"Rock in the Road" is the ninth episode and mid-season premiere of the
seventh season of the
post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...
horror television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
''
The Walking Dead'', which aired on
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
on February 12, 2017. The episode was written by
Angela Kang
Angela Kang (born March 23, 1976) is an American television writer known for serving as showrunner on the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' for the final three seasons.
Early life
Kang was born and raised in Irvine, California, the ...
and directed by
Greg Nicotero
Gregory Nicotero (born March 15, 1963) is an American special make-up effects creator, television producer, and director. His first major job in special effects makeup was on the George A. Romero film ''Day of the Dead'' (1985), under the tutel ...
.
The episode focuses on
Rick
Rick may refer to:
People
*Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name
*Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality
*Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
(
Andrew Lincoln) and the group trying to recruit the Kingdom in joining Alexandria for the incoming fight against the Saviors.
Plot
During the night shift at Alexandria,
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...
sees something in the darkness. In a panic, he loads all of Alexandria's store of food and weapons into a car and drives away, as a dark figure appears in the passenger seat.
Meanwhile, at Hilltop,
Rick
Rick may refer to:
People
*Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name
*Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality
*Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
and his group attempt to convince
Gregory, Hilltop's leader, to assist in the struggle with the Saviors, but Gregory stubbornly refuses. Rick and his group, including
Daryl, prepare to leave, but a group of Hilltop citizens pledge their support to Rick.
Before leaving Hilltop,
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
proposes a visit to the Kingdom to introduce them to
King Ezekiel
King Ezekiel, later revealed as Ezekiel Sutton in the television series, is a fictional character from the comic book series '' The Walking Dead'' and the television series of the same name, in which he is portrayed by Khary Payton.
Ezekiel is t ...
. There, Rick's group reunites with
Morgan, who, in keeping his word to
Carol, asserts to them that he found her but she had subsequently left the Kingdom. Rick pleads his case to Ezekiel, who needs time to consider it but offers the group to stay overnight. However, the next day, Ezekiel states that he does not want to be involved, but will offer asylum to Daryl, who is currently a fugitive from the Saviors. Daryl does not want to stay, but Rick encourages him for his and Alexandria's safety, as well as to help convince Ezekiel to change his mind.
Rick's group drives back to Alexandria, but encounters a blockade of cars, set up by the Saviors to herd passing walkers, as well as a tripline rigged with dynamite. Rick and
Michonne
Michonne ( ), later revealed as Michonne Hawthorne, is a fictional character from '' The Walking Dead''. The character also appears in media adaptations of the series, most notably the television series of the same name, in which she is portra ...
spend time to recover the dynamite, but a large group of walkers approaches. Rick and Michonne use the two cars to which the tripline was attached to run through and decimate hundreds of walkers, before switching vehicles and escaping. They arrive at Alexandria just as a group of Saviors led by
Simon
Simon may refer to:
People
* Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon
* Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon
* Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
drive up; they are seeking Daryl. Rick lets them aggressively search the community, discovering that most of their food and other weapons are missing. As they leave, Simon warns that should Daryl turn up, there is "no
statute of limitations
A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...
."
Rick and the others try to figure out what happened to their stock of food, and discover Gabriel's absence. They find a note in his book with "boat," and Rick realizes this is the boat he and
Aaron had previously scavenged for supplies. Rick, Michonne, Aaron,
Tara, and
Rosita go to the boat and follow footprints they recognize as Gabriel's, to a nearby urban parking lot. They are suddenly surrounded by a large group of people, weapons trained on them. Upon seeing this new group of survivors, Rick smiles.
Reception
"Rock in the Road" received positive reviews from critics. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, it holds an 89% with an
average rating
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
of 7.44 out of 10, based on 36 reviews. The site's consensus reads: Incorporating a growing sense of optimism into the bleakness of its continuing arc, "Rock in the Road" is an energized and amusing setup for a climactic, imminent war.
The episode received a 5.7 rating in the key 18-49 demographic with 12.00 million total viewers.
References
External links
"Rock in the Road"at
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
*
{{The Walking Dead episodes
2017 American television episodes
The Walking Dead (season 7) episodes