Conquer (The Walking Dead)

"Conquer" is the sixteenth episode and season finale of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on March 29, 2015. It was directed by Greg Nicotero and written by showrunner Scott M. Gimple and Seth Hoffman. Several recurring storylines culminate in the episode: the residents of the Alexandria Safe Zone deciding on what to do with Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) following his outburst in the previous episode; Glenn Rhee's (Steven Yeun) conflict with Nicholas (Michael Traynor); and Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Father Gabriel Stokes (Seth Gilliam) confronting their demons. Meanwhile, Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) encounter trouble from a potential threat during a run, and Morgan Jones (Lennie James) nears the end of his search for Rick.

Similar to the pilot episode and the season two premiere, the episode aired in a 90-minute time slot, as opposed to its regular 60-minute time slot.^[1]

"Conquer" garnered critical acclaim from television commentators, who lauded the character progression, its storytelling, Nicotero's direction, Gimple's and Hoffman's script and the ensemble's performances. Many highlighted Andrew Lincoln and Lennie James's performances, as well as the character progression of Carol Peletier. Upon airing, it attracted 15.8 million viewers with an 18–49 rating of 8.2, making it the most watched season finale in the show and drama in basic cable history.^[2]

Plot

The episode begins with Morgan Jones (Lennie James) waking up and brewing a cup of coffee in his camp. However, a man (Benedict Samuel) with a "W" written in his forehead approaches and holds Morgan at gunpoint. He explains that he and his group, the Wolves, have been hunting down other survivors and groups and eliminating them. Morgan offers his supplies in exchange for being let go, but the Wolf explains that he plans to kill Morgan. Morgan evades another Wolf attempt to ambush him and he manages to subdue both of them with his walking stick, later discovering that the pistol wasn't loaded. He then deposits the unconscious Wolves into a car and honks the horn to see if any walkers are around before leaving.

In Alexandria, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) finally regains consciousness after being knocked out by Michonne (Danai Gurira) and is informed that Pete Anderson (Corey Brill) has been separated from Jessie (Alexandra Breckenridge), and that Deanna Monroe (Tovah Feldshuh) is planning to hold a town forum to decide whether Rick should be exiled from the town for his actions. Rick plans to attend the forum to defend himself, but he also makes a backup plan to seize control of the town in case things get out of hand. Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) tries to talk Deanna out of organizing the forum. She is unsuccessful, but is determined to talk to the rest of the town to sway their opinion. Rick then pays a visit to Jessie, who thanks him for his help, and Rick promises to protect her. Rick later admits to Michonne that he and Carol (Melissa McBride) stole guns from the armory and tries to return the gun, though Michonne says she would not have stopped him, and that she knocked out Rick to protect him, not Alexandria. She also tells Rick she is confident that they can find a way to integrate with Alexandria, but she will still follow him even if they cannot.

Carol pays a visit to Pete with a tuna pasta bake and asks him to check on Tara Chambler (Alanna Masterson), who is still wounded. When he refuses, Carol pulls a knife on him and threatens him, saying that she can get away with claiming self-defense. Afterwards, Pete throws the tuna pasta on the floor and has a nervous breakdown. Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz) visits Tara and talks with Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt). Eugene credits Abraham for getting them to Alexandria, and apologizes for lying to him about Washington, D.C.; Abraham also apologizes for nearly beating Eugene to death. Later, Tara wakes up while Rosita Espinosa is sitting watch over her. Outside the walls, Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) goes out to bury a group of walkers she had killed. However, still emotionally unstable, Sasha goes into the grave and lies among the walker corpses.

Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) find evidence of other people moving around the forest and begin to track them. Aaron tells Daryl about how he recruited a group of survivors led by Davidson who were ultimately exiled from Alexandria, and he personally had to escort them out without their weapons. They then see a lone survivor wearing a red poncho (Jason Alexander Davis) in the middle of a field and follow him. They lose track of the survivor and decide to scavenge supplies from some abandoned food trucks. However, they set off a trap that unleashes a horde of walkers on them and they are forced to take shelter inside a car. Daryl offers to risk his own life to help Aaron escape, but Aaron is adamant that they both escape together. At that moment, Morgan arrives and, with his help, Daryl and Aaron are able to escape. They ask Morgan why he helped, and he replies that all life is precious. Aaron offers to bring him to Alexandria, but Morgan politely refuses, asking instead for directions and shows them the map he picked up in the church, which Daryl recognizes. Later that night, the two Wolves from earlier in the episode bring the survivor with the red poncho to the location, only to find their trap triggered. They cut the survivor's throat. While resetting the trap, the Wolves find Aaron's dropped pack, containing evidence of Alexandria's existence.

Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) sees Nicholas (Michael Traynor) climbing over the wall and grows suspicious and follows him out into the woods. While tracking him, Glenn is shot and wounded by Nicholas. Glenn manages to escape, and later tackles Nicholas when his attention is focused on a lone walker. A struggle ensues and Nicholas manages to escape, leaving injured Glenn to defend himself against the walkers they attracted. As a frightened and unarmed Nicholas moves through the night, Glenn tracks him down and holds him at gunpoint. Nicholas begs for his life, and Glenn spares him. Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) decides to take a walk outside the walls, unarmed. He finds a walker on the road and approaches it, offering himself to be eaten by it. However, he is unable to go through with it and kills the walker using a noose around its neck to decapitate it. Upon killing a man lying on the road who the walker had partially eaten, Father Gabriel breaks down and begins to cry. Upon returning to Alexandria, Father Gabriel is asked by Spencer Monroe (Austin Nichols) to close the front gate, but he does not properly close it, leaving it partially open. Sasha goes to the church and asks Father Gabriel for help, though he says he cannot help her. Sasha admits that she wants to die, and Father Gabriel, in a fit of bitter anger, blames Bob Stookey's (Lawrence Gilliard, Jr.) death and Tyreese's (Chad Coleman) death on her sins, enraging her. A struggle ensues and Sasha holds Father Gabriel at gunpoint. Gabriel tells her to shoot him but Maggie arrives and stops her just in time. Maggie finally hears Gabriel's confession over letting his congregation die, and helps him to his feet.

Rick is on his way to the meeting when he notices the front gate open. He secures the gate and follows a trail to find walkers amongst the houses, and struggles to kill them. Meanwhile, the forum begins. Michonne, Carol, Abraham, and Maggie all speak in Rick's defense. Deanna reveals what Father Gabriel had told her, about how Rick and his group are bad people willing to put themselves before the town. Rick then comes stumbling in with the corpse of one of the walkers he killed, demonstrating that Alexandria's walls alone will not be enough to keep the residents inside safe. He tells them that outsiders, both living and dead, will try to gain entry and reiterates his earlier point that the people of Alexandria must be ready to make tough choices, and that he will teach them to survive. An inebriated Pete then arrives with Michonne's katana, angrily proclaiming that Rick does not belong in Alexandria. Rick reaches for a concealed pistol but Carol signals him to wait. Reg attempts to talk Pete down, but Pete shoves Reg away and clumsily slices Reg's throat open with the stolen katana in his hand. Abraham subdues Pete and as her husband dies in her arms Deanna tells Rick to "do it." Rick fires the pistol, presumably killing Pete. Rick then looks up to find Daryl and Aaron have returned with Morgan, who witnessed the shooting.

In a post-credits scene, Michonne is seen contemplating mounting her katana back on the wall, but ultimately decides to carry it. Back at the Wolves' trap, the red poncho survivor, now a walker, stumbles past the car in which Daryl and Aaron had taken shelter, upon which has been written "WOLVES NOT FAR".

Production

Executive producer Greg Nicotero (left) served as director of "Conquer", which was co-written by series showrunner and executive producer Scott M. Gimple (right).

"Conquer" was co-written by executive producer and series showrunner Scott M. Gimple and co-executive producer Seth Hoffman. It was directed by executive producer and special make-up effects supervisor Greg Nicotero.^[3]

The episode featured Lennie James as Morgan Jones prominently, his fifth guest appearance on the television series. It marks his third appearance in the fifth season, after two brief uncredited cameo post-credited appearances in "No Sanctuary" and "Coda", which showed Morgan on the trail after leaving his base in the third season episode "Clear".^[4]

Reception

Ratings

Upon airing, the episode was watched by 15.8 million American viewers with an 18–49 rating of 8.2,^[2] an increase in viewership from the previous episode which had 13.757 million viewers with an 18–49 rating of 7.0.^[5] This made the episode the highest rated season finale in the show's history, beating last season's finale, which had a 7.6 18–49 rating.^[2] Including DVR viewership, the episode was watched by 21.43 million viewers.^[6]

Critical reception

The episode prominently featured Lennie James (pictured) as Morgan in his fifth guest appearance on the television series as well as his integration into the main storyline.

The episode received universal acclaim with many praising the reintroduction of Lennie James as Morgan Jones into the main story. Other critics complimented the performances of James, as well as Andrew Lincoln and Tovah Feldshuh as well as the script. The scenes involving Seth Gilliam, Sonequa Martin-Green and Steven Yeun were noted as highlights. Greg Nicotero's direction was praised with many being complimentary of the shot of Sasha lying on a herd of walkers in a graveyard,^[7][8] as well as the scene involving Daryl and Aaron hiding in a car surrounded by hundreds of zombies.^[9] Den of Geek‍ '​s Ron Hogan said "Nicotero has been killing it, literally and figuratively, this season, and this brilliantly conceived movie-length episode is a testament to his abilities behind the camera." He also felt the performances of the actors were a strong point in the episode, saying "everyone raises their game" as well as noting the series has "never been better" in its fifth season run.^[9]

Some continued to assess the fifth season as the strongest. Variety‍ '​s Laura Prudom called it "arguably [...] The Walking Dead‍ '​s best [season] yet, propelled by compulsive story threads and fascinating character dynamics" as she commented on the episode as a whole saying: "The weight of so many competing story arcs certainly brought a breathless quality to the finale — similar to Game of Thrones and that blockbuster show’s sprawling ensemble, each character probably got a cumulative five minutes of screen time while showrunner Scott Gimple worked to tie up multiple loose ends." She also declared that Morgan's presence dominated the episode.^[7]

The Guardian‍ '​s Bryan Moylan declared it "a season finale that had everything." He said: "In bravura style, this shocking season finale showed Rick confronting the people of Alexandria, and perfectly set up a very creepy season six." He praised the ending with "the action [...] cutting between four life-or-death confrontations. Rick was fighting off the three zombies that had been let into Alexandria; Sasha was fending off Gabriel; Glenn was beating the snot out of Nicholas; and Carol, Michonne, and the rest of the group were defending Rick from Deanna." He assessed "And that is what makes this show so great. It resolved all the storylines it had been juggling all season, but not without some moral and emotional ambiguity. And it took the time to direct us towards what we can expect when the show returns. There is resolution, but there is still impending doom. There is never any rest on The Walking Dead, and I can’t wait for its return.^[10]

Erik Kain for Forbes praised the episode, inferring it to be unpredictable and "one of the most tense and anxious episodes of The Walking Dead".^[11] Both The Wrap and Us Weekly felt the season finale delivered an explosive and action packed climax.^[12][13]

References

External links

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