As the old adage goes, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." This is exactly what our favorite characters seem to be doing as they integrate into the new-found haven in Alexandria.

Sunday's episode, entitled "Forget," is anything but something you can do. With the subtle events happening to the community and the lives of this ragtag team, one thing we can be sure of - Carol is definitely bad ass in more ways than one. 


Warning!  Spoilers below.  You have been warned.

Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) while apparently adjusting well to Alexandria have not forgotten the reality beyond this new haven's walls. The trio's plan is to assimilate with the community, fly under the radar, and be as ordinary as one can be. But as we all know there is a hidden mission, which is to infiltrate the town's ammunition supply and arm themselves for the impending collapse of this dreamlike sanctuary. It's just an inevitable reality ahead.

Carol seems to have effortlessly adjusted to her new life in Alexandria. She plays a convincing role as a woman who needs gun shooting lessons and is gracious to accept an offered tutorial. She's convincing as a woman who is relieved to finally live a normal life, and most unexpected is quick to boast of her baking skills which wins the hearts and stomachs of grownups and kids thanks to creative sumptuous cookies.

Carol's a la Stepford Wives transformation allows her to quietly sneak off during the welcome party thrown for the new residents by Alexandria's leader, Deanna (Tovah Feldshuh).

Carol successfully sneaks into the armory room via the window she secretly unlocked earlier in the day while stopping by for cookie ingredients. All seemed to go according to plan until Sam (Major Dodson), Jessie's (Alexandra Breckenridge) cookie obsessed munchkin decides to follow Carol in hopes of scoring more cookies. But instead of a cookie stash he sees her grabbing handguns. 

Sam quickly learns this cookie angel is not someone to mess with after he admits he's going to tell his mom about Carol's weapons raid. Carol, in a soft voice, explains the reality of tattling.

"You can never tell anyone, especially your mom. Because if you do, one morning you'll wake up, and you won't be in your bed. You'll be outside the walls, far, far away, tied to a tree. And you'll scream and scream because you'll be so afraid, but no one will come to help because no one will hear you. Well, something will hear you. The monsters will come, and you won't be able to run away when they come for you. And they will tear you apart and chew you up while you're still alive, all while you can still feel it, and then afterwards no one will ever know what happened to you," she tells the transfixed teen. "Or, you can promise not to ever tell anyone that you saw me, and then nothing will happen and you'll get cookies. Lots of cookies. I know what I think you should do." 

Meanwhile Rick with Judith on the hip, seems to be enjoying the festive welcome event and that this safe zone could be good for most of team.  But he also has not forgotten the real dangers that await those who let their guard down too long. While waiting on Carol to secure guns, Rick plays along being a good new citizen that he eventually gets an "A" stamp from Jessie's son Sam. 

We hold our breath as it would seem as though this could be a catalyst for Rick to change his mind and embrace the Alexandrian way of living. It is clear there will definitely be some drama in succeeding episodes as Rick shares a sweet cheek kiss with Jessie and no matter how innocent they try to play it, an intimate eye lock illustrates a connection between the married Jessie and the widow Rick.

Daryl's rebellious and adventurous streak lands him into a bonding bind with Aaron (Ross Marquand) where we see that at the heart of it all, Daryl really just feels like an outsider wherever he is. As Daryl and Aaron share a bro-moment while trying to catch a wild horse, running into some zombies, and ending up slurping spaghetti in Aaron's home we find him being propositioned to be Alexandria's new recruiter. With a chance to own a motorbike and have new-found purpose, Daryl accepts making us wonder what will happen to the rest of the Grimes team.

Another team Grimes member that finds a mission and purpose is Sasha. After a slight meltdown and Sasha's bewildered response of "That's what you worry about?" to a woman worried about making Sasha's favorite meal, there is concern she might fly off the handle and go commando on the town's residents. Thankfully, she finds meaning in keeping watch over Alexandria's walls. 

With all the drama unfolding we nearly forget that the trio of Rick, Daryl and Carol had an original plan of arming themselves in preparation for when this safe-zone isn't so safe anymore. These three meet up in their usual edge of town rendezvous to get the guns from Carol but surprisingly Daryl declines his gun saying, "Look, I've been thinking, do we really need these?" Rick, on the other hand is clearly torn with the decision but takes a gun for himself. One reason is that he's a bit spooked that a gun he hid in an old coffee pot outside of the walls, before going into Alexandria, is now gone.

One notable detail to keep tabs on is the "W" carving seen on a walker's forehead. This is not the first "W" branded zombie seen on the show and we all know it won't be the last. The episode ends with Rick running over to the city walls as he hears a noise. It seems he can still hear and detect a walker. But how long he'll retain that acute sense needed for survival is anyone's guess.

We'll just have to keep tuning in every at Sunday at 9 pm EST on AMC to keep up on what's going on with team Grimes.

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