Spend (The Walking Dead)

Last updated
"Spend"
The Walking Dead episode
SpendTWD.png
Glenn watches Noah get devoured.
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 14
Directed by Jennifer Lynch
Written byMatthew Negrete
Featured music"Internet Friends" by Knife Party
Original air dateMarch 15, 2015 (2015-03-15)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Forget"
Next 
"Try"
The Walking Dead season 5
List of episodes

"Spend" is the fourteenth episode of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead , which aired on AMC on March 15, 2015. It was written by Matthew Negrete and directed by Jennifer Lynch. It marked Tyler James Williams' final appearance as supporting character Noah and Daniel Bonjour's final appearance as Aiden Monroe.

Contents

Plot

Gabriel, torn over by his loss of faith, tears up a Bible. Elsewhere, Noah meets with Deanna's husband Reg to become his student so he'll know what to do to keep the walls up. Noah then goes to meet Glenn, Tara, Aiden, and Nicholas, who are going on a repair mission, to get parts needed from a nearby warehouse to repair the solar power system. Eugene is reluctant to go, but is the only one that can identify the required parts.

As Rick makes his rounds, he passes Jessie's house and notices her working on one of her sculptures, which has been vandalized. Rick offers to find the culprit, but she brushes him off. Rick is later approached by Jessie's husband Pete, who tries to cultivate a friendship with him.

Glenn's group reaches the warehouse, and although the group is initially cautious, Aiden shoots a walker wearing a grenade, leading to Tara suffering a severe head injury. After the group rescues Tara, Eugene promises to protect her, with the others going off to find Aiden. Eugene is able to overcome his cowardice to evacuate Tara to their van which he uses to lure the walkers away from outside the building. The other three find Aiden still alive but impaled against a wall. Nicholas, panicking at the onslaught of walkers, tells Aiden that running is "who we are", and tries to escape through revolving doors in the front of the warehouse. Glenn and Noah try to free Aiden, but realizing it is impossible, they leave him to be attacked.

Meanwhile, Abraham helps a crew to extend Alexandria's walls. When the crew is ambushed by walkers, trapping their lookout Francine (Dahlia Legault), the foreman Tobin sees no way to save her and orders them to abandon her. Abraham instead races in to help rescue her, later assisted by other members of the crew. With the walkers dispatched, Abraham takes leadership of the group. Tobin later resigns his position to Deanna, Reg, and Maggie, admitting that Abraham is a better leader. Deanna agrees, but expresses her concern to Maggie that Rick's group is quickly filling in positions of leadership in the community. Gabriel later speaks to Deanna, expressing his doubts on the sincerity of Rick's group and not to trust them, unaware that Maggie has overheard them.

Carol is visited a few times by Jessie's son, Sam, who keeps asking for cookies. To get rid of him, Carol tells him she will only make them if he steals two bars of chocolate from the town's food storage. Sam returns with the chocolate. While waiting for the cookies to bake, he admits to breaking Jessie's statue, then asks for one of her guns. When Carol asks him why, he runs off.

Back at the warehouse, Glenn and Noah follow Nicholas to stop him but all three end up surrounded by walkers and stuck in the revolving door. To save himself, Nicholas ignores Glenn and opens the door far enough for the walkers to grab and drag Noah out, where he is consumed; a horrified Glenn watches but can do nothing. Nicholas catches up to Eugene in the van and threatens to leave him behind if they don't go now. Glenn, having made it out of the door, knocks Nicholas out. Though they have collected the parts, the ride back to Alexandria is somber and they hold Nicholas under gunpoint.

Carol goes to the Anderson home to try and talk to Sam or Jessie, but is coldly turned away by Pete, arousing her suspicion. When Rick returns home, Carol tells him that Pete is abusing Jessie and maybe Sam, and the only way to stop it is to kill Pete.

Reception

Ratings

Tyler James Williams made his final appearance as Noah in "Spend". Tyler James Williams 2012.jpg
Tyler James Williams made his final appearance as Noah in "Spend".

Upon airing, the episode was watched by 13.781 million American viewers with an 18-49 rating of 7.0, [1] a decrease in viewership from the previous episode which had 14.534 million viewers, and a slight decrease in 18-49 ratings from the previous episode's 7.3. [2] The Australian broadcast was watched by 67,000 viewers, making it the third most-watched telecast on pay television that day. [3]

Critical reception

The episode received critical acclaim. Matt Fowler of IGN gave it a 9.2 out of 10 saying "'Spend' was a damn solid episode that, in just one week, flipped me around on the whole 'Rick taking over Alexandria' situation. Full of huge, tense moments and surprising deaths, this chapter now has me back on Team Ricktatorship." [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Rhee</span> Fictional character from The Walking Dead

Glenn is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead, in which he is known simply as Glenn. He was portrayed by Steven Yeun in the television series of the same name and voiced by Nick Herman in the video game of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Greene</span> Fictional character

Maggie Rhee is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead, portrayed by Lauren Cohan in the television adaptation of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Ford</span> Fictional character

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.

<i>The Walking Dead</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of The Walking Dead, an American post-apocalyptic horror television series on AMC, premiered on October 12, 2014, and concluded on March 29, 2015, consisting of 16 episodes. Developed for television by Frank Darabont, the series is based on the eponymous series of comic books by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The executive producers were Kirkman, David Alpert, Scott M. Gimple, Greg Nicotero, Tom Luse, and Gale Anne Hurd, with Gimple as showrunner for the second consecutive season. The fifth season received widespread critical acclaim. It was nominated for multiple awards and won three, including Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series for the third consecutive year, at the 41st Saturn Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugene Porter</span> Fictional character

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosita Espinosa</span> Fictional character

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.

Us (<i>The Walking Dead</i>) 15th episode of the 4th season of The Walking Dead

"Us" is the fifteenth and penultimate episode of the fourth season, and 50th episode overall of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on March 23, 2014. The episode was written by Nichole Beattie and Seth Hoffman, and directed by Greg Nicotero.

Crossed (<i>The Walking Dead</i>) 7th episode of the 5th season of The Walking Dead

"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.

Remember (<i>The Walking Dead</i>) 12th episode of the 5th season of The Walking Dead

"Remember" is the twelfth episode of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on March 1, 2015. It was written by Channing Powell and directed by Greg Nicotero. In the episode, the group enters the Alexandria Safe-Zone and struggles to adapt to the community's normality and lifestyle, as well as distrusts their environment. Several group members are interviewed by the shrewd former congresswoman, Alexandria leader, Deanna Monroe, as they are given houses to live in.

Forget (<i>The Walking Dead</i>) 13th episode of the 5th season of The Walking Dead

"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 (<i>The Walking Dead</i>) 15th episode of the 5th season of The Walking Dead

"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 (<i>The Walking Dead</i>) 16th episode of the 5th season of The Walking Dead

"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.

Jessie Anderson (<i>The Walking Dead</i>) Fictional character

Jessie Anderson is a fictional character in the comic book series The Walking Dead and was portrayed by Alexandra Breckenridge in the television series of the same name. She is a resident in the Alexandria Safe-Zone. Created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Charlie Adlard, the character made her debut in The Walking Dead #72 in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Time Again</span> 1st episode of the 6th season of The Walking Dead

"First Time Again" is the sixth season premiere of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on October 11, 2015. The episode was written by Scott M. Gimple and Matthew Negrete, and directed by Greg Nicotero. The episode aired in an expanded 90-minute time slot.

JSS (<i>The Walking Dead</i>) 2nd episode of the 6th season of The Walking Dead

"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.

Now (<i>The Walking Dead</i>) 5th episode of the 6th season of The Walking Dead

"Now" is the fifth episode of the sixth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on November 8, 2015. The episode was written by Corey Reed and directed by Avi Youabian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Start to Finish</span> 8th episode of the 6th season of The Walking Dead

"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.

No Way Out (<i>The Walking Dead</i>) 9th episode of the 6th season of The Walking Dead

"No Way Out" is the ninth episode and mid-season premiere of the sixth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on February 14, 2016. The episode was written by Seth Hoffman and directed by Greg Nicotero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Not Tomorrow Yet</span> 12th episode of the 6th season of The Walking Dead

"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.

References

  1. Bibel, Sara (March 17, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night, 'Talking Dead', 'Real Housewives of Atlanta', 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Shameless', 'The Royals' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  2. Kondolojy, Amanda (March 10, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night, 'Talking Dead', 'Real Housewives of Atlanta', & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 12, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  3. Knox, David (March 17, 2015). "Monday 16 March 2015". TV Tonight. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  4. Fowler, Matt (March 15, 2015). "The Walking Dead: "Spend" Review" . Retrieved March 19, 2015.