The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 8 "Coda"

Someone is running down the street. Lamson tries to free his hands as zombies approach. We see that Rick was the one running. He slices open a zombie as he makes his way to a cop car. Lamson runs away from the zombies and Rick. Rick tells Lamson to stop over the cars PA system. Rick hits Lamson with the car. Lamson lands on his head. He lies on the floor calling for Rick to help him. He tells Rick he thinks he broke his neck. Rick tells him he just had to stop. Lamson asks him to take him back to the hospital. Rick responds, "You can't go back Bob." Lamson tells Rick he has been out there too long. Rick shoots Lamson in the head and says, "Shut up." Rick has had enough. No more second chances. No more trusting others outside of the group.

Zombies inside the school push against the glass doors as they see Gabriel in the yard. Gabriel inspects the camp left behind by the Terminans. He opens up a backpack and finds a Bible that belonged to a Mary B. (Gareth's mother?). He looks down at what is left of Bob's barbecued leg. The zombies  break down the door and come towards him. He limps back to the church with the zombies in pursuit. He makes it to the church  but doesn't have enough time to crawl back in so he bangs on the front door screaming to be let in. Michonne and Carl hear him. He screams "I had to see it. I had to know." Michonne breaks down the barrier on the door and they let him in. Zombies follow him in. Michonne and Carl do their best to kill the zombies bur there are too many. Gabriel leads them to the rectory and they crawl into the hole. He tells them to leave and he will stay behind. Carl goes first with Judith. Gabriel tells Michonne it was worth it and he will stay behind until they escape. Zombies fill the church. Gabriel makes it out alive due to sheer luck. Michonne and Carl close the church door trapping the zombies inside. It's a nice call back to the pilot where Rick encounters the doors with the sign "Don't Open Dead Inside."

Rick comes back and he and Daryl discuss the situation. Rick tells him that Lamson wouldn't stop and that this changes the situation. Daryl disagrees. If the other cops are telling the truth than Dawn doesn't like Lamson. Maybe they did her a favor by disposing of him. The female cop says that Lamson was a good man who was attacked by zombies and she saw it all. Rick tells her she is a good liar. Daryl asked what changed her mind. Lamson was their shot. The only other option besides the peaceful exchange is Rick and his group go into the hospital guns blazing. She knows the good ones from the bad. She wants to help. Rick asks the other cop how much he wants to live. The other cop says that Dawn doesn't want to look weak in front of the other officers. So it is a good thing that zombies killed Lamson.

Dawn can be heard calling for Shepherd and Lamson and the other cop. No one responds. Beth asks if something is wrong. Dawn says the other cops don't always radio back and it drives her crazy. Beth asks if the man in a photo with Dawn is her old boss Hanson. She tells Beth that she will hear all kinds of stories about him and her. He was her mentor and friend and she misses him. Beth asks what happened to him. He loss sight of the risks the officers take every time they leave the hospital, so he lost them. She tells Beth, "In this job you don't need their love but you have to have their respect." (I am not sure she is aware of the coup the other cops are planning. She's too eager to please the other cops and they don't respect her.)

Michonne asks Gabriel where he went. He went to the school. He repeats that he had to see and that he had to know. The zombies start to break down the church door. Just then a car can be heard. Abraham drives the fire truck up to the church door. They all get out of the truck. Maggie and Michonne hug. Glenn tells them that Eugene lied and asks where everyone else is. Michonne tells Maggie that Beth is alive and the others went to rescue her.

An officer yells at the old man that helped cause I diversion for Beth in the last episode. Dawn says she needs Beth. The officer stares at them with a look of hate on his face. Later that day Beth sits at the open elevator shaft. Dawn tells her the old man will be okay. Beth says nothing is okay. Dawn tells her she knows Beth isn't going anywhere. Beth responds, "Neither are you." Beth tells Dawn that this is it. "This is who you are in this place is what it is until the end." Dawn tells her that she saved Beth, twice. Dawn knows that Beth left her a trap and she covered her Beth. She calls Beth a cop killer and threatens to tell the other cops. The officer from earlier comes in. He overheard their conversation. Dawn asks what he is going to do? He asks her what she is going to do about Beth. The other cops deserve to know who they are working for. He threatens to tell the others. He says everyone thinks she is loosing it just like Hanson and that it is time to make a change. He walks away and Dawn pulls out her gun. She says she is nothing like Hanson and reminds him that she is the one that killed Hanson when no one else would. She makes him walk towards the elevator. He tries to remind her of the times they shared before all of this. She says that the man she knew is gone. He now beats old men and laughs about a girl getting raped. He tells her she changed after Hanson. He attacks her and they fight. Beth tries to help her. That distracts her and Dawn pushes him away from her she then calls to Beth who pushes the officer down the elevator shaft.

Beth sits in Carol's room. Dawn walks in. She tells Beth it's okay to cry. Beth says she doesn't cry anymore (she said the same thing to Daryl last season after her boyfriend died). Beth tells Dawn that she wasn't protecting Beth she was protecting herself. She let Beth do the dirty work for yer. Everyone at the hospital uses everyone else to get what they want. Dawn asks if that is what happened with Dr. Jeffers and the other doctor that died. He used Beth to do his dirty work. Beth says she will get out like Noah. Dawn tells her that she knows that Beth knows Carol. She tells Beth that she and Carol can be a part of this. "This is important. Maybe the most important thing you do in your life." She says she didn't use Beth. Carol wakes up!

Tyreese tells Sasha not to beat herself up. She says she was stupid. I agree with that. She should not have turned her back on Lamson. I don't care that his name was Bob. Tyreese tells her that the man that she killed in the church was named Martin. He and Carol had him back by Terminus. He lied and said he killed Martin. I could have and probably should have killed him but didn't. He says that maybe they are still the same as before and that is good. She says he is the same and that is good. She doesn't think she can be the same person she was anymore. Daryl joins him on the roof. The look down at Rick where he is waiting for an approaching cop car. He walks towards the car with his hands up. He calls them by their names and tells them he is there to make a proposal. He puts his gun down on the ground. He tells them that they want to make an exchange, his two people for their two officers. One of the cops asks if Noah is with them. Rick tells them that Lamson was killed by zombies before they could reach him. Sasha kills a zombie so they know that his people are nearby.

Rick and the gang bring the two officers with them to the hospital. Beth is changing to her street clothes. She grabs the scissors she stole a few episodes back and puts them in her cast. She then wheel Carol down the hall with Dr. Jeffries to where Dawn is standing with some officers. Dawn and her officers holster their weapons. Rick tells his group to do the same. Dawn asks about Lamson and the two officers lie and say that he was killed by zombies. She exchanges Carol for the male officer. Then Dawn takes Beth down to meet Rick with the female officer. They get Beth back. As they walk away Dawn says she needs Noah and then they can leave. Rick says that wasn't part of the deal. Beth replaced Noah so now she wants Noah back. One of the officers tries to intervene but Dawn tells her to shut up. Daryl says Noah is staying with their group. Rick says she has no claim on Noah. Dawn says than they don't have a deal. Rick says the deal is done. Noah volunteers to go back but Rick stops him. Noah says he has to do it. Beth says it is not okay. She says wait and hugs Noah. He says it is okay. Dawn says she knew he would be back. Beth walks up to Dawn ans says, "I get it now." She stabs Dawn with the scissors and Dawn shoots Beth. Daryl walks up to Dawn and shoots her in the head. Everyone pulls out their weapons. The female cop tells her group to stand down. It is all over. It was all about Dawn. Daryl cries. Rick looks around in unbelief. Everyone else in the group tears up. The officer tells them they can stay. Rick says no. And he says he is taking anyone who wants to leave. Noah is the only one that goes with them.

The fire truck arrives as the hospital. The rest of the gang walks out with weapons at the ready. They kill the few zombies they encounter as they walk up to the hospital. The doors open and Rick walks out shaking his head. Maggie's smile turns to tears as she screams and cries and falls to the floor in a heap when she sees Daryl coming out of the hospital carrying Beth.

We see Morgan make his way to the church. He is rummaging through things when he finds the map Abraham left for Rick. He reads the message that gives Rick's name and looks surprised.

R.I.P. Beth Green

Final Thoughts
- How is the group going to deal with the loss of Beth? Maggie basically has to deal with Beth's death twice. She thought Beth was dead, found out she was alive, and arrived too late to see her sister before she died.
- With Beth dead does this mean that Carol and Daryl will finally get together?
- Where will the group go? Is DC still on the table. They said they would take Noah to his mom who was in Virginia.
- When will Morgan catch up with the group? They've shown him twice already on their tracks.
- How will the rest of the group deal with Eugene and his lie?
- Hopefully the group will stay together for the rest of the season.
- I wouldn't be sad if we lost Gabriel, Euguen, and/or Abraham. They are getting on my nerves.