The Walking Dead AIR DATE: OCTOBER 18, 2015 OCTOBER 18, 2015 "LEAVE. PLEASE." BY Nabil Haidar Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow...

HOLY CRAP!
That was intense. Sure, The Walking Dead sometimes has problems rolling out big action set pieces given its very large ensemble (Terminus battled worked, Prison battle...not so much), but "JSS" did an excellent job of relaying the terror and intensity of this shocking Alexandria invasion. Yes, Maggie sort of vanished, and Rosita was shown all blood-covered even though we never saw her engaged in the fight (we at least saw Aaron take out a guy), but all the major points and angles were hit. Especially when you consider how the big stories here were Morgan and...the return of freakin' one-woman army Carol!
Before I get to Carol though, I want to share with you how much that moment when the first Wolf arrived scared me. When Shelly was out on her lawn smoking (after losing the ol' homemaker passive-aggressive game to Carol) and that psycho dude ran up and took her down with a machete. I FREAKIN' LOST IT! What a jump scare! I don't remember being taken by surprise that much since a certain moment back in Exorcist III (if you've seen that movie, you know what I'm talking about). I even knew there was a good chance this episode might involve the Wolves. It still got me.
And in doing so, in scaring me like that, the moment also sort of drove the point home that humans, and the damage they can inflict with their madness, can easily be much more frightening than the walkers. Because I don't think I'd have been as affected if it had just been a zombie attack. It was the suddenness of it coupled with the fact that it was, like, a dirty asylum escapee-type.
Now, let's talk Carol and how much of a big episode this was for her. We've seen her use cold tough-love when it comes to kids. Whether its teaching them to use knives, telling them hard truths, or - you know - shooting them dead. We've also seen Carol be amazingly courageous and resourceful from afar. She was the big reason everyone was able to bust out of Terminus. And yes, she did go in Terminus, in stealth mode (which she also used in this episode). Here however, Carol, pure and simple, proved her muster in straight up war. Tactics, craftiness, capability, strength, and mercilessness.
Though - in fairness - it may have made sense to keep at least one Wolf alive for interrogation, right?
Anyhow, she and Morgan sort of clashed a few times on the battlefield, with Alexandria's newest citizen being a very capable fighter, but also someone who was very averse to killing. Whereas Carol's totally into "shoot first, nevermind the questions." So Carol would run up and, co-op style, steal Morgan's wins. Actually killing his opponents when he was in the midst of trying to rise above the chaos. At one point, Morgan even had someone tied up and she still shot him. And, like Rick, she was quick to put down the wounded if they were making too much noise.

Carol's methods here were, naturally, the most engaging to watch. But the absolute correct tactics, to be honest, probably rested somewhere in the middle of Carol and Morgan's different views on war. Because keeping one or two invaders alive would have made sense. But then again...Morgan letting those guys off with a warning? After schooling all five of them with his staff? Ugh. We just went through this with Travis on Fear the Walking Dead. The whole "letting people go" thing. And it bit Travis in the ass. Though at least with Travis, the guy he let go wasn't a whole gang of bloodthirsty maniacs who will most definitely return.
Last week, in the pilot, Morgan reminded me a bit of Tyreese. As in, all the things Morgan was saying to Rick, all the ways he was trying to pull Rick back from the edge, would have been very similar to the things Tyreese would have said if he were still alive and had made it to Alexandria with everyone else. And now this week, we got Morgan refusing to kill people. People who were not only out to kill him, but who had already butchered a huge number of Alexandrians (new faces seem to keep popping up all the time now, no?). So it was a bit frustrating.
My question now is: Did Morgan kill that guy right at the end? When he said "I'm sorry" and then brought down the staff? Was he finally pushed too far, having tried very hard to spare the guy? Or did he knock him out and - as it turns out - we did get to leave this episode with a hostage? If so, again, that's both smart but also very frustrating. Because you do feel that there has to be something, some limit, that will push these "above taking a life" characters to break their personal credo. So I'd like to think that Morgan was finally, after an hour (casserole's done!), pushed to kill someone because they left him no choice.
At least Morgan still gives that soft "please" before he kicks someone's ass. Which is something we saw him doing back at the top of the Season 5 finale when he took out those two Wolves who were trying to take his stuff (and him!). Though again, both of the guys who tried to rob and kill him were two of the wolves who came back here in "JSS." And he let one of them go (dude snaked a gun on his way out). Which is why a big part of me hoped he had killed that one Wolf at the end (he was the big "wolves turned into people" talker from the S5 finale) because warnings clearly don't resonate with these guys.
The way Morgan and Carol sort of passed by each other at the end also seemed to suggest that he was in no position to disagree with her. He probably regretted letting those Wolves go while she may have regretted killing so many people. "JSS" played really well because of the Carol factor. Because the "Away Team," out there dealing with the thousands of walkers, were supposed to be the best of the best. But Carol's really a part of that, but she's been in hiding. And the fact that she can immediately go into this zone, with no emotional hangups/attachments, is truly a secret weapon. And yes, it was nice to see her tear up like that at the end. Because you do want to know there's some vulnerability there. Feelings that she ditches in an instant when s*** goes south. Morgan was right about her being ready to "handle things" at a moment's notice.
Now, Carol and Morgan weren't the only people with big moments here. Jessie went nuts on a Wolf in her house with a pair of scissors, maybe going a little too far with the stabbing - letting out some pent up rage over the events of the past few days. Deanna got a little "deer in the headlights," though she was right not to enter the fray as she would have been a liability. Her son Spencer wasn't completely useless as he was the one to take out that 16-wheeler headed for the gate, causing it to crash and sound its horn. So the big horn mystery turned out not to be sabotage or a purposeful call for help. It was an accidental siren.
Carl got some big moments here too, even taking out a Wolf in his own right, saving Ron in the process (go to hell, Ron!). Enid, who some fans thought might be a spy for the Wolves, also had some notable scenes - including the entire opening and the "Just Survive Somehow" acronym that titled the episode. She was also one of the "car horn suspects" coming out of last week's premiere, so her getting that big, tragic first five minutes (mmmm, raw turtle) was almost a mislead since it set her up as someone who was possibly disturbed enough to start a huge fire like this.
In closing, I should bring up Merritt Weaver's Denise, who was thrown into a really bad situation as the town's totally unprepared doctor. All her scenes with Eugene and Tara were fine, it's just that it was hard to leave the action out on the streets of the town, where there was so much death and danger, to head inside and worry about this surgeon's first day on the job. Though I will say that I'm glad she failed to save her patient. It felt more natural that she wouldn't be able to pull off a miracle during her first time at bat.
Also, "JSS" was notable for having no Rick. We don't (yet) know why Morgan was the only one to head back to Alexandria, but I'm guessing we'll find out next week. I assume Rick and the rest didn't figure on a full-blown town assault and that they'd be better off staying out there to try to fix the huge zombie problem. But we'll have to wait and see.
And yes, I am glad one of the "Suzy Homemakers" lived to see Carol's transformation. The one who Carol left in charge of guarding the armory. I'm happy she made it because you do want that payoff of someone seeing Carol shed her fake, dopey persona and reveal herself as a badass.
THE VERDICT
"JSS" may have had few hiccups when it came to showing everyone in action (Maggie? Rosita? At least Aaron saw that the Wolves found his backpack), but the Carol transformation was a very awesome, crowd-pleasing payoff. And even Morgan, while sometimes frustrating with his mercy, was a sight to behold given his expert staff skills. His big final face-off with the one Wolf who held him at (empty) gunpoint last season was really cool. This one was practically wall-to-wall action, with very little need for let-up. A very thrilling, intense episode.
And it even contained a little Jedi reference when Carol, disguised in mask and poncho, briefly led Morgan around with a chain as a fake prisoner.