"The Walking Dead" left off with the Alexandrians in a highly compromising situation – to say the least. 

A pack of walkers broke through the walls of the town, leaving many people stranded in various areas. Rick, Michonne, Carl, Jessie and a few others covered themselves in walker guts to safely get out of the house they were trapped in and get to a safe point outside. Carol, Morgan, Rosita and Tara are in a frenzy after the Wolf just dragged Denise into the sea of walkers. Daryl, Sasha and Abraham are on their way back from their enlightening detour, which awarded them with a fuel truck, a grenade launcher and a budding relationship between Sasha and Abraham.

This week’s episode started off with Daryl, Sasha and Abraham making their way home, only to have a gang of bikers blocking their path. The bikers told them to hand over their weapons, as their property now belonged to a man named Negan. Abraham attempted to talk the biker down as he spewed nonsense and told Abraham that the best method to take down waste was to, "Bite, chew, swallow ... repeat." The biker became tired of Abraham’s words and cocked his gun to shoot him before Sasha interjected.

Just as the biker raised his guns to shoot Sasha and Abraham, Daryl used his handy-dandy grenade launcher to blow the biker crew to bits. Talk about satisfaction! I must say, I was sweating a bit during this whole scene. All fans of the show know that nothing can be taken for granted, so I’m glad that Daryl, Sasha and Abraham live to fight another day.

Back at Alexandria, Rick led his gut-laden group to safety from the house they were in. Once clear of enough walkers, Rick wanted to split the group up so that some may make way to the armory, while the others stay safe. Naturally, baby Judith went with Gabe, the coward/resident pastor. Jessie attempted to make her youngest son, Sam, go along with Gabe and Judith, but he insisted that he could handle coming along with them. He BEGGED his mom to go along with them, only to have him be the catalyst of terror – but, we’re not quite there yet.

Glenn and Enid saw what happened and went to a nearby church to reconvene and come up with a plan to save Maggie from the watchpost she’s on. Enid began to doubt herself and her position with the group, questioning whether she truly belonged. She saw, "Faith without works is dead," written above the doors of the church, and I don’t think she would’ve gone with Glenn without it. After a little back and forth, they decided that Enid would get Maggie as Glenn distracted the walkers surrounding the post.

Meanwhile, Denise was stuck in the thick of it with the repulsive and homicidal Wolf. The Wolf recalled a time when Denise told him that he couldn’t have always been a crazy person, and that something had to have made him that way. He looks at the situation they’re in – one that's kill or be killed – and tells her, "Now I want to help you change." The Wolf thinks of himself as a gift to Denise, something he assures her that she’ll come to appreciate.

Once it was time for them to make a move, Denise became surrounded by walkers. The Wolf surprisingly came to her rescue, which resulted in him getting bitten. Oh, the irony! The Wolf talked such a good game about survival and doing whatever necessary to stay alive, only to save another person from death. He eventually died after being shot by Carol on the way to the infirmary, followed by being chomped by walkers.

When it’s all said and done, did he really change? This show revolves around the human experience during a major crisis and the changes people make in dire situations. We see that a world full of death can make anyone go crazy and resort to their primal instincts of survival; nevertheless, even the most primal characters find their humanity. Deep stuff, I know.

Back to the action! As night fell, Rick led the small group hand-in-hand towards the armory. Sam started having a bit of a mental breakdown, which prompted him to pause and begin to squeal. His cries naturally brought attention to himself and ended in him being a tasty meal for the walkers, all while still holding his mother’s hand. Poor Jessie can’t bring herself to release her dying son’s hand, and – surprise! – Jessie got eaten too. Rick, overcome by sadness and loss of hope, froze as he watched his new beloved ripped apart. Jessie’s hand was latched onto Carl’s, and Carl began screaming once he realized his impending doom. Rick quickly snapped out of his state of shock and chopped Jessie’s hand off in order to release Carl.

Jessie’s oldest son, Ron, was reeling over witnessing the deaths of his brother and mother – and seeing Rick chop off his mother’s hand before she’s even dead really put him over the edge. Ron pointed his gun at Rick, only to have Michonne stab him from behind. Still, the gun went off and shot Carl in the eye! Wait, what!?

Before I could process what happened, Rick scooped Carl off the ground and began running to the infirmary, with Michonne chopping walkers as they went through. Rick, Carl and Michonne make it to the infirmary for Denise to start working on him. As Denise tends to Carl, Rick gained a dead look in his eye – one that really let us know that this man has officially lost his shit. He walked outside, like the OG he is, and began chopping down walkers. Naturally, all of the available Alexandrians fought alongside him.

As Rick and company set about slicing and dicing, Glenn created a distraction for Enid to get Maggie down – and only wound up surrounded by walkers once more. Glenn shot a walker, then another, and before you know it, the walkers around him were mowed down. Sasha, Abraham and Darryl came to save the day! Sasha and Abraham shot them down as Darryl leaked gas into Alexandria’s river and lit that sucker up with the good ol' grenade launcher. Darryl’s improvisation was the smartest thing possible, seeing that most walkers became mesmerized by the flames and walked straight into them.

After hours of grueling work, the Alexandrians killed every last walker within the town’s walls. The victory was bittersweet and left uncelebrated as Rick returned to his son’s bedside. Rick spoke to unconscious Carl about him feeling something that he hadn’t felt since waking up in the hospital at the beginning of the series. Rick has fought through hell and back for Carl, and for creating a safe place for him and Judith. As Rick tells Carl that he wants to make a safe, new world a reality for him. Carl grabs his hand. I believe that "OMG" is in order! Carl is the toughest kid to ever do it people. He’s been shot, not once, but twice in the midst of a zombie apocalypse – and survived! We can only hope that there isn’t too much irreparable damage, because Carl is vital to Rick’s humanity.

This week’s episode was seriously the fastest hour of my life. It amazes me how the showmakers pack so much intensity and content into one hour. I’m pumped for next week, are you?