The Walking Dead: JSS Recap

Synopsis of 6×02: When the boys are away, the Wolves come out to play. A moderately defenseless Alexandria is ambushed and it’s almost nonstop carnage once it gets started.

Rating: ★★★★☆

With all of our heroes leading the walker parade out of town, it’s time to check in on our B-list characters this week – starting with Enid. Viewers are treated to a montage of how she ended up in Alexandria in the first place, not that anyone really cares. Her parents were killed by walkers when their car broke down, she survived alone with the mantra ‘JSS’ until she made it to Alexandria.

Back in the present – present-ish, since it’s still before the last episode ended (but no more black and white we can hope!) – Carol is in the pantry keeping up her scared housewife routine. When she’s criticized by Mrs. Neudermeyer, a little of the fight comes out in Carol as she promises to help her make pasta with her own two hands if she’ll smoke outside, since it’s such a nasty habit. On her way back from the pantry and the other women, she sees Jessie’s son on the porch and gives him some real talk and tries to send him away.

At her own house, Jessie has set up the hair cutting station in an attempt to talk to her oldest son Ron about his father’s passing. They argue about who is to blame and whether or not they should be trusting Rick before Ron storms out.

Maggie and Deanna are just outside the walls discussing farming while Eugene and Tara are also discussing the expansion of Alexandria and picking up medicine. They meet the new, nervous, doctor Denise, who is taking over for Pete.

Carl happens to see Ron and Enid hugging while he’s out pushing Judith in a stroller. Before he can approach them, Father Gabriel finds him and tries to explain his previous actions. He wants to help and he’s ready to learn if Carl is willing to try to teach him again. Carl decides that they can start on the machete practice around three.

As Carol sets her casserole timer for 45 minutes, she happens to see Mrs. Neudermeyer smoking outside for once. As she observes the woman, a stranger runs up and attacks her and all hell breaks loose. Maggie and Deanna are still outside when the attack begins and they’re witness to the lookout on the wall getting Molotov cocktailed. Jessie has plans to get Ron when the attack begins, but is forced to hide in the closet with her youngest son instead.

Enid is preparing to say goodbye to Carl when he tells her to sit down and help him protect Judith. He tells her not to say goodbye to him and they sit on the floor of his house. Meanwhile, outside the Wolves are attacking overzealously by repeatedly stabbing already dead victims. Carol takes one of them out, but not before they mortally wound one of her friends from the pantry.

Spencer, Deanna’s son, up in the watchtower shoots at the truck that’s barreling towards the walls of Alexandria, but it crashes in the process, leading to the horn viewers heard at the end of the last episode. By the time he gets to the horn, he hesitates too long in killing the walker lying on the switch and Morgan shows up to finish the job for him. He gets the cliffnotes version of the chaos and proceeds into the town.

Immediately, he’s in a stand-off with a giant axe-wielding Wolf that he attempts to reason with. At the last second, when the man goes to attack, another person comes from the sidelines and kills him for Morgan. It’s revealed to be Carol, who has disguised herself as a Wolf and wants to get to the armory to defend it.

Outside the walls, Deanna opts to stay safe and hidden with Spencer while Maggie goes to see what is going on. Inside the infirmary, Denise is brought a woman that is grievously injured. She’s panicking about trying to save her when Tara and Eugene attempt to give her pep talks into helping. Sadly, she doesn’t succeed and takes it hard.

Ron is running from a Wolf when Carl shoots the Wolf. The man fakes begging for sympathy, only for Carl to get close enough that they struggle over the gun. Carl shoots him in the chest and tries to get Ron to come inside with them. Angry, Ron runs off towards his home instead.

From her hiding place in the closet, Jessie can hear Ron. She leaves her youngest son in the closet and yells for Ron to stay out of the house. A female Wolf attacks her and disarms her before knocking her to the ground. She fakes being knocked out, only to attack the woman and stab her to death with a pair of scissors in a brutal sequence.

Morgan separates from Carol when she wants to continue on towards the armory and he wants to stop to save Gabriel from a Wolf. She secures the armory and Morgan succeeds in tying up the Wolf, only to have Carol shoot him in the head before he can speak too much. She gives them both guns and continues to shoot her way through anyone she comes across.

Unhappy with this indiscriminate murder, Morgan passes off his gun to Gabriel and walks through the streets with his stick. A group of Wolves surround him and he attempts to reason with them as they attack him. He holds them off enough that they decide to cut their losses and run away from him. Soon after that, the fighting winds down.

Carol sits on her porch, finally shaken by her actions, as she surveys the damage. Aaron is also walking the streets, taking care of any stragglers that may still need to be piked when he stumbles upon his previously abandoned backpack. He goes through it, realizing that his pictures are the reason they found Alexandria.

Deanna and Spencer are still shell-shocked outside the walls after things have settled. Rosita explains to them how they survive outside the walls and Maggie says they’re still here, but Deanna is quick to point out not everyone survived.

Inside the house, Carl finds that Enid has left behind a note that says, ‘Just Survive Somehow’ without saying goodbye. The timer for the casserole goes off and he takes it out of the oven – the entire attack lasted just about 45 minutes.

While making his sweep, Morgan enters a house that was left open and finds the first Wolf he encountered. The man said that Morgan should’ve killed him then and they fight. He realizes that Morgan can’t kill him and attempts to attack, which leaves Morgan saying he’s sorry – and maybe killing the man? With no confirmation either way, Morgan is seen walking the streets again and he passes by Carol without a word.