TWD Season 7 Episode 8: Hearts Still Beating

Tonight we've reached the mid-season finale on The Walking Dead and I'm relieved to say it doesn't disappoint. Yes, there is bloodshed. Yes, there is an almost endless amount of Negan sarcasm. Yes, we lose another character that we've come to love. But most importantly, we can say yes, our heroes finally start getting back to being heroes. Here's what went down during the 90 minutes of "Hearts Still Beating."

They Can Smell Your Intentions

The episode opens in Hilltop with Maggie sitting next to Glenn and Abraham's graves. She's crying but for a woman who looked like death in the season premiere, she's definitely got some color back in her cheeks. She climbs to the top of the wall to keep watch and douchebag Gregory calls out to her from below. He says that the folks in town have been chattering about how Sasha and Maggie saved Hilltop from the Walker invasion. "Don't let it go to your head." Maggie quickly replies, "Don't let it bother you."

Turns out the Hilltopians (we're just going to go with that) do see themselves in a debt of gratitude to Sasha and Maggie and they're swinging by the ladies' little house frequently to drop off apple pies and other goodies. They know the way to a pregnant woman's heart for sure. Enid thinks they are also encouraging Maggie to run for president of Hilltop...if that's a thing. Come to think of it, I have no idea what Gregory's title is outside of douchebag. Anyway, Maggie is 100% fine with all of the attention and she's hoping she, Sasha and Jesus will start having more pull around the community. Speaking of Jesus... 

We resume in the Sanctuary with Daryl after he receives the "go now" note. He and his filthy sweatsuit duck into a room with peanut butter and clothes and it's like our boy hit the jackpot. He quickly changes into a better ensemble and shoves some peanut butter in his mouth.  Good for him.

Daryl sneaks outside and begins to steal one of the motorcycles. The Savior known as Fat Joey catches him but swears he won't say anything. "I'm just trying to get by. Just like you." Daryl beats him to death with a pipe anyway just as Jesus swings around the corner. He grabs Fat Joey's gun and off they go to Hilltop.

We Don't Deal With Outsiders Very Well

CAROL!!! How I've missed you so. My favorite tv lady is laying on the couch in her cozy not

Kingdom home, reading a book near the fireplace. Not kidding. I like what she's done with the place. She senses someone outside and realizes Morgan has dropped off a bag of fruit. She calls out to him and invites him inside so she can tell him she doesn't want or need the food. Morgan starts to argue with her until he realizes she has a stash of her own produce thanks to Ezekiel.

Carol is all kinds of popular today though - Richard comes bearing gifts as well and he's eager to talk to Morgan and Carol about something important. He sees the Saviors as a huge threat and he wants Carol to talk Ezekiel out of the deal they have with Negan. "I know that Ezekiel likes you. I also know that Ezekiel trusts you." Richard says one day things will go bad and The Kingdom will fall. Richard wants Ezekiel to attack the Saviors and destroy them but he needs Carol and Morgan to help get this party started. Carol says she wants nothing to do with The Kingdom, the Saviors, or the fight. Morgan thinks Ezekiel can continue to build peace with the deal he's made with Negan and Richard storms out quickly. 

Take It Slow
Rick, meanwhile, is still out and about with Aaron trying to determine how they are going to cross the lake of Walkers to the barge on the other side. A small boat with bullet holes in it seems to be the only way and it totally makes sense for both of them to get in a boat that looks sure to sink. The boys use pieces of a broken fence as paddles/weapons as the boat makes its way across the water. As expected though, the boat fills up with water fairly quickly and just as they reach a sturdy canoe at the halfway point, a Walker pulls Aaron under water. I assume he's a goner because he shouldn't have been on the damn boat to begin with, but Aaron somehow makes it in the canoe unscathed and both he and Rick reach the barge. I wonder if he'll end up like Bob (remember Bob?)...bitten under water but not quick to realize it.

Once inside the barge, Aaron and Rick find guns (no ammo) and several other boxes of supplies. Negan should be pleased. Rick mumbles a bit about how people at home aren't on board with the plan to serve Negan but Aaron is fully supportive. After seeing what Negan did to Glenn and Abraham, he'll do what it takes to make sure everyone is safe. The boys are somehow able to navigate the barge back to land and load their findings into the truck. As they drive away, we see boots approach the water. The owner of the barge perhaps?

All My Friends Are Heathens

Negan is still hanging out at Rick's house. He shaves in Rick's bathroom. He cooks pasta sauce in Rick's kitchen and makes eyepatchless Carl help him out. Olivia has been on a search for lemonade and Tara is able to provide her with some of the stash she had in her kitchen. Tara offers to take over for Olivia since the poor girl is in tears on the front porch, but Olivia says she's fine and heads back in the house. "I told Rick I would watch Judith and I'm going to do that." Negan, Carl, Olivia and Judith then sit down to dinner like one big (not so) happy family. 

At the gates Eugene and Smokin' Hot Rosita have re-entered Alexandria to find Spencer unloading his car of supplies with the Saviors and sucking up big time. Rosita has the bullet Eugene made her and Gabriel sees her staring at it in church. He tells her the Saviors will kill her if she kills Negan and she doesn't care - as long as he dies first. She tells Gabriel, "If Abraham was alive, we could fight. If Glenn was alive, Maggie's kid would have a father. Michonne and Carl can fight. They have Rick. Aaron has Eric. Eugene knows things. Daryl's strong." Gabriel tells Rosita that they will win but they have to wait for the right moment or create it together..."and you're a part of that 'together.' We need you." He leaves her to her thoughts and exits the church.

Spencer cleans himself up and seeks out Negan, armed with a half full bottle of liquor. Smokin' Hot Rosita is back in smokin' hot mode as she sits on her porch and calls out to him, asking if he's got a hot date. Spencer explains that he's going to try to win Negan's favor to help the community. He's bummed that Smokin' Hot Rosita ended whatever they had started and she admits to using him. She then apologizes. Spencer turns on an "aw shucks" attitude and asks if she wants to have dinner that evening. Smokin' Hot Rosita smiles and agrees. Maybe she's going to abandon the killing Negan thing for a while.

Spencer is held up on the steps of Rick's house by Arat who seems to be one of the key Saviors. Negan steps outside (I'm assuming with a full belly) to see what the commotion is all about. Spencer introduces himself and the two men share a drink on the porch followed by an outdoor game of pool. Nice to know the Alexandrian's have a pool table handy to drag out into the street on a beautiful day. Spencer takes this opportunity to talk shit about Rick, saying he has a history of not working well with others. Most of the town is witnessing this conversation. Spencer asks Negan to put him in charge but Negan says that Rick is out there getting shit done and swallowing his hate. "That takes guts. And then there's you...the guy who waited for Rick to be gone so he could sneak over and talk to me to get me to do his dirty work so he could take Rick's place. So I gotta ask, if you want to take over, why not kill Rick yourself and just TAKE OVER?" Spencer looks surprised and starts to say he wasn't looking for Rick to die but Negan cuts him off. "If I had to guess...it's because ya got no guts." Negan then takes out a knife and literally guts Spencer. So much for dinner.

Don't Make Any Sudden Moves
At this point we're hoping the episode will just end, right? I mean, Spencer was annoying as shit. Let's let him be the "big mid-season finale death" we've all come to expect. Negan isn't done yet though. He picks up Lucille and says someone needs to clean up the mess Spencer has made on the ground. Smokin' Hot Rostia stands fairly close to him. She aims her gun with her one bullet and MISSES. She hits Lucille instead which is almost worse. Shit Rosita! Did you not learn anything from Daryl?!?!

Rick and Aaron arrive home just then and Rick is surprised that to see that the Saviors have already come back to Alexandria for more supplies. He's eager to get to his house but sees that Aaron has a misunderstanding with one of Negan's assholes. The Saviors start beating the shit out of Aaron and I don't even understand how Rick can get him off the ground. Rick drags Aaron toward his house right as Rosita has fired her gun. Negan picks up the bullet casing and realizes the bullet was made from scratch. Arat holds a knife against Rosita's face as he demands to know who made it. Rosita claims she did but Negan knows she's lying. She's ready for her face to be cut up but she should know that's not how this works. Negan orders Arat to "kill somebody" and Arat shoots Olivia in the face. DAMN IT!

Rick flips out but Negan explains how reasonable he is being all things considered. He fills Rick in on dumbass Carl sneaking into the Sanctuary and shooting some of his men. He then tells Rick he eliminated Spencer for him. "And this one here? She shot Lucille trying to kill me just now so I gave you one less mouth to feed...and by lookin' at her, that mouth did some major damage." Rick asks Negan to leave, telling him there's a bunch of shit waiting for him at the gate. Negan agrees, but says he first needs to know who made the bullet. Eugene speaks up and explains how he did it so Negan believes him. At first I think Negan is going to kill him...but why take out a resource who can make bullets? Off Eugene goes with the Saviors just as Walker Spencer is waking up. At least Rick is able to channel his anger into violently stabbing Spencer's head.

You Don't Know The Half Of The Abuse
Michonne returns home from her quest to find Negan and tells a very solemn Rick where she'd been. Though she had kidnapped the female Savior on the road to get to Negan, Michonne settled for seeing where Negan lived. After this woman showed Michonne the Sanctuary from afar, Michonne realized anything she would do, she would need a team to do it. Though we didn't see it onscreen, Michonne killed the Savior and dumped the car. She tells Rick they are outnumbered. "It's not even close. But that doesn't change the way that I feel." Michonne says they have to fight and they have to find a way to beat the Saviors. Rick agrees (woohoo!) and they share an adorable kiss.

The final minutes show Rick, Michonne, Tara, Rosita and a newly patched up Carl entering the gates of Hilltop and reuniting with Maggie. Rick tells Maggie she was right about fighting the Saviors and while they embrace, Daryl and Jesus come walking up from around the corner. Daryl and Rick cry when they hug, Enid and Carl share a smile, and Rosita and Sasha share...a head nod. Good enough. Daryl hands Rick the gun he took from Fat Joey and the group marches towards Gregory's house. 

The episode "ends" there but after the previews for what's to come in 2017, we see those same boots from earlier step out near Alexandria. I'm hoping it's someone from Oceanside because that would make me less bitter about the hour we spent on Tara a few weeks ago.

So The Walking Dead in 2016 is over and I'm so glad things seem to be looking up for Season 7...not necessarily looking up for the characters, but at least looking up for the viewers. We've endured way too many hours of watching Daryl mop floors, seeing Dwight brood, and witnessing Rick play the role of Negan's bitch. The "All Out War" is finally on its way and I'm excited to see how it plays out on the show. Also exciting? Seeing Spencer get his guts ripped out. Dude had gotten on my last nerve. Poor Olivia though...I was really starting to love her and seeing her slap Negan last week was awesome. I guess we should know by now that when minor characters start to grow balls, they will be exiting the show sooner rather than later.

How will Smokin' Hot Rosita cope with causing Olivia's death? How is Daryl coping with his guilt about Glenn? I have to wonder how that first conversation between Daryl and Maggie went when he got to Hilltop. I also have to wonder how the conversation between Carl and Rick went after Negan left Alexandria. "What were you thinking?! Look at the mess in the kitchen! And for god's sake, cover up your eye hole!" I've been anxious to see the gang back together again and once we get Morgan and Carol (and the tiger) in the mix, I'll be a happy camper. Until then, have a safe and happy holiday season. 

TWD Season 7 Episode 7: Sing Me A Song

Well the good news is this week we leave Oceanside completely behind and pick up with the groups in The Sanctuary and Alexandria. The bad news is, we go another 90 minutes without Carol, Morgan, and that badass tiger The Kingdom. Seriously. It's been a month. Anyway, "Sing Me a Song" takes us on a journey with Jesus and Carl as they stow away into Neganland and circles back with Rick, Michonne, and Smokin' Hot Rosita as they struggle with the new way of living. Here's what went down in episode 7. 

Why You Wasting Your Time?

The episode opens with Michonne standing in front of the burning mattresses that once belonged to the homes in Alexandria. She walks home, whistling "The Farmer in the Dell" as two Walkers follow behind her, very reminiscent of the time when she was solo and roaming around with two Walkers as "pets." Michonne slashes their heads and does the same with many other Walkers. She builds a Walker barrier in the road, and when a Savior comes driving up, Michonne disarms her and says "Take me to Negan." The woman resists at first, but off they go. 

On the flip side, Rick is still in "I'll do anything Negan wants" mode and he and Aaron are still out on a run to scavenge supplies for the Saviors. They hop a fence that reads "Keep going. The only thing here 4 you is trouble." because it's always opposite day on The Walking Dead.  They arrive at what essentially looks like an obstacle course someone has made to protect their land, so there must be something pretty big waiting for them. Unfortunately this is the last we see of Michonne, Rick, and Aaron tonight. Did I mention this episode is 90 minutes?

A Girl You Couldn't Impress

Smokin' Hot Rosita is hell bent on making some bullets today but Eugene is doing his normal "I'm going to say things in a way you don't understand until you decide you don't need my help" thing. Spencer rolls up and asks why they aren't going to get supplies for Negan. He likens the situation to paying taxes and reminds Eugene and Rosita that this is all Rick's fault. Rosita asks him if he can do better and Spencer thinks he can. She laughs and says "pay your taxes and leave me the hell alone." She and Eugene begin walking.

They arrive at the building where Abraham and Eugene had discussed making bullets to begin with...you know, back when Eugene called dibs and became Stage 2 Eugene. He's not interested in being there though and goes back to speaking gibberish. Eugene says the Saviors have the numbers and one bullet isn't going to make a difference. Smokin' Hot Rosita is tired of hearing this shit. "You owe me and you owe him. And if there's a price, I'll pay it. But don't you tell me 'no!' You don't know anything. You don't do anything. You're a coward. You're weak. You're only alive because you lied and people felt sorry for you. Now do something useful and make me a bullet." Ouch. Big ouch. Eugene gets to work. Rosita tries to apologies for the things she said but Eugene rejects the apology. "I'd like to take it back to awkward silence now." 

Spencer, meanwhile, pairs up with Gabriel to go on a run...wait. Stop the presses. Gabriel is going on a run? He's just full of surprises these days. Spencer spends the car ride being a whiny little bitch and complaining about Rick. "The thing I keep thinking is, the only good thing that could happen for us now is he never makes it back." Spencer. Seriously. What the hell are you talking about? I don't even have time to be annoyed because Gabriel shuts that shit down. He tells Spencer to stop the car. "What you're saying doesn't make you a sinner. But it does make you a tremendous shit. Just for now. It doesn't have to be terminal." HA!!! Gabriel exits the car and heads back to Alexandria on foot. Fantastic. The holy man has come such a long way. 

Spencer then inexplicably runs into the woods, leaving his car door open. He finds a Walker stuck in a tree who is in possession of a compound bow. Spencer is able to get the bow and in the process he finds a note in the Walker's jacket. It's written in Latin but Spencer totally knows Latin so the note leads him to supplies o'plenty. He returns to Alexandria with a shit ton of taxes to pay. 

Why You So Obsessed With Me?

Jesus and Carl are right where we left them, on a truck heading into the Sanctuary. Jesus grabs a bottle of maple syrup out of one of the boxes and squeezes it outside along the way to leave a trail. What a waste. It's a damn good thing he isn't using crazy cheese. Anyway, as they approach the compound Jesus suggests they jump out and find a way in by foot. Carl agrees but then just stays in the truck after Jesus exits. He waves at Jesus and I experience my first Carl annoyance of the night. He's been on screen less than a minute. 

Carl is armed with one of the machine guns the Saviors took from Alexandria and I'm wondering what his big plan is here. Put himself in a crate that he hopes ends up in Negan's bedroom? Hope they don't unload the truck at all today and sneak into the building at night? How does this one-eyed dude with inexcusable hair think he is going to kill a guy with countless followers on his own turf? Oh, here's how. When the Saviors immediately start unloading the truck, Carl just opens fire. He steps out and tells everyone (and there are tons of people) to lower their weapons. "I only want Negan. No one else has to get hurt." Carl, you're an idiot. This was your plan? No wonder Enid gave you a quick kiss and a "good luck" and left your ass behind. Negan is nearby laughing. Carl makes a move to shoot more people and he's tackled quickly by Dwight, who disarms him. Negan helps Carl off the ground and offers to show him around.  

The Sanctuary is a massive warehouse and Negan takes Carl inside where many Saviors are waiting. Negan tells them that the other Saviors have returned with a ton of supplies, which could be theirs if they play by the rules. They applaud him but he's not done showing off yet. Negan takes Carl into a room where all of his "wives" are. Dude has a setup like Charlie Sheen and his goddesses. I don't know if Negan has tiger's blood but I'd definitely say he's winning. One wife in particular, Amber, is super emotional today. Sherry tattles on her and tells Negan that Amber is still meeting up with her former husband, Max. She asks Negan to go easy on Amber as if that's a thing. Negan exits the conversation, hands Carl a beer, and sits down across from Amber. "Amber, baby, you know I don't want anyone to be here that doesn't want to be here, right?" He offers her the chance to leave and go back to Mark, but reminds her that if she stays, she cannot cheat on him. Amber says she'll stay and apologizes. "I love you Negan."

Negan is smooching Sherry when Dwight and Daryl enter the room. How embarrassing for Dwight. Daryl has brought lunch so Carl can see that Daryl is a slave to Negan, much like the way his dad is. Negan then leads Carl into another room to get to know him. He's impressed with Carl but can't continue with the conversation. "It's like talking to a birthday present. You've got to take that crap off your face." Carl refuses and Negan asks if Carl really wants to piss him off. Carl relents and removes the eye patch. Negan says a whole bunch of mean shit and Carl starts to cry...with one eye anyway. "Holy hell kid. Look, it's easy to forget you're just a kid. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything." He encourages Carl to leave the bandages off because no one would mess with him looking like that. Negan then asks Carl to sing him a song. The only thing Carl can come up with is "You Are My Sunshine" and while he sings, Negan practices his form swinging Lucille around the room. He asks Carl if his mom sang him that song...and where his mom is. Carl tells Negan he had to shoot her before she turned and he replies "Damn, no wonder you're a little serial killer in the making."

It's Clear That You're Upset With Me

The boys head to what seems to be the main room where Mark is tied to a chair and scared out of his mind. The rest of the group is kneeling as Negan talks about people who break the rules. Mark broke the rules while...reconnecting with his former wife, and now he gets a hot iron to the face. He and Dwight are twinsies now. Mark passes out from the pain and pisses himself in the process. Daryl is assigned cleanup duty. He makes a comment to Negan in the realm of "if you do anything to Carl" and promptly finds himself back in confinement. Someone slips him a note under the door that says "go now" and this is the last we see of Daryl this episode. 

Negan decides to take Carl home and we see Jesus on top of the truck heading out of the Sanctuary. He's had quite a commute today. Negan heads straight to the pantry and gives Olivia a bunch of shit about being overweight and managing the rations. What a dick. Olivia starts to cry and he apologizes. Kinda. "It looks like I'm going to be here a while awaiting your fearless leader's return, and if you like, I think it would enjoyable to screw your brains out...I mean if you're agreeable to it." Olivia slaps him across the face and he says "I am about 50% more into you now." He demands she make him some lemonade while he waits and off she goes. 

Carl reluctantly takes Negan on a grande tour of his house and in the process, Negan discovers Judith. He is smitten with her immediately. Negan takes Judith out to the porch and sits with her in a rocking chair as Carl sits very awkwardly by his side. Negan jokes (maybe?) about burying Rick and Carl in the flower bed and moving into "the suburbs." He then gives Judith a smooch and a smile and we fade out. No word on whether Olivia makes banging lemonade or if Negan liked it.  

The episode ends there and I've said "Damn it Carl!" out loud more times this hour(ish) than I have in a long time. As Negan makes himself at home, will Spencer win his favor in delivering the treasure trove of supplies? Is this Spencer's play to oust Rick as the leader of Alexandria? Do we think he got those supplies from the obstacle course Rick and Aaron are facing? So many questions leading up to next week's mid-season finale. As it stands now Negan is sitting pretty on Rick's porch with Rick nowhere to be found. Not only has Spencer arrived back in town, but so has Smokin' Hot Rosita and her one bullet that Eugene made. Michonne is on her way to the Sanctuary, though Negan isn't there anymore, and it seems Daryl is about to make his way out of the Sanctuary which essentially means shit is in chaos. Since we suffered two big losses in the season premiere, I'm hoping our heroes are spared next week...unfortunately, Smokin' Hot Rosita has had more dialogue recently than she's had in all of the seasons she's been on the show, and I'm worried for her. We know it's way too soon for Negan to die, so maybe her single bullet will at least shave off some of Carl's hair when she fires it. A girl can dream, can't she?

TWD Season 7 Episode 6: "Swear"

Anyone wondering what Tara's been up to? No? Me neither. The only time I think of her is when Denise's empty eye socket comes to mind, so imagine my surprise when I realized this WHOLE episode is about the life and times of the zombie apocalypse's most unlucky lesbian. How can you devote an entire episode to Tara, you ask? Here's what went down in "Swear."

We'll Meet Beyond The Shore

We flash back to Heath and Tara in their camper, eating okra and discussing how they've gone farther than they were supposed to and have been gone longer than the two weeks they initially estimated. Heath is still queasy about their attack on the Saviors and his general outlook on the future is bleak. I don't blame him. 

Tara and Heath find their way to a bridge that is impassable based on the number of abandoned vehicles and containers. They assume there are supplies up for grabs though and proceed on foot until they find a dump truck. Seems it was mid dump (heh) and a duffel bag is sticking out from the pile of sand coming from the vehicle. Heath cautions Tara not to mess with it - who knows what else is in that sand? But because Tara is often stupid, she goes for it and unearths dozens of Walkers in the process. Heath looks like he might be able to get in the clear but then realizes Tara is surrounded. He shoots the Walkers who are just about to eat her and gets surrounded himself. Tara looks like she wants to save him but ends up falling backwards over the bridge instead. 

Somewhere Beyond The Sea

A woman and a girl are walking along a beach stabbing at Walkers stuck in the sand. They come across a motionless Tara near the water, still alive, but the girl wants to shove a spear in her head anyway. "We're supposed to. I want to!" The woman, Cyndie, says they are not going to kill her and the kid is pissed. Her name is Rachel and I can already tell she is a pain in the ass. 

They hide Tara (still unconscious) behind some driftwood and Cyndie brings her food and water, assuming Tara is still knocked out. Tara is on the mend though and follows Cyndie back to her home to discover there is a village alive and well near the shore. Granted, the village is all women and children, which is weird, but we've now uncovered a third community near(ish) Alexandria that seems to be thriving. Tara is not incognito for long as shots are fired where she's hiding and observing. She runs, but runs into Rachel who is ready to shoot her ass. Cyndie intervenes and they are now surrounded by women with guns. Tara looks like she may pee her pants. "I'm cool. I'm not here to hurt anybody." They all just awkwardly stare at each other until the commercial break. 

We next see Tara in the quarters of Natania who I'm guessing is the leader of this community, Oceanside. Cathy and Beatrice seem to be Natania's two right hands, if that's a thing, and they want answers from Tara. She explains that she's from Atlanta and she's been traveling with a friend for a couple of years, but they recently were separated in Walker chaos. During a zombie attack she got knocked off a bridge and washed up on shore nearby. Tara says she will happily leave if they will just point her in the direction of the bridge. Natania informs her that they usually shoot strangers on sight but Cyndie is her granddaughter and risked her life trying to protect Tara. They'll need to think on what they want to do with her.

Tara ends up staying for dinner and eating stew with these these ladies as well as Cyndie. Natania is hoping to convince Tara to stay because she thinks Tara would be valuable to the community and at the same time, Tara wouldn't be able to tell anyone where they are. Natania even offers to help her find Heath and give him a home there too. Tara's a bit confused since she has yet to see a man in Oceanside but Natania explains that they while they were in their previous community, they got into a "skirmish" with another group (who we can assume is the Saviors since Negan is everywhere) and all of the men were killed. Natania's daughter, Cyndie's mother was killed as well in addition to Cyndie's 11 year old brother. After that, the ladies and kids left with only the shirts on their backs and ended up at Oceanside. They also decided at that time to shoot anyone else they see on sight. They want to stay hidden. 

Natania asks Tara to start telling them the truth and Tara spills the beans on Alexandria including their recent slaughter of Saviors. She also mentions the girlfriend that she's eager to get back to. Oh Tara...you might as well stay. You seriously may have hit a gold mine in Oceanside, my friend. Tara suggests Oceanside and Alexandria work together and Cyndie is all for it. Natania decides she will send Beatrice and Cathy with Tara to find Heath and then check out Alexandria. Cyndie wants to go and is denied. Pretty sure Cyndie has the hots for Tara and Tara is probably going to wish she stayed once she realizes what happened at home. 

My Heart Will Lead Me There Soon

In the morning Tara sets off with her guides but something doesn't feel right. As they quietly approach a Walker, Tara realizes these bitches are going to kill her and she runs. Beatrice catches up with her though and Tara pleads for her life. Beatrice tells her that her community is dead already because of what they did to the Saviors. "You can't stop them. There are more Saviors. More outposts."  Yes Tara...the Saviors were the ones that killed all of the men and every boy over 10 in Oceanside. Lined them all up and shot them in the head. "We were supposed to keep working for them and then one night we left. We got away and we are NOT going to let you lead them back to us." Beatrice aims her gun at Tara and Cyndie sneaks up from behind and knocks Beatrice over, shouting for Tara to run. Tara has done SO much running in this hour. Cyndie catches up with Tara and makes her swear she will not come back and not tell anyone where they are. Tara swears, then Cyndie hands her a pack with food, water and a spear and takes her to the bridge. 

Tara makes it safely across (Cyndie's a hell of a shot and covers her before Beatrice and Cathy grab her and take her home) but there's no sign of Heath. Tara heads home on foot, which is crazy to me since she and Heath had been gone more than two weeks with a vehicle, and she does find some supplies along the way. At one abandoned store in particular she grabs a bobble head of a female doctor which makes me sad. Eugene is the first to welcome Tara home...but he's also the first to fill her in on everything. Smokin' Hot Rosita tries to comfort her. It's not like Alexandria is a happy home for her anymore either. She says she'll go anywhere Tara wants to go. "There's gotta be somewhere. We can square this. We can make this right." Tara looks up and says she didn't see anywhere like that in her travels. 

The episode ends there and I'm ready to get back to the fun stuff. I need more Jesus, more Ezekiel's tiger, and more rogue Michonne. We are nearing the mid-season finale and while I know there is something big on the horizon (based on the books anyway), we're sure as hell taking our sweet time getting there...or in the realm of there...or in the outskirts of that realm. What will we find out in the final episodes of 2016? Will we get back to The Kingdom? Will Tara reveal any details about Oceanside? Will we see the post-Gregory era of Hilltop? Will any more of these communities start to become allies? Not sure if we can look forward to that in the near future, but man I hope these last couple of episodes are exciting.