The Walking Dead, Season 5, Episode 8: Coda
Well, that was... something all right. Let me talk about the sub-plots first. Officer Baldy (a.k.a. Dawn's ally) doesn't get far, gets run down by Rick and shot in the head. The two other officers Rick uses for the prisoner exchange shrug the death off as 'eaten by rotters', Sasha gets over her short failure in record time, and no one really seems to care. Shit, Officer Rotter-Chow, you were pointless.
Gabriel's escape... only led him to go on a daft sentimental tour to make sure that Gareth was an actual cannibal, thereby causing enraging and unleashing a huge swarm of zombies, getting the church overrun, putting Carl, Judith and Michonne in danger... and, shit, he very nearly suffered a karmic death similar to the members of his congregation he left outside to die if Carl wasn't such a decent fellow. If it were Rick... Oh, and the Abraham Squad returns to give the church gang a ride to help save Beth, because there was no more point in defending the now overrun church.
But seriously, what the fuck, Gabriel. I mean, I know Rick's butchering of Gareth and the cannibals is cruel and shit, but really? You saw the legless Bob, right? And Rick's people are treating you right, yeah? And you know you have less survival skills than baby Judith, and that's before you got a nail through your foot, right? What the actual fuck, man? On a less damning manner, though, really liked the reunion with the firetruck squad. Michonne and Maggie hugging is just heartwarming, showing how much at least the core cast have grown attached to each other as a surrogate family.
The hospital story would've maybe worked better if the other officers were people I actually cared about. Only Noah and Dawn really were distinct among the hospital people, and if the 'good one' that Rick executed, or the cop that Beth pushed down the elevator shaft, or the two cops that Rick exchanged are supposed to be actual characters I'm supposed to care about then the show's not doing a very good job at it.
Speaking of Rick... none of the conflicts that were set up last episode really mattered, yeah? Tyreese and Sasha just shrug off their differences with absolutely no conflict, Rick doesn't butt heads with Tyreese or Daryl over brutality and his treatment of Officer EatenByRotters is shrugged off... Strike Force Rick just operates like a well-oiled machine because it's not time for second-guessing, and I like it.
A good chunk of the episode is just devoted to Beth and Dawn talking, and honestly, while I really, really like Beth asserting herself in these episodes, I'm not sure who I was rooting for. Dawn's very loose and nonsensical leadership and her demanding for shit like wanting Noah to stay because he owed the community, or generally being a shit leader that no one but Officer 'Eaten by Rotters' respects, and somehow really liking Beth for one reason or another... and on the other side are jackass officers who go around running down Carol with cars, beating up old men and apparently raping people. Dawn's an unlikable bitch but she's definitely the lesser of two evils. Honestly, I'm not sure why Beth leaped to the conclusion that she has to kill Dawn, but I guess she just holds Dawn responsible for the sheer amount of emotional abuse she suffered in the hospital?
Honestly, the whole situation of the hospital is just so convoluted and maybe it's just me not giving a shit about anything in the hospital that isn't Beth or Carol, but it just felt poorly told to me. Beth and Dawn keep having conversations, Dawn keeps insisting she needs someone like Beth and keeps covering up for her apparently (a help Beth didn't ask or need), the two of them kill Officer McDouchebag #3... why couldn't the two of them work together to get rid of the problem cops? Or are the problem cops all dead? I genuinely cannot tell, because I'm not paying attention to which cop is good and bad. Later during the prisoner exchange it goes on smoothly... until Dawn demands Noah. In retrospect bit of a shitty idea for Strike Force Rick to bring Noah along instead of just leaving him in the building they were shacking up in.
Team Rick refuses to give Noah up, and Beth, after hugging Noah, walks up to Dawn... and stabs her with a pair of scissors she hid in her cast. And reflexively, brutally, Dawn shoots Beth in the head in a moment that can only be described as "holy shit" and "someone kill this bitch!" An absolutely pissed-off Daryl makes sure Dawn is really dead by shooting her again, and none of the police really seemed bothered, just surprised. I'm not sure if any of the hospital people ended up coming with Team Rick in the end, though he makes the offer. Also not sure just what Beth's death was supposed to accomplish, beyond an act of defiance. The hospital's system certainly wasn't dismantled the way the Governor or Terminus was, so it really felt hollow. All we got in return for Beth's death was Noah, and he's a flatter character than Bob.
Regardless, though, Beth died, and it's amazing considering I spent most of season three scratching my head "didn't Beth kill herself in season two?" or "wait, she survived the attack on the farm?" Beth has grown so much especially in the latter parts of the fourth season when she's running around with Daryl, as well as on her own in the hospital, that her death was definitely a lot more impactful than Bob's. Daryl's tearful reaction and Maggie literally just breaking down are the two that Beth's death impacted the most. Mind you, when Michonne and Carl met Maggie in the church, it's literally the first time since they were separated that Maggie really showed concern about Beth, though.
So yeah, while the sudden death of Beth was a tragic, it's a conflicting and unsatisfying end to both the character and the hospital arc.
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