriel secludes himself in his office, pries up the floor boards, and sneaks out under the floor boards where he immediately steps on a nail. Gabriel is attacked by a walker in the woods which he impales on a broken branch, but is unable to kill it after noticing it is wearing a cross on a chain.

At the hospital, Dawn is in a heated discussion with O'Donnell over their inability to find Noah. Beth listens in as the subject turns to Carol. O'Donnell feels that she is a lost cause, and keeping her alive is waste of resources. Beth intervenes, and an angry Dawn instructs O'Donnell to take Carol off life support. When O'Donnell leaves, Dawn chastises Beth for forcing her hand but gives her the key to the drug locker so she can save Carol. Dawn admits that she was wrong about Beth's perceived weakness. Beth later confronts Dr. Edwards and convinces him to tell her which drug to use to save Carol. Beth retrieves some epinephrine from the locker and administers it to Carol.

Meanwhile, Eugene is still unconscious and Abraham has become non-responsive. Glenn, Maggie, Tara, and Rosita debate whether or not they should return to the church. Glenn, Tara, and Rosita leave to find water, while Maggie stays behind to keep an eye on Eugene and Abraham. Eventually, Abraham speaks, claiming he still wants to live. Glenn, Tara, and Rosita return with water and fish as Eugene regains consciousness.

As Rick's group arrives in Atlanta, and Rick lays out a vague plan to infiltrate the hospital, capture Lerner and force the whole place to stand down. Tyreese feels that this is too risky and proposes they instead capture cops and make an exchange of prisoners; Daryl agrees with Tyreese, and Rick finds himself out-voted. Noah acts as bait and lures two officers, Sgt. Bob Lamson (Maximiliano Hernández) and Officer Shepherd, into an ambush, quickly capturing them. One of the officers, Lamson, realizes Rick was a cop. The two officers briefly escape when a third officer, Officer Licari (Christopher Matthew Cook), arrives as backup, but all three are ultimately recaptured.

Now in Rick's custody, the officers insist Dawn won't trade for them, as she doesn't like them anyway, but if released vow to oust Lerner and install Lamson in her place. Lamson, however, advises Rick that Lerner will start from a no-negotiating position but will compromise as she always does and ultimately make the trade. Meanwhile, Sasha is still distraught over Bob's death, and her interest is piqued when she discovers that Lamson's first name is also Bob. When Rick, Tyreese, and Daryl leave to make contact with Dawn, Sasha is left alone with the prisoners and Lamson tells her a heart-rending story how his partner, who was killed in the bombings, has come back as a walker, but he never had a chance to put him out of his misery.

Sasha offers to help Lamson put his partner to rest (and get her own closure) and Lamson guides her to a location from which she can shoot. However, when she takes aim, Lamson tackles Sasha and knocks her out, then flees.

S5E8 · Coda

At the church, Gabriel inadvertently leads a group of walkers to it, but Abraham and his group arrive in time to protect the others. They all agree to head to Atlanta to help. Rick negotiates to trade the captured officers for Carol and Beth. In the trade confrontation, Beth stabs Dawn, who instinctively shoots and kills Beth; Daryl reacts by killing Dawn. The groups stand down and Rick's group leaves the hospital with Beth's corpse, eventually meeting with Abraham's group.

S5E9 · What Happened and What's Going On

Rick's group heads north, and a small group of Rick, Tyreese, Glenn, and Michonne take Noah to his hometown community, which he claims was protected. They find the community has been overrun with walkers, and Noah panics; Tyreese is bitten by a walker while protecting him. Tyreese has visions of several now-dead survivors, while Michonne amputates the bitten arm. Despite this, Tyreese dies as they race back to join the others.

S5E10 · Them

The group's vehicle breaks down, forcing them to continue on foot towards D.C. After a run-in with a small horde of walkers and feral dogs, Daryl suggests the group take shelter in a small barn. They find a number of water bottles and jugs with a note saying they are from a "friend," but Rick is wary and orders them to avoid it. The next morning, the group is approached by Aaron, identifying himself as a "friend."

S5E11 · The Distance

Maggie and Sasha return to the barn and introduce Aaron to Rick and the group. Aaron tells them he is part of a larger community surrounded by reinforced steel walls that provide protection from intruders and "roamers", and after observing the group believes they would make trustworthy additions to his community. Rick, however, doesn't trust Aaron and knocks him unconscious before tying him to a wooden column. A search of Aaron's pack reveals, among other things, a flare gun, suggesting there are others nearby.

When later pressed by Rick, Aaron reveals he has one partner who is hiding some distance from the group. He provides Rick with directions to two waiting vehicles, which are to transport Rick's group to the community. Rick is unwilling to trust him, but Michonne insists they must investigate the possibility of a new home, and Glenn agrees. Maggie, Abraham, and Rosita also go to see if the vehicles are in fact there, while the rest of the group watch for an attack on the barn. While alone with Rick, Aaron explains that he worked for an NGO delivering food and medicine to communities on the Niger River delta, and "bad guys" often threatened him — but he doesn't believe Rick is a bad guy.

Glenn questions why Aaron would want people who have done what the group has done to join him, but Michonne points out that the group has taken in people like Father Gabriel, Tara, and herself. They find a car and an RV for transport, as Aaron said.

When everyone reconvenes, Michonne declares that since Aaron appears genuine, they will join the community; no one disagrees. Aaron says he will take them the next morning, but he refuses to reveal the camp's location in order to protect its inhabitants. Instead, Aaron says they'll take Highway 16 and provide further directions as they travel. However, Rick decides against that and declares they will travel via Highway 23 that night. Aaron protests, saying that his people haven't yet cleared that road, but Rick is adamant. Michonne questions whether Rick actually intends to join the camp. Rick responds that it is a struggle to believe anywhere is safe for his family, he will make a decision when he is outside the walls.

Rick, Michonne, Glenn, and Aaron take the lead in the car, while the rest of the group follow a short distance behind in the RV. On the way, Michonne is looking at the pictures that Aaron has given her and she asks him why he has no pictures of his people. He says that he did take one picture but that he had got the exposure wrong and it didn't develop. Michonne asks Rick if he has given Aaron their own audition interview. Aaron answers that he has killed "lots" of walkers, but only two people, and only then because they were trying to kill him.

At that point Rick then finds a parabolic microphone in the car and expresses concern that Aaron's people might have heard their plans. Rick's outburst distracts Glenn, who drives into a herd of walkers on the dark, unscouted highway. Coming out the other side, they lose sight of the RV and conclude it backed away from the herd. After the car fails to start, they see a flare go off and Aaron bolts into the woods, pursued by Glenn. After close calls for each, Glenn cuts Aaron free and returns his pistol, and together they return to the car to save Rick and Michonne from the herd. The four of them head for the flare and reunite with the RV group who have rescued Aaron's partner and boyfriend, Eric (Jordan Woods-Robinson).

Relieved that Rick's group saved Eric, Aaron reveals the community is located in Alexandria, Virginia, and Glenn urges Rick to trust Aaron. The group hits the road in the morning. Michonne cautions Rick to allow himself to stop fighting; he slips away to hide a gun in the woods. Pulling up to the community walls, Rick hears the sound of children playing. Believing that Aaron is telling the truth and the community is safe, the group leaves the vehicles and heads to the gates.

S5E12 · Remember

Rick's group turn over their weapons before meeting with Alexandria's leader, Deanna Monroe. She gives them individual private interviews, and assigns them quarters to wait out their decision. The group starts to integrate with the other Alexandria survivors, finding they are generally ill-prepared for dealing with walkers. Deanna gives Rick and Michonne constable duties as a show of trust, but Rick confides to Carol and Daryl that they will take over if the community fails to protect itself.

S5E13 · Forget

Sasha wakes up and glances at several family portraits left behind in her new house. Later that day, she takes them outside the walls to use as target practice. Finally she sits down on a tree stump, quietly saying to the walkers, "Come and get me."

In the woods, Rick, Daryl, and Carol start scheming to steal back their weapons. A walker creeps up on them, which Carol shoots multiple times before finally killing it, to make it seem like they were practicing. The trio notices the letter "W" carved in the walker's forehead. Back at Rick's house, he and Michonne discuss the reasons why they have been made town constables and wonder if it's part of a larger plan.

Elsewhere in the woods, Daryl catches Aaron following him, and together they go hunting when they come across a black horse Aaron calls Buttons which he has been trying to catch for months. The horse is spooked away by some walkers, and later others corner and attack it. Aaron and Daryl kill the walkers, and Aaron regretfully puts down the mortally wounded horse.

Meanwhile, Deanna explains a bit more about Rick and Michonne's job securing the community. She explains that Maggie will be helping her with politics and her vision is that one day the community will have a government. Outside, Deanna tells Rick she cannot have everyone walking around with guns. Sasha approaches them, saying she wants to man the clock tower with her rifle and displays her eagerness to have as "many shifts as possible" in the tower; Rick endorses Sasha as his group's sniper but Deanna insists on Sasha attending a welcoming party before considering her further.

Deanna invites the entire community to the welcoming party. Rick meets Jessie's husband, Peter Anderson (Corey Brill), and their son, Sam, and later gives Jessie a kiss on the cheek. Daryl skips the party, so Aaron invites him to dinner along with Eric, and shows Daryl their garage full of old motorcycle parts. Aaron tells Daryl that he will need to construct a bike because Aaron wants him to replace Eric as a recruiter for Alexandria. Meanwhile, members of the group that attend the party have trouble adjusting to their new surroundings: Abraham and Michonne discuss the difficulty of leaving behind the road and its dangers, and Sasha has flashbacks of her recent traumas and storms out after an outburst.

While the party is underway, Carol, having already unlatched a window, sneaks into the storeroom where the guns are being held and takes three pistols from a bin as well as a small chocolate ration. Jessie's son Sam catches her and says he will tell his mother what he saw. Carol persuades him to remain silent with the promise of cookies, and a threat of tying him to a tree for walkers to eat if he breaks his silence.

At their meeting spot in the woods, Carol hands both Rick and Daryl a revolver, but Daryl refuses. Rick goes for a walk in Alexandria, where he sees Jessie and Pete, and briefly reaches toward his revolver. He hears a noise from outside the wall and runs in its direction, where a lone walker is banging on it from the other side. Rick puts his hand on the wall and appears to take some satisfaction in reconnecting with the animalistic life outside the walls.

S5E14 · Spend

Abraham takes control of the Alexandria construction crew after rescuing them from walkers. Glenn, Noah, Deanna's son Aiden, and an Alexandrian named Nicholas search for equipment to repair the community's solar panels. They are ambushed by walkers, who kill Aiden and corner the others. Glenn almost saves Noah before a panicking Nicholas sacrifices him to the walkers to escape. Deanna observes that members of Rick's group seem to be taking charge of the community; Gabriel warns Deanna that Rick's group is dangerous. Carol determines that Pete, the town's surgeon, is abusing his wife Jessie and son Sam, and suggests to Rick he must kill Pete.

S5E15 · Try

Nicholas falsely blames Glenn for the deaths of Aiden and Noah, leading Deanna to confiscate Rick's groups' firearms. Tensions escalate further after Deanna reveals she knows of Pete's abuse, but won't stop it as he is their only surgeon. Rick tries to approach Jessie privately to offer his protection against Pete, but Pete interrupts, leading to a physical fight between him and Rick, and a public confrontation between Rick and Deanna; Rick asserts Alexandria's residents have grown too complacent to survive. Michonne knocks Rick out before he can cause further damage.

S5E16 · Conquer

Deanna prepares to hold a meeting to discuss exiling Rick for his last outburst, and Rick prepares his group to move into action should they decide to do so. Glenn confronts and beats Nicholas until he begs for his life, and Glenn spares him. Daryl and Aaron discover that the Wolves, a group of scavengers camping near Alexandria, threaten the community, and come across Morgan Jones, who has been following Rick's trail. As the meeting starts, Rick discovers some walkers inside the community, allowed in inadvertently by Gabriel, and shows one of the bodies to the gathered Alexandrians, showing that they need his help to survive. Pete barges into the meeting to kill Rick, but accidentally kills Deanna's husband instead. Distraught, Deanna orders Rick to execute Pete, which he does just as Daryl, Aaron, and Morgan arrive.