Forget

"Forget" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of AMC's The Walking Dead. It is the sixty-fourth episode of the series overall. It premiered on March 8, 2015. It was written by Corey Reed and directed by David Boyd.

Plot
Rick and the group continue to acclimate to their new surroundings. Will they be able to go back to normalcy? Then again, what is normal now?

Synopsis
Sasha wakes up, and glances at a family portrait left behind in her new house. She gathers the portrait, along with several other pictures, and takes them outside the walls for target practice. After destroying the targets, she sits on a tree stump, and quietly says to herself, "Come and get me."

Rick, Daryl, and Carol are at the abandoned house where Rick lost Aaron's gun after hiding it in a blender. They start scheming to steal back the weapons that were taken from them when they arrived. A walker creeps up on them, and Carol shoots it repeatedly with a silenced pistol. She explains to Rick and Daryl that she had to empty the magazine in order to back up their claim that they were "going shooting". The trio notices the letter "W" carved in the walker's forehead. Back at Rick's house, he and Michonne discuss the possible reasons why they have been made security, wondering if it is part of a larger plan.

While out in the woods, Daryl bumps into Aaron, who says he is surprised that Daryl can tell the difference between a walker creeping up and another human just by the sound they make. They come across a horse, which Aaron says the children have named "Buttons". Aaron says that he has been trying to catch him for months. Daryl makes an attempt, but Buttons is spooked away by a group of walkers. The walkers eventually surround the horse, and begin to attack. Aaron and Daryl kill the walkers, but Buttons is seriously injured, and must be put down. Aaron does the deed with his rifle.

While at her residence, Deanna explains a bit more about Rick and Michonne's job securing the community. She also announces that Maggie will be helping her with political duties. She goes on to say that her vision is to re-establish a government for the community, just like they had before the Turn.

Outside, Deanna tells Rick that she doesn't want every resident walking around with guns. Sasha approaches them, saying she wants to man the bell tower with her sniper rifle, and displays her eagerness to have as "many shifts as possible" in the gun tower. Deanna grants the request, but only on the condition that her son Spencer will man the tower that evening, so that Sasha can come to their welcoming party.

Later, at Deanna's party, the group has trouble adjusting to their new surroundings. Abraham and Michonne discuss the difficulty of leaving behind the danger and how, even when her sword is not physically with her, it is still on her back. Deanna invites Sasha to join her, and mingle with the other guests. However, the noise triggers a series of traumatic flashbacks to her brother Tyreese, her boyfriend Bob, and Beth. Sasha becomes overwhelmed, and angrily snaps at another guest before storming out of the house. Jessie's son gives Rick a hand stamp of the letter "A", officially welcoming him to the community. Rick later gives Jessie a kiss on the cheek.

Meanwhile, Daryl stands outside of the party, not wanting to go in. Aaron invites Daryl over to his house for dinner with him and Eric. Afterward, Aaron shows Daryl his garage, which is stocked with old motorcycle parts. He tells Daryl that he will need a bike in his new job, which is to replace Eric as a recruiter. Aaron explains that despite the inherent dangers, the job is ideal for someone like Daryl. After all, he knows how to take care of himself, and knows the good people from bad.

Having unlocked the window earlier, Carol sneaks into the room where the guns are being held. Just as she is loading the weapons into a bag, Sam (Jessie's son) comes up from behind and asks what she's doing. Carol deflects the question by asking him what he's doing there, and Sam says he wanted her to make more cookies. Carol advises him not to tell anyone that he saw her there. However, Sam insists that he has to tell his mother, because, "I tell her everything." Carol frightens him into silence by outlining two options. If he tells his mother, he will wake up one morning to discover that he is outside the gates, tied to a tree for the walkers to find. Alternatively, he can choose to be quiet, and get the cookies.

The next morning, Deanna approaches Sasha, who is staring out the gate. She tells Deanna that Alexandria "isn't real". Deanna respects her demeanor but says, "That's bullshit". Deanna puts a box of ammunition in Sasha's hand and lets her out of the security gate.

At their meeting spot in the woods, Carol hands Rick and Daryl a gun, which Daryl refuses. Rick then goes for a walk in Alexandria, where he sees Jessie and her husband and briefly reaches towards his gun. He then hears a noise from outside the steel walls between two houses and runs over to it. A walker is banging on it from the other side. Rick puts his hand on the wall and stares at the letter "A" stamped on his hand.

Co-Stars

 * Corey Brill as Pete Anderson
 * Steve Coulter as Reg Monroe
 * Major Dodson as Sam Anderson
 * Mandi Christine Kerr as Barbara
 * Ann Mahoney as Olivia
 * Elijah Marcano as Mikey
 * Tiffany Morgan as Erin
 * Maia Moss-Fife as Maya
 * Jordan Woods-Robinson as Eric Raleigh
 * David Marshall Silverman as Kent
 * Susie Spear Purcell as Shelly Neudermeyer
 * Michael Traynor as Nicholas

Uncredited

 * Charlotte & Clara Ward as Judith Grimes
 * Stacy Payne as Stacy
 * Helen Jackson as Natalie Miller
 * Curtis Jackson as Bob Miller
 * Duane Kicak as Tommy
 * Lawrence Gilliard Jr. as Bob Stookey (Archive Footage)
 * April Billingsley as Theresa (Archive Footage)
 * Unknown as Buttons

Deaths

 * Buttons

Trivia

 * First appearance of Erin.
 * First Appearance of Tobin.
 * First appearance of Tommy.
 * First appearance of Reg Monroe.
 * First appearance of Spencer Monroe.
 * First appearance of Barbara.
 * First appearance of Kent.
 * First appearance of Shelly Neudermeyer.
 * First (and last) appearance of Maya.
 * First (and last) appearance of Buttons.
 * Last appearance of Mikey.
 * Last appearance of Theresa. (Archive Footage)
 * The title of the episode, "Forget", refers to how Rick's group appear to forget their survival problems in their new environment.
 * One of the walkers to attack and kill Buttons is portrayed by the horse's trainer.
 * The people in the photos from Rick's house used for target practice by Sasha are crew members who work on the show.
 * Emily Kinney and Chad Coleman are re-added in the opening credits for the last time as they only appear in flashbacks.
 * Despite only being a guest star, Daniel Bonjour (Aiden) is credited in this episode even though he does not appear. Additionally, Michael Traynor is also credited despite not appearing in this episode. This is the first time a Co-Star is credited but does not appear.
 * Near the end of the episode, when Rick is walking down the streets after seeing Jessie and Pete, the street sign behind him says "Morgan". This is the name of an actual street in Senoia, Georgia where the exterior Alexandria Safe-Zone scenes are filmed. The street, its name, the solar panels and the wall built by The Walking Dead crew can be seen on Google maps.
 * The song that plays during the ending scene is "Spicks and Specks" by Bee Gees.
 * Several easter eggs were confirmed during the Talking Dead segment of this episode. The titles for the last five episodes were taken from the quote Dale said back in "Vatos". “I like what the father said to the son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said: 'I give you a mausoleum of all hope and desire which will fit your individual needs, no better than it did mine and my father before me. I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it. For a moment, now and then, and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it.'" a nod to all five titles.
 * The A|"A" that Sam stamped on Rick's hand on the party is a reference to The Season 4 final episode.

Comic Parallels

 * Olivia commenting on her old habits of reading her old text messages is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 73, where she comments reading her old newspapers instead.
 * Rick conspiring with Daryl and Carol to get some guns from the armory is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 72, where Rick only conspires with Glenn instead.
 * Carol letting a window open in the armory is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 72, where Glenn opens the window instead.
 * Rick telling Deanna that they need a lookout and recommending Sasha for the job is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 72, where Rick recommends Andrea instead.
 * Deanna throwing a party and inviting Rick's group is adapted from Issue 72.
 * Spencer trying to flirt with Sasha at the party and being ignored is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 72, where Andrea flirts back instead.
 * Carol stealing a couple of guns from the armory is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 73, where Glenn steals the guns instead.
 * Sasha snapping back at the residents at the party is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 72, where Michonne snaps back instead.
 * Daryl rejecting the gun from Rick and Carol is adapted from a similar scene in Issue 74, where Andrea rejects a gun from Rick instead.
 * Michonne mounting her katana on the house wall is adapted from Issue 72.

Goofs/Errors

 * When Daryl and Aaron are attempting to capture Buttons for a second time. Daryl saves Aaron from walkers, then proceeds to pick up his weapons. Holding the hunter knife in his left hand and his crossbow in his right; however, in the next scene Daryl's weapons have switched hands with him now holding the hunter knife in his right hand and the crossbow with his left hand.
 * When Aaron is shooting those walkers in the field he fires twice in a row without cycling the action. His rifle is a Remington model 7 varmint rifle, which is a bolt action, not a semi-auto.
 * When Aaron shoots the walker in the field, we see the shot from behind the walker, and the brain material is splattered onto a clear screen in front of the camera.
 * After Rick, Daryl, and Carol return to Alexandria at the end of the episode, an Alexandria resident pulls only the second gate closed. As the shot goes wide, you can see the first gate being closed even though, technically, there is no one there to close it.
 * In the scene when Buttons is being brought down, a hand can be seen petting the horse on the nose slightly.