Thank You (The Walking Dead)

"Thank You"
The Walking Dead episode

Glenn Rhee and Nicholas find themselves surrounded by the incoming herd of walkers in the town area.
Episode no. Season 6
Episode 3
Directed by Michael Slovis
Written by Angela Kang
Original air date October 25, 2015 (2015-10-25)
Running time 43 minutes
Guest actors
  • Corey Hawkins as Heath
  • Jason Douglas as Tobin
  • Kenric Green as Scott
  • Justin Miles as Barnes
  • Jesse Boyd as Blond Wolf
  • Jay Huguley as David
  • Beth Keener as Annie
  • Jonathan Kleitman as Sturgess
  • Michael Traynor as Nicholas

"Thank You" is the third episode of the sixth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead. It aired on AMC on October 25, 2015. The episode takes place directly after the ending of the season premiere "First Time Again" from the perspective of Rick and the other survivors outside the walls dealing with an incoming herd coming in their direction. It primarily focuses on Glenn Rhee and Michonne as they lead a group of survivors back in the direction of Alexandria, hoping they will make it on time.

This episode marks the final appearance of recurring character, Nicholas (Michael Traynor), as he is killed off in the episode. The indefinite fate of Glenn in the episode was highlighted by several critics.

Plot

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun), Michonne (Danai Gurira) and others race towards Alexandria as the horn draws the rear half of the walker parade towards the town. Rick orders Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) to continue leading the rest of the herd away from Alexandria, as part of his plan. When the horn stops, Rick decides to circle back for an RV, improvising to draw the breakaway herd back to the route he'd planned. He instructs Glenn and Michonne to lead the group back home, to not stop or fight anything on their way, and warns that they may have to leave others behind if they could not keep up; this is overheard by Heath (Corey Hawkins). While Rick has stopped the group to give these instructions, however, one Alexandrian is caught by a walker and killed. Daryl ignores Rick's plan and leaves Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz) and Sasha Williams (Sonequa Martin-Green) to lead the herd by themselves.

Michonne and Glenn's group suffer attrition as Annie (Beth Keener) twists her ankle and in a fight with walkers David (Jay Huguley) is bitten in the shoulder while Sturgess panics and shoots Scott (Kenric Green) in the leg before running off to himself be killed. Though slowed by three walking wounded and encountering additional walkers, Michonne and Glenn refuse to leave anyone behind despite Rick's orders. Barely keeping it together, Nicholas (Michael Traynor) leads them through familiar territory to shelter in a pet store. Glenn devises a plan to light one of the buildings on fire to distract the undead, and Nicholas offers to lead him to a feed store. Annie and Scott suggest they be left behind, but Heath insists otherwise and glares at Michonne. When Michonne confronts Heath about his attitude, the latter tells her that he overheard what Rick said, while the former counters by saying they haven't left anyone behind and defends Rick's brutal attitude by telling Heath that he hasn't experienced what Rick has. Newlywed David, knowing he is going to die, writes a farewell note to his wife Betsy, but Michonne refuses to carry it for him and assures him that he can make it home for a final goodbye.

Michonne dispatches two walkers that were hidden inside the pet store, which draws the herd to their location. They are forced to flee though without Glenn and Nicholas they don't have enough able-bodied people to help the injured. Annie trips on an improvised clutch and falls, urging the others to run moments before she is devoured by walkers. David is eaten alive against a gate, dropping his note to Betsy. Michonne and Heath, carrying Scott between them, manage to escape the town and arrive in Alexandria which they find has been attacked. Glenn and Nicholas discover the feed store had already been burned down. Nicholas tries to lead them away but they find themselves surrounded and trapped in a dead end, where they desperately climb a dumpster to avoid the clutches of the walkers. Nicholas calms himself and thanks Glenn before shooting himself in the head. Glenn falls with him into the mass of walkers, and Glenn screams in anguish as bloody viscera are torn out over his chest.

Rick arrives at the RV which he drives to another location in hopes of single-handedly intercepting the herd and salvaging his failed plan. He radios Daryl with his intentions but he is ambushed by the Wolves that Morgan Jones (Lennie James) had convinced to flee Alexandria. Rick kills all five Wolves and finds one of them had a jar of baby food from Alexandria. As walkers approach, Rick is unable to start the shot-up RV which becomes surrounded by an increasing number of walkers.

Production

Michael Slovis directed the episode.

The episode was directed by Michael Slovis and written by Angela Kang. It features guest appearances from Corey Hawkins as Heath, Michael Traynor as Nicholas, Kenric Green as Scott, Beth Keener as Annie and Justin Miles as Barnes. Despite being credited, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Alanna Masterson, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquand, Alexandra Breckenridge, Austin Nichols and Tovah Feldshuh do not appear in the episode. The episode features only six series regulars.

After the airing of the episode, Glenn's supposed death drew much critical attention, with several critics speculating whether he was indeed dead or not. Showrunner Scott M. Gimple made the statement, "We will see Glenn, some version of Glenn or parts of Glenn, again, either in flashback or in the current timeline. We will complete the story. That's the important thing."[1] Glenn's fate is confirmed as being alive in the seventh episode of the season, "Heads Up".

Reception

Critical reception

The episode received critical acclaim and reviewers highlighted the fate of Glenn Rhee in particular, leading to speculation that he had survived the episode. It earned a 97% rating with an average score of 8.5 out of 10 on Rotten Tomatoes, whose consensus reads: "'Thank You' is an example of what The Walking Dead does best, combining gripping action with troubling existential questions in a heart-wrenching plot twist."[2]

Steve Wright for SciFi Now assessed that the sixth season is a "step in quality" from the previous one and "one thing it has been missing is an 'Oh my god, I can't believe that just happened!' moment... Well, the wait is officially over."[3] Jeremy Egner for The New York Times praised Michael Slovis and said: "The scene on the Dumpster was a stunner, the various components - performance, makeup, sound, direction - coalescing into a woozy, terrifying sequence that ranks with the series's best".[4]

Ratings

The episode averaged a 6.8 rating in adults 18-49 and 13.1 million viewers overall, a rise from the previous episode.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (October 26, 2015). "'Walking Dead' Boss Breaks Down Deadly, Heartbreaking Episode". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Thank You". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  3. ↑ Wright, Steve (October 26, 2015). "Walking Dead Season 6 Episode 3 ‘Thank You’ Review". SciFiNow. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  4. ↑ Egner, Jeremy (October 25, 2015). "The Walking Dead’ Season 6, Episode 3: ‘Thank You’". New York Times. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  5. ↑ Kissell, Rick (October 27, 2015). "‘The Walking Dead’ Ratings Rise; ‘Talking Dead’ Soars to Season High". Variety. Retrieved October 29, 2015.

External links

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