The Walking Dead, “Four Walls and a Roof,” was written by the team of Angela Kang and Corey Reed and directed by Jeffrey F January. Reed has also written for Da Vinci’s Demons and Medium. This is January’s first foray as director, but he’s been first assistant director and second unit director and has worked on 33 episodes in total. What an amazing first episode to direct, however! I love that they’re using people from their own crew, and the great performances in this episode are a testament to the level of comfort that can bring to a set. Once again, the show delivers a powerful episode even as we lose two fairly major characters.
There were a few really beautifully composed shots in this episode. The first was the opening shot of the walkers pressed up against the school windows, fading into the termites eating Bob’s (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) leg. Then we see Gareth’s (Andrew J West) reflection in the window over the walkers on the other side, and we see him place his hand on the window in a mirror image of theirs. It’s a nice way to visually ask the question of who the real monsters are here.
There is another great shot just before the confrontation at the church. The shot is centered on the church’s sign. We see Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and company fade into the woods to the left of the sign. It’s a bold move as the shot lingers in the same frame for quite a long time. We eventually see Gareth and his termites appear from the woods to the right of the sign and approach the church.
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The next really beautiful shot comes when Gareth and the rest of the termites show up at the church. Gareth directs all of them with hand signals, more specifically the two fingers on his right hand. As he steps in front of the church the shot pulls back and we follow the line of Gareth’s hand up the steeple of the church. Later, Rick will shoot those two fingers off of Gareth’s hand when Gareth threatens to shoot those in the office, including Carl (Chandler Riggs) and Judith. Much is at play in these sequences as a reflection of the examination of what the church and religion have become in the episode.
The theme of the place of church and religion has come up in the show before, of course, primarily through Hershel (Scott Wilson). It’s fitting then that we see Maggie (Lauren Cohen) really reject traditional religion. Early in the episode, there’s a shot of her laying the Bible down on the pew beside her – really just setting the book aside seemingly without having any connection to it. Right after this, Rick, Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), and Tyreese (Chad L Coleman) return without Carol (Melissa McBride), Daryl (Norman Reedus), or Bob, and everyone turns to Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) for answers.
Rick finally presses him about what his secret is. Under the pressure, Gabriel finally breaks and admits that he always locks the doors at night and locked his own congregation out to die at the hands – and teeth! – of walkers. Gabriel tells them, “They were looking for a safe place. A place they felt safe. It was my choice.” People traditionally go to church to find sanctuary – to find a safe place from the random chaos of the world, but here, this man of God, turned them away. Gabriel also says that “He buried their bones. I buried it all.” We’ve seen all of the characters bury their emotions at one time or another – and it never ends well. Gilliam delivers a powerful, no-holds barred performance.
After they’ve dealt with the termites, Gabriel is shocked and says “this is the Lord’s house.” It’s Maggie who responds with the title of the episode: “No. It’s just four walls and a roof.” She underscores that it’s not a building that honors God, but people’s actions. Gabriel has not been doing the Lord’s work in that building. Furthermore, as Rick, Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), Sasha, and Michonne (Danai Gurira) brutally kill the termites, Glenn (Steven Yuen), Maggie, and Tara (Alanna Masterson) look on appalled. Tyreese opens the door and is also appalled by the violence. Maggie refuses to acknowledge the building as a church after that.
I have to admit that I was shocked that Gareth and the termites were taken out so early in the season. I’d been expecting them to be the big bads up until the mid-season break. Andrew J West delivers a brilliant and chilling performance. His initial talk with Bob fills in a lot of reasonable surprising backstory. Mary (Denise Crosby) was Gareth’s mother, and he knows Carol killed her, and Alex (Tate Ellington) was his brother, and he knows that Rick killed him. Gareth also tells Bob that they made the marks in the woods (remember the mysterious marks on the trees that Morgan (Lennie James) sees?), so they could go back – but Gareth realizes there is no going back. There’s nothing to go back to – all his family is dead after all.
Gareth’s dialogue is chilling as he talks about how a bear will eat its cub if it’s dying because if it dies, the cub dies anyway, and if it lives, it can have another pup. He then goes on to discuss the relative merits of eating men versus women. He maintains that women are supposed to taste better because of their extra layer of fat, but Gareth thinks the pretty ones just taste better. Gareth’s powers of observation are keen – he’s seen that Bob and Sasha care about each other, so he taunts Bob about eating her. But Bob has a surprise for them – he’s tainted meat – he’s been bit! I loved Gareth’s lame defense that they’d be ok because they’d cooked the let… I’m betting they were all on borrowed time before they went to the church. It was a nice touch to have the “A” painted on the church – a mirror to the “A” on their cattle car.
Martin-Green and Coleman also deliver exceptional performances in this episode. Sasha wants revenge, but Tyreese has been there and knows that there is no satisfaction there. He tells her that she has a choice – she doesn’t have to leave Bob to seek revenge. It was hard to let the relationship between Bob and Sasha go – but they’d been far too happy – never a good thing in a horror show! Bob continues to try to play the good out of the bad game, but at first, Sasha does not want to play along. She wants to know why he didn’t tell her. He says that he didn’t want it to become all about the end – and it definitely does. Bob tells her he “really liked the middle.” While their lives are shorter and more perilous, that does remain a constant. It takes time to get to know someone and develop a relationship, and when anyone has a terminal disease, the focus often becomes their death, losing sight of their life.
In the end, Sasha’s last words to Bob are what is the good out of this bad. He doesn’t answer her. Perhaps the only real good to come out of it is that the rest of them are alive. They’ve done what they had to do to remain safe, but they still haven’t turned into termites. Martin-Green’s grief is poignant, but I have to say that I was chewing through my pillow waiting for her to take care of Bob before he could reanimate – and then Tyreese takes his time too! Was I alone in screaming at my tv for them to just do it already?? Coleman is wonderful in this episode. He comes in as soon as he hears Sasha’s grief and takes the knife from her. He gently holds Bob’s head while he slips the knife into his temple. Coleman is terrific and says so much with just his eyes.
Coleman's final scene with Rick is also poignant. It’s interesting that both Rick and Michonne act as confessors at the end of the episode. In another nicely parallel scene, Rick joins Tyreese burying the bodies – as happened back at the Prison. Rick asks Tyreese about his trip to Terminus and Tyreese tells him that it killed him. Rick replies simply, “No. It didn’t.” They do what they have to to survive, but it’s clear that the killing still bothers Tyreese – of all of them, he hasn’t lost his humanity. Gabriel comes to Michonne as she is sitting guard and confesses to her that he can’t sleep because he’s hearing the cries of the dead now that he’s confessed and there’s been more bloodshed in the church. Michonne tells him that that won’t stop. But it won’t be all the time either. Time will heal those wounds, and he may be able to live with himself.
We see in this episode that Rick has fully embraced his role as leader. He knows what he has to do and he’s willing to do it, but he’s not willing to give up on any of his own people. Abraham immediately wants to extract Eugene (Josh McDermitt) when it becomes clear that the termites are a threat. Rick isn’t going to leave without Carol and Daryl. It’s interesting that Tara immediately offers herself up as a sacrifice. Glenn is right behind her though, bargaining his and Maggie’s help. They’ll go with him if he agrees to stay and fight for a day. In the end, he only bargains for 12 hours. I did have to wonder why they had to split up at all after they’d eliminated the termites….One other little quibble with the episode. The termites have no problem breaking into the church. How exactly did Gabriel keep people out?
It’s a great face off as Rick resists Abraham’s demands. In the end, Abraham agrees to Rick’s plan – which he admires for its boldness. I have to admit that I was completely taken in by the plan – I assumed they’d gone to the school – sneaky writing! I also loved the sign we see Eugene look at in the office: “Stupidity is also a gift of God but one musn’t misuse it.” Of course, the group is using the termites’ stupidiy against them.
The entire faceoff in the church is beautifully shot. It begins as Carl tapping his gun with his finger mimics the beat of the music. But then the music cuts out as the attack begins. Cutting back and forth between the office and the interior of the church helps to build the tension. The lighting was perfect as the shots and Rick’s voice come out of the darkness. Gareth tells Bob that he’s being a human being by talking to him. He says that he assumes begging isn’t going to work with Rick, but he keeps talking anyway. Rick, however, says very little, as is his way.
Rick’s confrontation with Gareth is powerful. Gareth tells him they used to save people. Gareth completely misreads Rick though. Gareth says, “I can see it. You don’t know what it is to be hungry. You don’t have to do this. You can let us walk away and we don’t ever have to cross paths again.” But Rick has been hungry and brutalized and he’s still trying to save people. He’s saving the other people whose paths might cross with Gareth’s by killing Gareth. And of course, he does it with the red handled machete, just as he promised in the first episode. And was I the only one to cheer when Michonne took back her katana?
Bob reinforces the difference between Rick and Gareth. Bob’s final words to Rick are touching. We know how far Bob has come from being a depressed alcoholic to being able to play the good out of bad game. Bob tells Rick, “I just want to say thank you. Before the prison, I didn’t know if there were any good people left.” He goes on to single Rick out: “It was you, man.” I love the careful writing on this show, and in this scene we go right back to Bob and Rick’s conversation in the last episode about the current reality being a nightmare. Bob tells Rick, “Nightmares end. They shouldn’t end who you are.” Rick is still a good person, despite what he’s had to do. That’s also what Rick is telling Tyreese in the end. It’s also the hope that Michonne holds out to Gabriel.
Of course, Bob isn’t the only one to see Rick’s worth in this episode. Abraham finally and fully appreciates Rick. He appreciates Rick’s tactical abilities, and he understands and relates to Rick’s single-minded focus on his mission – to keep his group safe and together. In the end, Rick honors his word and let’s Abraham take the bus, Glenn, Maggie and Tara. Abraham leaves Rick with a map to come to Washington. He urges him to come, but he also leaves him a note: “Sorry, I was an asshole. Come to Washington. The new world’s gonna need Rick Grimes.”
The episode ends with a haunted Daryl stepping out of the woods. Michonne has a big grin on her face when she first sees him, but that quickly fades off her face. Who is still in the woods – and where is Carol? What did you think of the episode? Were you surprised to lose Gareth so soon? Were you sad to say good bye to Bob? How long do you think it will be before the entire group is reunited? Do you think there’s a chance that they never will be? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
