TWD Season 8 Episode 13: Do Not Send Us Astray

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! 

TWD Season 8 Episode 12: The Key

Tonight we finally have something new happening on The Walking Dead and thank goodness for that. We are so close to the finale at this point and in this hour we may have achieved just a bit of movement toward some kind of future. Granted, there is still a ton of the same ol' same ol,' but the new characters introduced this evening give me hope that Season 9 won't simply be dragggggging on the same stories from Season 8. Who are the new mysterious visitors? What do they have to offer? Here's what went down in "The Key."  

I Just Wanna Start Again

We open with Negan visiting Dwight in his room, happy (or at least pretending to be happy) that Dwight has returned to the Saviors unharmed. Dwight is totally unconvincing as he recounts his story of escaping Alexandria but Negan isn't calling him out on it...for now. It's time for the Saviors to get their Walker guts weapons and head to Hilltop, and Dwight is of course expected to go with them as one of Negan's main dudes. Dwight tries to leave a little early by himself on a motorcycle, presumably to give our dwindling heroes a heads up, but Simon notifies him that his place is in Simon's vehicle. Duh, Dwight. People don't really trust you...and you're also a bad liar.

The convoy moves out with Negan bringing up the rear in his car. He is accompanied only by Lucille, who sits marinating in a bucket of Walker guts. Seems Negan is really serious about keeping his weapon freshly disgusting. Just ahead of him Simon and Dwight are indeed truck buddies and Simon tries to get Dwight to admit he has some doubts about Negan. Dwight isn't falling for it so Simon says he is good with Negan's plan...but soon also says he doesn't think the "warnings" have been getting the job done. Simon doesn't believe Rick, the Widow, and the King scare easily anymore. I'm sensing a mutiny, but how would Simon make that happen?

During the conversation, Dwight and Simon see an SUV smash into Negan's car in their rear view mirror. Negan drives his beat up vehicle off the planned path as the SUV gives chase. Simon instructs everyone else to stay where they are (huh?) while he and Dwight try to figure out what happened to their fearless leader. The duo finds Negan's car all smashed up and turned on it's side, covered in (presumably) the blood from Lucille's bucket. Negan and his beloved bat are nowhere to be found though. Simon suggests that it's time for the Saviors to move on...if it were up to Simon, they would branch out and make new relationships elsewhere. Dwight thinks on it, lights a cigarette and sends Negan's car up in smoke and flames. The two men regroup with the rest of the Saviors and let them know their leader is most likely dead. But hey, they are all still Negan and should carry on. Simon gives a rousing speech and tells the Saviors the best way to honor Negan is to wipe out Hilltop...and no one questions him even though that's not how Negan runs shit at all. 

What Do You Say To Taking Chances? 

We pick up exactly where we left off with Hilltop last week as Rick and Michonne are entering the gates. Rick reunites with Judith and visits the graves of some of his fallen comrades. Daryl approaches him there and apologizes for going rogue at the Sanctuary. Rick isn't mad at Daryl anymore because Daryl was looking out for their people while Rick was worried about killing the innocent people in the Sanctuary. Rick now thinks they should just be worried about their people...which again is totally the opposite of what Carl wanted. Rick is ready to continue the fight and he heads out of the community to become one of the lookouts stationed not too far away. 

Rick is hanging out on top of his car listening to the walkie talkie that in this episode has range that doesn't make me scratch my head. He hears that the Saviors are approaching and instead of alerting Hilltop like a good lookout would do, he takes off on his own after Negan's car. He alerts NO ONE. Seriously. I have no idea what to do with him anymore.

Meanwhile Maggie and Smokin' Hot Rosita are keeping watch on top of the wall, chatting about whether Rick will be able to "come back" from Carl's death and how they might move forward after everything becomes quiet again. Maggie happens to spot a crate outside the gates and though it could easily be a trap, she sends Smokin' Hot Rosita to retrieve its contents. Turns out there are several crates as well as a note that says "If you fill the crates with food or phonograph records, I will gladly exchange for a key to your future." The note also includes a meeting spot. Michonne doesn't think the note came from the Saviors and hopes it is from someone who truly wants to help them...because she is still holding on to Carl's deathbed wish. Maggie thinks they should pass and Enid agrees. Shut up, Enid. Please. Just shut up. Michonne offers to go to the meeting spot on her own and Rosita, Maggie and Enid agree to go too. After all, Hilltop is running out of food and they need all the help they can get.

Don't Know Much About Your World

When the ladies arrive at the meeting point, they see a van and encounter 3 people we have never met before. The leader, wearing a pantsuit that could have easily come from my closet, introduces herself as Georgie and she is accompanied by Midge and Hilda who are dressed as some kind of solider/bodyguard/Belieber combination. The trio is not intimidated when Maggie and company draw their guns and disarm them. Georgie likes that Maggie's group can take care of themselves, saying she doesn't make offers to the weak. She apparently goes around and trades her knowledge for music (she does not accept spoken word albums) and food. Georgie hasn't found a community like Hilltop in a long time and is hoping the good people left in the world will outweigh the bad. She's looking for "an exercise in trust." Michonne wants to make the deal but Maggie decides that Georgie, Midge, and Hilda will come back to Hilltop with them.

Back at Hilltop, Jerry reports that the Saviors are getting close (I'm glad SOMEONE is reporting back), and Michonne again suggests they make the deal and let Georgie and her Beliebers leave before the attack. Maggie thinks they should nix the deal and just steal the food and supplies from Georgie's van instead. Michonne looks crushed. Enid jumps in now (shut UP Enid) and says Maggie is right. She takes slow steps toward Michonne as she argues that Carl is dead only because he helped a stranger...that things don't just work out. Michonne doesn't punch her in the face like I want her to, but she does take Enid's gun from her and says, "step back."  Enid leaves the room crying and Michonne pleads with Maggie to help Hilltop become the community Carl wanted it to be.

Maggie heads outside with a crate full of records, none of which are spoken word, and she tells Georgie they have a deal. Am I the only person wondering where the hell all of those records came from? The Hilltopians are avid collectors, huh? Anyway, Georgie changes the terms of the deal...in addition to knowledge, she also gives Maggie a sizable portion of the food in their van "in good faith." Georgie hands Maggie a book she has assembled and photocopied called A Key To A Future. Inside there are plans for windmills, water mills, silos, guides to refining grain, creating aqueducts, and so on. This is "a book of medieval human achievement so we may have a future from our past." Georgie says she will return at some point and expects great things from Hilltop. "Build this place up. I want those crates filled when I get back - cheeses for Hilda, pickles for Midge." Georgie sounds excited about Hilltop's possibilities and when she leaves, Maggie has a look about her much like she had as Deanna's right hand in Alexandria. 

A Hand To Hold Or Hell To Pay

Rick runs Negan's car off the road and approaches the vehicle as it is on it's side, banged up and un-drivable. He has a machine gun, and instead of coming a little closer to the car or at least around to the side just a little, he unloads a shit ton of bullets into what was the bottom of the car, not hitting Negan at all but alerting every Walker in the area that dinner is served. Negan and Rick then do the same friggin' dance they've done so many times in these past 2 seasons. Negan escapes into a building as Rick runs out of ammo from being one of the worst shots on this show. Rick switches to his handgun and follows Negan into the building but then runs out of ammo near a staircase...because I guess it's just been a really long time since his training at the police academy, and he and Negan stop to talk shit to one another as we have heard them do so many times before. Negan taunts Rick though, hoping to hit him with bloody, gutsy Lucille, but he falls and ends up on a different floor. Rick comes up with Lucille but can't find Negan right away. 

At this point Walkers are storming the building as Rick and Negan talk even more shit to one another. I feel like this goes on forever. The only useful thing that comes out of the shit talking is Negan finding out that Simon wiped out the junkyard. Negan is losing his mind trying to find Rick, who has now set Lucille on fire and is beating her against a door. They do find each other, fight some more, but it doesn't look like either of them actually get hit with the bat as they both wield it during their scuffle. Walkers have also totally ascended on them but for whatever reason, these Walkers are slower and less aggressive than pretty much any horde we've seen on this show ever. How Rick and Negan dodge, duck, dive, duck, and dodge and aren't completely devoured is beyond me. This reminds me of playing tag with a 4 year old...you don't want to tag them right away because they'll be really upset, so you spend a lot of time "almost" tagging them or not tagging them at all to keep your sanity. Anyway, Negan escapes from the "almost" Walkers through a window and when Rick gets out of the building right after, Negan is gone. Again. Because we can't seem to attack and kill him in a way that makes sense and doesn't waste time. Sigh. 

Luckily we do find out how Negan disappeared from the area so quickly and it's not some mystery that will be solved in Season 10. The episode ends with him waking up as a passenger in an SUV. The camera pans to the driver...JADIS...who first holds a gun to his head. Wow! Negan laughs, "welllll shit" and then Jadis knocks him out with her gun. Seems she has found some decent clothes and is out for revenge. Good for her!

I'm incredibly thankful for the potential awesomeness Georgie handed Maggie tonight. I don't know who she is or where she came from, if she's good or bad, if she has multiple suits she wears on rotation, if her record collection is super eclectic, or if she has pillow fights with Hilda and Midge while listening to "U Smile" in the van. I don't care about any of those things right now. I just care that in the midst of Simon being a dick (still), Rick and Negan fighting but with no resolution (still), and Enid being annoying AF (still), we finally got something new in this hour. I never thought I would say anything like this to end a blog post, but I sure hope Maggie gets to work on building some god damn aqueducts! 

TWD Season 8 Episode 11: Dead Or Alive Or

Tonight Jesus takes a back seat to God as we finally catch up with Father Gabriel and his quest to avoid a fruitless death. Much of the episode, and I do mean much, seems to be filler but we do get some questions answered this evening....though not the really important ones. We're approaching the season finale in 4 episodes and I keep thinking that we are stuck in Groundhog Day in this All Out War with Rick letting Negan know he's gonna kill him, the Saviors coming out of an attack still strong, Rick losing important loved ones, Negan being Negan, Enid being one of the most annoying characters on TV, Maggie still pregnant but you could have fooled me, and Tara being dangerously close to reverting back to Stupid Tara. But hey, we don't have to watch Aaron squat behind a tree like Golum in this hour so I'm putting that down as a 'win' for us tonight. Here's what actually went down in "Dead Or Alive Or." 

Oops...I Did It Again

Daryl is leading Tara, Siddiq, Smokin' Hot Rosita, Judith, Tobin (remember him?), Dwight and several others through the woods to Hilltop. Tara remembers how pissed off she is that Dwight killed doctor-in-training Denise and she's ready for him to die. Tara pushes a Walker toward Dwight, who is unarmed, and Dwight is able to wrestle the Walker to the ground and stomp its head in. Daryl and Smokin' Hot Rosita witness this and they are not happy. No one likes Dwight, but it's not time to kill him. Tara says she doesn't know why they've kept him alive for so long, clearly forgetting that the whole point of this is to defeat the Saviors and use any inside information they can. That part hasn't changed, especially since the folks in this group know nothing about Carl's plea for peace and Rick's promise that lasted 5 seconds.

Dwight suggests they take a path Negan would never go near because he thought it too dangerous (so this might immediately the worst idea since the last worst idea) and the group begins their journey through a SWAMP. Remember how well water Walkers worked for Dr. Bob? Several Alexandrians begin to clear the swamp and Tara stays beyond to, uh, make sure the rest of the crew is safe. She pulls Dwight off to the side, hands him a knife, and allows him to help clear Walkers...at gunpoint of course. Dwight apologizes to Tara for killing her girlfriend. This doesn't thwart Tara's desire to off Dwight and she points her gun with determination. Tara. Really. I get it. But Daryl and Smokin' Hot Rosita reminded you exactly why Dwight is still alive. What TF are you doing? Dwight runs and Tara fires and misses. She catches up with him, ready to fire again, when the situation is interrupted by Saviors nearby...Saviors walking near the path that was too dangerous...that Negan stayed away from. Dwight takes his chances and approaches them. He inquires about Laura, the chick who knew Dwight led the Saviors into a trap in Alexandria, and no one has seen or heard from her. Winner winner. Dwight leaves with the Saviors and does not say anything about the group he had been traveling with. At least he leaves Daryl in the woods with the crossbow this time around.

Daryl rips into Tara when he realizes what happened and Tara assures him that Dwight led the Saviors away and is still helping them. She's accurate but is she seriously defending Dwight now? After almost killing him AFTER Daryl and Smokin' Hot Rosita told her she couldn't? NOW she wants to mention he is an asset? Daryl's rage stays in tact as he leads the group on. 

To Lose All My Senses

Gabriel and Dr. Carson are still en route to Hilltop so the good doctor can tend to Maggie and her phantom baby. Gabriel is still sick from the Walker guts ensemble he wore when he and Negan made their way from the Sanctuary yard trailer back into the Sanctuary. He's so sick, in fact, that he can't really see. To make matters worse, Dr. Carson doesn't know the way back to Hilltop and they have no GPS...I think TWD show runners could have thrown a bone here. Sasha's iPod had an infinite battery and the walkie talkies were made via some sort of sorcery - there's no chance the Saviors had a GPS? Anyway, Gabriel thinks the best way for them to get where they are going is to let God lead the way. It almost works. Almost. 

The getaway car stalls in Walker-ville and Gabriel stumbles blindly toward a God bell he is hearing. This leads the duo to a cabin that Gabriel believes might be their salvation. As if safety wasn't enough, there happens to be a whole bunch of antibiotics in the cabin. Behold! Divine intervention strikes again! And it's not over! Gabriel accidentally (or was it?) knocks a piggy bank over and miraculously reveals a car key and a map just waiting for them! Who would've thunk it? 

Gabriel and Dr. Carson begin to make their way to their newly discovered getaway car when Dr. Carson steps into a Walker trap and Walkers begin to approach (duh, of course they do). Blind Gabriel is able to shoot a Walker that is about to devour Maggie's doctor, indicating again that God is providing safe passage to Hilltop, but unfortunately the two are apprehended by nearby Saviors. I suppose they could have brought Dr. Carson back to the Sanctuary so Negan could throw him into the incinerator, but they shoot him dead right there instead after he tries to grab one of their guns. Gabriel is a lone captor once again and he didn't even get his sight back in the process. Bummer. 

Just So Typically Me

Negan is wracking his brain trying to figure out how Gabriel and Dr. Carson escaped given, you know, how Carson was a prisoner and Gabriel was seemingly at death's door. He has to suspect Eugene at this point, so he assigns the mullet man to his own outpost where his sole job will be making bullets. Eugene will have security, staff, and even a couple of Negan's wives to help him accomplish his mission. Eugene's only question: "will there be wine?" Heh. Wine and bullet making don't seem like the best combination but Eugene's number could be up any time now so he might as well enjoy himself. 

Eugene's relief is short-lived when Gabriel is brought back to camp sans Dr. Carson. Gabriel maintains that the doctor coordinated their escape and I really don't think Negan is buying Eugene's innocence, even now. I'm still thinking a punishment is in store. In the meantime though, Gabriel will assist Eugene's outpost by sorting through shell casings. That's all well and good but Eugene is not producing bullets on the timeline Negan had hoped for. Eugene instead suggests a more medieval approach, launching undead limbs, heads, and guts into enemy territories via catapult. A lightbulb goes on in Negan's head similar to "Then he got an idea. An awful idea. The Grinch had a wonderful, awful idea." Later Negan demonstrates a new kind of warefare to his followers. He douses Lucille in Walker guts and explains that a wound from his weapon will cause an enemy to join the zombie club. He says Hilltop will learn their lesson..."dead or alive or some kind of shit in between."

My Problem Is This 

Catching up with Hilltop now, Maggie unsurprisingly has some problems on her hands. Food is running low and they are going to have to cut rations by a third to make it through the week...and this does not include feeding the prisoners. Dumbass Gregory wants out of the prison pen for good behavior and the incarcerated Saviors do too. No can do, Maggie says, and really those guys are lucky to even be alive at this point. Could she turn them into farmers? If only Hershel was around to help teach them to contribute peacefully, kinda like he helped Rick go from unstable, angry Rick to calm, farmer Rick at the prison. Aww...Hershel. 

Carol, Morgan, and Henry have made their way to Hilltop as well and Carol is concerned about what went down with Gavin. Henry is still on the warpath and wants to know if any one of Maggie's prisoners is the dude who killed his brother. Dude is there, of course, but the grown ups ultimately decide to tell Henry that Gavin was responsible. Probably the right call, though I do hope someone takes care of dude before he kills again. 

Daryl and company also finally reach Hilltop  (I say finally, but since I have no concept of what the hell the timeline is on this show, it could be within hours of them leaving Alexandra). There is a slow motion reaction to the news of Carl's death, with Maggie comforting Enid, who I guess she made it back safely all by herself (off screen - thank you), and tears flow throughout the community. The episode ends with Maggie having a change of heart and allowing prisoners a chance to stretch their legs outside of the prisoner pen every so often, work, and seek medical attention if needed. They will also be fed the same rations as everyone else. When Dumbass Gregory asks if they should all just evacuate before the Saviors arrive, she replies: "Look around, Gregory. How can we lose?" Just then someone yells that Rick is approaching the gate. Maggie quickly makes her way to the gate in excitement, so she's probably not thinking about the fact she now has more mouths to feed.  

Soooo after the hour Gabriel ends up back in the Saviors' custody, Eugene is back to engineering weapons for Negan, Dwight returns home and still finds himself in the Saviors' good graces, Maggie still has prisoners that she's not 100% sure what to do with other than not kill them, Tara remains useless, and Carol still looks pretty good in her Kingdom armor. Other than Negan planning a new weapons tactic, the only real takeaway from the episode is: don't be in any kind of medical profession during a zombie apocalypse. In this episode alone I'm reminded of Hershel, Bob, Denise (who replaced boozin' Dr. Pete), and Dr. Incineratorface. Now Hilltop's Dr. Carson joins their ranks and I guess Siddiq is now in charge of delivering the phantom baby until another doctor shows up and he dies? Maybe he'll become the onsite medic when Negan starts his death-by-Walker guts launch? Is this the cause of Rick's tree side "my mercy prevails over my wrath" wound that we've been catching a glimpse of all season? It would be pretty ridiculous to kill Rick within a few episodes of Carl, but given the way the All Out War has been paced, Rick might not die against that tree until the Season 12 finale. 

TWD Season 8 Episode 10: The Lost And The Plunderers

Last week's episode of The Walking Dead featured a goodbye the Grimes gang probably never thought they would have to face. After all, Carl had already been shot, lost an eyeball, lost a shoe, and almost had his arm cut off in this post-apocalyptic world...so a zombie bite on a walk home is a head scratcher in this story. I bet Tyreese feels a little vindicated since his "death by bite while staring at something" is still one of the more frustrating departures I've seen on this show. Anyway, tonight we catch up with some people we've been wondering about and others that I wish would stay on side missions indefinitely. We also witness more loss and bloodshed as the war continues on. Who is on the receiving end of a Savior's wrath in this hour? Here's what went down in "The Lost and the Plunderers."

I Ain't Wasting No More Time

Negan is still mulling over how Carl duped him so the Alexandrians could escape when Simon arrives back from his Hilltop mission. Negan's right hand douchebag is beyond frustrated with the state of things and he wants Das Sound Machine the garbage people punished to the extreme for their betrayal. I mean...sure they showed up with Rick when he thought he was about to win the All Out War, but did the Saviors not see how quickly those guys bolted when they knew Rick was screwed? Bolted. The cartoon roadrunner would have had a hell of a time keeping up. Negan must agree with me a little - he tells Simon he is only allowed to kill one of the junkyard dwellers after taking all of their guns. Right at that moment a delivery from Maggie arrives. It's zombie Dean, the Savior she killed in the mid-season finale, along with her message of "We have 38 more. Stand down." More fuel for Simon's rage that the old way of doing things is no longer effective, but Negan makes himself very clear that Simon is not to cause a slaughter anywhere. 

Speaking of Das Sound Machine the garbage people, we get a little bit more of a background on Jadis tonight and how she came to be leader of the junk piles, but first we have to talk about her Simon encounter. When he arrives I'm thinking that even though he is pissssssed, Simon is going to follow Negan's orders and then go home. After Jadis agrees to turn over all of their guns, Simon compliments Jadis' artwork and asks her questions about their solar panals and helipad (you're just NOW wondering about that?). The conversation is kind of awkward and then Simon just starts acting like a dick because he is not sensing remorse from the garbage community. He shoots two of Jadis' people and she punches him! Simon forgets about Negan's orders at that point and obviously also forgets about how Negan says people are resources they need and they can't wipe out communities...and Simon wipes out the community. With the exception of Jadis, Das Sound Machine the garbage group is no more. Simon and his Saviors leave her behind and much like King Ezekiel, she is forced to put down her own people. I will say that the trash compactor/shredder thingy she uses is pretty amazing - I wasn't expecting to see a conveyor belt of Walker guts tonight!

Here I Go Again

We catch up with Enid and Aaron now in their completely unplanned and unapproved side mission to Oceanside, and to my disappointment, no one immediately kills Enid for being a dumbass. In fact, no one kills Enid at all. When hothead Rachel finds out that Enid impulsively and stupidly killed Natania, she is out for blood and I'm thinking "woohoo!" Ultimately the ladies leave the punishment decision up to Cyndie since Natania was Cyndie's grandma. Does this mean she is going to be their new leader? That's neat. Cyndie decides it's opposite day at Oceanside and not only doesn't punish Aaron and Enid, she gives them permission to leave too. Cyndie says letting these two go is Oceaside's "contribution to the cause." They are looking to remain in hiding and still will not join the All Out War. 

Aaron is determined to stay behind and hide near a tree or some shit. He's hoping the ladies will eventually join the fight so he's just going to wait it out. Huh? Aaron sends Enid back to Hilltop to report the status of their unplanned and unapproved mission to Maggie, and they share a very heartfelt goodbye. I had no idea they were BFFs. I learn something new every day.

The Only Road I've Ever Known

Rick and Michonne are devastated. After they finish burying Carl, the two have to get out of town as Alexandria is sadly overrun by Walkers. All of that hard work...all of the obstacles the existing residents and the Grimes gang overcame together...kaput. They take one last look at the sign: "Welcome to the Alexandria Safe Zone - Mercy for the Lost, Vengeance for the Plunderers" and it's all a damn shame.

Rick decides he can't read Carl's letter yet but he is none too happy when he learns there is a letter for Negan in the pile as well. He turns his focus toward Das Sound Machine the garbage people because he doesn't want them to go back to the Saviors' side. When Richonne arrives at the junkyard they are startled to see a whole bunch of Walkers inside. Well, these are Jadis' former army in undead form and Jadis is sitting at the top of a heap alone, crying, and speaking like a normal person and not some sort of European cave woman. She explains that pre-apocalypse she used to visit the junkyard to look for things to paint. She was artsy even back then. "And then after everything changed, I realized this whole place was a canvas. That we were the paint. We could create something new. We could become something new. We did. This was our world - apart from everything else in every way." I do appreciate her point of view and her story...even though I think there were probably less smelly canvases to choose from in the area. Rick, however, is not impressed. When he and Michonne make their break to escape from the junkyard Walkers, he leaves Jadis behind despite her pleas to take her with them. So...Rick. Buddy. You JUST told your dead son you would make a world where everyone works together. Like, JUST told him. This woman WENT with you to the Sanctuary where you promised her victory and you were totally wrong. She is by herself now....Carl died helping someone who was by himself. Dude. You. Are. KILLING ME.

Walk Along The Lonely Street
Back in the van, Rick tells Michonne he doesn't want Jadis dead - he just wants her gone. He is getting emotional and pulls over near a field. He reads the letter Carl wrote to Negan and I'm not completely sure what it says. I paused the screen and saw a bit of content but I think the gist of it is working together and forgiveness. Rick immediately calls Negan on one of those walkie talkies with the most amazing range ever to give him an update. He tells Negan that Carl is dead and he had written letters to both Negan and Rick asking for peace. Negan is genuine in his grief for Carl, worried that his grenades killed him. He says Carl was the future and he had big plans for that kid. Yes, TWD showrunners, Carl was the future. Way to go. Now Rick has the chance to work with Negan here....to begrudgingly start to honor Carl by building that peaceful world his son envisioned. Nah. Rick goes back to that "I'm gonna kill you" crap we've heard so many times that I'm almost longing for the days where Morgan was an "all life is precious" broken record. Sigh. Negan goes right back at him by saying: "Carl is dead because of you...because you couldn't leave shit well enough alone... You failed as a leader, and most of all Rick, you failed as a father. Just give up. Give up because you have already lost." This walkie talkie with the most amazing range ever discussion is over. The episode ends with a shot of Rick hanging out alone in the field with that crazy "I'm looking around like I'm trying to locate the sound of an ice cream truck" vibe we've become so used to.

Listen, I don't blame Rick for not wanting to abandon the All Out War against the Saviors. Alexandria, Hilltop and The Kingdom have suffered unimaginable losses and he was thisclose to Negan's surrender. But promising Carl on his deathbed that he would help create the Rip Van Rick future and then immediately following that up by leaving Jadis in the garbage dust and reminding Negan that he's gonna kill him caused my palm to hit my forehead on a number of occasions this hour. Will Rick turn it around and at least let Jadis into their group? Will Jadis seek revenge on the Grimes gang? Will Negan throw Simon into the furnace when he finds out what happened at the junkyard? Time will tell, but I will say "The Lost and the Plunderers" was frustrating. Something is very wrong when I come out of an episode and my only thought is: poor Jadis.

TWD Season 8 Episode 9: Honor

Welcome back and happy 2018! That's the only "happy" I have for you tonight as The Walking Dead's mid season premiere is a lengthy farewell episode for one of the show's original characters. When we last left our heroes, the Alexandria crew was hiding underground while the Saviors blew up the neighborhood, and Carl revealed a fatal bite he had received while helping the worst zombie apocalypse partner ever Siddiq "release souls" from forest Walkers. In these 83 minutes we witnessed Carl's demise and it was definitely a fitting farewell. Here's what went down in "Honor."

We Must Sing

The episode opens with that shot of red-eyed Rick whispering "my mercy prevails over my wrath" and a few moments of him quietly digging a grave with Michonne.  We then go back to the moment where Carl is bitten in the woods which turns into a montage of how Carl spent his time between the bite and the Saviors' attack on Alexandria. We see the moment he realizes the Walker bit him. We see him go home, take off his shirt, and examine his wound in the bathroom mirror. His face says it all. He knows this is it and there's nothing he can do about it, so he buttons up a new shirt, nods at the mirror as he puts his hat back on his head, and he's off to make the rest of his time count. 

The song that plays in the background during all of this is "At the Bottom of Everything" by Bright Eyes and it's a brilliant pairing for Carl's preparation for the inevitable. Sure, it sounds like a happy tune and we see Carl smile as he spends time taking Polaroid selfies and finger painting with Judith, planting crops in the sun, and dining on canned goods and candy with Siddiq underground, but if you listen to the lyrics and think about Carl's other actions...writing letters to everyone...wondering if Rick and Michonne will return in time for him to say goodbye...and keeping it all to himself...it's heartbreaking. I don't even like the kid and I feel awful for him. 

We jump back now to the present where Carl is showing Michonne and Rick the Walker bite. The Saviors are still blowing shit up above ground and Rick assumes Negan is somehow to blame for his son's wound. Carl explains he was helping Siddiq, the guy from the gas station, and "it just happened. I got bit." The Saviors wreaking havoc, by the way, escaped from the Sanctuary by strategically shooting Walkers in a way that provided a path to freedom. Walls of Walker bodies allowed a brief barrier for the Saviors to exit the building and create a diversion. Nice to know Daryl's stupid bullshit truck idea wasn't ultimately what caused their community to go up in flames...but it sure as hell didn't help.

We Must Plunge

We switch gears and catch up with the nonsense going on at The Kingdom as Gavin and his group of idiots are preparing to transport Ezekiel to meet Negan's wrath. Morgan and Carol separately go on a rescue mission for the King, accompanied (from a distance) by young Henry...Carol had told the boy he needed to stay with the other Kingdom survivors in her cottage, so he totally followed not too far behind. Duh Carol. Kids don't listen to you. Ever. 

Gavin spends the majority of his screen time telling Ezekiel how much he likes him and how they had such a good thing going for a while. Gavin doesn't "want" to bring Ezekiel to his execution, but he's a whiny bitch and does whatever he's told. Ezekiel reminds Gavin that he can still choose not to turn him over to Negan. "It is not too late to walk back from something decided" and as this conversation is happening Gavin realizes none of his men have recently been vocal on the walkie talkies. 

Carol is all about getting in, grabbing Ezekiel, and getting out as quickly as possible, but Morgan is looking to take out all of these dudes one at a time. He's out for blood and we hear Carol say "leave it" several times throughout their mission, only to have Morgan kill unsuspecting men who were not in their way to begin with. Morgan claims he wants to be sure no one finds Henry, but I'm thinking Morgan is back to being "Cleared" crazy again. Carol and Morgan finally reach Gavin (who quickly becomes the last man standing in his group) and Morgan is immediately ready to kill Gavin. "I have to." Ezekiel and Carol both plead with Morgan to reconsider, but then a stick comes right through Gavin's throat. The Savior drops to the ground and young Henry is behind him holding the bloody weapon. Morgan taught him well? The King is going to have a hell of a time reconciling this one.

We Must Run

Negan and company are still blowing up Alexandria and Carl is starting to fade. Siddiq offers Carl some anti-inflammatory drugs to help with the fever. "It did for my mom and dad. Please take them." Rick asks if Siddiq was a doctor and Siddiq says he was a resident before everything went bad. Carl tells his dad he didn't save Siddiq because he's a doctor - he saved Siddiq because he wasn't going to make it on his own. 

Michonne, meanwhile, tells Dwight to make the Saviors stop their attack...like anyone is going to listen to Dwight at this point. He recommends they just wait until the Saviors clear out and make a run for it to Hilltop. After a little while longer they hear the vehicles leave the area and it's time to move. Rick knows Carl can't make the journey and he and Michonne stay behind as Daryl, Tara, Rosita and the rest of the group prepares to head out with Judith. Carl says goodbye to his little sister by giving her his hat. "This was dad's before it was mine. Now it's yours...just having it made me feel as strong as him. It helped me. Maybe it'll help you too. Before mom died, she told me that I was gonna beat this world. I didn't. But you will. I know you will." Oh lordy. Judith starts to cry and Daryl picks her up. He says that Carl saved everyone tonight but he doesn't actually say goodbye before he leaves. Tara and Rosita are teary but can't say the words either as they go. On his way out, Siddiq promises Carl that he will honor him the way Carl helped Siddiq honor his mother by getting bit and dying freeing the souls of the Walkers. "I know I can never repay you, but I can honor you."

Michonne and Rick are the only ones left with Carl and Carl tells Michonne not to be sad. She has to be strong for Rick and Judith. "Don't carry this. Not this part. You're my best friend, Michonne." She says, "you're mine too" and we still have a half hour to go in this episode. Poor kid. Rick wants to at least get Carl up into one of the buildings before he dies, and together he and Michonne carry Carl to the chapel. Carl thanks his dad for getting him as far as he did in life. He confesses to killing a kid back when they were at the prison...that kid who was surrendering his gun but Carl shot him anyway. It had become too easy to kill and Rick knew it then. That's when Rick brought the remaining people from Woodbury together and put away his gun. Carl says it can be like that again. 

We Must Stare

We realize now that the dream/future sequence we've been seeing of Rip Van Rick is actually Carl's hope for the future. He envisions Jerry stopping by for dessert and hanging out with Siddiq. He imagines Eugene sharing an apple with Judith. And most importantly, he sees Negan happily planting crops with the rest of the gang. Whoa. He tells his dad that the future can be filled with people rebuilding and working together. He says Rick can be who he used to be. Rick tearfully promises to make that future real and Carl reaches for his gun. Carl doesn't want Rick or Michonne to have to put him down and he says "I love you" to both of them. We then see Michonne and Rick outside the building when the gun goes off. Rick sits with his head in his hands and Michonne stands stiff as if she is trying with all of her might not to just topple over. Then we go back to the first moments of this episode where they are digging a grave. The final shot is of red-eyed Rick sitting against a tree...bleeding pretty badly from his right side. Uh, what?

The episode ends there and that had to have been a rough one for the Grimes family to shoot. I know the show runners have received a lot of backlash for killing off Carl, especially since he is still alive in the comics and has a lot of story left to tell, and based on the interviews I've been reading, the rest of the cast isn't thrilled about this decision either. They watched this boy grow up after all. And Chandler Riggs has already cut his hair (thank you, Jesus... actual Jesus... not TWD Jesus), so we're not going to see him in any flashbacks either. Happy trails, kid. 

While we connected and caught up with Alexandria and The Kingdom this week, at the end of this episode we are still left wondering what the hell is happening in Hilltop. Did Father Gabriel and Dr. Carson make to Alexandria safely and in time for Maggie to finally show a frigging baby bump? Is Gabriel even okay? Has Mother Maggie executed any other Savior prisoners? Is Dumbass Gregory just in a constant state of peeing his pants at this point? And does Jesus (TWD Jesus...not the actual Jesus) understand that his motivational humanity speeches are going to be lost on Maggie? At least for a while anyway? I have a pit in my stomach just thinking about the Alexandrians arriving in Hilltop and how the people there will react to Carl's death. Seriously though, Enid has to be next, right? I could barely get through her existence while Carl was alive and her kinda, sorta, sometimes love interest. Without him, she's going to be 100% intolerable. Damn it, Carl!

TWD Season 8 Episode 8: How It's Gotta Be

Well kids... I had heard some rumors, read some potential spoilers, and listened to other fans of The Walking Dead comment on what might happen in tonight's mid-season finale. While I know that anything is possible on this show and none of the characters are safe, there are certain members of the Grimes gang that I didn't think would be on the chopping block before the end of the All Out War. I'm still trying to process this episode, which really should have been titled "Reasons We Don't Deviate From The Plan," and given we have until February 2018 for part two of the season, seems like I will be processing for a while. What were the traumatic events in this last episode of 2017? Here's what went down in "How It's Gotta Be."  

The Storm Keeps On Twisting

We pick up right where we left off last week with Rick and Das Sound Machine the garbage people arriving at The Sanctuary to find it eerily quiet and no longer under attack. Jadis is realizing that Polaroid pictures don't mean shit in the post-apocalyptic world, and I assume she is eager to shoot Rick in the head for leading her and her people into this opposite day scenario. Luckily(?) the Saviors start shooting at everyone from the upper levels of the building and the garbage people run away before taking action against Rick. Carol, the badass that she is, pulls up in an SUV with Jerry and gets Rick out of there. The question is - where do they go now? The Saviors are somehow out and on a warpath in Alexandria, Hilltop and The Kingdom. Time for these guys to split up and try to salvage what they can. 

Before we get to any that, we first flash back to the season premiere right after Rick fired shots over Siddiq's head at the gas station. Carl is pissed that his dad dismissed the stranger so quickly and he tells Rick that this war is about people working together...not just killing people. It's not feasible to think they can take out every Savior and the kid is looking for more than hope at this point. "What, are we just gonna kill all of them? Finding someway forward, that's order. That's something more. That's how it's gotta be."

Jumping back to present day, we see Carl sitting in the corner of his bedroom...writing his dad a note. He looks at the paper Enid once left him that says "just survive somehow" and he is very emotional. What's going on with this kid? Later on in the evening Michonne finds Carl near the sewer entrance in Alexandria. He's a bit out of breath and tells Michonne that he's been helping a traveler. Siddiq is hanging out in the sewer? Michonne is just about to ask for more information when there is a commotion at the gate. More to come on that front.

Vultures And Thieves At Your Back

Gavin leads a group of Saviors into King Ezekiel's community, letting the people there know that they will be housing the Saviors until The Sanctuary can be repaired and fortified. The folks from The Kingdom will be responsible for both, and the Saviors are going to give them just enough food and supplies to survive while this happens. Gavin also demands (unsuccessfully) that the people give up Ezekiel's location because the Saviors have searched the entire town and have been unable to find him. Gavin doesn't want to have to punish everyone - but the king needs to taken to Negan. Ultimately Eziekiel creates a distraction to get what's left of his community out of The Kingdom, allowing himself to be captured in the process. Carol arrives just as Ezekiel is closing and locking the gates, leaving his subjects outside and he and the Saviors inside. Carol begins directing the community members toward the house she used to occupy and Ezekiel calls out to her: "save them like you saved me." Ezekiel is then captured and that's the last we see of him tonight. 

As Gavin works to take control back from The Kingdom, Simon is on the same mission in Hilltop. Jesus and Maggie are en route to The Sanctuary, unaware that the original plan has been ripped to hell and they will not be arriving to a crumbling compound with Ezekiel, Rick, and Jadis. Maggie sees a tree down in the road ahead and has immediate deja vu back to the night that Glenn and Abraham died. Before she can turn everyone around and head back to Hilltop, Simon and his douchebags roll up with a pretty badly beaten Jerry in tow. He plops a box against Maggie's truck and says that Alexandria and The Kingdom are back under Negan's control. Simon is still pissed at Gregory and offers Maggie a chance to lead Hilltop (under Simon's control), because the Saviors need Hilltop's farming and supplies to flourish regardless of the rebellion. Otherwise he'll have to put her in the box and take her back to Hilltop and kill her in front of everyone...only to then have her put on a spike and displayed at The Sanctuary. Just to show Maggie how serious the situation is, he shoots and kills Neil (a Hilltopian that I barely remember) and Maggie gives in. She asks if she can take the box back to Hilltop with them so they can bury Neil in it, and off they go. 

Maggie and her entourage arrive back at Hilltop and she's not actually looking to roll over and begin farming for the Saviors. She instead seeks immediate revenge for Neil's death, choosing one of the Savior prisoners (Dean) and shooting him in the head. Maggie then puts his body in the box she brought back from Simon with a note that says: "We have 38 more. Stand down." For a moment I think Maggie might have completely turned dark in this course of action, but when she walks away by herself, we see the wave of emotions on her face as she comes to grips with everything that just happened. This chick is having a hell of a first trimester. 

May You Find Some Comfort Here

Eugene is still having trouble sleeping. Can't imagine why. It's not like he turned against his former community, had a chance to do right by them, but now enabled the Saviors to go on a slaughter mission or anything crazy like that. Is he still wondering what "the right thing" is? Apparently so. While remaining loyal to Negan, Eugene does grant what he assumes to be Gabriel's dying wish and clears a path for Gabriel and Dr. Carson to get out of The Sanctuary and back to Hilltop...via giving the guard on that side of the building an unimaginable case of diarrhea. Ha! That's pretty awesome.

There is a car waiting for the doctor and the priest and Gabriel asks Eugene to join them. The mullet man declines, opting to stay in Negan's world and hopefully rest easier knowing Dr. Carson would be able to care for Maggie. But would he? I mean...as soon as Negan finds out the doctor is in Hilltop, won't the doctor just be kidnapped again? Eugene knows that Negan's main plan is to collect Rick, Maggie and Ezekiel and kill them, right? Prenatal care is fairly useless in that scenario. 

We see Dr. Carson and a very weary Gabriel make their way safely to the car and get out of the area. Not sure if/when they make it to Hilltop or if it's before shit is hitting the fan with Maggie, Dean, and the coffin, but I imagine that's enough for Eugene's conscience for now. We also do not find out in this episode whether Gabriel succumbs to his illness and eats Dr. Carson en route. Wouldn't that be a kick in the head? 

Waiting For That Second Chance

Catching up with Aaron and Enid on their completely unplanned side mission, we find out that they are heading to Oceanside to enlist the help of the disgruntled women there. Makes sense - take a two person team with zero clout to a community that hates you because you took all of their guns and try to get them to boost up your numbers. I'm sure this will go well. 

Enid has the idea of stopping by a distillery so they can bring gifts to Oceanside, because there's totally time for a side mission to the side mission, and she and Aaron drive a big ol' whiskey truck to the outskirts of the community. That night while they are snoozing in the front seat of their armored car (yup, they're just waiting for trouble at this point), they see a figure approaching the truck. My palm is already at my forehead when Aaron goes to check things out and we hear someone knock him to the ground. Enid, instead of assessing any part of the situation, shoots the person who attacked Aaron....killing NATANIA in the process. Cyndie arrives just at that moment and yells at Enid to drop her weapon, which she does. Cyndie starts crying "grandma! grandma!" and I let out a very loud groan. Congrats Enid. Even with all of the dumb shit that has gone on in the past few weeks - you're still the worst character on the show. So much for building an alliance with Oceanside. 

Escape One Last Time

While we now know that The Kingdom has fallen and Hilltop is putting themselves in a hell of a standoff, the people of Alexandria are still in "it's time to go to meet everyone at The Sanctuary and wait for surrender" mode. Daryl returns and Michonne is glad to see that he's made it back unharmed He's super happy with himself and tells her his planned worked. Dude. How could you possibly know that the plan worked if you dipped out of the garbage truck before it hit the walls and you guys fled the scene as soon as the Walkers entered the building? For me "the plan worked" would entail "I crashed the truck into the building and a bunch of people started waving white flags from the rooftop, begging for us to save them." Michonne, at this point, is just eager to reunite with Rick and she says goodbye to Judith, promising to come back with her daddy. 

Smokin' Hot Rosita is also preparing to leave for the big surrender when Tara approaches. Tara tells her that Daryl's plan worked, again with no information on how exactly the plan was successful, and I really just want Rosita to punch her in the face. Instead she asks Tara to help her load the trucks, and she gives Tara more than an armful of supplies to carry. I'll take the small laughs where I can get them tonight. 

Imagine everyone's surprise that evening when Negan is calling out to them from the other side of the gate. Negan, who is supposed to be either dead or on the brink of surrender somewhere else. Negan, with a good portion of his army that is not tearing itself apart from starvation due to the zombie herd surrounding The Sanctuary. Negan, with a solid supply of "blow shit up" weapons at his disposal. We're back now to Carl and Michonne's sewer discussion and we see Carl take charge of Alexandria. He tells everyone he will go talk to Negan to distract him while the people of Alexandria either escape through the sewer or in vehicles. Tara says they should fight to keep Alexandria (can someone please punch her in the face now?) and Michonne kind of agrees but wants to let the young Grimes man run the show. He is the future that they are fighting for after all, right?  

Carl climbs on top of the wall and addresses Negan, telling Negan they can still work things out and end the war. When Negan launches into one of his tiresome narratives about rules and punishments, Carl says, "Kill me...if you have kill someone, if there has to be punishment, then kill me. I'm serious." Negan stops in his tracks. This surprises him. He asks Carl if he actually wants to die and Carl says "No, I don't...but I will." Carl then shakes his head as if he is already defeated and says "it's gonna happen."    

Pulled From The Wreckage

Meanwhile, a series of Alexandria trucks plow through a very weak barrier Dwight has set up in the back of the community. Negan realizes his conversation with Carl has been a diversion and the Saviors invade and unleash explosives throughout Alexandria. We see Carl through puffs of smoke here and there as he makes his way toward the back of the community, but shit is getting blown up all around him.

Dwight leads the Saviors right into a trap as they chase the Alexandria trucks. He drives his group into an ambush area where Daryl, Michonne, Tara and Smokin' Hot Rosita are waiting to shoot the cars and Saviors inside. Dwight opens fire on his own people as well and Laura, who is one of the few remaining kickass women in the Saviors, calls Dwight out and shoots him in the arm. Pretty sure she would have killed him if gunfire hadn't caused her to run away. The jig is up now - she's heading straight to Negan and Dwight's only chance at living is with the mercy of Daryl and company. Daryl takes back his vest and asks Dwight if what he did (you know, that reckless garbage truck through the wall bit) was the reason the Saviors escaped the compound. Dwight only says that Eugene was able to get them out, but I seriously think Eugene was able to get them out because of the BIG GAPING HOLE IN THE WALL OF THE COMPOUND. We don't get any other info on the Saviors' escape in this episode, so I hope we get some sort of recap in the 2018 premiere of how that all happened. 

Dwight follows Tara, Daryl, Michonne and Smokin' Hot Rosita to the sewer to hide in safety until the Saviors leave. With no sign of Carl and a shit ton of explosions happening in the town, Michonne goes back toward the houses to find him. Rick has also arrived back in town and I can't even imagine what's going through his mind at this point. This is just not how the day was supposed to go. When Rick gets to his house, Negan and Lucille are there waiting for him. A fight ensues but this is not the showdown viewers were probably hoping to see tonight. Negan throws Rick out of a window and Rick chooses to cut his losses and get the hell out of the neighborhood rather than go back inside the house and listen to more Negan bullshit (don't blame him). He runs into Michonne just as she's chopping up a Savior with her sword and together they head to the sewers.

The final sequence is beautifully shot, yet incredibly heartbreaking all at the same time. Rick slowly walks through the sewers searching for his loved ones. Judith is there happy and safe, but the other normally friendly faces Rick is passing either won't look at him at all, or look at him with tears in their eyes. Shit. Finally Rick and Michonne reach the end of a corridor, where Siddiq is sitting. We hear a voice say "I brought him here" and the camera pans to Carl. The kid is alive and looks relatively unharmed...but then Carl tearfully lifts up his shirt to reveal a Walker bite on his side. My first thought is: "Damn it, Carl!" But my second thought...that the rest of the characters share is: "There's no coming back from this." 

Memories Seep From My Veins

Whew. That was quite the emotional roller coaster. I had heard that Carl would be a casualty tonight but I still sit here surprised. He has sooooo much story left in the comics, especially involving Negan, and I really I didn't think the show runners would go this route. I will say that Carl has annoyed the hell out of me over the years. He's made some very dumb moves and done more whining than I can keep track of....and that hair pushed me over the edge quite some time ago. I'm not super broken up about his departure, but man am I hurting for Rick and Michonne... 

I assume Carl's bite happened last week (which I think is yesterday in TWD timeline) when Carl was battling Walkers with Siddiq, who quickly proved he is not someone I'd ever want to partner with in a zombie apocalypse. So Carl is dying after helping the guy Rick shot at to drive away. Carl was thinking ahead to the future while Rick was worried that every stranger they encountered was a Savior. Carl was on his own path of trying to "do the right thing" while Rick was in his undies in garbage land, forming an alliance (again) with people who would ultimately leave him high and dry. And Michonne? Michonne was blind to Carl's side mission because she, for whatever reason, haaaaad to go see The Sanctuary. She realized her vision for the future wasn't so different from Carl's only after she was thisclose to executing Daryl's stupid idea. Rick and Michonne both wanted to win this war for Carl, Judith, Glenn and Maggie's baby, and the other young lives that represented the future. This is a massive blow for both of them - Carl is Rick's successor and his only flesh and blood (I think we can safely assume Judith is Shane's daughter), and Michonne's bond with Carl really brought her out of the funk she was in after losing her own family. The episode where she looks at him and says "Bam! Crazy cheese." will always be a standout for me.  

When the The Walking Dead returns in 2018 our heroes have to deal with the aftermath of what should have been named "Reasons We Don't Deviate From The Plan." In addition to the ways Michonne, Rick and even Carl might be second guessing themselves, Daryl and Tara will have to determine exactly how stupid they were when they went rogue. Aaron and Enid will have to determine exactly how stupid they were when they went rogue. Morgan will have to determine how stupid he was when he went rogue (you get the picture). Eugene will have to determine if he really is Negan or if part of him wants to reunite with his former friends. Ezekiel will have to determine what kind of act to put on now that he is captured by the enemy. And Maggie will have to determine what to do with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Hilltop is the only community in the trifecta that still has a chance - all eyes are on her now to keep hope alive. Speaking of hope, I assume now that the delightful Rip Van Rick sequence from the season premiere was wishful thinking just like the big family dinner scene we saw with Glenn and Abraham after the two of them were killed by Negan. It's hard to tell when there might be any happy times ahead for these folks now, so we will just have to sit on all of these feelings through the holiday season and regroup again in the new year!

  

TWD Season 8 Episode 7: Time After Time

Tonight's episode of The Walking Dead is mostly centered around Eugene as he and others continue

to make decisions that piss me off. We catch up with a few additional familiar faces as well, but the mullet man's moves drive this hour as he tries to save The Sanctuary from the herd of Walkers closing in. Is he successful? Does he realize he is now part of the losing team? Does he stay loyal to Negan or cut his losses and retreat back to the Grimes gang? Here's what went down in "Time After Time."

If You're Lost

Stage "WTF Do I Do Now?" Eugene tells Dwight he knows that Dwight is the mole working with Rick. He promises not to say anything to Negan as long as Dwight ceases and desists all forms of backstabbery. Dwight grabs him by the shirt and shoves him into a chair. He tells Eugene that The Sanctuary is going to fall and all Eugene has to do to be on the winning side is...nothing. Just let it play out. Eugene is interested in staying safe and keeping the people inside the walls safe. If Dwight can promise he won't do anything to harm the folks inside The Sanctuary, Eugene can promise to keep his secret. There's really no affirmation from either gent before Eugene leaves the room. 

Was the lighting in this scene a sign?

As Eugene makes his way down the hall, he hears Dr. Carson call to him from the infirmary. Gabriel has an infection from all of the Walker guts he donned on his way into the compound and he is getting worse. Dr. Carson says it's only a matter of time before Gabriel's organs start shutting down, and he asks Eugene to stay with the priest while he tries to find some herbs in the market that might help with the fever. Gabriel asks Eugene again if he will help get Dr. Carson back to Hilltop and Eugene tells him that he's looking out for himself and no one else. Gabriel says "I just want you to do the right thing," and when Eugene asks how to know what the right thing is, the priest replies: "It requires faith and trust in yourself. Believing that God is inside of you, guiding you." Eugene is a man of science and says that whole thing is absurd, but Gabriel maintains that Eugene will know what the right thing is when the time comes. 

Eugene heads back to his room and Tanya, one of Negan's wives, knocks on the door. Apparently Eugene had promised her he'd fix her boombox and it's taking too long (I guess she doesn't give a shit about what's happening outside), and she doesn't want to give him the wine that was supposed to be part of the trade. When he tells her wine helps him sleep, she reminds him that their situation could have been totally different if he had helped the wives kill Negan when they asked for the death pill. "But you took care of you, and now you gotta live with that."  

I Will Catch You

Eugene meets with Negan and Negan mentions that the mullet man is running out of time and people are going to start dying. "Not me of course. I'm living no matter what. I am too good at this shit." Negan says he has faith in Eugene though because he knows the guy is smart...hence the "Dr. Smartypants" nickname. Negan reaches out for a handshake and Eugene mistakes the gesture. He leans in to kiss Negan's hand instead and I get my only real laugh of the evening. Negan says a handshake is a sign of mutual respect and he's clearly trying to ensure Eugene is still 100% Negan. I'm pretty sure this was one of those "you had me at 'hello'" scenarios. 

With his newfound motivation, Eugene collects Sasha's iPod from the coffin (how does that thing still have juice?) and he dismantles Tanya's boombox to make a drone. His plan is to use the drone music to lead the Walkers away pied piper style. It's a great idea until Dwight sneaks up behind Eugene on the roof and points a gun at him. He tells Dwight he is attempting to save the people inside, and though he is usually only concerned with himself, Eugene decides to take his chances at gunpoint and send the drone sailing over the Walkers. Dwight can't bring himself to shoot Eugene (why?) and instead shoots the drone down. 

Confusion Is Nothing New

The Walkers are at a point where they are probably a day from breaking completely into The Sanctuary and Morgan is outside with a sniper rifle ready to thwart any Savior plans to drive the Walkers away. He sees Daryl, Tara, Michonne and Smokin' Hot Rosita roll up in a garbage truck and he goes down to talk to them. In order to speed up victory, Daryl and Tara want to drive the garbage truck through part of the building they believe does not have any workers, even though Rosita and Michonne expect Rick and the other community leaders to show up at any moment and ask for surrender. Morgan is on board with this plan because he just wants everything to be done. Michonne and Rosita want to wait since, you know, THAT'S THE PLAN, but Daryl and Tara insist that things have changed now that Ezekiel's army is gone. Rosita says they will need to proceed without her...that seeing Sasha recklessly storm the building only to end up walking out of a coffin as a zombie has changed her thoughts on taking huge and hasty risks. She grabs one of the extra cars and heads home, but Michonne stays even though Michonne has to know this isn't what Rick would want.  

As Daryl, Tara and Michonne get ready to execute this ludicrous plan, he separately asks Michonne if she's up for the task. After giving it some thought, she believes they need to trust that what is currently working will continue to work. "What we're about to do...it's not worth risking us." Daryl says it's worth the risk to him and Michonne tells him she can't go through with it. She hops out of the truck (and I assume catches up with Smokin' Hot Rosita) and Daryl proceeds on his own with Tara and Morgan covering him. He jumps out of the truck at the last second and makes his way to safety. The workers inside the building, however, are not safe. There were still plenty of people just on the other side of the wall and many of them become Walker food in front of Eugene's eyes. The Saviors are having a hell of a time keeping the Walkers on the first floor and something will need to be done quickly. 

Dr. Smartypants is furious. He goes to Gabriel's room and essentially says the whole "do the right thing" message was bullshit because people died anyway. Eugene tells him he's going back to looking out for number one and approaches Negan, saying he has a solution to the problem at hand. He's just about to out Dwight as well, but then Dwight arrives with a Walker update and the conversation ends.  

I Fall Behind

Turns out Rick isn't completely naked in the garbageland canister. He's got his undies on and when Jadis finally opens the doors, he tells her his offer still stands. Jadis has other interests at the moment though. Who wouldn't? First she takes pictures of him with a fancy camera (where is the nearest one hour photo?), then she has one of her garbage men sketch the scantily clad hottie. Why? So they can sculpt him "after."  Rick asks "after what?" but Jadis has already said more than a couple of words so it's time to move on. 

Later Rick is brought to the center of what I assume is the major garbage heap and Jadis arrives with another specialty Walker in tow. Apparently "after" translates to "death by helmet-head Walker" which is really, really stupid. Rick hits the ONE guy holding him down and knocks over the ONE other guy with Jadis. He decapitates the helmet-head Walker and only THEN does Jadis take her gun out to shoot Rick. He pins her to the ground next to the still chomping Walker head and THEN the rest of her people arrive and aim their guns at him. Jadis tells her people to stand down and then says she will join Rick in his endeavor to kill Negan for a portion of the Saviors' supplies.  

The episode ends with Rick and the garbage people arriving on the outskirts of The Sanctuary. When Rick can't get anyone to respond on the walkie talkie, he climbs the water tower and realizes the yard is empty of Walkers. I assume he also realizes that Daryl completely mucked everything up and the garbage people might quickly turn on him again. Better get ready to pose for that sculpture, my friend.

I have to say that I'm sitting here just kind of baffled after this hour. If the plan was for (I assume), Rick, Maggie, Ezekiel and Jadis to show up to The Sanctuary united and give the Saviors a last chance to surrender, then whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy did we need to crash a truck into the walls to get them to surrender? Why did Rosita speak up on this before Michonne? Why would Tara be okay with this? She was good with letting Dwight live long enough to become a mole but she can't let the workers live long enough to....live? WTF is up with Daryl? If someone else had gone totally rogue from a plan everyone had agreed on, he'd be the first one to lose his shit. I just can't wrap my head around this turn of events. Rick goes off to the garbage people, who he can't trust, to help drive the final nail in Negan's coffin, but the people Rick can trust have ruined everything. Ugh.  

Next week is already the mid-season finale and though we've seen quite a bit of slaughter so far in these first 7 episodes, I do believe we are gearing up for a major or majorish death by the end of episode 8. Will Gabriel succumb to his Walker guts fever? Will Negan throw Dwight into the incinerator? With Maggie and others on the way (I assume Ezekiel is sitting this one out), are we bound to suffer a loss of one of the remaining long term characters? Is this where we catch up with the two graves and the red-eyed Rick we saw during the season premiere? We have only a short time to wait until we find out, but in the meantime... Daryl, you've got some 'splainin' to do.