In a culture where shows like Jersey Shore, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo engross TV viewers everywhere, it's important to acknowledge programming that engages audiences with clever writing and stimulating material. Every so often the networks get it right and support a series that is a breath of fresh air with clearly developed characters, perfectly cast actors, and a luring and often intricate plot. In appreciation of such shows, I have started this commentary.

Monday, March 27, 2017

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. 

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