Power clashes, deception, intrigue, even a budding teenage romance, the airing of season 5, episode 15 of The Walking Dead titled "Try," has all that and more. Suspense builds, while a veil is about to be lifted from the eyes of Rick's group and the eyes of the naïve residents of Alexandria. There goes the neighborhood.
Make no mistake: A cataclysm will unfold, for this was set in motion by a representative from the two groups: Father Gabriel who betrays Rick's group, and Nicholas, a longtime citizen from among the people of the Alexandria Safe Zone Community.
Whether Alexandria leader Deanna believes Father Gabriel who warns her about Rick's group near end of previous episode 14, or if she actually believes fellow Alexandria resident Nicholas, who gives a false account before her of his involvement during a supply run for micro-inverters, resulting not only in her son Aiden's death, but also injury to Tara and the death of Noah both from Rick's group, still remains as of yet to be seen. She may be Alexandria's leader, but she is also both a wife and a mother. Because viewers also witnessed in episode 15, a woman who is understandably in the throes of grief, shown by her refusing Carol's casserole dish left at the foot of her front door, followed by her burning of Carol's hand written sympathy card left with the casserole. Therefore Deanna's grief however profound, just may influence her decision about Rick's group despite the deceptions from both Father Gabriel and Nicholas.
Even so whatever Deanna may decide about exiling Rick's group, may not be as riveting, despite Rick who himself may be exiled. This especially after she and other Alexandria residents, as well as those from Rick's group, all publicly witness the serious fight between Rick and Pete. Or rather, Rick's way of handling the domestic violence situation by Jessie's husband Pete, the Alexandria doctor whom Carol tells Rick about in the previous episode, and already well known about by Deanna herself as she later confesses to Rick in this episode, that Pete is known to have physically continued to abuse both his wife Jessie and their son Sam. Yet despite that plotline, it may not be as riveting, compared to some mighty bad karma that's surely expected to befall on both Father Gabriel and Nicolas. For in The Walking Dead universe, faithful viewers know by now that it's more than likely to happen. And it's only a matter of when. Expect it. Look for it.
Yes there is that looming potential external threat to the Alexandria Safe Zone community, that is whoever is carving all those W's onto the zombie foreheads, and onto the forehead of the dead woman whom both Daryl and Aaron find tied to tree who'd been eaten alive by walkers. But both Father Gabriel and Nicholas are the internal threats, not Rick himself whom I still see is the red herring. In my previous HuffPost blog titled, "The Walking Dead: Rick's People Show How It's Done," I mention about Talking Dead guest Kevin Smith saying that Rick may be the new monster. Whereas host Chris Hardwick compares Rick to the Governor who may be descending to the dark side, as Rick touches his gun holstered to his belt as he sees Pete walking down the street with Jessie at the end of episode 13. Yet some have forgotten, that the Governor threatened Maggie that he would maim Glenn and also threatened to rape her in season 3, while also having committed atrocities such as his collection of zombie heads in his aquarium hidden in his office. In other words, the Governor makes even Darth Vader of Star Wars look like Snow White!
Father Gabriel and Nicholas are the internal threats to the Alexandria Safe Zone community, simply because of the secrets both men have hidden to that community. With Father Gabriel, it's his abandonment of his flock revealed earlier in the season to Rick's group. So it's the guilt that has twisted him. Similarly, it's the guilt that has also worked on Nicholas, as he too along with Aiden, Deanna's departed son, whom both had previously panicked a while ago and left their four fellow Alexandrians to their deaths during a supply run, revealed in previous episode 14.
In the follow-up AMC show Talking Dead, celebrity guest and fan Yvette Nicole Brown explains about Father Gabriel while sitting with guests executive producer Gale Anne Hurd and Chandler Riggs who plays Carl. For Yvette Nicole Brown says, "When he (Father Gabriel) says to her (Deanna) that Satan masquerades himself as an angel of light (as he incriminates Rick's group), I was saying man you're talking about yourself."
Both Father Gabriel and Nicholas are highly dangerous. In the case of Nicholas especially, not only that he now knows that Glenn is the only one of the supply run group who now knows all about the story involving Nicholas and Aiden and the deaths of four fellow Alexandrians, though Noah also knew before his death, but also we now know that it was Nicholas who stole Rick's gun hidden in the blender beyond the perimeter walls. Meaning I believe, that Nicholas is going to try and kill Glenn, since it was Glenn who says, "Nicholas, don't talk, just listen. Those four people you lost on that run, that's on you. And Noah, that's on you too. Those five lives, you have to carry that. People like you are supposed to be dead. But these walls went up just in time, so you're not. You don't get to go outside these walls anymore. Not by yourself, not with anyone else. And that's how you're gonna survive."
Later into the conversation between Glenn and Nicholas, it's Nicholas who says, "Are you threatening me?" Whereas Glenn chuckles a little before saying, "No, I'm saving you." And what a brilliantly captured scene it was. For it also plainly showed that the Alexandrians are simply not ready for any of the potential horrors that awaits beyond their walls. Even though it is Glenn himself in an early scene in the episode, who pleads before Rick for the Alexandrian's sake. This after Glenn gives his account to Rick of what truly happened during the supply run where Tara got injured, and when both Aiden and Noah were killed the walkers. "They don't know what they're doing, any of them," says Rick. Whereas Glenn says, "We'll show them." To which later, Rick adds by saying, "They haven't caught up." Then later into the conversation, Glenn adds by saying. "We are them, Rick. We are now. Noah, he believed in this place. I'm telling you, we gotta make this work."
Guest executive producer Gale Anne Hurd on Talking Dead mentions before Chris Hardwick, along with fellow celebrity guests Yvette Nicole Brown and Chandler Riggs about the character Deanna Monroe, as Gale Anne Hurd says, "The only person who makes as many bad decisions as she has would survive in congress." For the character Deanna is a former congresswoman. In any case, as I did mention in my previous HuffPost blog, Rick's group does have an ace in the hole, and that's Maggie, who secretly overheard the entire conversation between Father Gabriel's incriminating words to Deanna near the end of episode 14. So as Glenn would obviously have to deal with Nicolas, Maggie may also have to deal with Father Gabriel. And both may just have to save the day. Hats off to both director Michael Satrazemis and writer Angela Kang for such a marvelous season 5 episode 15 of The Walking Dead.