The Walking Dead (TV Series) Spend (2015) User Reviews

The Horror Returns

[tlfirth · 10/10 · 16 March 2015]

The Walking Dead was originally a horror series, but due to the understated appearance of the Walkers every episode, this has slowly turned into a survival series. However, the horror genre has returned in this painstakingly gruesome episode where another dear character of ours dies.

Hand over heart, I want to be honest by saying that I didn't think the Walking Dead could last this long without losing track of its direction. But, Alexandria has provided a new and mysterious location where the audience wait and watch for any signs that there could be murderers around. Now fully-recovered, but still slightly paranoid, Rick's group have blended nicely in with the residents and are doing what they do best.

This episode decided to go a bit further. A lot happened, actually, and it was great to see Eugene and Abraham get spotlighted and with such heroic scenes too. First of all, Carol continues her stubborn facade of ensuring that the youth respect her (despite her assumed title "the cookie monster" from fans). We do see a little of her motherly side, by overall what we benefit most from is a danger in town. Could Rick have to kill someone soon, and what might be the reason why Sam wants a gun?

In Glenn's group, terrible things have happened. A warehouse raid goes haywire as the ignorant and cowardly Alexandria bunch turn things nasty. Director Jennifer Lynch decided to show more gore than usual, and this is where the horror returns. As if leaving the son of the leaders of Alexandria to die wasn't enough, but Noah lost his life too. Steven Yeun was exceptional in showing his emotion, not only whilst watching his friend get devoured before his eyes, but in striking Nicholas in his anger. For a middle episode, this was just as gut-wrenching as any premiere or finale, similar to the Fourth Season episode The Grove. On a happier note, it's great to see Eugene finally get his bravery in gear, especially in protecting Tara.

For Abraham, it was great to his superior character. Like Rick, he has shown great leadership in the past, and this is where he gets the chance to provide it. Demonstrating what a cool dude he is, not only does he save one of his co-workers, but takes it in his own hands to decapitate every Walker that gets near him with just a broken stick.

The biggest revelation of the day was perhaps Father Stokes, who's religious beliefs have got in the way of his moral beliefs. Despite being a part of Rick's group, and surviving because of the perseverance of those around him, he decides to accuse them of encapsulating Satan's will, based on what they've done in the past. It's hard to see how Deanna might take this new information, but this is definitely worrying for Rick's group, because they might have a big problem on their hands.

Overall, this was a superb episode of Walking Dead, bringing us a number of new and exciting angles to explore and some visceral deaths that haven't been gorier. The consequences of the fate of this episode could be great, but I have a feeling Rick's group, due to their extreme loyalty to each other, will be invincible compared to the weak-minded body of Alexandria if it ever comes to a battle.

Leadership, Cowardice, Courage and Madness

[claudio_carvalho · 10/10 · 17 March 2015]

Glenn, Noah, Tara, Eugene, Aiden and Nicholas head in a van to a building material store to get equipment to repair the electric fence of the wall. However, Aiden accidentally causes a tragedy in the group. Abraham and his group are collecting wall to expand the compound when they are attacked by walkers. His leadership saves Francine and achieves an extra work load from the group. Carol has a conversation with Sam and discovers that Pete beats on Jessie and Sam. Meanwhile, Gabriel seems to be mad and poisons Deanna advising that Rick's group is evil and she should have not received them, and Maggie accidentally overhears his words.

"Spend" is among the best episodes of "The Walking Dead", with a tense and dramatic full of action story. The surprising brave attitude of Eugene contrasts with the cowardice of Nicholas. The death of Noah is very sad, reducing Rick's group that loses another member. The despicable Gabriel goes nuts and will certainly bring trouble to Rick and his group, especially now that Deanna's son is dead and Nicholas will certainly lie. Rick seems to have a crush on Jessie and the situation reported by Carol may be another source of trouble. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Spend"

Note: On 21 April 2016, I saw this show again.

one of the best TWD episodes in a long time

[fazeelashraf · 10/10 · 16 March 2015]

WOW, this episode had everything in it , the pace was set right from the start, and it just kept on going. Firstly, and i'll get right to it, the death scene were the gruellest and most brutal in a long time and i absolutely loved every second of it. Noah's death came as an absolute shock to me and it was sad to see him go in such an agonizing way, and i cant wait to see what the consequences of his death will bring.The scene where Abraham totally goes berzerk and has a wide smile on his face was an absolute joy to watch. The negative though would be how annoying Carol has gotten over the last few episodes, and how she orders Rick to kill Pete at the end was just batshit crazy, i mean there are other ways. Last but not the least, the scene which involved Gabriel was quite controversial, his motives were unclear and we don't know what angle he's trying to play, guess we'll have to find out in the next one, cant wait.

Real tension or plot contrivance. What really makes this episode?

[sharpcourse · 16 March 2015]

Even though this show is mostly about characters in the apocalypse, its literally the walking dead after all and this episode does well to give the Zombies the respect that's due them. As a zombie geek, I'd say my appetite was more than satisfied (not literally). Some other reviewer pointed out; this is one of the goriest episodes the entire series. Our characters don't get to be the killers this time.

That is not to say its not a character driven episode. This is an episode that will definitely make an impact on the viewer on both fronts. Its tense moments are the highlights even though their setups seem a little too contrived. Two key moments are significant in this regard. (SPOILERS) The reason for the priests revelation beats me. Even though he has been portrayed as tortured since character introduction, it still doesn't explain his false revelation at the end of the episode at a time when the news of the death of the leaders' son will be arriving any moment.

The second is with the "non-Rick's group" characters being too dumb or too cowardly to be reasonable during confrontations. The scene with Abraham being the hero and that of Aiden repeatedly shooting a masked zombie which just so happens to have a bomb on it even though there are other options are both a bit of a setup. We loose a beloved albeit under-developed character too.

That being said I loved this episode. There's definitely multiple cliff hangers. Something that's been absent in previous episodes. It works on so many levels.

Season 5 is the new best season

[MazTheOculus · 10/10 · 21 March 2015]

this episode really opened my eyes, and made me see that.T This episode was one I'll always remember. Now let's dissect the episode:

ACTING: 10/10: The acting was as always, top notch. Steven Yeun killed it, and really made the episode as good as it was. Noah was also top notch, as was Aiden, for some bits.

DIALOGUE: 9/10: The dialogue was pretty good in this episode, what they said made sense, and it worked with the situation. Pretty good.

PLOT: 10/10: The plot maintains itself throughout the episode and fits within itself perfectly throughout all 45 minutes. Very tightly crafted, and well written.

DIRECTING: 9/10: The directing was also pretty good, and was very effective for the episode

SCORE: 3/5: The Walking Dead never had a great score, but it fit with the episode, but there were no tracks i'm going to remember

EFFECTS: 5/5: Romero-Style zombie deaths. All i gotta say.

ORIGINALITY: 4/5: Not a new story line for the zombie genre, but added new elements, that wasn't in the comic, and the spinning door is one of the greatest uses of practical things in this apocalypse we've gotten

CINEMATOGRAPHY: 4/5: Everything looked good

ENTERTAINMENT: 5/5: The deaths were particular highlights, but I was never bored during the episode and was always on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next, which deserves a perfect score.

EDITING: 4/5: Not much to say. Effective.

REWATCHABILITY: 5/5: This will be an episode all TWD fans will remember and rewatch FOR YEARS. Truly a masterpiece.

I give this episode a 93%, or a 9.3/10. An almost perfect episode, with very little things to complain about. Gimple is taking full control of the story and crafting it into an int resting direction, and getting damn good writers to help him on the way

Scorching brutality

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 30 April 2019]

Was not expecting 'The Walking Dead' to appeal to me, but surprisingly it did and became easily addictive. At its very best, and there are many high points, it was absolutely brilliant. Its decline however from Season 7 has made for one of the biggest declines for any show from personal opinion, like something completely different altogether. Feel the same with the likes of 'Once Upon a Time' and 'House of Cards'.

Although Season 5 was not as consistent as the previous four seasons and had its slow spots, it was generally one of 'The Walking Dead's' better seasons thanks to its high points being so brilliant. Contrary to what some fans say, the weakest episodes while patchy were in my respectful opinion still overall decent with a lot done right. Of which "Spend" is one of the season's high-points, along with the first three episodes, "The Distance" and "Remember". Would go as far to say that it is a show high-point as well, and prime-'The Walking Dead'. An uncompromising scorcher, it is one of the show's most brutal and shocking episodes, while not doing it in a gratuitous way, and also a contender for the season's most emotional.

Despite the highest possible rating here, "Spend" was not quite perfection. Personally think that Father Gabriel's opening scene was rather strange (his big revelation though fared much better, that was gut-wrenching). Found that however to not be a big issue, with so much eclipsing it that one forgets it's there, being at the start of the episode and so much unforgettable happening afterwards.

"Spend" is superbly made as an episode, which is hardly unexpected. It has gritty and audacious production design, visuals that are well crafted and have soul rather than being overused and abused and photography of almost cinematic quality. The walkers don't look cheap at all, are pretty terrifying and their scenes really wrench the gut. The music is haunting and affecting, without being intrusive. The direction is controlled yet alert.

The writing is thought-provoking and tight enough to stop it from rambling. The story very quickly recovers after a shaky start, being tautly paced without being rushed, having sincere moments without slowing down or getting too sentimental and with a significant amount of tension. It is far from filler and the storytelling feels like it's advancing, likewise with the characterisation (namely Carol), and new things being introduced with a lot of intrigue. The Carol story is intriguing and Alexandria properly feels like a sense of community with Rick being the most interesting he's been in a while, but where the episode has the most staying power is with the supply run and its tragic outcome, the uncompromising brutality both disturbing and poignant in particular Noah's exit. Glenn's reaction mirrors our own.

All the performances are top notch, with big shout outs going to Andrew Lincoln, Steven Yeun and Melissa McBride.

Summing up, scorching episode and one of Season 5's best. With two episodes to go before the end of the season, it does make one excited for what's to come. 9.5-10/10

"They're Dangerous"

[SpoodermanDerp · 9/10 · 16 March 2015]

*SPOILERS BELOW* "Spend" is absolutely the kind of Walking Dead episode I like, the ones where it automatically glues you to your seat and you want to know what happens next each and every minute.

The episode did a great job on showing and developing some of the characters that are sometimes misplaced such as Abraham, Glenn, Eugene and surprisingly Noah as well. Glenn and others along with the group of the unexperienced people at Alexandria set off to a warehouse where (of course) zombies are (again. At first it all seemed like another get something, then kill zombies, then someone gets hurt, then they try to escape thing that most generic The Walking episodes do. But then the episode does a great job of showing how unexperienced and how badly they need Rick's group to survive as shown in the incident which occurred in the warehouse. This was also shown through Abraham when a herd of zombies come pass by and the others who were also unexperienced, plan to a abandon a fellow worker who was surrounded by the zombies. What Abraham did showed more of his heroic side and how he is more experienced and than the others and that was also pretty nice to see. We also get to see Carol learn some stuff from the suspicious Anderson family and of course, Rick trying to escape the friend zone. It was also very intriguing to see how Father Gabriel explains to Deanna how dangerous Rick's group is even after all that they did for him. All this jam packed in to one episode might've been too much, but surprisingly, it resulted in to one of the most intriguing and well done episodes in the series. Each storyline was rather satisfying and it was just simply showing how badly experienced the people at Alexandria are and how badly they need Rick's group. Even though this was mostly the center, the gore and visuals were taken up a notch and the acting was superb especially Glenn's acting in the traumatizing moment where he saw Noah get eaten by the zombies. The scene wherein Noah gets eaten surprisingly was well done and it really hit me when Glenn's reaction was shown. It is also going to be interesting on what Rick is going to do after what Carol told him to do especially when Pete is the husband of Jessie whom Rick likes. (Although it begs the question why won't Carol just do it herself, I mean she can just let him look at the flowers). Nonetheless, this was a pretty solid episode and I'm quite excited to see what happens next.

+Glues you to your seat, +Alexandria badly needs Rick's group, +Noah's death and Glenn's reaction. +Abraham showing his leadership and heroic side, +Superb Acting, +The gore was taken up a notch, +Father Gabriel tells Deanna that the group is dangerous, +Carol tells Rick to kill Pete, -Why won't she do it herself?

Verdict: 9.3/10

Unforgetable horror imagery!

[and_mikkelsen · 10/10 · 5 February 2024]

This episode was straight up BRUTAL! I dont think I have words that can describe some of the things that happened in this episode, and I dont think I want to go in details for the sake of sanity!

We get some really great tension and excitement after some slow episodes with very little action! You could feel the stakes and kept on edge to see how the situation would unfold! It felt like classic Walking Dead!

This episode however contains the most BRUTAL and VISCIOUS demise of any character up till this point! I dont usually look away, bit in this case i could not help myself! Much like Oberyn Martell from GOT!

Brutal Episode

[slightlymad22 · 8/10 · 2 April 2015]

After trudging along as the dullest season of AMC's The Walking Dead, things finally picked up in this episode. Including what may be one of the most brutal deaths ever on the show.

Plot In A Paragraph: Eugene is forced to go on a run with Glenn, Noah, Tara, Aiden and Nicholas, whilst Abraham steps up to save the day at a construction site, Carol discovers a secret and someone betrays the group.

*****Spoilers Ahead****

While out working on the wall, Tobin was ready to let one of his workers die before Abraham stepped in to save the day. But that was just about the only positive thing that happened (thanks to Tobin's gracious gesture of ceding power after the incident). Elsewhere, Carol suspected Pete of beating Jesse and Sam, and told Rick "You're going to have to kill him." Meanwhile,

in the night's most shocking development, both Noah and Aiden died after cowardly Nicholas took off to save his own skin rather than help to make sure they all made it out alive while out on a run. (First he ran away rather than help Glenn and Niah help Aiden, then he left Glenn and Noah trapped in a revolving door surrounded by zombies, and THEN he attempted to flee in the van—leaving them and Eugene behind, before Glenn caught up and decked the scaredy cat.) Man, Its been a while since a character annoyed me as much as he does!!

But there is not just one annoying character!! There is two!! Father Gabriel came to Deanna and warned her that "you made a mistake letting in the others….Rick, his group, they're not good people. They've done things. They've done unspeakable things…. They can't be trusted. They're dangerous…. The day will come will they will put their own lives before yours." Who sucks more: Nicholas or Gabriel??

All that's left is to see what develops in the final two episodes, especially with the Glenn- Nicholas situation. Will they both return to Alexandria with two completely different stories? How will Deanna react to the death of her son, and whom will she blame?

Aiden's character did a complete 360 and was a decent guy. His death may have been brutal, and talked about more, were it not for poor Noah The haunting image of Him being literally ripped apart by a pack of zombies in a revolving door—while Glenn watched helplessly from a mere foot away—has to be one of the most brutal deaths in Walking Dead history, right up there with Sophia at the barn, Hershel's beheading and when Carol took Lizzie to look at the flowers.

While it brought back the utter terror, this episode gave me a little disappointment.

[raythegamerz · 8/10 · 17 March 2015]

Tense and frightening, as it has been expected from TWD. It's been quite a while since this show gives the audience such thrills especially for those non-comic book readers. By this episode, TWD made another promising hype.

The paradise-like fortress starting to show it flaws, while on the other hand this episode shows us again of how bad can a supply run turns out to be. Rick's team has an advanced level of surviving outside, it would be no wonder that sooner or later they're gonna lead the Alexandrian. But to join forces, achieving a same vision is another story. This kind of complexity sure is intriguing for us to follow.

This episode is good and definitely worth to watch, really, but there is something that been bothering me. Lately I feel some of the original characters' role become biased. Daryl, for example. He is one of the original characters of the TV series which taking a major role in the survival and also has made lots of fans, obviously. I feel that he is slowly fades, or let's just say slowly lost his role in the group. Let's say that its another plot line that will lead to another surprise. But why does it bother me? Because I read the comic books too. He is not exist there while the TV version is starting to keep up on the comic book story line just with a few changes. Nothing strange if many new characters would die in the following episodes.

There were already some major improvements for the TV version, especially for the survivors, and I mention Daryl again for this as an example. That will be fine, of course, IF the TV series make a stand alone story furthermore. Having some different plot lines and ending would be great, in my opinion. AMC's TWD story somehow has been TOO FAR GONE from the original comic book story. To synchronize them again would be unwise. Some stuffs are just not meant to be visualized on TV. Still, its not that the show will be ruined anyway.

A good episode, again, and further episodes sure will be interesting. Since it is a series, my thoughts of it are temporary. I will love the series as I have been except if they'll involve any tiger.

Bloody Excellent!

[g-bodyl · 10/10 · 7 April 2015]

This is the fourteenth episode of the fifth season of the Walking Dead. This episode steps up its game by increasing the stakes by adding for bloody violence and also by posing some situations in which may pit the residents of Alexandria versus Rick's group. The action is done well, and there are a few surprising moments to be had and some big secrets to be revealed.

In this episode, "Spend," Glenn, Eugene, and several others go on a routine supply run which ends in a disaster as they get swarmed by walkers. Meanwhile, Carol discovers a secret in Alexandria which may become of interest to Rick.

Overall, this is an excellent episode that is filled with lots of action, more action than we have seen in a long time. I also loved the ending, as it was very surprising and also shows one willingness to betray. Once again, great acting from everyone involved.

My Grade: A+

Strong balance of action and character work

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 6 January 2022]

Glenn, Noah and Eugene go on a supply run .

This is another strong character episode that also has some suspenseful moments of action horror.

This episode contains a number of scenes that make a clear distinction between the mentality of the Alexandria residents in comparison to Rick and 'family'. My prediction (and I'm frequently wrong in these) is that the writers are cleverly setting us up for a nasty internal conflict and ensuring we have no sympathy for certain characters who might not survive.

There are some good zombie related sequences that work as action horror and as character development, but I won't give details not to spoil anything.

Gabriel is involved in one of the best moments of the episode. His speech about Satan appearing in the guise of an angel is an ironic and well written piece of dialogue. As ever the writers' depiction of societies evolving from the chaos of the apocalypse is smartly observed. History is full of examples of religious figures stirring conflict for their own gain and this is a good depiction of it.

All performances are top drawer as ever, especially Stephen Yeun, Seth Gilliam, and Melissa McBride.

Production values are excellent, particularly the action sequences.

Episode needs trigger warnings like no other

[KrazyFox · 6/10 · 15 March 2015]

Seriously; not only are rumors floating around that Daryl dies but AMC ups and creates this traumatizing episode. I am not squeamish by any means, but that . . .

I watched the Talking Dead to the first fan call-in, then made some green tea and prepared to write a while until I had calmed a bit. The only thing worse was watching "The Big High" episode of Dragnet (original TV show).

I noticed you did prep us nicely with a nod to Day of the Dead. Nice job there. No, couldn't stop there, could you? Just had to push us clean off of the Cliffs of Insanity there, didn't ya?

Watch this episode in the daytime.

what happened?? just plain awful

[dimbost · 1/10 · 23 March 2015]

No spoilers needed, but all of the characters have gone crazy. The priest who nearly died like 5 times and was saved all 5 times due to the group tells Diana that they are the Satan. WHAT??? But he doesn't say that he left the church and bought Walkers back to the church that nearly killed every one, he doesn't say that he didn't even try and help the original people of his town.but let the die and so that the remaining few scribbled "Burn in hell" in his church, but he says that he should stay there while the group should be kicked out. That was probably my most hated point, not going into how Rick is becoming just like the governor. Carol, who probably has the biggest heart becomes ice queen, The show is terrible now

After spending a lot of time, we finally get going

[seshasai-tris · 9/10 · 16 March 2015]

A good episode finally where the start the ball rolling, in sorts.

Rick and his group have taken up all the jobs, three episodes later, they get used to the place. The thing that makes this episode unique, is the screenplay. It takes us through most of the characters, builds them in process and also progressing the story. It really gets thick and interesting when you show story around many characters in 40 minutes, than focus on a group of them.

In this episode we get to see the characters of Eugene, Abraham, Carol, Glen, Father Gabriel, Sasha and the sons of Deanna.

There is very little that took 1 star off 10. At one point we (audience) might stop liking 1. finding Walkers in a store 2. a few deaths in an episode 3. main characters thinking 4. finding a place to stay 5. destroying the same place around season end 6. walking on roads ( day/night) 7. Walker road blocks with less resources in backpacks

Because the above factors (deaths, walker attacks, scheming) at one point will become monotonic/humdrum. So the directors/screen writers have to give the audience something.

nonetheless, this episode shines a lot better than it's two predecessors in screenplay and narration and has set up a lot of potential for the upcoming ones.

My Rating - 8.7/10

The Mystery of Alexandria

[b-child · 9/10 · 17 March 2015]

That was much more like it. The death scenes seem to have gone up a level here. Much more gruesome. Which, if you are into that, enjoy. The general pace of this episode was much quicker, basing around a typical run, to fetch supplies, which ends in the loss of a newly found character.

This whole scene I think, was stand out, however I think everything we see and experience had a cast of doubt over it, due to the Mysteries that are held in Alexandria. As for the plot, it is keeping it's cards close to it's chest still. Another cagey episode, keeping everything about Alexandria remained hidden, if there is anything at all....

An important part to this episode is the Priest. He warns the community of the group, implying they are the devil in disguise.....hmmmmmmmm.....backstabber

My favorite thing about this series currently is the tension being built up in Alexandria.. It feels as though we are leading up to something. The camera-work, music (especially) and setting, allow you to have suspicions yourself throughout abut Alexandria, who to trust, who not to trust. In other words, it's typical walking dead.

Great episode.

9.1/10

[CillianMurphyEnthusiast · 9/10 · 7 September 2023]

"Mother D***" -Abraham Ford. Eugenius has appeared for the first time since he was knocked out. At the start of this episode I began questioning why Noah was getting so much screen time. Maybe character development. No. The writers don't know what that is. The entire run was just repeated entertainment. The best part/the only memorable part is when Glenn, Noah and Nicholas are trapped in the revolving door. Nicholas was a coward and rushed through it to safety causing the other side to open up so Noah was brutally eaten by the walkers. One thing that didn't make any sense was that when Glenn and Noah watched Nicholas start trying to escape they could've done the same thing knowing that he would've killed them both to save himself and easily overpower him. Abraham reminds us why he's the goat by saving Francine. "The day will come when they put their own lives before yours and everyone else's". Ironic considering Abraham was willing to sacrifice himself for Francine. He didn't but he would've. "You first" says it all. Tensions rise between Rick and Pete.

Two sides to the same coin

[pablo2896 · 9/10 · 19 March 2015]

I'll tell you, it takes lots of guts to create a show like this. Sorry, couldn't help it.

So... stuff is happening, some really tough stuff is going down And that may mean... The Walking Dead is back.

So after, in my opinion, a big decline in the second half of its 4th season and in the first half of its 5th, the show is once again starting to show some very fresh ideas and also delivering some very intense and "TV Gold" moments. It started of with that Tyreese episode that caught everyone off guard with how stylish and different it felt and after that, Rick's group entered a new situation that is now proving to be quite interesting, Alexandria. The beautiful but shady shady Alexandria has given us little glimpses of something awry within its walls but we can't yet tell if it is just our "Rick paranoia" or if these people can't really be trusted. I personally think that they are people of good will but there certainly are a few bad subjects in there.

More noticeable than anything this week was "The Group" gaining a lot more of ground and importance within this community. Abraham started off by gaining himself the employee of the month award and getting the lead at the construction job. This also gave us the chance to have a nice inside look into one of the other jobs at Alexandria. Carol, in the other hand, is still "under cover" but gets to express her true nature by interacting with the little annoying kid who ends up revealing that his douche dad is, in fact, a complete douche. I think that Rick and Carol taking this issue into their own hands will prove to be a breaking point between the people of Alexandria and Rick's group, but more on that later. Something small that was a quite big shock was watching the characters listen to some dub step song. It served as a realization of how far away they are, mentally and emotionally, from the previous "real world".

Outside the walls, the scouting party ran into some really deep excrement and Eugene got to show off his abilities, his courage and his best impression of Sam Gamdgee. A good day for Eugene in general, as he passed his test to prove that he has got what it takes to be a reliable member of the group. But while Eugene got to play the hero, other members of the Alexandria community got to show their true cowardly nature. Nick admitted to being a big puss in boots and got to face a gruesome end that was showcased amazingly. You felt this man's pain as Glen tried to yank him off his deathbed and that gut- spilling death... holy hell. Again, the Walking Dead showed us how amazingly they can put practical effects into good use. I just hope they use these more often instead of going for the computer animations because they really give weight to a lot of scenes.

This discussion reminds me that I have to talk about that big punch in the face we received by watching this episode, and a good punch by all means. Noah-dea why he had to die ;) :( . That's right, Noah bit the dust while taking part in a horrible jigsaw trap-like situation. Glenn watching as his friend get torn apart in front of him was deeply disturbing and will surely bring repercussions, as that p*ussy prick responsible for Noah's death won 't get this problem off his shoulders so easily.

The episode Spend ended with a gut-wrenching revelation by Gabriel. While he confessed to Deanna about the true nature of "The Group" I could help but feel dazzled. It is true that Rick and company bring chaos to whatever they touch, I think we all knew that, but listening to Gabriel compare them to the Antichrist was a very dark and gritty realization. Are they truly aiding the inexperienced people of Alexandria or is their harsh polar opposite nature categorizing this community as cowardly and bringing an early doom to them? We will have to wait and see. But as for now, there are truly two sides to this coin.

I personally liked this episode a lot, not just because of how intense and gory it got or because it surprised us with an unexpected death to show us that they haven't reached paradise yet, but because it capitalized on the speculation that Rick and company may not be saints and may actually be a dangerous and harmful group. And this information coming from someone trusted and known, just made the impact greater. I can't wait to see how this goes down on the season finale, but for now I am giving this episode a golden 9.5 out of 10.

This is not what TWD is...but HOLY HELL!

[will-schwartz · 15 March 2015]

My grandparents came to visit this week and so of course they joined us in watching TWD tonight. My mom and I had just gotten done telling them how the show is all about the characters and things like that, when suddenly a grenade went off and it was all downhill from there (not in a bad way, but in a gory way).

This is by far one of the goriest episodes of the entire series and I don't think I liked that aspect. There was still plenty of character development with Gabriel, Glenn, Noah, and Eugene especially (all of whom haven't had much to do this season). But other than that this episode was written and directed in a completely different way than the rest of the series.

The episode went for a more classic, and mildly cheesy horror movie feel with the occurrences in the warehouse and the script was a little bulkier than usual (mainly with Carol's dialog). But let's dive into the nitty-gritty.

HOLY SHITE! RANDOM-SON-OF-THE-LEADERS AND NOAH!!!!!!!! (and maybe Tara? It's hard to tell). I was growing to really like Noah's character. At first he felt like he was only extra baggage after the Beth storyline, but I really thought he was going places. But after the extraordinarily traumatizing death scene, I'd say not.

There's so much to talk about this episode, but I'll stop rambling and mention my major pros and cons:

+++ Steven Yeun's acting ++ The terrifying deaths of Noah and the son ++ Eugene is a hero + Abraham saving the day + Gabriel the fallen angel + Damnit Pete + Rick and Carol working together + Setting up huge conflicts for the final 2 episodes --- Gratuitous gore -- Carol's clunky dialog - Killing off characters instead of bothering to develop them? (Tara?) - Abraham can be a little awkward of a character - Gore is never a vice for horror, but it is used to shock the audience in a cheap way - Carol's final line (isn't there just a prison you could put Pete in or something? We've had enough carnage for one sitting, thank you)

Verdict: Not the best written, not the best directed, but will certainly leave a huge impact on viewers Score: 8.65 out of 10

Spend

[nmartini-04832 · 9/10 · 7 November 2018]

Noah gets devoured by walkers because Nicholas is a coward. And Aidan get devoured by walkers because he is stupid.

A crux for the storyline episode!

[mm-39 · 8/10 · 22 March 2015]

Spend is a crux for the storyline episode! The episode one can not miss. Rick's group looks as if they are slowly taking over the new town. Rick's group is in several areas of power. A few incidents look as if the groups is pushing the others out. The crux of the story is Gabe telling the town's leader not to trust Rick's group. All the incidents look circumstantial but the traitor's slander will create weight behind the current circumstances. The tragic sub story events, mixed with Gabe's accusations creates a heated conflict to come. Funny how the weakest link will cause the most damage for a group. I give Spend a eight out of ten. Great plot devices, and multiple story lines which culminate into the main story for the season five final.

Harrowing

[lyricalyra · 8/10 · 12 January 2019]

One of the most upsetting deaths and Glenn's reaction to it sticks with you. Very sad.

The Most Gripping Episode Ever

[borowiecsminus · 9/10 · 21 August 2016]

This is the most gripping episode I can recall, and only three episodes of the show so far are better than this one (The Grove, Days Gone Bye, Coda). I wasn't expecting much going into this episode. It absolutely blew me away. I give out 9/10 ratings very rarely. This episode is worthy of that honor (really should be an 8.6, but rounds up to 9).

So, what made this episode so good? Well, it wasn't the plausibility. While everything else in this episode shines, I had a difficult time believing that this is, in fact, how things would go down. I didn't buy the speech about Satan, I didn't buy Carol in any scene (that's not the actress' fault, it's the story's fault), and most of all, I didn't buy the man talking to Rick saying things like "we've lost stuff." It's the zombie apocalypse. No sh*t you've lost stuff.

But aside from that, this episode was damn near perfect. The acting was downright fantastic, particularly from Melissa McBride (Carol), and Steven Yeun (Glen). The writing was... again, I had a hard time believing some of it, but that didn't make it any less enthralling. And what really makes the episode shine is the directing.

To all the film snobs declaring war on the episode saying "It broke the 180 rule!," well, you're right. It did. And it made it a little confusing, but I assure you, the creator of the show was the director of "The Shawshank Redemption." It was on purpose. I'm, of course, referring to the INGENIOUS revolving door scene. Specifically, Glen's reaction to a very gruesome death. One shot, he's on the right of the frame. The next, he's on the left. While this isn't 'wrong,' it's frowned upon in film, because it tends to confuse the viewer. And it did, but in this case, that's good. We should be confused. Directors are allowed to break rules; so long as they do so on purpose. And that's what this was.

All in all, the endgame to the fifth season has officially kicked off, and if this episode is anything to go by, it'll be one hell of an endgame.

Ok episode

[darkdementress · 7/10 · 28 May 2019]

An ok episode after several that felt like mostly filler. Theres definitely gore just for gores sake and silly/stupid mistakes that people living and surviving for years wouldn't make..And seems like every time the people from the community go outside they nearly die. How are any of them alive still? Lol Killing off good main characters always makes me mad and seems to be a trend in tv now days. Boo to that!

Terrible

[jasonshires · 1/10 · 17 March 2015]

Bad. What is this 3 main characters killed in the last 6 episodes? I know Noah hadn't been on for that long but at least he had potential. This formula is tired now - if a character is paid more attention than usual from anymore to 1 to 3 episodes they're gonna get killed. Beth as a stand alone would have been OK for shock value. But Tyrese was the pointless waste of a good character and then to knock of Noah in quick succession? Also the fact that his death was overly gruesome makes me think the writers are running out of ideas - a generic zombie flick over-the top gruesome death. They could have let Noah live and let the episode be semi-light-hearted based on the playing of 'Internet Friends' in the car but instead they relied on shock tactics to carry them through the episode. Boring. They could have let them all live including rat-face which would have only added to the tension already brewing back at Alexandria. I also thought the duo of Noah and Glenn was pretty good. Is this what is to be expected now? A main character dies every few episodes? It had more value and meaning when it happened less often. Hershel was heart-breaking because they allowed him so long to develop and his death wasn't part of a tired formula. Sigh.