Walking Dead: The Distance

"The Distance" is the eleventh episode of season five of the critically acclaimed survival horror television series The Walking Dead and the sixty-second episode of the series overall. It was directed by Larysa Kondracki with a script written by Seth Hoffman. The episode first aired on AMC on Sunday, February 22nd, 2015 at 9:00 pm.

Synopsis
Maggie and Sasha bring Aaron back to the barn. Upon seeing him, the group is immediately put on the defensive. Daryl pats him down while Rick levels a gun at his face. Aaron makes his case, and tells the group that he is a member of a community that is safe from the "roamers". He tells them that they have food and resources, but the one resource they value most of all is people. He admits that he has been following the group and paying attention to their actions. Aaron wants Rick and the others to become a part of his community. Rick responds to this by punching him in the face and knocking him out.

Michonne pulls Rick aside and it becomes clear that she taking a stronger stance in the actions of the group. Rick tells her that Aaron cannot be trusted, but Michonne counters with the notion that they need to start letting go of the pain from past calamities and move on. Continuing on as they have been only places them in greater danger.

Aaron comes to and Rick asks him questions about the members of his group. Aaron knows that no matter what he says, Rick will think he's lying. He tells them that there is only one other recruiter out there who has been monitoring them. He says that they have two vehicles at their disposal, one of which can easily accommodate everyone in the group. Rick sends Abraham, Glenn, Michonne and Rosita out to the highway to check on Aaron's account of the vehicles. Glenn takes on a more mercenary approach and says they shoot anything that emerges from the woods, regardless of what it is. They reach the area that Aaron said they had stashed their vehicles and find a car and an RV. A few walkers emerge from the woods and the group dispatches them. Abraham is nearly bitten, but Rosita saves him.

The group take a bunch of food from the RV and head back to the barn. Aaron is tied to a wooden beam. Rick tells him that his food is now there's. Glenn asserts that Aaron was telling the truth about the vehicles and where they could be found. Aaron gives Rick a partial location on the purported safe haven and tells him to travel down US 16. Rick doesn't trust this, and says he is going to take U.S. 23. Aaron tells him that it is too dangerous and that U.S. 16 had already been cleared. Rick, still not trusting Aaron, dismisses him.

The group take Aaron to the vehicles and begin driving. The car is driven by Glenn, and includes Rick, Michonne and Aaron, while everyone else is in the RV driven by Abraham. Michonne looks at photographs Aaron had taken of the community and she notes how there are no people in the photographs. Michonne asks Aaron the noted "three questions" that Rick usually asks strangers that they encounter. Aaron admits that he has killed numerous walkers and two humans out of self defense. A herd of walkers emerge on the road and Glenn begins plowing through them. Blood guts and body parts smear across the car, reducing visibility to nothing. They lose visual on the RV containing the rest of their group. The car sputters and stalls and Glenn has to get out to pull severed body parts out of the grill.

An ignited flare goes off in the distance. Rick doesn't know if this came from Aaron's group or perhaps from members of their own group, who had managed to drive further along than they had. They continue on towards the origin point of the flare, fighting up against a few walkers along the way. By this point, Glenn realizes that the bound Aaron cannot suitably defend himself, so he cuts his arms free.

The four of them arrive at a series of abandoned buildings and spot the RV. Daryl spots them and signals them to their location. As they enter, they find that Daryl and the others have found Aaron's fellow recruiter, Eric, who also happens to be his lover. Eric had broken his ankle, but Maggie helped him out by wrapping it with a splint. Rick still doesn't trust Aaron or his motives, but Glenn tries to convince him that everything Aaron has told them thus far has been the truth. Everyone spends the night inside the abandoned building.

The following morning, the group head back out onto the road. Rosita takes note of the Washington Monument in the distance and points it to Abraham, who allows himself a brief smile. Abraham notes that the battery charge on the RV is running low, but insists that they can still make it to their destination. As it turns however, the battery dies. Glenn, having had experience with RV's in the past, shows Abraham where a spare battery can be found and they get the RV up and running again.

They eventually reach Alexandria. The vehicles pull up to the steel barricade doors and Rick gets out. Holding Judith close, he allows a brief glimmer of hope to enter his consciousness as he hears the sounds of children playing on the other side of the gate.

Notes & Trivia

 * The Walking Dead was created by writer/executive producer Robert Kirkman and artists Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard. It was developed for television by Frank Darabont.


 * "WD: The Distance" and "The Walking Dead: The Distance" both redirect to this page.


 * This episode is rated TV-MA. It contains strong language and acts of extreme violence. Viewer discretion is advised.


 * This episode aired in the United Kingdom on FOX on February 23rd, 2015.


 * This episode had a viewership of 13.4 million people on its initial broadcast.


 * Co-executive producer Denise M. Huth is credited as Denise Huth in this episode.


 * This is the first episode of The Walking Dead directed by Larysa Kondracki. This episode marks Larysa's first work in the horror genre.


 * This is the sixth episode of The Walking Dead written by Seth Hoffman. It is his third episode from season five.
 * The group reaches Alexandria, Virginia in this episode.


 * This is the first appearance of the Alexandria Safe-Zone.


 * This is the second appearance of Aaron on The Walking Dead. He appeared last in "Them".


 * This is the first appearance of Eric, who is Aaron's lover.


 * This is Glenn Rhees' fiftieth appearance on the The Walking Dead.


 * This is the fiftieth appearance of Daryl Dixon on The Walking Dead.


 * Aaron and Eric's name for Walkers is "Roamers". This is what they are referred to as in The Walking Dead comic book series.

Allusions

 * Glenn Rhee's knowledge on where a spare battery would be stored can likely be traced back to Dale Horvath, who drove an RV, which was the primary means of transportation for the group in seasons one and two.


 * Aaron refers to the undead as "roamers". This is what they are referred to as in The Walking Dead comic book series.

Bloopers

 * The U.S. Route that Aaron describes to the group, and takes to get to Alexandria, is Route 23. While this route does run through Virginia it doesn't exist between Richmond and Washington, D.C., which is where the group was headed originally.

Quotes

 * Michonne: How many walkers have you killed?
 * Aaron: I don't know. A lot.
 * Michonne: How many people have you killed?
 * Aaron: Two.
 * Michonne: Why?
 * Aaron: Because they tried to kill me.

....
 * Aaron: If you're being cautious I completely understand.
 * Rick Grimes: How many of your people are out there? You have a flare gun, you have it to signal your people. How many of them are there?
 * Aaron: Does it matter?
 * Rick Grimes: Yes. Yes it does.
 * Aaron: I mean, it matters how many people are actually out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there? Because I'm pretty sure no matter what number I say... eight, thirty-two, four-hundred and forty-four, zero... no matter what I say you aren't going to trust me.
 * Rick Grimes: Well, it's hard to trust anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face.

....
 * Aaron: The only way you're going to stop me from being with him right now is by shooting me.
 * Glenn Rhee: Rick, he told us where the camp is, and he really was only travelling with one other person. They're both unarmed. One of them's got a broken ankle. I want us to be safe too. I can't give up everything else, I know what I said, but it does matter.
 * Rick Grimes: All right.