TWD Season 7 Episode 15: Something They Need

This week's episode of The Walking Dead is spread out through several communities as we spend this last hour before the finale wondering if our heroes finally have what they need for the All Out War (that I hope will someday actually happen on this show). After a couple of weeks without Rick, Michonne, one-eyed Carl and the rest of the Alexandria gang, we catch up with them tonight while they continue to search for weapons and supplies. We spend some time at The Sanctuary, Hilltop, and (gasp!) Oceanside as well and things are definitely coming to a head. Did Sasha make it through her lone attack alive? Is Hilltop ready to overthrow Gregory? Are the ladies of Oceanside beyond livid at Tara? Here's where we are after "Something They Need." 

I Have The Stuff That You Want

The episode opens with Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Carl, Enid, Tara, Jesus, Gabriel, Aaron and Eric (really? Eric?) making their way to Oceanside after Tara finally reveals that she knows of a community with guns. No word if the armory of guns at Oceanside satisfies Jadis' requirement for "a lot of guns," but it's worth a try, right? Either way, I hope Judith has an iPad or something to keep her busy at the house while everyone she knows is elsewhere.

Natania is strolling through Oceanside and returns to her house to find Tara inside, pointing a gun at her. Natania. Is. Pissed. "We should have just killed you in the village." Cyndie arrives just then and she's equally unhappy that Tara betrayed them. Tara tells them her friends are going to invade unless Natania agrees to talk with Rick peacefully. She explains that they are going to fight the Saviors and they need more guns. A lot of guns, Tara. She pleads with Natania, asking her to join in the fight, but Natania won't hear of it even after Tara reminds them what the Saviors did to Oceanside before it became Oceanside. Tara is getting a little emotional now. "They killed my friends, they killed my girlfriend, they took everything from us...If we fight them together, we can beat them. We have to try." Tara's conversation is on a timer though. She only had a small amount of time to bring Natania to Rick and that time has passed. 

The Grimes gang invades Oceanside and the community members are at a disadvantage from the start. The women (aside from Cyndie and Natania who are currently overpowering Tara) are gathered together in the woods and Rick addresses them, saying no one needs to get hurt. "This is just about what you have. What we need." Natania and Cyndie arrive then and Natania has a gun to Tara's head. I mean...why? Expecting an armed group of people to leave because you have one of them at gunpoint with your one gun is just silly. 

Michonne has set herself up in a tree with a sniper rifle and Tara is yelling at her not to shoot Natania. Cyndie tells the crowd that Tara's people are going to fight the Saviors. Some of the community members think this is a good idea. Some of them think it's worth a try. Some of them are scared out of their minds when they see a hoard of Walkers behind Rick. Cyndie clocks Natania in the head and both groups work together to take out this massive zombie herd. Even though many of the Oceanside ladies want to leave with Tara, they decide to stay and follow Natania's orders...and in doing so they watch helplessly as all of their guns are taken away. 

I Am The Thing That You Need

Maggie is in full farmer mode in Hilltop, so the locals are not only learning how to fight, they are also learning long term survival skills from their unofficial leader. She even finds a blueberry bush outside of the walls and transfers it to the garden. While she's digging it up, Dumbass Gregory approaches. She tells him she's never seen him outside the walls before (heh) and he starts spewing some bullshit about putting on a united front for Hilltop. He says he's willing to work together so people in Hilltop will be less worried. Maggie agrees to have more of a discussion after she's done with the blueberry bush and asks him to keep an eye out while she finishes. Gregory stands with his knife, looking around for Walkers, and for a hot second it seems like he's thinking about killing Maggie. Look at the flowers, Gregory. Please just look at the flowers.

Maggie is just about finished when a Walker starts coming toward them from the woods. She stands and says she'll take care of it but Gregory insists that he should be protecting the pregnant lady and not the other way around. Gregory walks quickly toward the Walker and then quickly turns around and asks Maggie to kill it. Dumbass. Maggie darts past him and as she struggles with the Walker for a second, another Walker comes out of nowhere and attacks Gregory. He falls to the ground and manages to avoid the teeth until Maggie kills that one as well. Several members of the community stroll by and witness this, as well as Gregory vomiting, and it's safe to say his credibility has reached zero. 

Gregory heads back to his house and looks up the coordinates Simon gave him on a map. He chugs some tequila (file that under things I've never been able to do) and calls for one of the subordinates who still seems to be loyal to him. "I'm gonna need you to drive me somewhere. You're going to want to pack a bag."

Do What You Please

Sasha has found herself in The Sanctuary, held in a cell much like the one Daryl called home. She's spared from the awful "Easy Street" music, but she's on the verge of being tortured by something else...a creepy ass Savior by the name of David. Sasha is thirsty and David is more than willing to help her out with that, but for a price. David starts touching Sasha, telling her she's pretty. When she tells him to go to hell, he rips her shirt. Wait...doesn't Negan have a rule about rape? He sure does and he shows up just in time. As Negan pulls out a knife that he could have easily stolen from the set of Crocodile Dundee, David begins to apologize. The apology is not accepted though because Negan is quick to shove his knife into the throat of Rapey Davey (Negan's term though I really wish I had come up with it first). 

Negan makes Sasha an offer much like the one he made Daryl and Eugene. He likes her "beach ball sized lady nuts" and hopes she will help him run the Sanctuary. Negan tosses her his knife and leaves her with a choice...she can kill Rapey Davey when he wakes up as a Walker, she can slit her own wrists, or she can do nothing and let Rapey Davey kill her. After all - it was a suicide mission anyway, right? "Sasha, we all got shit to get over. Take some time. Think about it." 

When the cell door opens again Eugene is there and encourages her to accept Negan's offer. "I believed I could be brave - that I could be a survivor like Abraham was. Riding that RV into the sunset was some of the greatest 37 minutes of my existence." Sasha finally makes eye contact with Eugene as he goes on to say, "I have never in my life been as scared as I was that night in the woods...fully believing my number's about to be called and seeing it happen to someone brave." Eugene feels safe in The Sanctuary and hopes Sasha will join him even though Abraham wouldn't want her to. Her response? "Go."

There's No Turning Back 

Sasha ultimately decides to kill the undead Rapey Davey and Negan is pleased. He takes the knife back from her and tells her that he's heard Rick and his people are up to no good. "You're gonna help me change it. You're gonna find us a win-win." All of that can wait until tomorrow though. Negan plans to show Sasha some perks of being a traitor. First up is a decent meal. 

Later, Eugene knocks on her cell door and tells her she made the right choice. Sasha's muffled voice tells him she was wrong. She can't live with herself, joining the Saviors knowing what Negan has done to their friends. "I'm trapped. You have to help me." Eugene promises to help Sasha get used to things but that's not what she's asking. She wants to die. She cries and asks for anything - knife, gun, razor blade, glass, something that she can kill herself with. Eugene reluctantly agrees because he feels that he owes her. He brings her the pill he had previously made and we see Sasha wincing as she receives it under the door. I think we all know she has plans other than suicide and this was not the weapon she was looking for. 

Meanwhile Smokin' Hot Rosita has successfully escaped their failed mission and returned to Alexandria. Since we know Daryl was with Rick and company invading Oceanside, who was the person with the crossbow that she encountered at the end of last week's episode? When the Grimes gang returns home, she takes them to the cell that housed Morgan when he first arrived. Dwight is there and he claims he is ready to help. Rick pulls out a gun and tells him to drop to his knees.

The episode ends there and next week is the season finale. We've spent SO many hours community hopping and listening to people say "we have to fight" and "we need to defeat the Saviors." We've spent SO many hours at Negan's mercy, listening to him make (fantastic) cruel jokes, watching him execute so many people, and following his Saviors as they make dick moves left and right. Something big has to happen next week, right? I don't expect Negan to die. My understanding is Jeffrey Dean Morgan is under contract for another year. But the show runners HAVE to give us a real start to this rebellion. Kill Simon. Kill the dudes who pick up up supplies from The Kingdom. Blow something up. DO. SOMETHING. Will Negan realize exactly how bad the "Rick and his people are up to no good" statement is? Will Sasha try to poison him with that pill? Is there a chance she still could survive next week's episode? Will Smokin' Hot Rosita go down in flames instead? We have a very short wait to find out, but damn it, we deserve one hell of a payoff. 

TWD Season 7 Episode 14: The Other Side

Tonight's episode of The Walking Dead takes us back to Hilltop as the Hilltopians train for battle and Sasha and Smokin' Hot Rosita begin their own mission. The Saviors are still checking in on this community frequently to ensure Gregory is still a kiss-ass, and in this hour his "leadership" of Hilltop starts to slip away even more. Is a true overthrow in the cards for Gregory? Will Sasha and Smokin' Hot Rosita make it 100 yards out of Hilltop without tearing into one another? Here's where we are after "The Other Side."

I Just Want You To Stay

We open the episode in Hilltop as folks are learning to throw knives, wield weapons, and forge spears (they didn't have a blacksmith before, did they?). Maggie's baby is still healthy but she is running herself ragged as the pseudo head of this community. Jesus has been a huge help to Maggie though and they have become close friends in their endeavors to prepare Hilltop for what the future holds. Don't get too excited though - there's no Jesus/Maggie romance on the horizon. In one of their heart to hearts, Jesus reveals he is gay. And no, I'm not touching "Jesus is gay" with a 10 foot pole. 

Though he has been instrumental in the plan to unite the communities against the Saviors, Jesus has also drawn a map of The Sanctuary from his truck visit there and given it to Sasha, knowing her plan is a dangerous (almost impossible) one. Enid finds out about the plan and true to form...she threatens to tattle. Enid and Jesus plead with Sasha to let Rosita go on her own, or to convince her not to go at all, but Sasha has her mind made up. They offer to go with her (what the hell could Enid possibly offer in an assassination attempt?) but Sasha says it's more important for Jesus and Enid to protect Maggie. "She's the future of this place. I know it." Enid gives Sasha and Smokin' Hot Rosita a 10 minute head start before she tells Maggie what's happening. Sigh. It's always a pleasure to see you, Enid. 

Sasha and Smokin' Hot Rosita have to move quickly and not a moment too soon - the Saviors have arrived. Daryl and Maggie have to go into hiding quickly as well and luckily our heroes have been hard at work building tunnels in the community. While they hide, Maggie asks Daryl why he hasn't spoken to her the whole time he's been in Hilltop. He can barely even look at her when he mumbles "I'm sorry" and starts to cry. Maggie tells Daryl that Glenn's death wasn't his fault. "You're one of the good things in the world. That's what Glenn thought and he would know because he was one of the good things too." She asks Daryl to help her win and they share a hug. 

After All That We've Been Through

Simon and company march right into the main house where Dumbass Gregory stands ready to offer gin to his friends...at least Dumbass Gregory thinks they're friends. Simon has moved on to tequila though and explains he's only there for a quick visit. Simon is looking for "a certain someone" and I assume he knows that Daryl is there. I'm wrong though. Simon has come to Hilltop to collect Dr. Carson. Ah, that's right. The Sanctuary had a recent opening in their medical department and Simon isn't giving Dr. Carson a choice in the matter. Gregory is at his breaking point with these guys, and he tells Simon that he's losing the trust of his people and he thinks willingly giving up the town doctor might be the last straw for those who want him out of a leadership role. Simon replies, "If you're having problems of that nature, come to see me anytime." He writes something down on a piece of paper and tells Gregory to go there and give the guard his name. Did he write down an address? Is Dumass Gregory going to put it in his GPS? Are there maps in Hilltop? Would he even know how to read a map?

The next time we see Dumbass Gregory he is doing his normal "I'm gonna look around the gate area with an inexcusable look of stupidity on my face and wonder why people don't like me" thing. He's decided he needs to take charge and has a side conversation with Jesus. He says Jesus is behind on scavenging and has too many people in his trailer (there's an occupancy limit?). He hands Jesus a list of assignments to give to the new people and Jesus notes that their spineless leader must be really worried if he's trying to split everyone up. Dumbass Gregory replies, "I look out for my friends...and I realized we're not friends." With that, a Hilltopian comes in with a bottle of tequila for Gregory to enjoy on his own and Jesus is dismissed. 

It's Hard For Me To Say I'm Sorry

Sasha and Smokin' Hot Rosita begin their journey to The Sanctuary and scavenge along the way. Smokin' Hot Rosita notices that Sasha is wearing a necklace...the necklace she gave to Abraham right before he dumped her ass. Ouch. Sasha, I hope you're scavenging for red bull and 5 hour energy drinks - you're gonna have to watch your back tonight. 

Sasha tries to break the ice by asking how her angry travel companion learned how to disarm bombs. Smokin' Hot Rosita says, "I'm not here to get to know you, so we either talk about the mission or we don't." Sasha gets it. She moves on to planning and says they should set up in a building outside of The Sanctuary - maybe she'll be able to get a clean shot at Negan from there and the two can make it back home alive. Of course Smokin' Hot Rosita still has her resting bitch face in full force and she wants to invade and make sure they get the job done. She claims she's too good to get caught, Sasha claims she's too good of a shot to miss with a sniper rifle, and the claws are really starting to come out. Sasha finally stops and says "If they take us, we don't get another try because they'll kill us. If we're out here, we're alive and get another go." 

The two women hotwire a car and make their way to a building just outside the gates of The Sanctuary. Sasha sets up her sniper rifle and notices Eugene is walking around the yard giving orders to the Saviors working on the fence Walkers. Well, at least they know he's safe. One would think Sasha would just stay near the window until her target arrived like any good sniper would do, but instead she takes another stab at girl talk. Smokin' Hot Rosita is sitting on the floor making an interesting array of knots in a piece of rope and Sasha asks if she can teach her how to do it.  She does and Sasha tells her, "You know...we got lucky having you with us. You know how to do everything." 

Smokin' Hot Rosita softens the resting bitch face then and tells Sasha she had used men to teach her survival skills. Johnny taught her how to disarm bombs. Marcus taught her how to hotwire cars. There were several others as well (get it, girl) and Smokin' Hot Rosita realized she didn't like being a girl who needed to be taken care of. "They didn't even notice I was picking up everything they knew how to do and doing it better. Then I would outgrow them and bounce. The sex was just for fun." Ha! That's not the case with Abraham though. "I fell in with him because he saw that I could handle my shit and I never looked back." Uh oh. Here it comes...and Sasha knows it. "I thought I hated you, but maybe I just hated that he figured out his shit first. I've never told anyone any of that stuff." Sasha tearfully says she's glad that Rosita opened up to her and Rosita tearfully says it was stupid to waste so much time. She'll never get to tell Abraham she was happy that he was happy. Sasha admits she was also very happy with Abraham. They agree that it wasn't Abraham's time to die...that he should have gone out fighting rather than on his knees at the mercy of an asshole with a bat. Sasha says they all want to go out that way and the two women promise each other they have each other's back. Awww. This entire exchange was so well done and was way better than any formal apology from either woman. Cheers to the writers and actresses. 

Wouldn't Want To Be Swept Away

Sasha finally goes back to the window and sees Dr. Carson arriving in a truck. She then sees Negan outside but can't get a clear shot. There is a walkie talkie on the floor next to Sasha and "Cheif Engineer" Eugene's voice is heard ordering more Walkers for the fence. He says Negan is going to be busy in the boudoir for a while and all questions should come through him. This is a very useful bit of information...

The women wait until nightfall and approach the fence when Eugene is walking around with one of his new subordinates. They shoot the dude and begin to rescue Eugene. Problem is - Eugene doesn't want to be rescued. You've got to be KIDDING me. He seriously became a traitor? After witnessing Negan turn Abraham's head into gooey mush? AGH! Eugene tells the women they have to leave before anyone hears a commotion and he goes inside. Smokin' Hot Rosita is pisssssed. She's ready to go in and Sasha asks her to keep an eye out while she gets the fence open. What Sasha actually does is let herself inside the fence and lock Rosita out. "Go. It's not your time. There's got to be a point to it, right? They need you." Oh my god!!! Sasha goes running into the building and we hear many, many gunshots. Smokin' Hot Rosita hightails it out of there, crying, and when she pauses she sees a man with a crossbow. Daryl? 

The episode ends there and I'll say I wasn't expecting Sasha to be the one to recklessly go barreling into The Sanctuary. Smokin' Hot Rosita has had so much screen time this season, I thought for sure this may be her last episode. I mean, think about it - up until this season we didn't know much about her other than she has amazing abs and can seriously rock some pig tails. Sasha on the other hand already went through the bitter, angry, everything is bullshit phase after Bob and Tyreese died and she came out of it. Granted, it was her relationship with Abraham that calmed her down, but I thought she would be consistently meticulous in the assault on the Saviors. 

We're down to the last two episodes of the season and of course we are also down to the final hours of the expected season-ending major character death. Sure, the show runners might spare us given the Negan bloodbath throughout the season, but I don't see the Sasha and Smokin' Hot Rosita's mission playing out without consequences. I've heard that Sonequa Martin-Greene (Sasha) is set to have a starring role in Star Trek: Discovery so unless TWD is just going to scale back her screen time and work with her schedule, I think we might be bidding adieu to Sasha in the coming weeks. Similarly, Chandler Riggs (Damn it, Carl) is college bound this fall and fans have been concerned about his demise as well. I know TWD writers don't always follow the comics, but they would sure be eliminating a big story line if we lose Carl now. Will all of our heroes make it through the rest of Season 7 unscathed? Will we finally get Oceanside involved in the all out war next week? Will the finale physically bring all of the communities together as one giant army? I sure hope so, but somewhere in the mix I also hope someone gives Stage "I'm Negan" Eugene a swift kick in the ass. 

TWD Season 7, Episode 12: Bury Me Here

All I can say is...YES! Tonight's episode of The Walking Dead focuses on The Kingdom as well as Morgan and Carol's struggles to stay out of the fight against the Saviors. Both of these characters face a test in this hour, but The Kingdom itself is truly shaken by the events in "Bury Me Here." Who makes a fatal choice that creates a "no turning back now" situation? Here's where we are when the episode ends. 

It Feels So Empty Without Me

Though Carol has made a nice little home for herself, the first time we see her tonight is right after a nightmare. She's resumed smoking...you know, that "disgusting habit" Carol warned Shelly about right before the Wolves hacked her to death with a machete...and she seems different from the woman we saw snuggled up and reading a book on the couch a few weeks ago. I know Carol lives in a zombie world and all, but I don't think it's the Walkers causing her a restless sleep. Carol has some unresolved issues to attend to. 

Carol heads to The Kingdom and immediately asks to see Morgan. "Why did Jesus bring Daryl and everyone else to The Kingdom?" Come on, Morgan. She knows things aren't okay. Morgan tells Carol the group was here to chat with Ezekiel about all of the communities working together...but neglects to mention anything about beating the Saviors or why. Carol wants to know if Daryl lied to her and Morgan defers her back to Daryl. He offers to go with her to Alexandria to talk with him, but I'm not sure why he thinks Daryl is in Alexandria. Maybe he's just trying to take her there so she can see (or not see) for herself who is okay and who isn't. Carol storms off and Benjamin follows her, hoping to learn some valuable skills from her. Carol shuts him down and keeps going. Poor kid. He just wants to be able to contribute.  

This Looks Like A Job For Me

Ezekiel, Benjamin, Richard, Morgan, and the other folks who normally do the Saviors' supply drop off are preparing for their next trip. Richard gives Morgan a little bit of his background, saying he once had a happy life with a happy family. "I didn't ask for much and I got more than I deserved." Morgan nods, acknowledging he had the same before the disease spread. Richard mentions again that he thinks Morgan's approach is wrong, but then everyone boards the truck to head out and the two men do not finish the conversation.  Side note: Each time we see Shiva now I am going to think back on that awful deer from last week. How do we get a pretty awesome growling tiger and an animated deer that Walt Disney would have turned down for Bambi? Just sayin.'

The truck is halted on the road when it reaches a blockade of shopping carts. Everyone exits, guns raised, and they walk together around the nearest building where they come across an open empty grave. There is a cardboard sign that says "Bury Me Here." Now earlier in the episode Richard had been digging here right next to a little girl's backpack...what's he trying to pull? I hope he's not trying to set another trap for Carol. 

The group disassembles the shopping carts and the truck reaches the drop off meeting spot. The Saviors are already there and growing impatient. Douchebag is wielding Morgan's weapon like an idiot when they arrive and the mood is tense from the get go. Gavin asks for Ezekiel and his group to turn over their guns and Richard is the first one to say they should cooperate. Huh? Ezekiel agrees to hand over the guns if Morgan gets his stick back. Gavin isn't interested in negotiating though and Ezekiel caves....again. Gavin is also going apeshit because there's supposed to be 12 melons in the delivery and there are only 11 in the bins. Ezekiel counted himself before they left The Kingdom and doesn't understand how one could be gone. Oh shit. Richard SO did this on purpose. He wanted someone to get hurt to ignite a fire under Ezekiel's ass. Douchebag points a gun at Richard's head and Richard is tearful as he stands ready to accept the bullet. Instead though....Douchebag shoots Benjamin in the leg and the kid starts bleeding out immediately. Gavin tells Ezekiel to get the remainder of the delivery to them by tomorrow and Ezekiel looks almost evil in his "I understand" response. They load Benjamin into the truck as quick as they can to get him back to The Kingdom before he bleeds to death. Richard has a look of disbelief on his face as they leave. Yeah buddy...the Saviors never punish the person you think they will punish. Way to go. 

The closest place to get Benjamin some help is Carol's house. She has to pause her tomato planting to clear off her table inside. Benjamin is pale now and he has lost a ton of blood. He looks at Morgan and says "to injure your opponent is to injure yourself" which comes from that "all life is precious" book Morgan gave him to read. He dies soon after and I'm so pissed at Richard. He literally dug his own grave and assumed he'd be sacrificing himself, and this poor kid died instead. Morgan leaves and walks to the open grave again. He sees another sign that says "Just Listen" and he goes through a range of emotions, most notably rage, as he relives losing his wife and son again through Benjamin's death. He kicks over a bin on the road...a bin that has a melon in it. Morgan realizes now what has happened.

Could Start A Revolution

After the men return home to The Kingdom, Morgan confronts Richard and Richard admits his guilt immediately."I was going to give MY life to show you." Richard explains that he is still constantly beating himself up for not doing anything when the apocalypse started. He didn't think other people's problems were his to solve. "Who the hell am I, right?" He lost his wife to a fire in their camp...and then lost his little girl 3 days later while they were on the run. Richard cries and tells Morgan that they need to use Benjamin's death to convince Ezekiel that enough is enough. Hell, if this won't do it, what would? "This is it, Morgan. You. Have. To. Kill. Or else you might as well just kill yourself. Someone had to die. I had to be the one and that didn't happen...so I'll be the one to lead our army to crush the Saviors." His plan is to obey the Saviors and do the drop off as planned. He wants Gavin to think everything is okay so they won't suspect The Kingdom will turn on them. 

Morgan spends some time in his room pondering everything Richard has said. He has witnessed Ezekiel break the news to Benjamin's little brother who now has no family left. He joins the group the next morning when they take the big truck to deliver just one melon. As they wait for the Saviors to arrive, Morgan sees his own stick as well as Benjamin's on the ground near Benjamin's blood. He grabs them and nudges Richard to tell Ezekiel (in front of Ezekiel) the truth. The Saviors cars pull up right at that moment and Gavin gets out and asks how the kid is doing. Gavin's intention had been for Richard to die and when he finds out Benjamin his dead, he screams and his moronic comrade to walk home without saying a word or giving anyone a look. Richard then hands over the melon and starts sucking up to Gavin. He begins to say "We get it" when Morgan approaches Richard from behind and starts beating the shit out of him. I assume he'll realize what he's doing and stop, but he doesn't. He chokes Richard. He slams Richard's head against the pavement over and over again. He ultimately kills Richard and no one makes a move to stop him. Morgan turns to Ezekiel and Gavin and tells them what Richard did.  He looks at Gavin and tells him "I wanted to show you we get it and we understand what it is we need to do." Gavin buys it and says he'll see them next week at the same time. 

After the Saviors drive off, Ezekiel still stands in disbelief over what has just happened. Morgan explains that Richard wanted it to be him.  He cries about Benjamin and tells the rest of the group to go home without him. Morgan brings Richard's body to the "Bury Me Here" grave and unearths the backpack in the process. He buries it with Richard and takes out his emotions on half a dozen Walkers on his way to Carol's house. 

Guess Who's Back, Back Again

Carol answers the door and is alarmed by the blood covering Morgan. He quickly tells her he killed Richard...then also tells her the fate of Abraham and Glenn as well as the losses of Spencer and Olivia right there in front of all of Alexandria. Carol then leaves Morgan to stay at her house (turning his stick into a spear by the way), packs up her stuff and goes straight to Ezekiel. "I'm going to be here now. We have to get ready. We have to fight." Ezekiel replies, "We do, but not today," He and Carol then work in the vegetable garden with Benjamin's little brother. 

The episode ends there and wow. While I always thought Morgan would come around to the idea that he would need to kill to protect the ones he cares about (already happened with Carol), I never could have imagined his first casualty in this revolt would be Richard. I love this though. Richard had told Morgan during his "someone had to die" speech that he would have to kill at some point, and Richard literally had no idea what hit him when Morgan finally made that choice. Fantastic. I'm sad about young Benjamin, but I've been even more sad about cabin Carol and Ezekiel constantly bowing down to the Saviors. Morgan made a very strategic move tonight and I think it was a good one.

Looking ahead, Carol now has to turn her badassery switch back on even though she told Daryl a few weeks ago there would be nothing left of her if she had to kill more people. I hope this isn't the beginning of the end for Carol. You could tell when she walked into The Kingdom at the end she didn't have a "Let's get these assholes!" attitude. Instead it was a very sad "We have to fight." I'm glad she was able to follow that statement by sitting down and planting vegetables with Ezekiel though. The King lost someone very important to him in this hour and Carol realized people very important to her had recently died as well...but they were able to grieve the loss of these lives by planting new life so to speak. Will Carol, Morgan, and Ezekiel lead the army as a trio now? Will Carol pop in to Alexandria or Hilltop at any point and say hello to her peeps? Is she going to unleash hell on Daryl for lying to her or will she be understanding when she sees him next? Are we going to get a legit battle before the season ends? AND if we do, are we going to see Shiva tear into some heads? Lets put the tiger to use, shall we?

TWD Season 7 Episode 12: Say Yes

Tonight's episode of The Walking Dead leaves Eugene and The Saviors behind as we pick up with the Grimes gang on their journey to find "a lot of guns" for the garbage people. Because it's been quite a long time since we've seen legitimate romance on this show (RIP Glenn, Abraham, Denise, Jessie, Bob, Tyreese, Karen, Zach, and Lori...kinda), TWD writers throw us a bone this evening with a Richonne heavy hour. I said bone. Get your minds out of the gutter. How does our only current favorite couple fare on their weapons adventure? Here's where we are after "Say Yes." 

If We Took A Holiday

The episode opens with Rick and Michonne in a van down by the river...well, in a van anyway. They have split off from the rest of their friends and have been busy clearing buildings, collecting supplies, having heart to heart discussions around the campfire, and getting it on. Lots of getting it on. Apparently the Walkers know when the van's a rockin,' don't come a knockin.' The couple has been out and about on their own for two days now and it's almost like a honeymoon. Good for them. 

Rick and Michonne are walking through the woods with post-sex smiles on their faces when they approach a couple of Saviors practicing their golf swings in a clearing. They steal the supplies from the Saviors truck, including food, batteries, and a walkie talkie that doesn't appear to have the miraculous range that Jesus' walkie talkie does. Go figure. As they drive off in their van, Michonne says they've been away too long and need to finish their mission so they can get home. Rick wants another day and a half to savor this experience. Why not, right? Carl's probably back in Alexandria now watching Judith with his one eyeball and trying to take Polaroid selfies without ever managing the right angle. Why not stay away for a couple more days? 

Michonne pulls over to make camp for the night and spots a deer. Rick and Michonne then go on a deer hunt that takes up most of the episode and along the way they encounter a Walker with a gun and bullets, as well as some serious carnage surrounding him. Something major happened there...but what? I couldn't have imagined what comes next. Rick and Michonne approach whats left of a freaking carnival and Rick assumes a huge battle happened while folks were trying to protect the community. The entire thing reminds me of Zombieland, which if you've never seen, you MUST see. Rick and Michonne discuss whether or not they think they can clear this place and Michonne shoots her rifle at one of the carnival games for fun. Why she'd waste the bullets and why none of the Walkers react to the gunshots is beyond me, but just then the roof of whatever Rick and Michonne are standing on caves in and they disappear. 

Put Your Troubles Down

Back in Alexandria, Tara has inherited her departed girlfriend's Medical Care for Dummies book and is trying to help Smokin' Hot Rosita with her stitches. Tara is all "everything is going to work out" and Smokin' Hot Rosita is all "We'll never find enough guns" and Tara looks like a wounded puppy. She tells her stitched friend to save some of the hostility for the Saviors and Smokin' Hot Rosita storms off saying she'll go find guns herself. Tara, meanwhile, heads to Rick's house to have a one-way conversation with Judith about Oceanside. She gives Judith her Oceanside bracelet and I'm sure Judith (who seems to have aged quite a bit by the way) appreciates the human interaction. 

Smokin' Hot Rosita is unsuccessful in her quest for weapons. At one point she even clears a trailer because she thinks she sees a handgun...only to realize it's a toy after she's covered in Walker guts. She returns home and tells Gabriel once again that she's mad as hell and she's not going to take it anymore. She's tired of waiting for this war. Girl, we're ALL tired of waiting for this war. Gabriel allows her to take her anger out on him and then quietly replies,"How are you going to make what needs to happen, happen? Anything is possible until your heart stops beating." 

You Can Turn This World Around

The next time we see Rick and Michonne, they realize they have fallen into a storage area with the motherload of supplies they've been hoping to find on this sexcapade. They share a candlelit dinner that evening and discuss what will happen once Negan is dead. Michonne thinks they need to re-order the world after it's no longer Negan's world. She wants Rick to be in charge of that and make sure all of the communities continue to work together. Rick isn't interested in this role solo but says he wants Michonne to re-order things with him. He also invites her to share the rest of his chili mac n' cheese. If that's not a proposal, I don't know what is. 

The next day Rick and Michonne get to work on clearing the carnival. Rick has his hatchet, Michonne has her badass sword and all is well right? That would be the case if Rick's plan to use a nearby car didn't backfire. The brakes don't work, a Walker with a machine gun somehow nudges something that gets the gun shooting, and suddenly Rick has locked himself in the front seat of the car and Michonne is in the trunk. Turns out the car has a sunroof and they are able to escape. AND they still have their weapons. AND they decide to separate and take out Walkers through different parts of the park. Neat. Just as Rick is finishing up with his batch of Walkers, he spots one of the most ridiculous versions of a CGI deer I've ever seen. After 7 seasons, you'd think TWD would have enough dough for a legit deer. Did it look like this in the beginning of the episode? This is bad....

Rick climbs a portion of the ferris wheel to shoot the deer because he must not realize the Walkers will surely eat a dead deer. He falls of course and the Walkers descend upon him. For whatever reason, TWD showrunners then do another Glenn fake out dumpster death with Michonne approaching the Walkers feasting on the body. Guys. It's the DEER. I wasn't worried for a second but I'll say I'm incredibly annoyed by the fake out. Rick pops out, he and Michonne dispose of the rest of the Walkers, and they make off with all of the supplies they are able to transport. Lucky for them there are a ton of soldier's bodies strewn about the grounds and they do find a decent amount of guns. 

Richonne heads back to the garbage people and on the way Rick tells Michonne he hasn't been sleeping because he's been thinking about Glenn (sorry Abraham). He feels guilty because Glenn saved him right at the start...but he wasn't able to save Glenn. He says they are going to lose more people when they fight Negan. Maybe even each other. Michonne cries. "I can't lose you." Rick reminds her she'd have to move on without him and he'd have to move on without her - that it's all worth it because they are building a future for Judith and Glenn and Maggie's baby. "It's not about us anymore. It's about a future. And if it's me that doesn't make it, you're going to have to lead the others forward because you're the one who can."

One Day To Come Together

Rick, Michonne, Gabriel, Tara and Smokin' Hot Rosita regroup to drop the guns off to Jadis in the junkyard. There are 60 but and she's not thrilled. "Not enough," she says. To be fair, no one really asked for a number when she said they needed "a lot of guns." Jadis says she needs twice as many to be able to fight their fight. Rick wants to take some of the guns back with him in order to find more. She gets bitchy and he's done negotiating. They're taking 20 guns with them, getting the rest of the guns, and they are going to win the fight together. He looks her dead in the eyes: "Say yes." She does and Rick gets a few more days to go gun hunting and van rockin' with Michonne. 

When everyone is back in Alexandria, Rick notices Smokin' Hot Rosita hasn't shown up for her guard shift. He asks Tara if she's seen her and a frazzled Tara replies that Rosita must have gone on a search for more guns. Tara looks terrified, pauses, and then says to Rick, "I have something to tell you." 

"Wait. This isn't a real gun."

Smokin' Hot Rosita couldn't be found because she's made her way to Hilltop. She finds Sasha at Abraham's grave (of COURSE she does) and asks for Sasha's help to kill Negan. She's even come with a sniper rifle as a peace offering. Sasha realizes a mission to kill Negan is probably suicide mission, so she is in on one condition. "I get to take the shot."

The episode ends there and while this hour seemed to include a lot of filler, it was nice to see Rick and Michonne become stronger and take the only kind of vacation a couple can take during a zombie apocalypse. Given the status of power couples on this show though... I have to wonder when the happiness will be destroyed for these two. Is it possible for them both to make it through the All Out War alive? Is Tara going to cut the "turn that frown upside down" bullshit and tell everyone about the help they might find in Oceanside? Are Sasha and Smokin' Hot Rosita really going to become allies or is there still a cat fight to look forward to? AND is there a chance the garbage people could relocate to the carnival now that it's clear? It probably smells better and calling them "Carnies" would make these write-ups much easier.