TWD Season 7 Episode 11: Hostiles and Calamities

Tonight's episode of The Walking Dead takes us back to Negan and the Sanctuary where we catch up with (not Stage 2) Eugene. We also see the aftermath of Daryl's escape and the effect it has on the Saviors' community. One can only imagine what Negan has in store for those he believes are responsible. Who ends up on the receiving end of his wrath? Here's where we are after "Hostiles and Calamities."

And I Am Feeling So Small

The hour opens with the Saviors discovering Fat Joey's body and a missing motorcycle. Dwight runs to Daryl's cell, finds it empty, and then dashes to his room to grab one of those miraculous walkie talkies that have range throughout the entire northern Virginia area. He finds that Daryl's disgusting yellow sweatsuit is on the floor of his room along with the "go now" note, and Dwight would look guilty as hell right now if anyone walked into the room. And they do. Cue Dwight getting his ass beat and the opening music. 

As the community is all abuzz about Daryl's escape, Negan is returning home from Alexandria with a fresh bullet hole in Lucille courtesy of Smokin' Hot Rosita and her epic fail as an assassin. Eugene is in tow as well and I'd be surprised if dude hasn't soiled his pants somewhere along the way. Laura leads him to a room much like the one Negan offered Daryl back when he thought he could win Daryl over. It has a bed, kitchen, full fridge and a TV, and Eugene tells her "This will be satisfactory." He's able to request a meal of canned pasta with tomato sauce as well as potato chips, and it seems Mr. Mullet is settling in quite quickly.  I do have to laugh though when he turns on the stereo and that torturous "Easy Street" song comes on. That tune is everywhere. 

Dwight finds himself locked in Daryl's cell and Negan approaches the other side of the door to bestow some incredibly dry humor on us. I'll be honest and say I've missed Negan. Terribly. Negan informs Dwight that he's missing a wife... and it just so happens that the missing wife is Dwight's ex-wife (if divorce is a thing during a zombie apocalypse). Seems Sherry flew the coop the around same time Daryl did and Negan points out that this is very suspicious since Dwight's only real job lately was to break Daryl. So Negan asks "After all this, before, after, hell...after everything....who are you, Dwight?" Without hesitation, Dwight replies "I'm Negan" and he is released from his cell. Dwight is instructed to find Sherry and either bring her back or "sort it out." 

Before Dwight departs on his journey, he needs to see the doctor to get his wounds dressed. The doctor tells Dwight he thinks Sherry released Daryl because she has such a big heart. He says Sherry is the type of person who isn't expected to be in the Sanctuary because she's soft. The doctor knows he's talking to her former husband, right? A very annoyed Dwight leaves the infirmary and sets out on a motorcycle to find Sherry. 

Dwight ends up at the house he shared with Sherry because they'd had a pact at one point to meet there if they were ever separated. Sherry isn't there but she has left him a very heartfelt note, apologizing for making him live in Negan's world. "I did what I did because I didn't want you to die. But now you've killed and you've become everything you didn't want to be...and it's my fault. I let Daryl go because he reminded you of who you used to be, and I wanted to let you forget." She says she's not sure she will make it on her own, but being dead is better than being where they were with Negan. Dwight cries and I kinda feel sorry for him. Kinda. I mean, he put an arrow through Denise's eye during her best bit of dialogue the entire time she was on the show. He's still a dick.   

And I Will Stumble And Fall 

Laura takes Eugene on a tour of the main warehouse and explains the points system. Apparently Eugene is allowed to take whatever he wants though so he stumbles out to the yard carrying a very large jar of pickles. Negan meets him there and asks him for his name. Eugene introduces himself while the rest of the group does the "Who are you/I'm Negan" thing. Negan wants to know if Eugene is a smartypants and Eugene rattles off his list of PhDs and all of his other accolades. Negan challenges Eugene to figure out a way to keep the Walkers who are mounted to the fences from falling apart after a while. Eugene suggests pouring liquid metal over the Walkers to keep them tethered to the fence. Negan LOVES this plan and he is so grateful that he vows to send a few of his wives over to Eugene's apartment to show him a good time. No sex allowed...but dinner, drinks, and conversation should help Eugene feel at home. Awww. And here I was hoping the mullet would finally get laid. It would sure make up for the creepy times Eugene watched Abraham and Smokin' Hot Rosita get it on. 

That evening three of Negan's wives are sitting with Eugene while he plays video games solo. No one ever taught Eugene how to entertain apparently. Amber is hell bent on getting drunk but Frankie and Tanya are eager to hear about Eugene's pre-apocalypse life as a smartypants. They want to know if Eugene knows how to make bombs out of household products and while Eugene doesn't make a bomb per se, he entertains the ladies with some exploding balloons made from blown up latex gloves. Ha! Our favorite nerd suddenly has friends who appreciate him. 

The next night Frankie and Tanya show up without Amber. They tell Eugene that all Amber does is drink and cry. They say Amber wants to end her life and they ask Eugene if he can make a pill that would cause her to go to sleep and not wake up. They promise to be there to stop Amber from turning into a Walker. The ladies tell Eugene that he is a good man who should be able to help them keep Amber from suffering. Eugene asks for Amber's exact weight and says he can make a pill ASAP once he has that info. They ask him to make two (just in case?) and he is able to get the ingredients from the main warehouse with no problem. He essentially sets up a lab in his little apartment and begins concocting the medication. 

And I Will Swallow My Pride

Dwight returns to the Sanctuary and tells the doctor he killed Sherry. The doctor still doesn't understand his audience and continues to talk about how Sherry shouldn't have let Daryl escape. "We don't get to have big hearts. Remember that." 

Suddenly everyone is gathered in the main room where Negan likes to burn people's faces with hot irons. Uh oh. Is he going to give Dwight a matching seared cheek on the other side of his face? Laura brings Eugene in to watch just as Negan steps in front of the open furnace. The doctor takes center stage and Negan punches him...then kicks him. What? Seems Dwight planted a portion of Sherry's note in the doctor's quarters and then told Negan that Sherry gave him "the whole story" before she died. Dwight claims that the doctor was in love with Sherry and let Daryl go to try to win her over. When Sherry realized this, she fled because she thought Negan would blame her. Again. What? Negan is falling for all of this horseshit? Negan takes the hot iron and tells the doctor he won't use it if he admits his guilt. The doctor does so immediately because he apparently doesn't know how this works, and Negan puts the iron down...and throws the doctor into the furnace. Ho. Ly. Shit.  

Eugene heads back to his room and Frankie and Tanya follow him. He says he made the pills but he won't give them up. Eugene tells them he knows the pills are intended for Negan and he's settled in to his new role. Tanya calls Eugene a coward and he does not disagree. The women leave, disappointed, and Eugene plays video games and eats more pickles. Later in the evening Negan arrives with Lucille in tow. He wants to know if everyone is doing right by Dr. Smartypants. He tells Eugene that this kind of invitation is not made to everyone and it is not made lightly. Negan then asks. "Who are you?" I can't say I'm surprised when Eugene replies "Negan. I was Negan before I even met you. I just needed to meet you properly to know." The episode ends with Eugene and Dwight overseeing the metal melding of the Walkers and the fences and Dr. Smartypants is a natural at asserting authority.  

So, given all of the shit he used to get from Abraham and Smokin' Hot Rosita, is Eugene for real in his new found loyalty to Negan? Does he feel appreciated and valuable in a way he hasn't felt since everyone thought he had the secret to curing the virus? Is Eugene just biding his time until he can slip Negan one of those pills himself? I'm not entirely sure what to think at this point. He's a self-admitted coward who cried like a baby for the first few minutes he was on screen tonight. I have to admit though that I would love to see a badass Stage 3 Eugene emerge and turn the Sanctuary upside down. With our heroes either training in Hilltop, having audiences with tigers in The Kingdom, off elsewhere trying to find guns for the garbage people, or drawing straws in Alexandria over who is going to watch Judith, it would be great to see Eugene step up and be a hero. I'm not kidding about Alexandria. Judith's first words are most likely going to be "are you my daddy?" to any random dude walking by. Maybe one of the Saviors can manufacture a baby monitor with unimaginable range to help Alexandrians with babysitting duties. Add that to your 'to do' list, Mr. Smartypants. 

TWD Season 7 Episode 10: New Best Friends

Tonight's episode of The Walking Dead takes us to a new community, a new group of non-Saviors, and (maybe) a new batch of friends as the title implies. The hour splits between the Grimes group's search for Gabriel and the goings on in The Kingdom, where Ezekiel is all kinds of clueless, Morgan is all kinds of conflicted, and Daryl is all kinds of awesome. Are we one step closer to the All Out War against Negan? Here's where we are after "New Best Friends."

Maybe I'm Just Too Demanding

The hour opens with King Ezekiel, Morgan, Richard, Diane, and young Benjamin standing in a parking lot waiting to give supplies to the Saviors. Negan's guys arrive and they are assholes, per the norm, and Richard has had it. He pulls his gun on the long-haired douchebag who is always giving him shit. Ezekiel quickly instructs Richard to turn his gun over to the Saviors and when the douchebag goes to throw a punch, Morgan bashes his hand. Whaaa? Non-violent Morgan? Morgan who wants to just capture Negan and have a friendly chat with him? Of course Morgan's stick is taken away and a brief fight ensues with Benjamin showing he's got some balls. Ezekiel puts a halt to it and promises the Saviors that nothing like this will happen in the future. Ezekiel, I love you, but you're the only person in your group right now with no guts. That didn't work out too well for Spencer... 

The group returns to The Kingdom and Morgan approaches Daryl, I'm hoping to say "I totally effed up and we need to take out the Saviors." Nope. He stands there with that inner struggle look on his face and doesn't admit that the situation with the Saviors is out of hand. Daryl tells him "If Carol were here and she saw all that...she'd be leading us right to them, ready to kill them all."

Daryl leaves Morgan and finds Richard practicing his archery skills since, you know, the Saviors took his gun AND decreed he can no longer have one. He hands Daryl a crossbow to play with and then shows him the stash of weapons he has hidden in the woods. They walk out to the road where Richard explains his plans to ambush the Saviors when they come driving up. His plan is to attack the cars and when they retaliate, the Saviors will follow a trail that will point them back to a cabin nearby...Carol's cabin. He thinks an attack on Carol will prompt Ezekiel to fight. When Daryl realizes not only that Carol is nearby, but Richard wants to sacrifice her, he's pissssssssed. Richard keeps explaining it's what they "have" to do and Daryl keeps telling him to leave Carol alone. Richard. Dude. Stop talking or Daryl will shut you up. Too late! He beats Richard on the ground and the Saviors drive by and don't see them. He then threatens to kill Richard if Carol is harmed in any way...even if she gets struck by lightning. Ha!

Can You Picture This?
Rick and his search party silently make their way into a junkyard with a group of people who remind me of Das Sound Machine from Pitch Perfect 2. Their very odd leader, Jadis, tells Rick "we own your lives - wanna buy them back?" Rick asks to see Gabriel and the priest is brought out from behind the crowd. Jadis explains that their group "doesn't bother...we take." Seems the night Gabriel was keeping watch, he heard something in the pantry and when he went in, the garbage people jumped him and had him clear out the supplies. That being the case, the Grimes group has nothing to buy their lives back with. Rick tells Jadis about the Saviors. He says they either kill you or they own you. Jadis doesn't seem intimidated by this at all and as she smirks, I want these guys to burst into song so badly. Rick proposes an alliance with the junkyard jerks but he is denied and a fight begins. Gabriel somehow grabs a hold of a knife and holds it to a garbage girl's throat. He tells Jadis that the Saviors have more supplies than they could ever want. There's a lot of taking to be done there. "If you join us and we beat them together, you'll be rewarded more than you can imagine." Side note: I realize there are zombies everywhere and the general stench these days probably isn't great, but no one is even flinching or flaring a nostril in this place. There's no chance it smells the same as the surrounding land. None.

Jadis agrees to chat more about the possibilities of an alliance and two of Jadis' henchmen take Rick to the very top of a mountain of garbage. Turns out this junkyard is huge with many junk hills, nooks and crannies. Jadis tells Rick she is open to change but he needs to prove himself. And with that, she pushes him off the top of the garbage mountain into an area with the most awesome Walker ever. This thing is armored with a metal spikes helmet, obviously complicating the normal killing method. After taking a spike through the hand, Rick pulls a whole bunch of garbage down on the awesome Walker and in the process, he locates a sharp object. He's able to slice and dice the incapacitated Walker and Jadis tosses him a rope to climb the heap. She tells him he needs to get a lot of guns and then she will join the fight against the Saviors. The Grimes group is able to take some of the items back that were stolen and they get ready to hit the road. They need to find guns for the garbage people and they need to find them quickly.

How Can You Just Leave Me Standing?

Carol is hanging out at home enjoying solitude but Ezekiel is once again out in her front yard. She reminds Ezekiel that she no longer wants visitors, but she does accept the cobbler he brought before giving him the boot. She sits back down on her couch to read a book (quite the cozy home she has made for herself) when there's a knock on the door. Carol opens the door expecting to yell at Ezekiel but she finds Daryl instead. She starts to cry. He starts to cry. I start to cry. They share a hug and Daryl looks at her with very sad eyes and asks "Why did you go?" Carol tearfully replies, "I had to."

Daryl hangs out in the house for a bit and they sit near her pretty awesome fireplace. Carol says that killing has taken its toll on her and she also couldn't bare to lose anyone else. If she had stayed with the group and the Saviors hurt any of their people, she would kill them because she had to. "And there wouldn't be anything left of me after that." She then asks Daryl if the Saviors came to Alexandria. He says they did. Carol's eyes well up with tears. "Did anyone get hurt? Is everybody okay? Did the Saviors... is everybody back home okay?" Daryl hesitates, then tells her "They came, we got em all. Made a deal with the rest of them like Ezekiel. Everyone's alright. Everyone's alright." They share a candlelit dinner and Daryl heads back to The Kingdom. 

Morgan finds Daryl just chillin' with Shiva the tiger. He knows Daryl didn't tell Carol what happened because he says Carol would have come back with him if he did. Morgan still refuses to help convince Ezekiel to join the fight against the Saviors, so Daryl tells him to "wake up" and then sets out alone on foot to Hilltop. 

The episode ends there and while it wasn't an amazing episode, I'll take a Carol/Daryl reunion any way I can get it. I wanted him to stay...to move in...to shower? I also wanted him to tell Carol about Glenn and Abraham and bring back the old badass Carol that blew up Terminus. I get why he didn't reveal the truth but I for real need her to come out of solitude. Will she head back to the Kingdom now that she believes Daryl lives there and all is well? Is someone going to clue her in on what happened to her fallen comrades? Can Morgan get his shit together already and provide Ezekiel some useful guidance? How quickly can Daryl and Jesus train the people of Hilltop for a war against a ruthless group of people? AND how quickly can Rick return to the junkyard with guns and, god willing, a shit ton of Lysol cans? 

TWD Season 7 Episode 9: Rock In The Road

Happy 2017! The Walking Dead returns tonight after a mid-season finale that brought our heroes to their breaking point with Negan and the Saviors. When we last left the group, Rick and company reunited with the folks in Hilltop and marched toward a plan of taking back their independence. Tonight's episode features not only Hilltop but (shrieks of joy!) The Kingdom as well. Here's where we are after "Rock in the Road."

You Got To Be Free

The episode opens with Gabriel doing his best Jon Snow impression and keeping night watch on the wall in Alexandria. He then takes a walk to the pantry where...he steals canned goods? Huh? Why? Oh and Gabriel is an awful thief. He knocks so much shit over on the shelves I have no idea how most of the town doesn't show up to see what the ruckus is about. Gabriel packs up a whole bunch of stuff from the pantry AND armory, puts it in the trunk of a car, and peaces out before sunrise. Is there someone in the car with him? Was it the stranger lurking outside the walls in the mid-season finale? We don't know because we don't see Gabriel again this hour. 

Meanwhile, Rick is hard at work talking to dumb ass Gregory in Hilltop. He's trying to make Gregory understand the need to take out the Saviors and the danger of doing nothing. Gregory reminds him that they've talked about this before...that Rick said he defeated them before...but then Rick actually only killed a small portion...and there was hell to pay. All right. Dumb ass Gregory has a point there. "Sometimes we don't get to choose what our life looks like." Gregory bids them good day, but when the Grimes group heads outside, there are a whole bunch of Hilltopians ready to back Maggie in the fight. They'll need training, but they are willing to give it their all. Screw you, Gregory. 

One And One And One Is Three

Even with the dozen or so completely untrained people from Hilltop, the Grimes group is still vastly outnumbered by the Saviors. Luckily Jesus knows all about The Kingdom and offers to take everyone there (just pause and read that sentence again). Rick is concerned about getting back to Alexandria before the Saviors realize Daryl has escaped, but Jesus whips out a Savior walkie talkie with unbelievable range and says they will be able to hear the Saviors communicating with one another. I'll refrain from any comments about Jesus being all-knowing. 

Jesus brings Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Tara, Sasha, Maggie, Smokin' Hot Rosita, and one-eyed Carl to the outskirts of The Kingdom. Richard greets them and brings them to Ezekiel (yay!) for an audience with the king. Just outside of the throne room, Tara spots Morgan and they all share a happy reunion. Morgan informs them that he found Carol, saved Carol by killing a Savior, and then Carol left The Kingdom after she felt better. Morgan neglects to mention that Carol lives close enough to pop in and borrow sugar as needed. 

The reactions to King Ezekiel and Shiva the tiger are almost as priceless as Carol's reaction earlier in the season. The way Ezekiel bellows "Jeeeeesus! It pleases me to see you, old friend." just about made my night on its own. Love. Him. It's no surprise though that Ezekiel is not interested in war with the Saviors. The group explains to the king and his advisers (to include Morgan) that Negan and his group killed Glenn, Abraham, Spencer, and Olivia, kidnapped Daryl and Eugene, and let a hoard of Walkers loose in Hilltop to prove a point. There is no other way around this fight. Ezekiel is silent but Richard is 100% on board. He eagerly says that The Kingdom has the people and the weapons to help Alexandria and Hilltop beat the Saviors. "The time is now."  Ezekiel looks to Morgan...who had completely redeemed himself earlier by saying he killed the Savior because he "had to"...but Morgan is not a fan of war and he suggests capturing Negan or some bullshit instead. Damn it, Morgan. Ezekiel tells Rick he will ponder the situation and give an answer in the morning. 

Young Benjamin leaves this conference and heads to the woods to continue his training. He is alone, looking for Walkers, when he encounters Carol...who pretty much calls him a wimp and tells him to go home. Benjamin offers her some of the extra food and water he always brings with him on excursions. He says he always has these items in case he runs into someone that needs them. "There aren't that many of us left. We need to help each other." Benjamin gets a fairly cold reaction from Carol, takes out two Walkers, and heads back to The Kingdom. He tells Ezekiel he believes they need to help Alexandria and Hilltop. "My dad always said that if you're asked to be the hero, be the hero. You asked me to be ready for anything and I am. We are." You'd think this would be enough to convince the king, but alas, Ezekiel denies the partnership the next morning. He offers Daryl asylum...but that is all he can offer. 

Come Together, Right Now

The frustrated Grimes group (sans Daryl) hits the road and begins the trek home. Along the way they hear the miracle walkie talkie Jesus has and Negan is giving a eulogy for Fat Joey, who Daryl killed in his escape. The Saviors know now Daryl is gone and they are on a manhunt. Our heroes need to get home quickly. They encounter a road block...one that includes a steel cable across the road, rigged with dynamite. Given the current situation, it sure would be nice to harvest some explosives. Smokin' Hot Rosita apparently knows how disarm this kind of contraption and the group slowly gathers the dynamite tethered along the cable. There's just one little hiccup...in the form of a massive herd of Walkers coming at them. The cable and explosives had been set up as a trap for the Walkers and they're a'comin. Rick sends Jesus and Sasha back to Hilltop on foot and the rest of the group scrambles into their SUV as the herd surrounds them. What happens next is pretty amazing. Rick and Michonne get into the cars connecting the steel cable and they zoom through the herd, taking them out like dominoes. HOW they run back to the car everyone else is in without a bite is beyond me, but it was a neat scene to say the least. 

Rick and company arrive home in time for Simon and the Saviors to be bitching about the lack of supplies and grilling people about Daryl's whereabouts. Rick pretends not to know that Daryl escaped and the Saviors turn the town upside down trying to find him. In the process, Rick learns that Gabriel is M.I.A. and the pantry shelves are bare. When Simon and his crew leave, Rick decides a search party needs to head out to find the priest. He believes Gabriel found the clues to the houseboat from the mid-season finale and he's worried about him. 

Eric (remember Eric?) is all out of sorts and begs Aaron not to go. I for real didn't know who Eric was when he first came on screen tonight. Aaron tells his boyfriend not to worry and I'm just happy to see some dialogue between the two. A small party heads out toward the houseboat but it's not long before they realize they are surrounded by a group of armed individuals. Rick looks alarmed for a second, and then we see him look at someone in this group (off camera) and smile.  

The episode ends there and boy did these guys do a lot of traveling tonight. I imagine Gregory's opinions are meaningless in Hilltop at this point and they are all in. I also imagine that Daryl will work on Ezekiel to secure The Kingdom's support. I also reallllly hope in the process that he stumbles upon Carol and they become a pouting, brooding couple. But at what point is Tara going to spill the beans about Oceanside? If the mysterious group at the end of the hour isn't the badass women by the sea, then Tara has to have a "hey guys, there's a whole other community we're not tapping into" moment. She HAS to. We couldn't have sat through that Tara episode for nothing. 

But in the meantime, who do we think pops up and makes Rick smile at the end? Did Gabriel reach the houseboat and encounter a group of allies? Did Heath live and recruit a band of merry men? Did whatshername from Oceanside convince her people that they need to branch out (you can't tell me some of those women aren't craving male companionship). Is it possible Carol has somehow connected with the badass women by the sea and brought them back toward Alexandria? Maybe Dwight is over being Negan's bitch and he's got some traitorous followers? Too many possibilities. But my biggest question after the hour is....who the hell is watching Judith? Seriously. I'd love an episode dedicated just to her, Look Who's Talking style.