TWD Season 8 Episode 16: Wrath

Tonight we reach the end of the season and the end of the All Out War on The Walking Dead and all I can say is...FINALLY. Though I can't tell you I understand the "whys" involved in what happened this hour, I'm at a point where I wanted to move on from this rivalry in just about any way possible. Who survived this final battle? Here's what went down in "Wrath."

All The Things That I Used To Say

The episode opens with a shot of Rick, back in his sheriff's deputy days, walking down a long road with a very young Carl. Hand in hand they look like they don't have a care in the world. Rick's voice-over says "I remember" and we cut back to present day in Hilltop where Rick is hanging out with baby Gracie. Siddiq enters the room with formula for the little one and Rick finally asks him what happened to Carl. Siddiq explains that Carl was helping him honor his mother by releasing the souls trapped in the undead. "He died paying respects to a woman he never knew. But it was dangerous. It was dangerous and I didn't think about that. I should've." Rick (genuinely) thanks Siddiq and heads out to start this last day of battle. 

As what's left of The Kingdom army prepares to fight, Henry's attitude seems to have changed and he's no longer in danger of becoming a mini-Morgan. He asks Carol to come back to The Kingdom with them once they win the war and gets a "maybe" in response. I dunno. Carol's cottage is pretty sweet. She should consider locking Morgan up in that cottage...dude flips out when he sees what I like to call the Hilltop Saviors entering the gates, and he almost attacks Henry in the process. Alden (the hot one) had asked Maggie if he and the other Saviors could clear the Walkers outside of the gates before everyone began heading out. I guess Morgan somehow thought these guys were staging a rebellion. Rick floats the idea of Morgan staying back at Hilltop, but Morgan insists on joining this final fight. He tells Rick: "We are worse than we were. Me and you. We are. Giving your word to those men back at the bar..." Yes, Morgan. There were a few things wrong with what you did at the bar. Morgan tells Rick they can't go back at this point. "So let's just finish this." 

All The Words That Got In The Way

We catch up with The Sanctuary now, where Dwight is donning Daryl's yellow sweatsuit. Negan wants Dwight loaded in one of the vehicles so he can witness Rick's group being slaughtered and right on cue, Eugene shows up and tells Negan the bullets are ready. He hands the boss man a handgun to test them out himself and Negan shoots up a target labeled "Rick." 

Negan chooses Laura, Eugene and Gabriel to ride in his car as the Saviors make their way to the final battle. Negan wants to "confess" to Gabriel before shit hits the fan. As part of the trap he's setting up for Rick, he admits to sacrificing a group of Saviors who think they are setting up a roadblock/Walker obstacle. Don't get me started on the blue-haired Savior or how that's a thing people would maintain in an apocalypse. Anyway, these guys are sitting ducks and Rick's group takes them out quickly. Morgan even slits the throat of a Savior who quickly surrenders and I'm wondering how he's going to bounce back from this thirst for blood. Jesus suggests that Morgan should use the pointy end of his stick for Walkers and the non-pointy end for people. What a mind-blowing idea that is. Morgan actually gives it a shot at one point.

As Negan is giving his confession to Gabriel, a Walker appears in the middle of the road and Laura has to swerve and slow down to avoid it. Personally I feel like their vehicle could have plowed right through the zombie with no problem, but nonetheless, Gabriel takes the opportunity to jump out of the moving car and blindly start running through the woods unarmed. My palm can't get to my forehead quick enough. Eugene catches up with him right away and holds a gun to his face. Okay Eugene. I've had about enough of you. I need someone to punch you in the face as soon as possible. Negan punches Gabriel in the gut instead and the priest is loaded right back into the car. On they go. 

All The Things That I Used To Know

We have an all-star group of Maggie, Rick, Michonne, Carol, Jesus, Morgan, Ezekiel, Jerry, Siddiq (why?) and Smokin' Hot Rosita heading to the location they believe Negan will be. They look over a clearing at one point and see a huge mass of Walkers in the distance. Rick notes that he's never seen a group quite that big before and says things are changing all around them. They get to another clearing and hear that familiar whistle...our heroes are out in the open and they are surrounded by Negan and his army who are standing up in the hills ready to fire. 

Meanwhile a large convoy of Saviors arrives at Hilltop and somehow Tara is the one left behind to lead the people there. She actually leads them into the woods rather than engage in a fight and Tara volunteers to stay behind to hold the Saviors off. Alden (the hot one) stays with her and the other Hilltop Saviors do the same. They are just about to shoot at the enemy Saviors approaching the gates when someone starts throwing....flaming liquor bottles at the enemy? Oceanside has arrived with Aaron! And they've brought fire bottles because Rick took all of their weapons last season! No seriously, Aaron has a gun and Cyndie has a gun. Everyone else has some sort of torch or burning something. THIS is the cavalry? Tara and the Hilltop Saviors couldn't have just shot those fools and called it a day? Good grief.   

Have Gone Out The Window

Negan has transitioned to a new magical walkie talkie and there's a fair amount of shit talking that I don't have the strength to recap because it's nothing new. Negan stands ready to blow Gabriel's head off and he gives the order for everyone to fire at the same time....then something strange happens. All of the guns backfire on the Saviors. So Eugene isn't completely an asshole after all! Our heroes take advantage of the situation right away and the majority of Negan's army surrenders. Somehow Rick and Negan end up off by themselves and another one on one fight ensues because why not? They are near the tree we've been seeing bloody Rick leaning against in a flash forward all season, and Negan does hit Rick in the gut with his bat, but Lucille is clean now for whatever reason so Rick is wounded but not done for. At this point Negan has ample opportunity to bash Rick while he's down on the ground, but he talks instead and Rick gets the upper hand for about 2 seconds. Negan has another opportunity to bash Rick...but then he talks some more. And then Rick talks. He asks Negan to give him 10 seconds "for Carl" and Negan agrees. Dude. Negan. I don't want you to win but damn you sure are missing your shot. As Rick talks about Carl's dying wish, Negan approaches Rick and hesitates, considering the peace Rick is proposing. Then Rick slits Negan's throat and I scream "WHAT THE HELL?!?" Rick! Seriously! Your "10 seconds for Carl" peace talk was bullshit too?!? God help me with this show. 

I assume, like many, that Negan is done and I'm wondering what the last 15 minutes of the episode will entail. Instead, Negan is lying on the ground holding his throat when our heroes and their prisoners arrive. Rick has another flashback of his pre-apocolypse walks with young Carl and then signals to Siddiq to save Negan. Huh? He follows that up by giving this grand speech, telling the prisoners to put their hands down because everyone is going to go home and live in peace and fairness. Rick points to that big mass of Walkers in the distance and says they have to stand together in this new world. "There has to be something after. All this...all this is just what was." Rick goes back to the tree, sits against it, and then does the "my mercy prevails over my wrath" thing that's been on repeat in Season 8. 

Maggie, by the way, loses her shit. Like, loooooses her shit. Michonne holds her back as she screams that it can't be over until Negan is dead...that he killed Glenn and they have to make it right. Maggie is breaking my heart, and I don't blame her one bit. She's "the widow" and the leader of a community, and we should really be beyond a Ricktatorship at this point. The terms of the All Out War surrender should have been discussed among the leaders rather than Rick slitting someone's throat and then deciding to regurgitate what Carl said on his deathbed and in his letter...as if these were new things that he himself came up with in that moment. Maggie had no reason to believe Negan wouldn't be executed, and she still (STILL) has those first trimester hormones that are not to be messed with. Also not to be messed with? Smokin' Hot Rosita who is still pretty pissed about Eugene's shenanigans. She has a really nice conversation with Eugene about how he sabotaged the bullets, but she does punch him in the face "for the puke." Honestly, this is my favorite part of the entire episode. 

The next time we see Negan he's alive and awake in the Alexandria infirmary. Rick and Michonne tell him they are going to keep him alive to show everyone that things have changed and all of the communities can exist peacefully. They do, however, intend to keep him in a cell forever...so that vision that Carl had of Negan becoming a farmer doesn't seem to be in the cards. Rick writes Carl a letter after his visit to Negan, letting him know that he remembers who he is, and that Carl has brought all of them to the new world. 

With no major character deaths, the season finale ends with some kinda/sorta cliffhangers that don't make sense to me. Morgan goes to the junkyard and tells Jadis she can join Rick in Alexandria to start rebuilding. She introduces herself as "Anne" and jumps at the opportunity (guess the helicopter was a one time deal?). Morgan, however, decides he's not going because he's cray. He'll just stay in the junkyard. Daryl, meanwhile, drives Dwight out into the woods as if he's going to kill him. Instead he hands Dwight the keys to the truck and tells him to go find his wife. And finally, everyone goes back to their respective communities (Carol even goes back to The Kingdom) and works together with a smile...except Maggie isn't smiling. The final scene in her Hilltop office has her telling Jesus that Rick and Michonne wrong not to kill Negan. "So we're gonna to bide our time. Wait for the right moment. And then we're gonna show them." Jesus smirks and nods and Daryl steps out of the shadows and says "Yeah, we will." 

When It's Over

So there are some things I'm still trying to wrap my head around....

Carl had to die so Rick would realize "there has to be something after," but Rick waited until he literally slit Negan's throat to then honor that deathbed promise that really could have just been...a promise? Did Carl really need to die? Couldn't he have tried to be his father's conscience through these last two battles? Negan liked him and hoped to make him a protege - he couldn't have gotten through to Negan? In the comics, Negan does survive the war but it's Carl that keeps him alive. I just don't get why the show writers got rid of the kid. 

And also, if Maggie was going to bring someone in on a "let's kill Negan anyway and stick it to Michonne and Rick" plan, why would she choose Jesus? This is the guy who wanted to keep everyone alive throughout this whole process...now he's smirking at the "we're gonna show them" plot twist? 

And also, when exactly did Eugene decide the grass was greener back with his old group? He had been terrified of Negan. He had become Phase I'm a Dick Eugene with his former comrades. He had shooed away rescue attempts from the community that embraced him even after he revealed he's a liar with bad hair on a fake mission to DC. So many people died in the time Dr. Smartypants became an all obeying Savior...but now suddenly in between mac n' cheese, Smokin' Hot Rosita's verbal bashing, and Gabriel's tears....now is the time to sabotage Negan's plan?  

And also, Morgan is all kinds of screwed up, so the solution is for him to hang out by himself in the junkyard in Jadis/Anne's little IKEA inspired apartment? Did she at least leave him a flannel? Will his dead people visions fade away amongst the garbage? 

And also we've been listening to Daryl bitch for weeks about how he should have killed Dwight already and how he should kill Dwight now. It's been almost as tiring as Rick's repetitive "I'm gonna kill you" empty threat to Negan. So when all was said and done, he let Dwight go...and then went back to Hilltop to be pissed that Rick didn't kill Negan? It's a head scratcher. 

And finally, can we talk about Oceanside and the Super Mario Kart weapons they showed up with for 15 seconds in this episode? I mean, we endured HOW much Tara in that community? And we endured HOW much extra Enid time? And then we endured cutaways last week to Aaron's forest hunger strike, only to have Oceanside kinda, sorta, help out? I thought those ladies would end up being the freaking cavalry that would save the day with all of the time we've invested. I sure hope they contribute more in Season 9.  

Sigh. I've read a few things about how Season 9 will kick off. I've read that there might be a time jump to show where the communities are with ideas and plans from Georgie's "The Key To the Future." In this time jump I assume Maggie might be wearing clothes scavenged from the maternity section of abandoned stores. I've also read that the show runners might skip over the next story line in the comics completely (no spoilers until we no for sure), which might make sense given there is no Carl. Will the various communities move forward together and get along now? Will Negan stay safely confined for long? Are Maggie and company really going to become the new "conflict" on this show? Are we going to resume The Walking Dead with Rip Van Rick and that inexplicable beard? We'll see what happens when the show returns in the fall. For now though, I'm going to go back and watch Smokin' Hot Rosita punch Eugene a few more times. 

TWD Season 8 Episode 15: Worth

Tonight's episode of The Walking Dead brings us a character death that we've been waiting for (no, not that one), takes us to tree-hugging Aaron in Oceanside, and finally reveals what Carl wrote to his dad with the very best of intentions. Negan's return home does not disappoint and the hour takes some twists and turns that I was not expecting. Here's what went down in "Worth."

Go On And Take A Bow
The episode opens with Rick sitting outside, watching Judith play (I love it when someone is actually watching Judith) and reading Carl's letter. I did not realize until tonight how lengthy it is. Did the show runners really make Chandler Riggs write these letters himself before he left? That's a huge bag of salt being rubbed in the "we're killing off your character" wound. Anyway, we hear Carl's voice as he shares memories from his 8th birthday, school, going to the movies, summer barbecues, and Friday night pizza. Carl says he always felt safe with his dad and had an idea of how he thought life would be when he grew up...before the apocalypse that is. Now he realizes: "Growing up is making yourself and the people you love safe, as safe as you can, because things happen. They happened before. You were shot before things went bad. It felt like things went bad when you were shot. I want to make you feel safe, Dad. I want you to feel like I felt when you held my hand - just to feel that way for 5 minutes. I'd give anything to make you feel that way now." Carl talks about how there are regular people working in the Sanctuary and they can be part of the big world that keeps changing. They deserve life and a way out. Carl tells his dad that he has to make peace with Negan so every life is worth something and everyone can feel safe.

Rick finishes the letter and sees Michonne and Judith walking back into the house together. This is the future he's fighting for now. Rick nods to them and I wonder if he's seriously thinking, even just for a moment, about what Carl is trying to tell him and what he should do with that. The next letter we see is Negan's...and Michonne is holding it when the opening music starts.

You Look So Dumb Right Now
Aaron is still lurking in the woods outside of the Oceanside community and the ladies find him passed out in the mud after putting down a bunch of Walkers. He's weak, given he hasn't eaten or really had much water...because I guess he and Enid didn't pack supplies for their unapproved side mission? Aaron wakes and finds himself surrounded by the familiar Oceanside faces. He makes one more plea for them to join in the fight, but we do not find out their answer in this episode.

We visit the Sanctuary now where Dumbass Gregory is trying to make amends with Simon. He also wants to make things right with Negan and Simon notifies him that he himself is running the show. Simon's suck up game accelerates and he offers up his services to help manage things and navigate through the "politics" of Simon's new reign. When Simon dismisses him, Gregory finally grows some balls and he's appointed to the prestigious position of...coffee maker.

Dwight is outside the compound on a smoke break when Negan returns home. He asks Dwight the normal "do you remember who you are?" nonsense and Dwight replies that he is still "Negan" of course. Dwight explains that he followed Simon's orders because Simon is the Number 2 man of the Saviors. Dwight remains an awful liar and Negan heads into the building to confront his Number 2. Simon apologizes to Negan for turning the punishment mission into an extermination mission and asks for a chance to make it up to him. Negan talks about how ruthless Simon has been in the past and mentions a community where Simon killed all of the men and boys...which I assume is Oceanside, or what is now Oceanside. He asks Simon to get down on his knees and I'm thinking "Woohoo! This is it!" Instead of bashing Simon's head with Lucille though, Negan tells him all is forgiven. What. The. Hell. Negan then reveals a map to Simon and his lieutenants and explains the next attack on Hilltop, which will be done with the bullets Eugene is making.  So, this has gone back to an extermination? That's got to be a fake plan, right? What happened to people being valuable resources?

Dwight takes the map to his room and makes a copy to send to the Hilltopians along with a warning. Simon knocks on his door and tries to plan a mutiny with Dwight and other "like minded" Saviors. Because Dwight doesn't know which way is up at this point, he says he's on board with Simon. 

You Put On Quite A Show
Daryl and Smokin' Hot Rosita prepare to raid Eugene's outpost while the mullet man is busy eating mac n' cheese and inspecting the progress of Negan's bullet order. Gabriel is still sick as shit but also still alive and kicking. Turns out his bullets are duds and he has been making them that way on purpose. "I don't want any of my people to die." Eugene dismisses him from the assembly line and walks outside just in time for Daryl and Smokin' Hot Rosita to take out his guards and kidnap him.

As the trio walks down the middle of the road in plain sight in broad daylight with the Saviors' probably already on their trail, Eugene begins one of his nerdy narratives about the way things were and how they are now. Daryl threatens him with his crossbow and Smokin' Hot Rosita breaks it up, but she also tells Eugene to keep his mouth shut. Eugene reminds her that when he told Negan he was the bullet maker after her failed attempt to kill Negan, he was speaking up to save her life. Eugene assumed he would be killed with his admission but instead he had a new chance at a life. The mullet man goes on to blame Rick for what's happened and Smokin' Hot Rosita puts her gun to Eugene's chin. She tells him they are going to keep him alive in a dark hole and only let him out when they need him to teach them how to do something. Ouch. No need to even ask if there will be wine involved, Dr. Smartypants.

A group of Walkers approaches and Daryl goes off to handle them solo so his partner can keep an eye on Eugene....who then does something I did not see coming at all. Eugene puts two of his fingers down his throat and then vomits all over (the still) Smokin' Hot Rosita. Then he runs as another group of Walkers approaches. She has to deal with them or die, so Eugene does escape his captors and returns safely to his outpost. He is notified that Negan is back home and needs all of the bullets ready for the following day's attack. Eugene is more than motivated to make that happen. My main question here is - are Daryl and Smokin' Hot Rosita currently taking turns kicking each other for losing Eugene? Of all the people they have captured over the years (or even during Maggie's 2 year first trimester), Eugene runs away easily? Escape through vomit? Freedom via puke? Breakout by barf? You get the picture.

How Bout A Round Of Applause?

The "like minded" group of Saviors as well as Dumbass Gregory meet outside the compound and Simon talks about killing Negan. He wants it to be quick and respectful and offers the honor to Dwight, who stays silent. Simon then announces step 2 in the takeover, which will indeed be wiping out all of Hilltop. We then hear that familiar whistle once again and Negan arrives. Of course Dwight ratted out Simon and to my complete disbelief, Simon looks surprised. A series of gunshots from Negan's loyalists take out the other traitors, with the exception of Dumbass Gregory, and now Simon has to face his fate. I assume Negan is going to bash his head in, but he instead offers Simon a one-on-one fight to the death. Well hell, Negan's been practicing this with Rick for weeks so he should automatically have the upper hand, right?

The fight to the death takes place in front of everyone in the Sanctuary. In the chaos, Dwight hands his map copy and car keys to Dumbass Gregory and tells him his only shot at safety now is to go back to Hilltop and tell Rick what's happening. I still don't understand why he's alive, but Dumbass Gregory bolts (and finds himself back in the prisoner pen when he arrives at Hilltop) just as Negan does win the fight against Simon. Negan chokes the guy to death and I clap very loudly from my couch. So long, asshole. But the show actually isn't over. As Dwight walks through the halls with Negan after the fight, Negan promotes Dwight to his Number 2. What Dwight doesn't count on is walking back into his room to find Laura sitting there...Laura who knows Dwight is a traitor....Laura who was the hidden person Negan picked up on the side of the road last week. Negan's Hilltop plan is indeed a fake plan. He knew Dwight would warn Hilltop and now Rick and company will be walking into a trap. Dwight, you are SO screwed. Negan calls Dwight a lot of names but says he's not going to kill Dwight because he has bigger plans for him. 

"Worth" ends with Walker Simon chained to the fence outside the Sanctuary and Negan proudly looking on. Michonne calls him on the magic walkie talkie and reads him the letter Carl wrote for him. Carl's words to Negan are thoughtful as he asks Negan to consider an alternate way out of the war that doesn't involve one side annihilating the other. He tells Negan that even if he beats Rick's group, there will just be someone else to beat later (kinda like the 8 seasons of this show, kid), and he encourages forgiveness. "It's believing that it doesn't have to be a fight anymore, because it doesn't. I hope my dad offers you peace. I hope you take it. I hope everything can change. It did for me. Start over. You still can." Negan listens closely to this message but then tells Michonne he wouldn't accept their groups' surrender even if they showed up on their knees. He explains that he plans to start over by killing every one of them. Negan then says, "no more talk" and smashes the magical walkie talkie.

Well kids, there's only one episode left this season and only one more opportunity to see if the Rick/Negan dialogue changes, if there's a Rick/Negan fight that doesn't end with one of them disappearing with no resolution, or if a miraculous truce between the two sides happens after all. And as much as I groaned when the camera cut to Aaron, I have to assume we'll see Oceanside be useful next week. But will Dwight or at least the other half of his face end up as a casualty? Will Gabriel die some sort of hero's death in the bullet delivery? Will Morgan survive the hour now that we know his character is heading to Fear the Walking Dead? We only have a short time to find out...but for now, I am seriously craving some mac n' cheese. 

TWD Season 8 Episode 14: Still Gotta Mean Something

Tonight's episode of The Walking Dead takes us on various searches...the search for young Henry, the search for the captive Saviors that escaped Hilltop, and a junkyard search that I did not see coming. Rick's opposite day approach to Carl's death bed plea continues to be an issue, and Morgan's newfound "I see dead people" is making him even more dangerous than he was toward the beginning of the season. How do these men deal with their vengeance driven actions in this hour? Here's what went down in "Still Gotta Mean Something."

Lost And Insecure

The episode opens with a flashback of Simon's junkyard slaughter as we see exactly how Jadis survived the event. She moved a bloody dead body, positioned herself just right in the puddle of blood to appear as though she too was dead, and the Saviors bought it. 

Catching up with Jadis now, we see her in her very clean little apartment in the heaps (I had no idea that was a thing) with Negan's bat and one of the magic walkie talkies. Turns out she looks good in flannel. Jadis has a bit of a breakdown and keeps looking at her watch as she packs a suitcase. When some time has passed, she ventures out into the garbage to retrieve Negan, who she has tied down to a board with wheels. Negan asks "What the shit?!" many times throughout the episode, but we never really know whether Jadis is going to speak in complete sentences or cave woman syllables. 

Jadis assembles a wheelbarrow of salt and firewood and checks her watch again. Negan maintains that he did not order Simon to wipe out her community, but he says he will "own it" because he took a chance on someone who chose not to follow the program. Negan gives Jadis a sincere apology and she leaves him alone for moment to get a contained Walker she's had on standby. My palm hits my forehead pretty hard because every time Jadis wants to punish someone by throwing a Walker at them, the situation backfires on her in a big way. This time is no different. By the time she returns to Negan, he's wheeled himself to her suitcase and grabbed a pile of her photographs as well as a flare and a GUN. Good grief. Jadis threatens to burn Lucille in the not yet lit wheelbarrow fire and Negan threatens to burn her photos with the flare. Jadis asks him to leave the photos alone because they are all she has left, and Negan explains that he named the bat after his late wife because she got him through everything in life even though he didn't give her shit. Negan says the bat is all he has left of her. At that moment, Jadis' alarm goes off on her watch and she panics. She tries to get the flare away from Negan but it rolls into a conveniently placed small puddle and extinguishes. Jadis frantically tries to light another flare to signal the HELICOPTER that is hovering nearby, but by the time she gets the flare lit...it's too late and the helicopter has left the area. 

The next time we see the odd couple, Negan is free from his board and holding Lucille and Jadis sits defeated...holding her photos. Negan asks if Jadis wants to share what the whole helicopter thing was about but she doesn't. He offers to take Jadis with him so she can start over but she refuses. Jadis goes back into her little apartment and unpacks her suitcase, and Negan leaves and finds a vehicle. Um, no explanation at all about the helicopter and he's good with that? People are resources but he doesn't press her about the damn HELICOPTER which would be a pretty phenomenal resource as well? Instead, Negan hits the road and eventually picks up (I think) a wounded Savior escapee wandering around. Negan tells his new passenger that he's got all kinds of surprises in store for his return. I don't doubt it. 

You Found Me

Back in Hilltop, Ezekiel and Jerry and putting together a group to go in search of Henry. Carol chooses to stay, saying Maggie would need her if there's another attack on Hilltop, but Ezekiel knows Carol won't join them because she believes Henry is already dead. Only later when Morgan decides to head out on his own mission to find the little guy does Carol decide to go too. 

Carol and Morgan walk through the woods tracking both the escaped Saviors as well as Henry in case he was kidnapped. Morgan suddenly runs off, yelling "Henry!" and he encounters a vision of Henry with Gavin's neck wound. Fake Henry says, "you know what it is - you were supposed to" like we heard dead Gavin say to Morgan many times last week, and when Carol catches up to him, she realizes that her worries were on point. Morgan is effing crazy. He says he believes Henry is dead and Carol tells him she wasn't really there to look for Henry...she's there to keep an eye on Morgan. "You can't save the dead, Carol." Morgan tells Carol he sees the dead all the time, but then he moves on through the woods before Carol can respond. 

The duo reaches the road and encounters a Walker that has Henry's stick through its body. Carol wants to follow the path the Walker came from (just as well - there's a huge herd in the other direction) but Morgan says they both know what they'll find if they do that. Morgan leaves on his own to go look for the Saviors and Carol heads down the path to look for Henry...even if all she finds is his body or a Walker version of him. What she finds instead is a very much alive Henry, hiding in a tree near the water, calling for help. Their reunion is very touching, with each person apologizing to the other, and it sure is nice to get some good news tonight. Henry's reunion with Ezekiel at Hilltop is even more of a tear-jerker.... when Jerry looked over the gate and yelled "your majesty!" to alert Ezekiel, I almost lost it. Carol sits with Ezekiel later on in the evening and tells him about Sophia, and how she became the person she is now after Sophia had died. They hold hands by the fire and I'm thinking the Daryl/Carol thing will never happen for me. 

Surrounded, Surrounded

We've spent some time now without a ton of bloodshed and repetitive shit talking, so let's pick up with Daryl and Tara having another conversation about how Dwight sucks, but he doesn't, but he does. It's been over a day since the attack now and Tara has not gotten sick from her arrow injury. She maintains Dwight shot her with a clean arrow and Daryl believes Tara just got lucky. He still thinks Dwight should have warned them about the Walker guts on the weapons strategy (would that have made a difference in Hilltop's battle plan?) and Tara tells him she's not going to participate in any attempts to kill Dwight. Daryl then turns his attention to Hilltop's ammunition shortage. They don't have a bullet maker like the Saviors do. Smokin' Hot Rosita takes Daryl to the suspected bullet making outpost...which I assume is the building where she and Eugene first discussed making bullets...and she suggests they make a plan to take out the machines as well as the bullet maker himself.

Michonne is in the big Hilltop house reading her letter from Carl. Rick enters the room and she asks if he wants to read it. Not only does Rick not want to read her letter...he hasn't read his yet. So wait. Rick seriously read Negan's letter and not his own? Oy. Michonne wants Rick to read the letter instead of going out to find the escaped Savior prisoners, and we see Rick hold the letter for a moment, but we do not see him read it. The next Rick scene has him walking with his gun and approaching the Saviors who stayed. Alden (the hot one) explains that the men who left made a split second decision that was the wrong decision. He tells Rick where the men might have gone and asks Rick not to kill more than he has to. Alden even encourages Rick to bring the men back to Hilltop. Riiiiiight. 

Rick walks through the woods solo (no one else wanted to do this?) and he eventually bumps into Morgan, who isn't sure at first if Rick is real or not. Rick chats with him and says they will finish the Saviors together...and if I had a nickel for every time Rick was going to "finish this," I'd be rich. The two men follow a trail that avoids the large Walker herd, but they are knocked out and kidnapped by the escaped Saviors. Sigh. When they both wake up, they are tied to posts in whatever building the Saviors have made a temporary hideout. Douchebag wants to kill the men in their group that are severely wounded and perhaps dying anyway, and he realllllly wants to kill Rick and Morgan. Rick tells the Saviors he will take all of them back to Hilltop to get medical attention and food. He offers them a fresh start and a chance to become part of the community. Oh wow. Really? Alden's dreamy eyes and curly hair got through to Rick? "I'm giving you my word. There's not a lot that's worth much these days, but a man's word has gotta mean something, right?" Uh oh. I feel like Rick has said this to a Savior before...just before Daryl killed the guy. Anyway, Rick is looking to make a deal right now because a herd of Walkers is on the way. Douchebag tells the group there's no herd and there's no real deal on the table. The herd shows up with impeccable timing and some of the Saviors untie Rick and Morgan to help fight. When the majority of the Walkers are taken care of, Morgan and Rick look at one another...then kill the remaining Saviors. I feel bad for some of them, but I don't feel bad for Douchebag. The way Morgan holds him through a gate and watches the Walkers devour him is just fine by me.

Ask Anything

The episode ends with a bloody Rick and Morgan returning to Hilltop. Alden takes one look at them and knows Rick made no attempts to show mercy. Morgan sees Henry and touches the boy's face to make sure he's real and then tells Henry he killed the guy that killed Henry's brother. Henry puts a hand on Morgan's shoulder and apologizes, but Morgan tells him to never be sorry. Rick, meanwhile, goes to Michonne and tells her he loves her (awww). She tells him she loves him too and he finally sits down to read Carl's letter. Kind of a moot point now, buddy. 

With the season finale just around the corner, we must also be thisclose to an end to this damn war. I'm excited to see what Negan has in store for Simon upon his return and I'm also chomping at the bit to find out what the deal is with the helicopter. Whose is it?!?! Is this a Georgie thing? It would make sense given her comment about visiting many communities. Not sure that van of hers would have brought her to as many kinda/sorta thriving groups in the amount of time she's had to make copies of her book from memory and distribute during the apocolypse. Perhaps Georgie gave Jadis "the key" as well...and Jadis took the medieval plans so seriously she adopted time travel speak. Regardless, I hope there's a big reveal before the season is done. I've grown weary of Rick's merciless approach to things, Morgan's "if it moves, I might kill it" demeanor, and Negan's colorful and sometimes incredibly creative use of the word "shit."