After a few weeks of seeing what life is like on the road, this week’s episode brought the entire cast back into the fold. Glen and Maggie deal with the after effects of Eugene revealing his heart-breaking secret. Carl and Michonne tend to baby Judith and the childlike preacher, who is on the edge of insanity. Meanwhile, Rick’s group attempt to devise a plan to rescue Beth and Carole from the hospital featured in “Slabtown.” This episode was a classic game of chess, as the showrunners put all the pieces in place for an explosive mid-season finale.

Rick devises a plan to storm the hospital in a daring rescue that comes into question by Tyreese, who has devised a less lethal alternative. This was the first of a series of moments that challenged Rick’s leadership and decision-making. Later he encounters another cop and it is clear that Rick has lost that part of his identity. As Rick becomes a more effective leader, it seems that the writers want to question if his power is corrupting him. However despite feeling that his plan will ultimately get Carole and Beth to safety, Rick goes along with the alternative plan. The next episode should lay out the ramifications from that decision pretty plainly, because things do not go as planned.

Things pick up right where they left off with Abraham and Eugene. Abraham has totally snapped and is in the same catatonic state throughout the episode. While Maggie monitors Abraham and the still unconscious Eugene, Glenn takes Tara and Rosita on a mission to get water. This whole segment seemed to be an afterthought, almost like the writers didn’t know what to do after the explosive confrontation between Abraham and Eugene. However we do learn a little bit more about Rosita and how she got involved with “saving the world.” This group has lost its identity now that the trip to DC is useless. Abraham embodies their sense of loss and it is yet to be seen if the group will stay intact. 

The writers are being coy with Dawn, the fierce head of the hospital. At times she seems cold and emotionless. Other times she seems to be making every decision out of fear. This is an opponent whose backstory hasn’t been told. The Governor’s potential for cruelty was fully explored by the time that they had their confrontation. It is hard to know what to expect in next week’s episode, much less who will make it out alive. Darryl points out that Dawn is “just trying to hold on.” Which also means that she is desperate. Now that their plan has gone off the rails, it doesn’t bear well for a peaceful resolution like Tyreese and Darryl wanted.

It has been a reoccurring theme that whoever the group trusts, ultimately betrays them. Things were no different this week as Sasha got a little too comfy with their hostage (played by Marvel’s Agent Sitwell actor Maximiliano Hernández) who seemed like a decent guy, in a bad circumstance. Sasha gets a couple of scenes to shine as she recovers from the sudden and traumatic death of her lover Bob. Tyreese comforts her at the beginning of the episode and ultimately her weakened emotional state is probably her undoing, as she puts her guard down at the wrong time. 

This week’s episode was simply lining up the target in the crosshairs. There was some meaningful character development and a few twists, which kept the episode lively. However “Crossed” wasn’t strong enough on its own to be a very memorable episode. An average episode of The Walking Dead is above average television, so no complaints over here.