Good question. I was wondering the same things.

 

I don't know if it was just me but I had to use the closed caption in the episode as I couldn't make out some of the dialogue. Like Carl saying the line about the herd.

Rosita said: 'Yeah I didn't like the look of that sh*t at all"

 

Thanks for that. I missed it as well. Pretty cool scene mowing down the walkers.

 

I took it as they were going to need the herd to slow down the saviors from reaching Alexandria before they could get back

 

I'm going to be really geeky here so please just read on but.

If anyone wants to draw the force diagram for a tensioned line (and there was a lot of tension in that line) strung between two anchor points (the cars) being dynamically (20mph or 9m/s) loaded with an 80kg load (just one walker) you'd pretty quickly realise that the front of at least one of the car would have been ripped off.

Pedantic I know. Sorry.

F£&king awesome scene though, one of my favourites.

 

Totally agree. As I was watching it I was thinking of Theoden charging from Helm's Deep in The Two Towers.

 

I had my own questions too, but I dont think Rick meant for any explosives to be left behind, or to blow up. Rosita tossed some questionable dynamite into the ditch, and that is what blew up. That is what she was tslking about in the car.

 

I think Tara picked a suspicious looking dynamite. It may have been on a timer when it blew up.




Rick will possible use the herd to attack the saviors one day

 

I took it as Rick thinking they need to make any left behind exposives go off. That way the Saviors have no idea they took some. To them their explosives will have done the job. Rick's group will have a few banging surprises for their asses when it hits the fan.

 

I took it to mean the walkers would hinder the saviors.

He knew the saviors rigged and prepped the road to keep the herd from approaching the compound or hindering them in their travels. That's why Joey set the traps and they had the cars blocking the exit. So Rick knew without the explosives the walkers would be a threat to the saviors.

Personally I think this is the same herd from the quarry that Rick led away from Alexandria. Poetic.

 

I was originally thinking that they would use the herd against the saviors... but now I think @Weallgotit is right... now the saviors won't wonder what happened to all their dynamite, because you know they'd be scanning the communities for it otherwise... that makes sense to me

 

The saviors would still know they were there. Rick and Michonne left the two cars beyond the exit ramp. The explosion happened where the cars were. So if the saviors show up they will see the two cars moved well beyond where they were and the wire would be intact with no explosives on it.

 

Yeah, the think the explosion was a happy accident. It was the block of explosives that Rosita left it the grass because it didn't look right. I think when Rick originally said they could use the herd, he likely meant perhaps to trip the explosives and cover their tracks, as well as hinder the saviors.

But once they go too close, forcing them to move the cars and do the walker chopping maneuver, the idea of covering their tracks was ruined. So now the only use for the horde is to slow the savior's progress.

 

I figured Rick's thought was the saviors wanted to control where the horde went and by keeping the exit blocked and removing the explosives they would ultimately allow the horde to go where the saviors didn't want them.

I think it would be cool if the horde ends up helping Rick defeat the saviors somehow and they end up finding out that horde is the same ones they released from the quarry and paraded away from Alexandria. It would end up proving Rick's plan was right all along.....albeit inadvertently.

 

I got the feeling Rosita was putting that dynamite aside for some future plan,

 

Don't think so.

 

Maybe she saw something on the dynamite that she knew would make it unstable. A blister or something that she knew would make it dangerous to travel with