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.
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