How Did we Miss This In ‘The Walking Dead’ Episode 5 ‘Go Getters’ And What Is Next For Carl

This week we returned to the Hilltop to find Maggie hasn’t succumbed to her mystery ailment, but instead looked pretty much back on form and surprisingly chipper for a woman who just lost her husband (though I guess for Maggie, losing loved ones has almost become an every day occurrence). We also saw another #Saviors attack, and this time when the group left they accidentally ended up with a couple of extra stowaways with them – expect to see Carl and Jesus pop up again in Episode 7 when we return to the Savior’s base.

But mixed in with all the talking and the walkers getting run over by tractors, there were still many details that were easy to miss, so take a look at the five thing you might have missed The Walking Dead Episode 5, “Go Getters.”

1. We finally saw a bike being used in the apocalypse again!

I’m officially nominating Enid for smartest apocalypse survivor of the year. Not since Season 1 , Episode 1 have we seen a survivor on a bike, despite it obviously being one of the more ideal modes of transport (see: Max Brook’s Zombie Survival Guide) until finally in Episode 5 Enid finally rolled up on a pretty nice looking set of pedals.

While I have to mark her down for eventually abandoned her trusty stead for a pair of rollerskates, as far as I’m concerned, I was just delighted to see someone finally realize that a bike is a smart mode of transport. Sure, a bike is slower than a car or motorcycle and less protected, but it’s also silent, easy maneuvered, doesn’t require fuel and is a lot faster than traveling on foot (or on rollerskates). Back in Season 5, Episode 5 Tara actually mentioned the idea of picking up a few bikes after their bus burst into flame (claiming “bikes don’t burn”), but sadly it wasn’t acted on until this season. Could this be an indication we’ll see a lot more bicycles in the future? Here’s hoping.

2. Maggie will become leader of Hilltop

Just like many of the episodes so far in Season 7, Episode 5 was a great episode to be a comic book reader. Aside from Jesus showing his mad martial arts skills, Gregory playing the cowardly leader and Carl jumping in the back of a van, the episode also finally came through on something that had been prepped since Season 5 – Maggie becoming leader of Hilltop.

As you’ll recall back in Season 5, Deanna saw that Maggie had leadership potential and made her her assistant. Now, with Gregory’s cowardly ways and substandard leadership being further exposed, it’s clear that Maggie has what it takes to steer the ship. Though it hasn’t quite happened yet, it’s obvious that’d the direction the show is moving in, and the storyline closely follows a similar comic book arc, which sees Maggie take over leadership when Gregory’s lack of skills become detrimental to the residents. Stay tuned to watch how Maggie rises to the top, and becomes a leader whose greatness easily rivals Ezekiel and Rick’s.

3. Abraham dropped his necklace way back in Episode 11

During Episode 5, Jesus returned Abraham’s lost necklace to Sasha, and it was actually pretty poetic that Sasha was the one who ended up with the necklace — which she had likely never seen before — given that the day Abraham received it, was also the day that he made the decision to get together with her.

As you might recall, Rosita made the necklace for Abraham out of a broken piece of tail light, which he wore on the group’s introductory trip to Hilltop back in Season 6, Episode 11. However when the group got involved in a scuffle with the residents of Hilltop, Abraham was knocked to the ground and as he was being choked out, heard Sasha’s voice in his head. After the fight was finished, it was clear Abraham had had some sort of epiphany about his future, and when he got off the ground he left Rosita’s necklace — his past — behind in the straw.

4. That painting in Gregory’s office is a masterpiece portrait of Charles V

Aside from looking super nice, that portrait that Simon took from Gregory’s office is actually a real life painting of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The piece was painted by Sir Anthony van Dyck c. 1620 and resides in the Uffizi gallery in Florence, meaning either somehow Gregory managed to get to Italy and back and snag the real thing, or it’s a copy. Either way, Simon was correct when he said it was “breathtaking,” and he was also correct when he said it was “management by example.”

You see, Charles V was the first person to rule a huge number of dynasties at the same time, coming very to close to a universal monarchy. In fact, his full title was:

Charles, by the grace of God, Holy Roman Emperor, forever August, King of Germany, King of Italy, King of all Spains, of Castile, Aragon, León, of Hungary, of Dalmatia, of Croatia, Navarra, Grenada, Toledo, Valencia, Galicia, Majorca, Sevilla, Cordova, Murcia, Jaén, Algarves, Algeciras, Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, King of Two Sicilies, of Sardinia, Corsica, King of Jerusalem, King of the Western and Eastern Indies, of the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Lorraine, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Limburg, Luxembourg, Gelderland, Neopatria, Württemberg, Landgrave of Alsace, Prince of Swabia, Asturia and Catalonia, Count of Flanders, Habsburg, Tyrol, Gorizia, Barcelona, Artois, Burgundy Palatine, Hainaut, Holland, Seeland, Ferrette, Kyburg, Namur, Roussillon, Cerdagne, Drenthe, Zutphen, Margrave of the Holy Roman Empire, Burgau, Oristano and Gociano, Lord of Frisia, the Wendish March, Pordenone, Biscay, Molin, Salins, Tripoli and Mechelen.

Crazy, right?

Charles V controlled an enormous area of space (almost 2.5 million square miles), which extended from Europe into Spanish America and was described as “the empire on which the sun never set.” And obviously, the show — which has already set Negan up as a sort of post-apocalypse God — is drawing parallels between Charles V and Negan who we already know controls three domains of his own: Hilltop, the Kingdom and Alexandria. However, eventually after many years of rule, an exhausted Charles V abdicated his rule voluntarily and lived the rest of his life in a monastery – could this be an indication that eventually Negan might do the same?

5. Maggie’s poem was from Ralph Waldo Emerson

As Enid, Maggie and Sasha sat around the table at the end of the episode (just after Maggie revealed she once ran over a Camaro!), Maggie recited part of the poem “We Thank Thee” by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

For this new morning with its light,

Father, we thank Thee.

For rest and shelter of the night,

Father, we thank Thee

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

Interestingly Emerson — an American essayist, lecturer and poet — was the leader of the transcendentalist movement during the 19th Century, a movement which believed in the inherent goodness of people. Emerson also believed in individualism, the idea of being independent and self-reliant outside of the constraints of a government of state control. Maggie reciting Emerson’s poem was a nod to the fact that Maggie’s beliefs of the individual being the focus is in contrast to Negan’s totalitarian regime. But whose system will win out? Only time will tell.

e take a breath from yet another intense episode of The Walking Dead, let us take a moment to meditate on Carl. Remember when he was just so small, and mostly known for never being in the house? Just look at him now—several rebellious moments, one can of pudding, and an eye bandage later. Team Family’s little boy has grown into a young man, which means he’s going to have to start making hard choices—just like the rest of the group.

And that, dear friends, brings us to Episode 5, “Go Getters.” Plenty happens in this episode, and not just with the younger of the Grimes men. But Carl’s story, which once looked like it might be venturing into uncharted territory, just shifted course—which makes now as good a time as any to take a look at where he was going before, and what might be ahead now. First, of course, here’s your usual spoiler warning.

This week brought some lighter moments, as we finally got to hear from characters who haven’t had lines in awhile—namely, Maggie, Sasha, Jesus, and Enid. Maggie finds out that she and the baby will be fine, but that she should rest at Hilltop for a while—just in time for Gregory to try and kick her and Sasha out. (Predictably, he loses that battle—but not before trying to sell them out to Negan’s men.) Meanwhile, Enid decides to walk from Alexandria to Hilltop. Carl initially protests, but eventually joins her for an adorable couple’s trip that ends with them kissing, and him bidding her adieu so that he can go find Negan—presumably to try and kill him.

And that is what we’re here to talk about.

More information below, but beware the comic spoilers.

In the comics, Carl tries—unsuccessfully—to take Negan down himself. (He hides in one of the enemy’s trucks as they leave. Sound familiar?) Although Carl manages to take out a couple of Negan’s men, Dwight thwarts him before he can successfully take the boss out. As CinemaBlend points out, Comics Negan admires Carl’s pluck—so instead of bashing his head in with Lucille, he takes him under his wing and tries to tutor him in the ways of the Saviors before letting him go. It’s not the last time Carl tries to kill Negan, though in the comics the villain is still alive.

Perhaps the most fascinating moment between the two actually comes when Negan convinces Carl to show him his missing eye. He makes fun of Carl until the latter actually starts to cry—at which point Negan actually shows remorse.

The series quietly planted the seeds for a similar story line all the way back in the Season 6 finale, when Negan looked at Carl with thinly veiled wonder, saying, “Shit, kid. Lighten up. At least cry a little.” There was also that moment last week when Carl held two of Negan’s men at gunpoint, telling the Big Bad to leave Alexandria before he found out how dangerous his and Rick’s group could be. Again, Nega seemed impressed as he responded, “Pardon me, young man, and fucking excuse the shit out of my goddamn French . . . But did you just threaten me?” (All of those moments, by the way, were adapted straight from the comics.)

At the start of this season, some wondered if Daryl might be taking Carl’s place in this story arc. After all, Daryl—a character fabricated specifically for the show—ended up in Negan’s camp, apparently waiting to be groomed into a Savior. Now that Carl’s taken off to chase Negan on his own? It seems, perhaps, that the comic story line is still on the table. Here’s hoping, like in the comics, that Carl makes it out alive.

The Walking Dead returns to AMC with Episode 6, “Swear” on November 27 at 9pm ET.