The Walking Dead Episode 5.09 What Happened and What's Going On

In a montage, someone digs dirt with a shovel. Gabriel reads a eulogy. Maggie weeps by the side of the road. Mika and Lizzie smile. "It's better now," Mika says. Blood drips onto a framed painting of a house.

Sitting beside a campfire, Noah tells Rick that Beth had planned to accompany him to his walled community near Richmond, Virginia. The next day, Rick informs the others of Noah's potential haven and sets it as their destination.

The group caravans to Richmond in two cars. On the drive, Tyreese reassures Noah that Beth's death was not his fault. "Went the way it had to," Tyreese says. "Way it was always going to." He then tells a story about his father, who always made him and Sasha listen to the radio and stay up with current events, explaining it was their duty as citizens of the world. "He called it the high cost of living," Tyreese says.

As they near the community, Rick contacts Carol by walkie-talkie and instructs her group to stay back while they scope out the area. Noah tells Tyreese that his mother and twin brothers were still alive when he last saw them.

Rick's group parks their SUV in the woods near Noah's community, Shirewilt Estates. Noah leads them the rest of the way on foot. At the entrance, Glenn peers over the gate and shakes his head. Noah scrambles over the gate and finds the streets littered with dead bodies. He collapses in tears. Rick suggests they sweep the neighborhood for goods. "Then what?" Michonne asks despondently. Tyreese stays with Noah while the others scavenge.

As they sweep, Rick confesses to Glenn and Michonne that he wanted to kill Dawn even though it was clear she hadn't meant to shoot Beth. He says he agreed to go to Richmond not because he believed it would pan out, but because it was Beth's wish to get Noah home. "This was for her," he says. Glenn reassures Rick that he, too, would have shot Dawn.

Tyreese tries to console Noah. "This isn't the end," he says. Noah suddenly gets up and runs down the street. Tyreese goes after him.

Noah keeps running until he reaches his house. Tyreese advises him to stay outside but Noah insists on entering. They walk through the blood-smeared entryway and find the charred body of Noah's mother on the living room floor. Noah kneels beside the body.

Tyreese hears a quiet scratching sound and searches a bedroom down the hall. He finds the dead body of one of Noah's twin brothers in the bed. As he studies family photos on the wall, the other twin -- now a walker -- sneaks up and bites Tyreese's arm. Noah rushes in and stabs his brother through the eye, then runs to get help.

Tyreese collapses to the floor and tries to staunch the flow of blood. He begins to hallucinate a radio report from a distant war. Then, one by one, Martin, Bob, Lizzie, Mika and the Governor all appear in the room. Martin points out that if Tyreese had killed him in the cabin, he never would have been around to tell Gareth the whereabouts of their camp - and Bob and Beth might still be alive. Bob disagrees: "It went the way it had to," he says. "The way it was always going to."

"The bill has to be paid," the Governor says, lunging at Tyreese. Suddenly, Tyreese realizes the Governor is actually a walker. It attacks and Tyreese uses his bitten arm as a shield while he bludgeons the walker with a geode. Its blood pools onto a framed painting of a house.

Michonne, meanwhile, proposes to Rick that they rebuild the Shirewilt walls and make it their home. Rick dismisses the idea, arguing that the dense forest would obstruct their sight lines. They examine the ruined perimeter and find severed human arms and legs scattered around a breach. Determined to find a home, Michonne suggests they head to Washington D.C. "It's a chance," she tells Rick. "Don't you want one more day with a chance?" Rick agrees.

Rick, Michonne and Glenn hear Noah screaming and find him cornered by walkers. They rush to rescue him, after which Noah reports that Tyreese was bitten.

At Noah's house, Tyreese continues to hallucinate: Beth plays a guitar and the Governor berates him for forgiving Carol. Tyreese struggles to his feet. "It's not over," he tells the Governor. "I'm not giving up."

Rick's group arrives. Michonne hacks off Tyreese's arm to prevent the spread of infection. They carry Tyreese back to the van, fighting off walkers along the way. Over his walkie-talkie, Rick tells Carol to prepare to cauterize Tyreese's stump. Pulling out of the woods, Rick crashes the SUV into a truck. Walker torsos missing their arms and legs spill out of the truck bed. Rick peels away.

As the SUV speeds down the road, Tyreese's hallucinations continue. He stares out a window as he listens to another radio report about the war. "Turn it off," he says quietly. He sees Bob, Beth, Mika and Lizzie in the car with him, smiling gently. "It's okay, Tyreese," Beth tells him. "It's better now," Mika adds.

The SUV pulls over to the side of the road. Rick's group lays Tyreese on the asphalt. Rick kneels beside the body as Michonne readies her katana.

Later, Gabriel reads a eulogy as the group buries Tyreese. Sasha stares silently at the mound and walks away. Rick fills the grave alone, growing more and more determined with each shovelful of dirt.