Alone (The Walking Dead)

"Alone" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead; it aired on AMC on March 9, 2014. The episode was directed by Ernest Dickerson and written by Curtis Gwinn.

In this episode, Bob Stookey's past is explored, and the reason for his recently changed optimistic outlook is revealed. This episode marks the beginning of the relationship between Bob and Sasha, as well as the mysterious kidnapping of Beth Greene after having long spent time bonding with fellow survivor, Daryl Dixon. Maggie Greene's efforts to find her husband and Sasha's reluctance to travel further to Terminus are also explored, which causes the group to split up, before they find one another and subsequently vow not to be alone again. This episode also marks the start of Bob and Sasha's relationship.

The episode title refers to Bob Stookey, having been the lone survivor of two previous groups, and Daryl Dixon, being on his own after Beth is mysteriously abducted.

Plot

A flashback shows Bob (Lawrence Gilliard, Jr.) wandering on his own. One day he is approached by Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Glenn (Steven Yeun). After asking Bob the three questions to be able to join the prison, Daryl lets Bob come with them.

Present-day, Bob, Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) are surrounded by walkers in the foggy woods. During the struggle, a walker nearly bites Bob, but it ends up only tearing at his bandages. A relieved Sasha embraces Bob, and the three look for a better place to set up camp. Meanwhile, Daryl teaches Beth (Emily Kinney) how to track and use his crossbow. They approach a clearing, where a walker is feasting on a corpse. Beth attempts to shoot it with the crossbow, but her foot gets caught in an animal trap. Daryl intervenes and kills the walker. The two then come upon a graveyard overlooked by a large house, and Daryl carries the injured Beth to the house. Maggie, Sasha, and Bob come upon the train tracks and see a sign inviting survivors to Terminus. Bob tells them about the broadcast he, Tyreese, Daryl, and Michonne, had heard over the radio during a supply run. Maggie demands that they go to the community, hoping Glenn might be there. Sasha disagrees, saying there might not be any other signs that Glenn could have seen. Bob sides with Maggie, and Sasha is forced to concede.

Daryl and Beth enter the funeral home at the graveyard. Beth immediately notices how clean the interior is, and Daryl assumes that someone is living in it. As they explore, they find numerous walker bodies dressed up, as if for a funeral. They search the kitchen and discover a fresh supply of food and drinks. Maggie's group set up camp. Bob asks Sasha where Maggie is, and Sasha responds she's getting firewood. Bob asks Sasha if she wants to stop; she says she does. She explains she wants to survive, that Glenn is probably dead, and they need to stop at the first town they come across and set up residence. The next morning, Sasha and Bob discover a note from Maggie, saying she is going to Terminus and doesn't want to risk their lives. The two decide to go after her. As Maggie follows the train tracks, she comes across another sign for Terminus. A walker appears, and after killing it, she cuts its body open. Later, Bob and Sasha come across the walker Maggie killed and find a message she wrote for Glenn in the walker's blood, telling him to go to Terminus.

At the funeral home, Daryl and Beth are eating when they suddenly hear noise outside. Daryl goes to the front door and finds a one-eyed dog on the front porch. He attempts to pet it, but the dog runs away. Later that night, Beth writes a thank you note to the person staying in the house for the food she and Daryl ate. When they hear the dog barking, Daryl goes to the door, and he is attacked by a large group of walkers. He holds the door and convinces Beth to leave through a window while he dispatches the walkers. After leading them through the house, Daryl manages to escape to the graveyard, where he finds Beth's bag lying on the ground and sees a car leaving. He tries to follow it, but is unable to keep up. The next morning, Bob and Sasha come across an empty town besides the tracks, and Sasha tries to convince Bob that they should set up a camp. Bob refuses, and unable to convince Sasha to come with him, Bob gives her a kiss goodbye, and they part ways. Sasha enters an old warehouse. She looks out a window and sees Maggie lying among corpses on the ground. Sasha accidentally knocks the window out of its frame, causing it to loudly break on the ground, startling Maggie and attracting a number of walkers. Sasha goes to help Maggie. Once they have finished dispatching the walkers, Maggie asks for Sasha's help in reaching Terminus. Sasha agrees and they leave to catch up with Bob.

Tired of running, Daryl collapses and is soon surrounded by six survivors, each armed with an automatic weapon or bow. When one of them tries to obtain Daryl's crossbow, he jumps up and punches one of them, aiming his crossbow at his head. The men, who previously invaded the house in which Rick, Carl, and Michonne were staying, point their guns at Daryl, but their leader Joe (Jeff Kober) gets everybody to lower their weapons, and asks Daryl to join their group. Meanwhile, Maggie and Sasha catch up with Bob, and they continue their journey to Terminus. Elsewhere, Glenn discovers the signs leading to Terminus.

Production

"Alone" was written by supervising producer Curtis Gwinn; it is his second writing credit for the series. The episode was directed by regular Walking Dead director Ernest Dickerson.

This episode focuses entirely on the characters of Bob Stookey (Lawrence Gilliard, Jr.), Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan), Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Beth Greene (Emily Kinney); Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) has a brief appearance. Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes), Danai Gurira (Michonne), Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes), and Melissa McBride (Carol Peletier) are all credited but do not appear. Chad L. Coleman (Tyreese) is also absent but is credited as "also starring". Jeff Kober reprises his guest starring role as Joe from the episode "Claimed".

The song featured at the beginning and the end of the episode is "Blackbird Song" by Lee DeWyze.^[1] The song was also featured on the season soundtrack The Walking Dead (AMC Original Soundtrack), Vol. 2. The song debuted on Billboard's "Pop Digital Songs" chart at number twenty-nine.^[2]

Reception

Viewership

Upon airing, the episode was watched by 12.65 million American viewers, and received an 18–49 rating of 6.3.^[3] This marks a rise in viewers from the previous episode, but a slight decrease in adults 18–49; the previous episode received an 18–49 rating of 6.4.^[4]

Critical reception

The episode received very positive reviews. Critics praised the writing, Beth's disappearance, the re-introduction of Joe and the marauders and Bob Stookey's character development. Phil Dyess-Nugent of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A- rating, saying "In what future historians will refer to as 'the post-Governor era of The Walking Dead, the show has stepped in to fill the gap left by the conclusion of Breaking Bad. This is now AMC's very slow-moving, contemplative, character-based genre show that may go a long time between outbreaks of bloody mayhem, outbreaks that serve as beats in the action but that scarcely threaten to overshadow the quieter moments."^[5] Roth Cornet of IGN gave the episode a score of 7.8 out of 10.^[6]

References

External links

• "Alone" at AMC
• "Alone" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Alone" at TV.com