The Walking Dead Episode 5.08 Coda

A zip-tied Lamson flees down the street following his assault on Sasha. Rick pursues him in a cruiser and orders Lamson to stop. When Lamson keeps running, Rick runs him down, then shoots him dead.

Meanwhile, Gabriel visits the Terminans' campsite at the school. He cries when he sees a piece of Bob's charred leg, now crawling with maggots. Moments later, walkers burst through the school doors and chase Gabriel into the forest.

Gabriel runs back to the church and bangs on the doors as the walkers close in on him. Michonne breaks through the fortifications with an axe and lets him in. As walkers flood into the church, Michonne, Carl and Gabriel flee to the rectory and barricade the door. They then climb into the hole in the floor that Gabriel had used earlier to escape the church.

Outside, Carl slays walkers while Michonne closes the front doors of the church again, trapping the bulk of the herd inside. Gabriel helps them to board up the doors from the outside.

Meanwhile, Rick rejoins his group at the warehouse and reports that he killed Lamson. Officers Shepherd and Licari worry that this will jeopardize the hostage trade, and offer to tell Dawn that Lamson was killed by walkers.

In the hospital, Beth cleans Dawn's office, replacing her photo of Captain Hanson atop the file cabinet. Dawn says Hanson was her friend and mentor, but that he lost the respect of the people he commanded. "In this job, you don't need their love," she says. "But you have to have their respect."

Back at the church, Gabriel tells Michonne that he visited Gareth's camp because he "had to see." The trapped walker herd begins to break through the front door. As Carl and Michonne prepare to fight, Abraham's fire truck suddenly appears and drives into the door, barricading it shut. The survivors reunite and Maggie is overjoyed to learn that Beth is still alive.

At the hospital, Beth watches as Dawn turns a blind eye to one of her officers, O'Donnell, roughing up an elderly ward. Afterwards, Beth sits at the edge of the elevator bank, staring into the shaft. Dawn joins Beth, and Beth criticizes her for letting corrupt officers off the hook. Dawn counters that she's been protecting Beth by hiding her role in Gorman's death from the other officers.

O'Donnell, who'd been lurking in the shadows, threatens to tell the other men what Beth did. He accuses Dawn of cracking, just like Hanson. Dawn aims her gun at O'Donnell and calls him out for his increasingly corrupt behavior. When he sees an opportunity, O'Donnell attacks Dawn and they exchange blows. As O'Donnell loses his balance, Beth pushes him down the elevator shaft.

Afterwards, Beth sits quietly beside Carol, who is still unconscious. Dawn visits and offers Beth some whiskey. Beth ignores the offer and accuses Dawn of using her to eliminate problematic cops. "That's how things get done here: Everyone uses people to get what they want," Beth says. She vows to escape like Noah. "He'll be back," Dawn says.

Meanwhile, Daryl, Tyreese and Sasha stand guard on a rooftop, their rifles trained on the parking lot below. A police cruiser enters the lot and Rick intercepts two of Dawn's officers to propose the hostage exchange. Sasha snipes a nearby walker to demonstrate to the officers that Rick is covered. "Radio your lieutenant," Rick says. "I'll wait."

At the hospital, Beth dresses and hides a pair of scissors in her arm cast. She pushes a now-awake Carol down the hall in a wheelchair. They join Dawn, Dr. Edwards and a group of officers.

Rick's group brings officers Shepherd and Licari to the meeting spot in the hospital. Dawn's group holsters their weapons and Rick's group follows suit. Shepherd informs Dawn that Lamson was killed by walkers. Then they peacefully exchange prisoners.

As Rick's group walks away, Dawn demands that Noah return as well. Rick refuses, arguing that wasn't part of the deal. "Then we don't have a deal," she says.

Noah voluntarily concedes in order to keep the peace. "I knew you'd be back," Dawn tells him. Beth glares at Dawn. "I get it now," she says, suddenly stabbing Dawn in the shoulder with her scissors. Surprised, Dawn accidentally shoots Beth in the head. Daryl in turn shoots Dawn as everybody draws their weapons. Shepherd orders everyone to stand down now that Dawn is dead. Guns are lowered and Rick and his group sob over Beth's body.

Shortly afterward, Glenn, Maggie and the rest of the survivors pull up to the hospital in the fire truck. Maggie runs to the entrance to find Daryl carrying Beth's body. She screams and collapses to the ground.

Some time later, Morgan follows marked trees to the Terminans' campsite at the school, and then to Gabriel's now-abandoned church. Inside, he makes a short, silent prayer before noticing a crumpled map on the ground. He studies it. "Sorry I was an asshole," a note on the map reads. "Come to Washington. The new world's gonna need Rick Grimes." Morgan's eyes widen.