This episode marks the final appearance of Alexandra Breckenridge as Jessie Anderson, as she is killed off along with her two sons, Ron (Austin Abrams) and Sam (Major Dodson). Their deaths were one of the many comic book moments adapted into this episode. The episode received critical acclaim and is generally considered to be one of the best of the series
While the episode serves as the mid-season premiere, it was the eighth filmed episode overall, succeeded by the Morgan Jones (Lennie James) flashback episode, "Here's Not Here", in production order.[1]
Plot
Stopped on the road by a group of Saviors, Abraham, Sasha, and Daryl are forced to give up their weapons. They are told that their property now belongs to Negan. The group leader has one of the henchmen take Daryl to the back of the fuel truck to begin a thorough search, while continuing his attempts to intimidate Abraham and Sasha into revealing the location of Alexandria. He suggests he is going to kill Abraham when Daryl, who has silently strangled the henchman to death, blows up the entire group with Abraham's RPG launcher.
Rick, Carl, Gabriel, Michonne, Judith, Jessie, Ron, and Sam escape Jessie's house in makeshift walker-gut ponchos to camouflage themselves from the walkers, holding hands to stay together. Rick decides to lead them to the quarry to retrieve vehicles and repeat his earlier plan to lure the herd away from Alexandria, while Gabriel takes Judith to the safety of his church. Jessie tries to get Sam to go with Gabriel, but he refuses. As they head toward the front gate, Sam has a breakdown when he notices a walker-child, and his cries attract the walkers, who devour him alive. Jessie refuses to let go of Sam's hand, and is also feasted upon. Carl is unable to free himself from Jessie's grip, so Rick chops off Jessie's arm with a hatchet, freeing Carl, who stumbles and drops his gun. With his entire family now dead, Ron picks up Carl's gun and aims it at Rick, but Michonne impales him with her katana. The gun fires, however, shooting out Carl's right eye.
Meanwhile, the Wolf hides with Denise, waiting for an opportunity to slip through the walkers and escape. When there is a clear route over the wall they make their move, but the Wolf goes back to save a faltering Denise and is bitten in the process. Denise makes a deal to save his life if he gets her to the infirmary. While Denise puts a tourniquet around his arm, the Wolf questions why he endangered himself to save her and she, a psychiatrist, suggests that he's changed and become more like the Alexandrians.
Carol searches Morgan's home for "other surprises" and he apologizes for hurting her; Carol, not convinced, responds that she should have killed Morgan. Carol looks out the window and shoots the Wolf as he passes, and shouts for Denise to run and is shocked when the Wolf, even as he is swarmed and eaten by walkers, echoes Carol's calls for Denise to go and save herself. The Wolf later re-animates as a walker and is put down by Morgan, who apologizes as he kills it.
Denise manages to get to the infirmary where she begins helping Carl. Realizing there's nothing left for him to do at the infirmary, Rick goes outside and begins an onslaught against the walkers. As soon as Carl is stitched up, Michonne, Heath, Aaron, and Spencer rush outside to join Rick. Their actions motivate others of Rick's group and many Alexandrians to join the battle, with Eugene recognizing that this will be a moment in history where everyone would be counted, and Gabriel preaching that God has saved them by making them brave enough to fight. Glenn creates a diversion so Enid can get to Maggie on the shaky lookout tower, but is swarmed and saved by the timely arrival of Daryl, Abraham, and Sasha, the latter two shooting assault rifles from atop the fuel truck.
Glenn opens the gate so Maggie and Enid can climb down the fuel truck, and they with Sasha and Abraham cover Daryl who fills a pond with fuel and ignites it with the RPG launcher. The enormous pool of fire in the night immediately draws the attention of the walkers. This takes pressure off of those fighting just as they were about to be overwhelmed, allowing them to gain the upper hand and continue relentlessly. The next morning, the survivors regroup after having killed every last walker. Rick pleads with his unconscious son to pull through, hopeful for the future as the Alexandrians have proven they have what it takes to live, now believing that Deanna's plans could be achieved. Carl's fingers close around Rick's hand in seeming response.
The episode received critical acclaim and is generally considered to be one of the best of the series. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 97% with an average rating of 8.28 out of 10, based on 34 reviews. The critics' consensus reads: "No Way Out" is a brutally entertaining rebound from a lackluster first half of the season, re-energized with arresting, jaw-dropping developments.[2]
Ratings
The episode averaged a 6.8 rating in adults 18-49, with 13.742 million viewers overall.[3] This is both a decrease from the Season 6 mid-season finale, which averaged a 7.0 rating and 13.981 million viewers overall,[4] as well as a decrease from the Season 5 mid-season premiere, which received an 8.0 in adults 18-49, with 15.64 million viewers overall.[5]
Including Live+3 viewing, the episode was watched by 19.07 million viewers.[6]
Daryl Dixon is a fictional character from AMC's horror drama series The Walking Dead, and the protagonist of its last three seasons, replacing Rick Grimes. The character was created for the television series by writers Frank Darabont, Charles H. Eglee and Jack LoGiudice specifically for Norman Reedus, and does not have a counterpart in the comics on which the series is based. The character was introduced in the first season as a southerner, expert tracker, living in the shadow of his older brother, Merle. Despite his bad temper and volatility, he is tolerated by the core group of survivors due to his skills in hunting animals and fearless efficiency in killing walkers.
Carl Grimes is a fictional character and is one of the main protagonists in the comic book series The Walking Dead and was portrayed by Chandler Riggs in the American live-action television series of the same name. The character was created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore, and debuted in The Walking Dead #2 in 2003. In both forms of media, Carl is the son of Rick and Lori Grimes.
Michonne Grimes is a fictional character from The Walking Dead. The character also appears in media adaptations of the series, most notably the television series of the same name, in which she is portrayed by Danai Gurira. Armed with a katana and harboring a mysterious past, Michonne is introduced wearing a hood and pulling the shackles of two reanimated corpses for protection and camouflage. The two walkers are subsequently revealed to be her zombified ex-boyfriend and his best friend. In both the comic and TV series, she has a prominent role in the conflict between the town of Woodbury led by The Governor, and the Prison group.
Sgt. Abraham Ford is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead and was portrayed by Michael Cudlitz in the American television series of the same name.
Sasha Williams is a fictional character from The Walking Dead, an AMC television horror drama series. The character was created by Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead comic book series which the show is based on and in which Sasha has no counterpart.
Eugene Porter is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead and is portrayed by Josh McDermitt beginning in the fourth season of the American television series of the same name. In both media he claims to be a scientist who knows the cure to the zombie plague and is being escorted to Washington, D.C. by Sgt. Abraham Ford and Rosita Espinosa, and encounter Rick Grimes and his group and recruit them to assist their mission.
Rosita Espinosa is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead and is portrayed by Christian Serratos in the American television series of the same name. She accompanies Eugene Porter and Abraham Ford on a mission to Washington, D.C. In the comic book series, she joins Rick Grimes' group after they leave the prison and go to DC. Eventually Eugene is revealed to have lied but they continue on to Washington anyway, since he was still convinced the city would offer greater chance of survival, and they eventually find the Alexandria Safe-Zone.
"Four Walls and a Roof" is the third episode of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on October 26, 2014. The episode was written by Angela Kang and Corey Reed, and directed by Jeffrey F. January. In the episode, the group of Rick Grimes prepares for a showdown with Gareth and his group of Terminus residents. Meanwhile, following his leg being amputated and eaten by Gareth's group, Bob Stookey is on the brink of death from a walker bite sustained in the previous episode.
"Crossed" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on November 23, 2014. It was written by Seth Hoffman and directed by Billy Gierhart. In the episode, Michonne and Carl Grimes stay at the barricaded Church with Gabriel Stokes as Rick Grimes and the others go on a rescue mission for Beth Greene and Carol Peletier in Atlanta. The episode received generally positive reviews, though most noted the set up for the mid-season finale. This is the first episode to feature all credited series regulars for the fifth season.
"Forget" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on March 8, 2015. The episode was written by Corey Reed and directed by David Boyd. The events of the episode adapt material from "Volume 12", "Issue #72" of the comic book series. In the episode, Rick and the others try to settle in with the community of Alexandria at Deanna Monroe's party. However, some of the characters are unable to adjust to new life after their struggles on the road such as Sasha Williams, who has PTSD over her losses. Meanwhile, Carol Peletier devises a plan to steal back the group's weapons undercover.
"Try" is the fifteenth and penultimate episode of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on March 22, 2015. It was written by Angela Kang and directed by Michael E. Satrazemis.
"Conquer" is the sixteenth and final episode of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on March 29, 2015. It was written by showrunner Scott M. Gimple and Seth Hoffman, and directed by Greg Nicotero.
"Jesus” is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead, as well as the television series of the same name, where he is portrayed by Tom Payne.
"JSS" is the second episode of the sixth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on October 18, 2015. The episode was written by Seth Hoffman and directed by Jennifer Lynch.
"Start to Finish" is the eighth episode and mid-season finale of the sixth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on November 29, 2015. The episode was written by Matthew Negrete and directed by Michael E. Satrazemis.
"Knots Untie" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on February 28, 2016. The episode was written by Matthew Negrete and Channing Powell, and directed by Michael E. Satrazemis.
"Not Tomorrow Yet" is the twelfth episode of the sixth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on March 6, 2016. The episode was written by Seth Hoffman and directed by Greg Nicotero.
"Service" is the fourth episode of the seventh season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on November 13, 2016. The episode was written by Corey Reed and directed by David Boyd.
"How It's Gotta Be" is the eighth episode and mid-season finale of the eighth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on December 10, 2017. The episode was written by David Leslie Johnson and Angela Kang, and directed by Michael E. Satrazemis.
References
↑ "Here's Not Here". Talking Dead. November 1, 2015. AMC.
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