Tonight's episode of The Walking Dead focuses on the Saviors' attack on Hilltop, which finally, finally, finally did happen this hour. Our remaining heroes, sans Aaron who is still near a tree somewhere, have been prepping as best they can while Simon has taken command of the Saviors. Negan is still MIA, though Rick did return from their pointless fight back to Hilltop. Does Negan's plan to infect the enemy via Walker guts weapons work? Do his people completely forget the master plan in his absence? Does anyone actually get around to killing Simon this evening? Here's what went down during the very dark (visually) "Do Not Send Us Astray."
Come Crashing Through Your Door
The episode opens with Morgan out in the woods keeping watch for the Saviors. He spends some of this time, and much of the episode, having imaginary conversations with dead Gavin because why not? Morgan's been teetering on cray cray since he beat Richard to death, so we might as well push him over the edge at this point. As Gavin gives one of the repetitive "you know what it is" lines we hear throughout the hour, the Saviors are in sight. A series of car horns go off all the way to the Hilltop gates and it's FINALLY time for this battle.
As everyone gets to their places, Ezekiel and Carol are telling Henry he has to stay inside the main building. The kid whines and I groan. Maggie stands outside holding one of the magic walkie talkies that does not need amazing range in this episode, and she signals for Negan. Simon answers the call, saying Negan isn't with them, and Maggie tries to make a deal regarding the prisoners that are still alive in Hilltop. She can guarantee their safety if Simon takes his people and leaves...but she promises to put a bullet in all 38 prisoners if Simon does not retreat. Simon could care less. He calls the prisoners "damaged goods" and away we go. Simon hangs up his walkie talkie and reminds the Saviors "our goal is not merely infection - it is conclusion."
Just before the fight begins Dwight makes one last plea to stick with the original plan, but Simon seems to have no fear of Negan's return. Their conversation is stopped now by guns blazing all around them. That's right. ALL around them. Daryl leads a group charging behind the Saviors and chaos ensues. The Saviors fire their Walker guts arrows and start wielding their tainted knives. Tobin takes a slash to the chest (uh oh) and Simon almost makes an attempt at Tara with his ax. Dwight shoots Tara in the shoulder with his crossbow though and Simon moves on...Simon must assume Dwight has guts on his arrows but I'm pretty sure that's not the case. Also, if the point of this whole thing now is to eliminate everyone in Hilltop, I'm not sure why there's a lot of slashing and wounding and not a lot of killing that I can see. Running Around In Circles
Eventually all of the lights in Hilltop go dark and the gunfire stops. Simon takes his group and slowly approaches the main house, even though he can't see shit, and he whistles the tune we are used to hearing from Negan as if Simon is dominating this fight. Nothing could be further from the truth. Suddenly bright lights come from outside the house and Hilltopians with machine guns are in every window. A bunch of Saviors die instantly, some are chased down by Rick and a few others (Rick decided to have good aim this episode) while Simon, Dwight and some other Saviors flee unscathed. Maggie is bummed because she was hoping to kill Negan tonight and Rick assures her he tried earlier. He doesn't mention that Negan only had a bat with him and Rick had two guns but didn't even manage to wound the guy. Best leave those details out I guess.
Speaking of weapons choices that don't quite make sense, let's back up for a moment now so I can get this Hilltop battle straight. Simon arbitrarily decided that the mission went from 'wound them' to 'destroy them' but then only showed up with guts weapons? No guns in their trucks at all as backup? You guys seriously brought arrows to a machine gun fight and thought you could divide and conquer? Sure, I guess the potential Hilltop zombies could do some damage, but the odds of Hilltop zombies completely destroying the community are slim...which is why Negan's plan was to punish Hilltop only. Simon, you're an idiot.
Wish I Had The Strength
The next day as folks regroup, Daryl is having a super pissy discussion with Tara about Dwight fighting with the Saviors. Tara is suddenly sympathetic to Dwight's situation now because of the time she spend with the Governor not knowing she was one of the bad guys. She still thinks Dwight is trying to help them win but Daryl regrets not killing him when he had the chance.
Rick, meanwhile, deflects Michonne's attempt at a conversation for a few minutes but then tells her he went after Negan when he saw him bringing up the rear of the convoy. "I had to try. I had to." I'm not sure why we needed to hear him say this to both Maggie and Michonne. Perhaps because he knows that Carl would be immediately disappointed that his father broke his promise so quickly? He needs someone to tell him what he did was okay? Siddiq approaches Rick shortly after and asks to treat Rick's head wound. He tries to make conversation with Rick, quoting a prayer for the dead he learned as a little boy that ended with the phrase, "do not send us astray after them." Rick is having none of this and walks away, leaving Siddiq to get back to his other patients.
Tobin and the other wounded Hilltopians are hanging out in the infirmary with Siddiq and another woman who is apparently also a doctor. Where the hell did she come from? She is super unimpressed with Siddiq and that makes me smile. She's worried about his lack of experience now? Heh. She should have seen him fighting Walkers with Carl. Carol pays them a visit and apologizes to Tobin for leaving him the way she did. She explains that she was pretending to be someone she isn't back then and she left when it no longer felt like pretending. Awww. So she did (does?) have feelings for Tobin after all. He asks if she is going to leave their group again and Carol says she isn't sure. She then does leave Tobin to rest, since they both believe he is well on the mend, and I think we know what's about to happen.
Tobin dies from his infected wound that evening, he turns, and he chows down on one of the other patients...who then becomes a Walker as well. The female doctor who was bitching at Siddiq earlier becomes Walker food next (was there any doubt she wouldn't make it past this episode?), more of the infected patients turn, and suddenly a mini-herd has made their way into the main building. More attacks, lots of screams, and the Grimes gang comes to the rescue. Poor Carol has to put Tobin down and she notices pretty quickly that Tobin had not been bitten. She knows his wound was in no way life threatening, so what gives? Rick chimes in and says Negan had been carrying a bloody Lucille the last time he saw him, and he somehow comes to a very quick conclusion that the weapons the Saviors were wielding were all infected. What does this mean for Tara's arrow wound on the shoulder? I don't think Dwight had any guts on his arrows, so I'm sure she'll be fine. Others in the community are not so lucky and when the burials occur, it looks like Maggie has lost about a dozen of her people.
I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore
Just before zombie hell breaks loose, Henry finds a machine gun in the lobby of the main building and he heads out to the prisoner pen. Seems he didn't buy Morgan's story about Gavin killing Benjamin and he's convinced someone in the pen is the actual culprit...though I don't know why. Back when Benjamin died there were tons and tons and tons of Saviors. There's 38 in this pen. I'm not sure I understand his logic. Anyway, Henry tells the prisoners he's just going to start shooting all of them until someone tells the truth. Dumbass Gregory may have just peed his pants and he's having a hard time convincing Henry he's not "with" the Saviors.
The douchebag who did actually kill Benjamin hears screaming coming from the main house and says it's music to his ears. Henry opens the pen now and steps inside...because I guess the machine gun couldn't have fired through the large spaces of wire around the pen? He talks some more shit (I'm getting annoyed) but before he can start shooting, the Hilltop Walkers are wreaking havoc and have made their way to the pen. Douchebag knocks Henry over, takes the gun, and then makes a run for it. Some prisoners leave the community with him but others stick around and try to help the Walker situation. Seems they'd rather take their chances with Maggie than someone who called them damaged goods. I don't blame them.
When the madness is over Carol, Ezekiel, Jerry and Morgan are searching for Henry but the little guy is nowhere to be found. Taken by the Saviors? Off on a solo mission? Hiding in the woods? We don't know and we don't find out this hour...but this kid is starting to frustrate the hell out of me. Is Henry supposed to be the new "damn it Carl!" now?
I've Forgotten What I Started Fighting For
And with that, the episode and the long awaited attack against Hilltop is over. I'm still not sure how Simon went so confidently into that battle and fled so shocked that the community was well armed and ready for them. I'm also really not sure when Hilltop acquired that lady doctor. Was she bitchy with Siddiq because she knew that in The Walking Dead rules, there's only room for one of them? Not that it matters - Maggie has been pregnant for 2 years now and it doesn't seem like she's in desperate need for prenatal care anymore.
The Season 8 finale airs on April 15th and I've read that the All Out War is supposed to be over by the end of the season. Simon's ass-kicking tonight certainly cut some Savior numbers down and who knows what Jadis and Negan will end up doing? Negan is definitely going to punish Simon in some capacity, but will Negan cut his many losses and seek to rebuild elsewhere like Simon was hoping to do? Will he end up with Henry as a captive? Will Henry be the protege Negan was looking for in Carl? And finally, is Morgan going to get his shit together before his Fear the Walking Dead crossover? Just because he's heading to the other series doesn't mean he has to get himself killed...but I also don't see us getting through the season finale without another major death. We'll see what TWD has in store for us on Easter Sunday. I'd be all about resurrecting some folks! 
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