Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan-The Walking Dead_Season 10, Episode 22-Photo Credit: Josh Stringer/AMC
“Here’s Negan” is the long coming backstory episode that The Walking Dead fans wanted since his debut on “Last Day on Earth” back in 2016. It is also the same name of the comic book backstory for the popular character. But the television episode outdoes the comic version by giving more time to showcase the birth of the Negan that we all know over how The Saviors formed.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a great actor. I believe that “Here’s Negan” is his best performance on The Walking Dead. Not only did we get the charm of the Negan character, we also got different layers that are relatable to real world situations. It was also a right choice to have Hilarie Burton Morgan as Negan’s wife Lucille for this episode. I saw their chemistry on screen and also thought of the real life married couple through the costumes and characters.
The story itself expanded from the source material while also remixing a few scenes from the comic to match the flow of narrative that was presented to us. I did not mind the changes as I thought this was a great adaptation. I love that Lucille had a bigger story than she did in the comic. It was also heartbreaking to see how the cancer affected her and him.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, Hilarie Burton as Lucille-The Walking Dead_Season 10, Episode 22-Photo Credit: Josh Stringer/AMC
Negan was gone for six weeks to get the right medication for Lucille. When he came back after being captive, Lucille already turned. This changed the outlook of Negan as an everyday person before the apocalypse into who he became during the apocalypse.
The story of how he got the jacket and bat worked better this time around too and bonus points for Laura’s return on The Walking Dead for this backstory episode. It also made me think that there was a missed opportunity for Lindsley Register and Jeffrey Dean Morgan to have a scene with the two characters while Negan was in jail from season 9 to 10.
The breaking of the Lucille bat after he found it worked very well here for this story opposed to when it happened during The Whisperer War in the comic. The eulogy was also beautiful and I felt the pain that Negan felt when he was at the fireplace. Lucille, his wife brought out the best in him. Side note, seeing Negan playing Gears of War 2 makes me want to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan play The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners!
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, Hilarie Burton as Lucille-The Walking Dead_Season 10, Episode 22-Photo Credit: Josh Stringer/AMC
With this story and the bloody deaths of the bikers that held him captive along with the next mission at Alexandria, “Here’s Negan” served as the season finale of season 10 of The Walking Dead and it is one of the best episodes ever written, acted, and produced. This is what is called a masterpiece of Storytelling!
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Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 21 – Photo Credit: Eli Ade/AMC
The Walking Dead has had a number of episodes that were either not so good, or poorly received. “Diverged” is one of those episodes. It pains me to write this because I do like the Carol character much better than her comic counterpart, but “Diverged” is The Walking Dead’s “Fly” episode.
Sure, exploring Carol’s mindset and Daryl in the woods again after they had their blowout argument on “Find Me” is one thing, but how many times are we going to see this happen on the future spinoff? It will be very tiresome to the casual viewer if this repeats over and over again! However, Melissa McBride is a great actress and there are a few scenes that I liked from the episode. Especially the scene when Carol faked laughed while she was walking away from Jerry, and her interactions with Dog.
Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Dog – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 21 – Photo Credit: Eli Ade/AMC
The fact that it was scripted for Carol to chase a mouse for most of the episode set an all time high of boredom for me. What was the point of this subplot? I would have been fine if Carol was killing walkers all episode long over this. It added nothing to progress Carol at all other than having something to do at Alexandria.
Meanwhile, I like the setup of the pit that Daryl fell in to kill that walker. But there was nothing else of not for Daryl during the time when he was by himself. Even though Jerry had some funny lines when he was speaking with Carol, it did not help enhance “Diverged” at all.
You can give the script of this episode to Rick Grimes and Michonne and it would still be a a giant turn of garbage. But there is one theme that this episode does shed a positive light on. And that is, how it affects individuals after a huge argument between friends, companions, and people who are in a relationship. It puts an emotional strain on you and you’re surrounding circle. In conclusion, Carol and Daryl are better as a unit than not being together. They both need each other during the apocalypse.
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Seth Gilliam as Gabriel, Ross Marquand as Aaron – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 19 – Photo Credit: Josh Stringer/AMC
Whenever Aaron is paired with someone for a duration of an episode of The Walking Dead, expect it to be good. In the past, Aaron has had episodes with Daryl Dixon, Rick Grimes, and even Negan. An Aaron and Gabriel pairing is something that I did not know that I wanted until now.
This week’s episode titled “One More” takes us on a journey of what Aaron and Gabriel has been up to after the aftermath of The Whisperer War. Their adventure lead up to a life or death situation by an individual named Mays (Portrayed by Robert Patrick). I have to say that the casting of Mays for this one episode is brilliant. Robert Patrick made a believer out of me when he appeared on screen. His presence, attitude, and acting really stood out to me from when he encountered Gabriel, to his sudden death by Gabriel.
Robert Patrick as Mays- The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 19 – Photo Credit: Josh Stringer/AMC
I will admit that I was really bummed to see Mays killed off on The Walking Dead. But his death lead to a dark discovery that I was not anticipating. It is one thing to tell a story about how your brother died to anyone. But it is different when you find out that the brother is actually handcuffed and locked away in the roof.
The depressing scene when his brother committed suicide after Aaron and Gabriel let him loose shows how bad a mental state can go when you are isolated for years at the end of the world. It made me wonder how and why did Mays did this to his brother. A memorable performance by Robert Patrick!
I also did like Gabriel and Aaron’s interactions. Most of the conversations were focused on the both of them recounting who they were at the early years of the apocalypse and what gave them less motivation to continue what they were doing. Gabriel took the most of this as he did not want to preach anymore. But Gabriel sure did when he and Aaron were faced with the Russian Roulette game.
Small detail that I noticed is when the roulette game happened, the cards Aaron and Gabriel used to play were still on the table. To me, that signified that the game they are playing now is real and not for fun over the fun game of cards they played the night before. Also, anyone caught that whisky bottle that had Duane Jones’ picture on the front?
The other easter egg my eyes caught on too involved Gabriel. The water tower that he mentioned, and the walker that Aaron killed that landed on the machete in which its guts fell on Gabriel is a nod to his comic book death by Beta at the start of The Whisperer War.
It is too early for me to rank all of the extra The Walking Dead episodes, but “One More” is the best of the three so far. “One More” is an episode that is close to the classic episodes of The Walking Dead from the earlier seasons that I appreciate! A hidden gem of the 10th season.
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Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Lauren Cohan as Maggie – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 17 – Photo Credit: Eli Ade/AMC
It has been a pretty long time since the last time The Walking Dead graced our screens on Sunday nights. But the wait is finally over. The Walking Dead returns on February 28th on AMC (February 21st on AMC+) and there is a ton to look forward to. I recently got the chance to watch the first two of six episodes of the extra episodes of season 10 and I will review one of them in this article. Be warned that there are spoilers ahead for these episodes of The Walking Dead.
10×17: Home Sweet Home
“Home Sweet Home” picks up right where “A Certain Doom” left off. The long awaited return of Maggie Rhee has been anticipated for a long time and she is the central focus on this episode. Her and Daryl even caught up as Maggie told Daryl everything that happened with her and Georgie over the last five years. We learn that Maggie and Georgie eventually went to Tennessee with a group to live there for a few years until their community was ambushed. They have been hunted down ever since and Maggie has not seen Georgie since the attack. I also started to feel for Maggie again when she talked to Daryl about Hershel Jr. asking her about Glenn and what happened to him.
I like that there was a big story for what lead to Maggie returning with her original family. There was no delay to it as Daryl wanted to know right away after the walker conflict. Maggie is not only joined by Elijah who debuted on “A Certain Doom”, she is also accompanied with Cole. Negan and Maggie with Hershel Jr. crossed paths at the beginning, and at the end of the episode. Their tension is really building for a big conversation between the two. It was quite fulfilling to see Negan at the end of the episode watching Maggie and Hershel Jr. enter Alexandria while he is still doing yard work as a prisoner over there compared to earlier in the episode when Negan had his badass jacket on talking to Maggie.
I am a Negan fan, but I felt it from Maggie when she seen him. The first thought that must of ran through Maggie’s head would be “who in the hell does this man think he is talking to me at this moment.” I do have a strong feeling that Maggie and Negan will have that scene within the next few episodes, or sometime in season 11. If there is one thing that you should know about The Walking Dead, it is that Maggie and Negan will never work together clearing walkers. Overall, Their encounter from their first meeting in years should have been a bigger deal than it was. But I am open to see the next time they have an encounter.
Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 17 – Photo Credit: Eli Ade/AMC
There is also a good amount of action on “Home Sweet Home” that I like, but also rolled my eyes on one of those scenes. The walker clearing in that enclosed area, and with The Reaper sniper. The Reapers is the group that Maggie mentioned that are hunting them down. They kidnapped Hershel Jr. during the episode and it is time for Maggie and everyone else to get him back. Now the battle with that sniper gave me flashbacks to The End boss battle from Metal Gear Solid 3, or Quiet from Metal Gear Solid 5.
He is unseen at first as he took out two members of the group and I liked where they were going with the battle as it really got me engaged to see what happens next. The battle becomes a full fledged fight once he reveals himself. But then my brain started to kick in when he killed himself with the grenade.
I watched too many war movies, and know first hand knowledge of grenades due to one of my family members serving in the army during the late 1980’s. Maggie, Daryl, Kelly, and everyone else were too close to the sniper when he exploded himself. One of the members of the group should have been part of that explosion in that range because how it happened on that episode, is just not realistic. It looked phony and ridiculous when I watched that happen.
There are some dialogue coming from the characters that I did like. Kelly and Elijah are relatable since they both lost their sisters (P.S Connie is alive) so they have something in common. Kelly also assured Elijah to not be scared facing the current threat. I did not expect to see Elijah unmask for that brief moment, but it added more context to how much he is scared on the inside compared to how much of a badass he is on the outside while masked. A small bit of Elijah is learned through the conversation Kelly and Maggie had towards the end of the episode. There is also a quick funny moment involving Daryl and another character that had me laughing as well.
“Home Sweet Home” is a decent episode as it laid the groundwork for the upcoming extra episodes, and for the next season. I do however feel that the structure of this episode is too outdated by The Walking Dead standards, but I believe that fans will be happy either way that the show is back on Sunday!
And finally, Hershel Jr. talks and he is adorable!
Also to note, the episodes were filmed on digital instead of film for the first time. My MacBook has 4K settings and I used it while I watched the two episodes and it looks crisp and sharp. The quality is amazing and I hope that the next two home releases of The Walking Dead seasons 10 and 11 will have an optional 4K feature for the episodes!
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After the announcement that the season 10 finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead would be delayed until a further date due to the pandemic, the entire community of The Walking Dead was hearbroken. It would not be until San Diego Comic Con at Home that the date of the finale would be revealed.
Ahead of the October 4th airdate, I got the chance to watch the long-awaited season finale. Here is my preview of the season 10 finale of The Walking Dead!
A Certain Doom is the same name of issue number 167 of the comic book series, and the name of the volume 28 story of the same name.
Although there are some moments that were adapted from this story, The Whisperer War (volume 27), and Lines We Cross (volume 29), there are big moments from two of the three stories that did not make it on screen and I wish they did.
I would first like to say, that the VFX team did an amazing job on the special effects. The wait was fully worth it for the episode’s post production process to be finished and I totally understood why the delay was necessary. It was not only the the great effects that stood out, but the sound and the music too especially one scene involving Judith as she is getting away from Whisperers. That scene also starts with a bang so keep that in mind.
Something that also caught my attention during this episode is the little hints of what will set the motion of the untitled Carol and Daryl spinoff series that will premiere in 2023. Those small hints are seen and heard throuought the episode between the two characters especially towards the end of the episode.
Michonne is also brought up early on in the episode as Carol and Daryl are talking about her. I will not go into detail of what they said about her, but it is something to think about when you see this scene for yourself.
The main plot of this episode is for the group to escape the hospital that they are in so they can retrieve the horse wagon. But the problem is, Alpha’s megahorde that is being controlled by Beta and The Whisperers has surrounded the entire hospital and the group has to escape through the horde. The way this is planned, is that they divide into smaller groups so they can all go through.
I will not say who is paired with who, but during that long sequence, it gets bad for one person in the group. Also, the way that the walkers devoured on the few people in that megahorde is gruesome and you may want to turn away if you do not want to see anyone’s body parts gets disassembled.
Watching that, made me feel more claustrophobic than I did when I watched “Squeeze” and I had to remember that Carol is claustrophobic. But this time, it seemed like she was not bothered by it. Later in the episode, there is a battle between the group and The Whisperers and it had me on the edge of my seat when I seen it.
Negan on this episode is very good. To me, his redemption arc has come full circle from the start of the season. However, there is something that puzzled me the entire time when I seen him with everyone else. But I believe that will be expanded on the extra six episodes in 2020. That, along with Maggie’s return which is brief on this episode too. Her reunion with one character however, is a sight to see.
The masked person that is with Maggie had only one action scene. But the way he appeared to save one character got me excited to see more of the person. I compare the masked indiviual to Marvel’s Blade in terms of how swift and quick his or her attacks are. The mysterious person does not unmask on the episode, nor does the person speak. So that person’s idenity is really sealed.
Beta is really awesome on this episode as he is still hearing voices of the walkers. But what is interesting about Beta on this episode, is how his “end of the world” chant he did with Alpha caught up with him. Here is a teaser I can say. There is a Beta vs Negan fight. I cannot go into detail of who wins or loses. But another character gets involved in the fight too. But I feel disappointed on how fast that fight was especially since everyone included myself could not wait for this showdown to be adapted from the comic to the screen.
One of the best scenes of this episode, and for this season involves Carol and Lydia. It is very poetic when you watch it. I was not really sold on the dynamic on the two characters when they first started bonding earlier in the season, but this scene really got me into their dynamic. The way this scene was shot makes you believe one of the characters will do something tragic, but it does not go how you expected it and I love the way it was shot.
And by the end of this beautiful scene, I believe that the entire fanbase will agree on how masterful it was shot and acted. I am not kidding when I say that this scene will be a memorable one. It also made me think that Carol feels that she is finally relieved of everything Alpha put her through.
I did not forget Eugene, Yumiko, Ezekiel, and The Princess. Their journey of meeting Stephanie is only showcased a small amount of time on the episode, but comic readers will be excited at the end of the episode. Also, Princess says a very hilarious line towards Eugene and I could not hold my laughter at all when I heard her say it and when everyone else reacted.
Overall, I love this episode. It is the best season finale since season 5 and it made you look forward to the next season. Every major question is answered on this episode including an unexpected return. There were a few things that disappointed me on this episode especially when we did not get any major comic book deaths adapted to screen, but there are deaths on this episode. This episode will be universally acclaimed by the community of The Walking Dead when they see it on October 4th.
P.S: Gabriel’s story on this episode is damn great.
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Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier – The Walking Dead _ Season 10 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
We have seen Carol go through a lot of trauma on this season of The Walking Dead and her quest for revenge against Alpha has not only lead Alpha to a satisfying death, but it also lead to Carol making decisions that might affect her in the long run. With Carol questioning herself in her thoughts if she should have killed her in this episode, Melissa McBride breaks down everything between Carol and Alpha during this season of The Walking Dead along with a few more treats for the fans!
First, I would like to say that I have been a fan of your work on The Walking Dead for years. Before we get to The Walking Dead, how have you been doing since the COVID-19 crisis began and what are you doing to keep yourself occupied?
MM: “Thank you Julian! I appreciate the words from you. But I have been putting air in the tires (laughs). There has been online courses available and that’s been kind of fun. I have been also doing a lot of painting, and some things around the house. I have also been checking in on people and making sure everyone is okay.”
The dynamic between Carol and Alpha has been a highlight for the current season since it started. Would you like to break down how you and Samantha Morton develop that dynamic?
MM: “I don’t know if we went out of our way to do anything. I know that we were both looking forward to the time when Alpha and Carol casme face to face, but we did not talk about anything. The whole circumstance of the story created that dynamic and we finally came face to face. And then we came face to face later in the season with her at my feet looking at me (laughs).”
The community of The Walking Dead is divided on whether if Carol deserves the blame on putting everyone in danger this season during her quest to get revenge on Alpha. What is your response to this and do you agree that Carol deserves the blame?
MM: “Well I certainly think she bears responsibility for the way some things went down in her efforts to seek vengeance. I have to say yes, that she should take responsibility for the things that she put everyone else through and she knows it too. When I was watching as a viewer, I felt the same way to be honest!”
This episode marks the first time that you and Jeffrey Dean Morgan worked together in a full length scene. Have you always wanted to work with Jeffrey Dean Morgan since his debut?And also, why did Carol not hold up her end of the bargan yet with the deal she made with Negan?
MM: “I’ve always wanted to and I could not wait to have a scene with him. Although, I was glad that I was not in the scene where Negan was introduced with everybody was on their knees. I was always looking forward to working with him and having a scene with him so curious if and when it would come and what it would be like, and never did I think it would be this storyline. And to answer your other question, she asked him ‘what took him so long’ and everything going through her head, she got what she wanted, but really? Because it came with such a price. And all the things happened while she was trying to get to Alpha. And she had to think about what she wanted to do about that. And he was free and Alpha’s head was on a spike for everyone to see and Carol is now thinking ‘I gotta go, I got stuff to think about’ (Laughs).”
How has Carol impacted you personally over the years?
MM: “She has impacted me in so many ways. And just me even having the opportunity to play the character has been amazing and full of it’s own challenges. But to play this character from the beginning, and I was so hoping that if she remained on the show, that we would see an evolution to strength in which I’m really happy to see. Also, The way that the fans relate to this character and in part to me, has been a source inspiration for them in many ways is probably the greatest feeling. And the different aspects of Carol has been really fun for me to play. It’s been pretty amazing.”
Carol and Alpha had those scenes on this episode where Alpha has been taunting her about Sophia, Henry, and more people from her past. What do you believe was her state of mind at that time from when those hallucinations of Alpha began in the episode, until when she freed herself from the fallen debris?
MM: “I think it really was that all of this was coming to the surface and with her ramblings and rumbling through her subconscious about the damage done. And when the damage is done, it also means the losses that came with it. Alpha said something insteresting too ‘you chose me because I was the one to get it done’ and Carol is thinking ‘what do you mean by getting it done’. I liked the questions that this episode asked and these answers exhibited in Carol’s behavior and her actions even though we don’t necessarily hear the answers. But I think there’s more to explore in that subconscious. And I liked that Carol did eventually decide to go back to Alexandria. But at the end, she fought for her life. Alpha kept saying ‘what did you want’ and Carol wanted to either be alone or not. I still think that there is more that Carol wants.”
Danai’s last episode was the episode before this one and I know that you miss her a lot. What have you learned the most from Danai?
MM: “I’ve learned so much from her. She is such a well-rounded, very compelling, dynamic, multilayered person. She is very funny especially in the morning and she’s such a professional. Danai is also very focused, which I admire a great deal because , I have a very little focus and I am sort of all over the place. But when we shoot, she is very focused on her lines, and her actions in those scenes. She is also very encouraging and a inspiring person especially since there are girls all over the world that look up to her. I love her and I miss her!”
I wanted to bring up Norman Reedus. You and him filmed an episode of Ride With Norman Reedus in Scotland. Did you have fun traveling with him over there?
MM: “I am happy that you asked that! I had so much fun on that episode. That is one of the top of my favorite memories. Another one of those things is that I never thought it would be on a road trip with a Norman in Scotland, or anywhere for that matter. It was very fun and we seen so many things and places that we never seen before. I love spending time with him. He is such an adventurer and fun to be around. We had a lot of good laughs and it was very special to me. There were also people over there that reconized us from The Walking Dead and I was happy to see them as well. I would love to go back one day.”
The news broke last week that the season 10 finale has been delayed to later this year. Without giving too much away, what can we expect from you on the finale?
MM: “It’s going to be a really good finale and we are going to give everyone something really good to look forward to because, I know the finale is amazing. There was a lot of work done on that when we shot it last fall. But it will be something that people will remember and look forward to in the next season as well so I am grateful for the work that we have done. I am also going to binge watch the current season during this unexpected break that we have because I think that this season is amazing and I want to watch it all over again!”
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Danai Gurira as Michonne; single – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
This is the episode everyone have been waiting for ever since Danai Gurira announced that she was leaving The Walking Dead over a year ago and we are finally here. Michonne’s adventure comes to an end on this episode and her journey began on the end of season 2. How does Michonne make her exit on the series, that will be explained as I will give you my thoughts and opinions of “What We Become” right now.
Also to note, this episode’s structure is split between reality, and a “What if” scenario. With that out of the way, time to begin.
In the opening, we see the end scene of the season 2 finale when Andrea is being chased by walkers, but this time, it is from Michonne’s point of view. Instead of saving Andrea, Michonne does not save her as the screams of Andrea being devoured is heard by Michonne as she walks away with her pet walkers. In the current time, Michonne and Virgil arrives at the island and Virgil was handcuffed the entire time on the boat. Michonne uncuffs Virgil and he said that he could have done that five hours ago. They walk on the island and Virgil was stalling for a few minutes and Michonne told Virgil that she needed to get back. Virgil took some urbs and leaves for tea as Michonne asked about the brown building behind them. Virgi told her that it is best to stay away since wild animals go inside there. As they are also walking, a banner of the map of the entire island is displayed with markers of “groups” written on the map and Michonne stopped him from talking as she was becoming unpatient with him. She asked Virgil about the whereabouts of his family and Virgil then took her to a gravesite. Virgil told Michonne that his famly is dead and that a sickness killed them. He also said that the real reason that he brought Michonne to the island is to put his family down as they all turned. This did not make Michonne happy.
They both entered one of the buildings and Michonne killed one of the walkers. She then killed another one that was trying to walk through a table. Michonne and Virgil then proceeded to squeeze through the broken table and debris that was blocking the path and there were walkers further away from them. She grabbed one of the chairs to use as a shield to rush through the walkers and then Michonne killed more of the walkers in that room including the ones that were about to get Virgil. They both enter another room to see that there are hung walkers and Virgil picks up one of their shoes, and puts it back on the walker’s foot. Virgil then told the story of his wife and Michonne was not ready to hear it as she apologized for his lost, but lets him know right away that she needs to get back and does not want to be thanked. Virgil told Michonne that the boat might not make it through in the sea during the night because of the high tide so he suggested that they both sleep at night and leave in the morning.
Danai Gurira as Michonne – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Eliza Morse/AMC
At night, Michonne tried to use the walkie-talkie to alert Judith. She then goes outside and enters the building that she seen earlier. She then investigated one of the rooms and did not find anything. But she did heard other people talking. Virgil then appeared behind her and closed the door and left. Michonne tried to open the door, but it was closed shut. Then suddenly, someone told her to calm down as there are three people locked in another room next to her. It was two women (One of them named Lucy), and one male as they all told Michonne that they used to be friends with Virgil and that things got bad when other people that they found fought them and when food was getting low. Lucy then said that Virgil’s wife and kids are also in another room, but they are dead. Virgil then appears at the door to check on her. As Michonne begins to plead again to let her out, she begins to get dizzy and starts to hallucinate. Virgil told Michonne that she is in pain and he wants her to see that. This is when Michonne noticed that the tea she drinked, was drugged. In her Hallucinations, Siddiq appears and told her that she was supposed to protect all of them including Rick, Carl, and Coco. Also, the past version of Michonne pulls her into the past.
Remember the guy with the orange backpack from many seasons ago? Switch him out for Michonne as Michonne was calling Daryl for help. Daryl looked, and then left. While she was still walking, Negan and The Saviors arrive and Negan held her sword for a second while Laura given her an apple. Negan seen Michonne as an asset and then recruited her. Following this, is the scene where Rick and his group raid the satellite outpost from “Not Tomorrow Yet” (Season 6, Episode 12) and instead of Heath and Glenn killing random saviors in their sleep, it was Laura and Michonne sleeping as Glenn killed Laura in this “What if” scenario. Michonne then proceeded to shoot Glenn and Heath, killing them. Then we see Rick shooting down The Saviors as he did on that episode, but Michonne was behind the other wall as Rick did not notice her. After this, we go to the scene of Negan’s debut and the group on their knees from 6×16/7×01 as Negan started the “eeny-meenie-miny-moe” chatter and instead of Simon, Negan said that Michonne is his right hand woman. Negan then let Michonne decide who she was going to kill. Michonne with Lucille, decided that she will choose Michonne (One with Lucille is Savior Michonne, one on the ground was the current one at the time) to be the victim. We then flash forward to one of the battles with The Saviors during season 8 as Daryl shot Michonne with his crossbow bolt. As she was dying, Rick Grimes killed her by shooting her with his gun. At this point, the hallucinations are over.
Danai Gurira as Michonne – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Michonne snaps back into reality and Virgil gives her water to drink. She then smashed the fork into his leg and they have a small scuffle until Michonne got the upper hand. Michonne freed Lucy and the other two and they escaped the building (Which is marked Group #2) to only see the boat in flames. They chased after Virgil until he fell and Michonne captured Virgil. Lucy and the others wanted Michonne to kill Virgil, but Michonne told them that taking his life would make them lose themselves as she refused to kill him. Lucy then knocks him out. Virgil then wakes up in the same room where he locked Michonne and it is time for Michonne to get more answers out of him. Michonne said that she checked the entire area and did not find any weapons. Virgil told Michonne that he seen them, but Michonne does not believe him anymore and asked him what does he see when he drinks the tea. Virgil said that he sees his family and hoped that she would see that too.
Michonne then replied by saying to Virgil that she would see that too, but he took her family from her and that she sees hell now. Michonne then asked Virgil to take her to get her belongings. Once Michonne opened the room to get her belongings, she noticed boots on the counter that belonged to Rick Grimes. Michonne pushed Virgil towards the wall and grabbed him and asked him about how he got those boots. Virgil was unaware of who she was talking about and about the boots as he thinks that they washed up on the shore. They then go on a bigger boat and she goes through a book. In the book, there were locations written of Virginia, and New Jersey. She then seen an iPhone 4 with a chalk drawing of Michonne and Judith with Rick’s name on the top of it. Virgil realized that she is the drawing. Michonne thinks I that he knew about this the whole time, but again, Virgil assured her that he does not know who she is talking about. But Virgil also believes that it was not an accident that they meet and that she should look for him as he wants the other three people to help him with the engine of the big boat.
Kevin Carroll as Virgil, Danai Gurira as Michonne – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Eliza Morse/AMC
Michonne and Lucy with her two friends meet with Virgil and Virgil decided to stay at the island as he wanted to give flowers to his wife every day even though she is dead. They leave the island on the giant boat. Michonne started to cry when she seen the chalk drawing of her and Judith again. Michonne then used the walkie-talkie to contact Judith and she did exactly that and Judith responded. Michonne asked about Rosita, Coco, and The Whisperers. Judith told her that they are fine and even RJ talked to Michonne too. Judith told Michonne that Alpha will not hurt them anymore, and then Michonne told Judith that she found something from “The Brave Man” and Judith asked if he was alive. Michonne told Judith that she does not know yet, but she is hopeful that he is. Judith told Michonne to go find him, but Michonne was concerned for everyone at Alexandria. Judith then said that Rick might need her help than they do and that she needs to find him. One of Lucy’s friends told Michonne that they are close to the coast. Michonne then not only said her good bye to Judith and RJ, but she told them both that she loves them and that she will radio her every day until she cant.
Once on land, Michonne makes two new pet walkers. She then saved two people and they told Michonne that their people will leave them and not return if him and her did not catch up. Michonne agrees and the final shot of the episode is a wide-panning shot from above as we see an extremely large-traveling group with horses walking in formation.
Danai Gurira as Michonne, Kevin Carroll as Virgil – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 13 – Photo Credit: Eliza Morse/AMC
On Rick Grimes’ final episode, it was about Rick reflecting on his courage, heart, and wisdom in the style of The Wizard of Oz. On Michonne’s final episode, it was Michonne reflecting on decisions and where would they lead you. I liked the idea of the way this episode was written, but it was also sloppy on most of this episode as I felt that her hallucinations were not needed to tell the story of why she would want to look for Rick Grimes. There were a few good moments that I enjoyed however such as her talk with Judith and RJ, those walker kills in that building, her finding Rick’s boots, and that scene where she begins the hallucinations with that out of body experience with her old self. That right there made me feel like I was watching a psychological film.
Danai’s performance on this episode is outstanding as she really made me feel worried for Michonne while she was locked in that room. Also, I found Virgil very annoying the entire time I was watching the episode and I rolled my eyes whenever he was on the screen. I believe after everyone watches this episode, Virgil will be the most hated character in the history of The Walking Dead.
My biggest concern of the way this episode is structured, is the status of the Rick Grimes movies. Rick was taken by the CRM group and the group that was shown at the end of the episode seemed like they had nothing to do with CRM. In fact, it seemed like that large group with the horses might be part of Virginia’s group from Fear The Walking Dead. Also, we do not know what Danai’s schedule will look like within the next few months when the movie begins in full production since nobody is sure what the cast will look like. I am hopeful that she is part of the cast though. The “What if” scenarios that happened on this episode, I could compare that to the Marvel Comics “What If” comic book series, or the TellTale Batman video game. That would have been fine for me if this was not Michonne’s final episode, but because of this, those scenes felt like a huge distraction to the main plot of the episode in a logical sense. But with that out of the way, It was produced very well besides one inconsistency and that was, Daryl’s vest. Why would I bring this up? Because when he killed Michonne in that “What if” scene during the war against The Saviors a few seasons ago, the wings on his vest were like brand new. But during season 8, the wings of his vest were decayed. I have an eye for detail and accuracy so I noticed that. And finally, lets assume that Rick made that chalk drawing. If he did, how would he know what Judith would look like now when he has not seen her in almost 7 years?
I am split with the episode overall as I most likely wanted more, but more questions were raised while I was watching it. I was underwhelmed and it was not like I was expecting a big blowoff to her exit. I would have had it differently, but that is my opinion. Danai Gurira will be missed and Michonne is a legendary character that will never be forgotten. I have been a fan of Danai for years and I am sad to see her go, but happy at the same time of the opportunities that she has gotten during her time on and after The Walking Dead. The Walking Dead family will always have your back Danai Gurira.
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Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
As last week’s episode ended with The Whisperers shooting flaming arrows to Hilltop, everyone over there are caught in a very sticky situation. How will they get out of it? You will find out right now as I review the newest episode of The Walking Dead titled “Walk With Us.”
The battle from the previous episode continues as everyone is now behind the gates of Hilltop fighting off Walkers and Whisperers that tried to attack the members of the group. The ones with the shields try their hardest to hold the walkers back including the flaming ones. There is also fire everywhere at Hilltop and even some explosions happens too. The key moments that happens in this battle sequence is Carol using her arrows to take out the front walkers, Earl and Alden using a catapult, Lydia telling Mary that she will not walk with Alpha ever again, Ezekiel gathering the children and also looking for Judith as an explosion occured behind him, and Daryl using his morning star weapon to take down walkers and Whisperers. When Yumiko was about to use her bow, she sees Magna within the horde as Magna covered herself with walker blood. Carol looked at the destruction and burning of Hilltop all around.
In the morning of the aftermath of the attack, The Whisperers and Negan are walking around the outside of Hilltop and Negan seen one of the soldiers that is in severe pain and is dying. Negan kills him with his Lucille 2.0. Him and Alpha then talk and Negan thought it was a victory, but Alpha does not think so yet. Beta comes in and told Alpha that he will not stop until Lydia is home since they did not find her. Negan told Beta that he is at his service and Beta showed no interest. Negan then said “such a dick” as they seperated. Negan goes deeper in the woods and there was one walker that passes by him since he had a Whisperer mask on. More walkers are coming and Negan decided to take that walker down out of boredom. Negan also noticed that Lydia was walking and was very weak. Aaron was dragging Luke’s body and also found Negan as Negan was running. Negan tried to tell him that it would be stupid to kill him right there and Aaron draws his sword and told Negan that he will not listen to his nonsense. More walkers are coming and Negan leaves and Aaron takes down those walkers. Negan seen Lydia on her own and captures her.
Angel Theory as Kelly- The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
Kelly, Alden, and Mary are walking in the woods with Adam as Adam is crying and Alden is trying to calm him down. Kelly tried to help and then Mary, but Alden refused Mary’s help until she instructed him on what to do. Alden then finally lets Mary watch over Adam and Mary got Adam to remain calm. Alden asks about Mary’s sister and Mary told him that Adam meant the world to Francis and that Francis should be there right now holding Adam and not her. Mary then senses that someone is coming and she told both Alden and Kelly to start moving. They go to an abandoned minivan as walkers were coming and they struggled to open it until Mary used her knife. She lets Alden and Kelly in with Adam and closed the door. Mary then lured the walkers away from the minivan and killed them by the lake. Then out of nowhere, Beta stabs Mary at the stomach. She tried to fight back and even ripped a part of his mask off as he told her to walk with him and she said “never.” Beta continued to stab Mary until she passes out and dies. Beta then dragged her body to a tree and Beta waited for her to turn. A Whisperer found Beta and even recognized who he is under the mask. Beta then proceeded to slash that Whisperer as he killed him. Mary then turned and Alden puts her down by shooting an arrow from a distance and Beta ran away.
Carol finished refilling her water canister and Eugene tried to fix the radio. Also with them, are Magna and Yumiko. Magna explained what happened in the cave and how she and Connie escaped the cave. But she also says that she lost Connie within the horde and has not seen her since. Carol, not wanting to listen to this anymore, decided to leave right there and Yumiko told her that she owed her an apology for putting her and everyone else through everything that happened. Carol was insensitivie about it and did not apologize and Yumiko punched her right at her mouth. Magna and Yumiko then continued their conversation and she did not want Yumiko to punch Carol. She also brings up that Yumiko had a right to kick her out the last time they talked. Carol then sat on a log and a walker rised from the ground that was buried under tree leaves. That walker tried to reach to Carol, but Carol toyed with that walker at first until she put that walker down. Eugene comes to talk to her and the topic of this conversation is having nothing for show who they are even though they want something so bad. Eugene also brings up his meeting that he will have within the next week and Carol told him that he should do it since it will be worth the risk. Carol also found Lydia’s staff while she was walking through the woods.
Cailey Fleming as Judith Grimes – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
Daryl, Rosita, Jerry, and the rest are walking and looking for the kids at a cabin. As they reached the cabin, there were a few walkers there and one got shot down with an arrow by Dianne. Daryl realizes that the children are not there and Jerry assured Nabila that he will make sure that they are found. The children are in another cabin and Earl is giving them all water. Judith asks Earl if they are safe and he told her that they all are. Earl goes to the other side of the cabin and is visibly weak. He rolls up his sleeve to reveal that he has a walker bite. He revealed it after he hammered a spike on the table. Judith noticed the bite and asked Earl why he lied to her. He gave his explanation and also told her to tell Alden to watch over Adam. Daryl and Jerry return to Hilltop and found Ezekiel as he was under a debris from the aftermath of the battle. He lets Daryl and Jerry know that Earl is with the children. Earl proceeded to kill himself by smashing his head into the spike. Judith found his corpse and Earl turned and grabbed Judith. Daryl, Ezekiel, and Jerry arrived and opened the door to let the children out. He asked for Judith and found her sitting down on the floor crying as she had to put Earl down. Daryl hugged her and sat right next to her.
Negan meet up with Alpha and told Alpha that he has found Lydia. We also see that Lydia is tied up in a chair in a cabin. Alpha told Negan that she wants him to be her lion. Negan told Alpha that he does not believe that Beta would be the “Alpha” and then Alpha told Negan to walk. While Alpha and Negan is walking to the cabin, Lydia is starting to make her escape. Negan brings up his history with his wife and how she died of cancer. Alpha told him that her death set her free and that being here right now with Alpha is his strength. Negan told Alpha that she is pretending and does not really think that her way is the right way. Negan also tried to talk her out of killing Lydia and asked her if she loved her. Alpha says that she still loves her, but she has to do it because she loves her. As Alpha reached for the door, Lydia also reached for the door and Lydia escaped. It is then here we realize that Lydia is in a different cabin and that Negan lured her here. Negan sliced Alpha’s throat as she turned around in which it killed her. He also kissed her as she was dying. Negan then brings Alpha’s head to Carol as Carol told him that he took long as it seems like that they are both satisfied that Alpha is dead as the episode ends.
Cailey Fleming as Judith Grimes – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 12 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
I cannot remember the last time that I have given high praise to The Walking Dead three episodes straight. This one started with the continuation of the battle from the last episode and showed us the aftermath of the battle that the group lost. That battle was worth the one week wait and I am so glad that there was zero music during the battle as the focus needed to be on the battle itself. Cailey Flemming was great in this episode as she showcased how it feels to not only have your character kill someone for the first time at a young age, but to also put down a loved one or family member. I compare that to the Telltale Games series when Clementine had to do it. Also, we got three major deaths on this episode and Alpha’s was the biggest. Samantha Morton brought that character to life from the comics and she will be missed. I love Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, but Samantha Morton as Alpha really brought out the terror of The Walking Dead that needed to return after a while of not having that feeling. She is a high ranking on my list for villans of the series. Also, bonus points to Beta for killing that Whisperer and Daryl going medievel with his morning star mace once again!
There is one critisim I have to make even though I love this episode. Why did Carol put the group on a high risk mission when she knew that she got Negan out of jail to kill Alpha. I think that the idea of using him as a backup incase if her plan did not work would have worked if she did not do these plans at the same time. It just did not make any sense and that punch Yumiko did to Carol was well deserved as that felt like what we as the viewer felt this whole season about Carol.
This backhalf so far has been amazing and I am interested to see what will happen for the rest of the season. Danai’s last episode as Michonne is one week away so we have to have our tissues ready for her exit and I am not ready for it.
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Samantha Morton as Alpha – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
Since the mid-season premiere, we witnessed a dark and tight-spaced cave, Beta auditioning to be Michael Myers, and “that” Negan and Alpha scene that got everyone talking. The Whisperers are beginning to bring the war to the communities and tonight’s episode, we see how the group will prepare for it. Here is my recap of “Morning Star.”
Beta is cutting the center of the tree to see if sap can be poured. We also see that he has done this to the other trees in that area. Negan is with Alpha and he asks if there will be more “kinky Whisperer shit” going on. Alpha rolled up her sleeve and told Negan to whip her arm with the branch. Negan was puzzled at first, but Alpha told him to do it. Negan does this and when he finishes, Alpha does the same to his arm. There are a mix of walkers from Alpha’s horde and Whisperers walking and Alpha and Beta are doing the “end of the world/we take them all” chant. We also see that Negan has a Whisperer mask now.
Eugene is talking to Stephanie over the radio and Stephanie mentions that she seen the satellite crashing down not too long ago. Stephanie also says that they must be close since she seen it. Eugene told her that they are in Virginia and asked Stephanie when they should meet. Stephanie replied by telling him that she wants to meet him too, but she will have to talk to her group about it first. Alden and Earl notices that Aaron and other members from Alexandria arrive and they both see that they brought Mary with them (their first time seeing her unmasked). Aaron told Earl and Alden who she was, and they both agree that she does not belong there regardless that her nephew is there. It is clear here that Earl does not trust her. Carol is at Daryl’s old camp site and Ezekiel visits her. They talk about the cave and Ezekiel is worried about her. He even says that they could stay there all day and talk even if they are being bit by mosquitos.
Kelly tells Luke that she does not want to leave Connie out there and Yumiko told Kelly that she thinks that they are both dead. While Kelly is not trying to hear that, Daryl and Judith arrives to Hilltop in his motorcycle. Daryl told Yumiko that they did not get far and Lydia said that they cannot go back out there because Alpha is coming.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, Samantha Morton as Alpha – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
Rosita enters the attic of Hilltop where the radio equipment is there and hears Stephanie’s voice. Rosita asks who it is and while she is doing this, Eugene climbs down the ladder and tried to respond to Stephanie. Eugene did not expect Rosita to come to him since he was told that nobody should know about this. Eugene commented on Rosita’s wounds as she said that she fought a Whisperer (she did not name him (Beta). Eugene told Rosita to leave before he says something that he will regret. Eugene apologized to Stephanie over the radio, but she did not respond. Alpha and Negan are alone again and Negan tells Alpha that she does not need to attack just yet as he believes that they will join her side. At the meeting at Hilltop, They all debate on whether if they should leave or stay to fight. Earl believes that they should fight and Lydia lets them all know that Alpha’s horde will not go around Hilltop, but through the front. Daryl told everyone to get all of the children away from Hilltop and take them to Oceanside. They do exactly that (including getting RJ out of there) and Judith wanted to stay and battle and Daryl told Judith that he will not allow her to stay. While they were on their way to Oceanside, there is a road block with a walker hanging on the tree on the side of the road block. Daryl figures out that Negan did this and that he is with Alpha now.
Daryl and the rest goes back to Hilltop to tell them about the road block and Kelly says that they cannot stay there at all. Luke wanted to call Alexandria and Hilltop for help, but Earl not only riles everyone up for war, but also lets them know that the communities cannot help them and that they would not get there in time. While Ezekiel is getting his armor, Carol enters the room. She sees that he has the lump on his neck and even told him the line that he told her when they had their first long conversation (“Never bullshit a bullshitter”). He told her about the tumor and they both kiss. Mary finally got the chance to see her nephew, but Alden interrups her and told her that she cannot see her nephew. Aaron told Alden that she would not be dangerous, but Alden told Aaron that it is not a good idea for her to be there with her nephew due to the fact that Earl raised him since her sister left him there. After Carol and Ezekiel had sex, they have a heart to heart as Ezekiel told Carol that she has lost herself and her sense of humor. Ezekiel also brings up losing his pride and asked if they would have done it if he did not think that he was going to die tonight. Carol’s humor side comes out at that moment with the way she replied to him.
Ross Marquand as Aaron, ,Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter, Dan Fogler as Luke – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 11 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
While Eugene was checking for the power, Rosita arrives (Side note, everyone is appearing out of nowhere in this episode for some reason). She was worried on how close Beta would have gotten to kill her and talked about Stephanie. Rosita then asked Eugene if he wanted to kiss her. Eugene leaned over and almost did, but he pulled back. They both come to realize that they do not want to give what The Whisperers want and that is, them in fear. Eugene however, kissed her on her cheek. Lydia looks at the heart sign of “H+L” that she made and Carol has a conversation with her about Alpha and about Carol hating herself and about people not telling the truth anymore. Lydia also feels very loney and depressed too. Everyone else is making electric barricades and Yumiko apologized to Kelly for what she said earlier and they hug. Then, a swarm of rats are running from the bushes and that signaled that the horde is coming. Eugene is singing “The Wild Wind Blows” by Iron Maiden while a montage of everyone getting ready for war is shown. Stephanie replies by singing the rest of the song. Stephanie and Eugene also talk about Rosita and Eugene calls Rosita his BFF. Then out of nowhere, Stephanie told Eugene that they are in West Virginia and to arrive at the train yard within the next week. Ezekiel and Daryl talk for a brief moment and Ezekiel reveals to Daryl that he has cancer and Daryl told him that despite them not talking that much, he understands what they are going through. They both made a pact in which if one of them goes down, the other gets the children. Judith talks about Rick Grimes and what would he have done if he was still around. She also fixes the right wing on Daryl’s vest and Daryl loves it. Daryl told Judith if he gets lost, for her and RJ to go to Ezekiel and she promises that she will.
Carol looks at the portaits of the Greene family and Daryl is looking down on Glenn’s grave. Daryl also told Carol that he will never hate her as they patched things up. At night, Daryl picks up the morning star chain weapon and everyone is positioned for battle as Aaron leads the militia. The horde and Whisperers arrive and the walkers begin to break through the electric fence. Aaron ordered the group to be split in two for both sides of the inner fence as the walkers are beginning to walk towards the thick barbed wire. The arrows from everyone else behind the shield are being shot at walkers and everyone else in the front begins to take down walkers. This continued for a few more minutes until Beta begins launching the sap bombs at the militia. One person of the militia was burned to death as they all figured out that it was flammable. Alpha gets the fire ready and Negan told her that he thought that she was going top make them join them. Alpha replies that they will literally join them as walkers and Negan thought that it was “bad ass.” Alpha readies the flaming arrows for everyone to launch and Negan even joined this. The walkers break through the thick barbed wire and Daryl told everyone to retreat since there are way too many. As they were retreating, the fire arrows that were launched from The Whisperers’ side made it to the entrance of Hilltop and everything in the front was set on fire. The episode ends as Daryl and everyone else has nowhere to go but fight the horde as the fire is behind them.
This episode reminded me of the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones where the buildup is for 80% of the episode and the other 20% of the episode is a small taste of the battle which means the episode after this one will be the full scale battle. With that aside, this is an excellent episode and there were many callbacks to earlier seasons such as the road block caused by Negan, that line Ezekiel said to Carol in early season 7 is now being said by Carol to Ezekiel, and how Daryl stared at the graves before war just like Rick did. My favorite interractions on this episode were Ezekiel and Carol as they both come to terms that they are more of themselves and not just people who are queen and king at The Kingdom. Their conversations were down to earth and I love it. Also, bonus points for Daryl and Carol not hating eachother and I am sure that the “Caryl” fans will love that too.
Carol’s scene with Lydia is some of the best dialouge of the entire season as it felt more like watching a mom and daughter have a heart to heart. Now for the start of the battle, that last 10 minutes was extremely planned well and it gave us a taste of the chaos of The Whisperer War. I also thought that it was smart for Beta to use the tree sap bombs first before everyone else launching the fire arrows. That was a slight not to not only the comic series as The Hilltop was burned top the ground by fire arrows, but to also a trick used during World War 1. I am however a bit puzzled to why the meeting location of The Commonwealth is changed from the comics as in the comics, it was in Ohio and now on the television series, it is in West Virginia. There were many scenes from the comic that were adapted, and remixed for this episode that I enjoyed and I cannot wait for the next episode!
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The Walking Dead has returned for the second half of the tenth season this week and it picks up right from where it last left off as members of Alexandria are stuck in the cave that Alpha lured them to. Who makes it out alive and who does not? Here is my recap of “Squeeze.”
The episode opens as Daryl, Carol, Aaron, Jerry, Connie, Magna, and Kelly are stuck in the cave full of thousands of walkers, They all look around for an exit and Carol notices Alpha at the very top from where they fell into the cave. Carol screams at Alpha and after this, Alpha exited the cave and told a few Whisperers to make sure that they do not go out as she tosses her torch to the ground. Daryl comes up with a plan to jump on to large boulders to get to the other side. They all do exactly that one by one. Connie and Kelly were concerd due to Kelly’s injured ankle. When Kelly jumped, she was almost devoured by the dead. When they all reached the other side, walkers tried to reach their arms out to the group and the group fought them off including when Jerry cut the arm off one of the walkers. Daryl then used that walker arm as a torch and Kelly, Aaron, and Jerry were talking about what they would do for food and that it is clearly Alpha’s horde.
Magna blames Carol for getting them all in that situation and even asked her why did she run towards Alpha in the first place and Aaron and Daryl told her that they did not have time to fight. Outside of the cave, Negan is seen eating with a few Whisperers while Alpha has a conversation with Beta and Gamma. Alpha says that they found the horde and also told Gamma to go to the border to look out for other members of the communities. All of this is going on and Negan is still eating. Back at the cave and Carol is having water being poured into her drinking canister. Connie and Kelly talk about whether if it is dark or light outside, but Connie does not want to worry about it too much. Daryl and Carol also have a conversation and Daryl does not want to be shut out by her anymore as he will always be there for her. Carol also does not only want to kill Alpha, she wants to hurt her for everything that she put her and every community through. Daryl sympathizes with her as he feels the same way and Carol told him that she did not mean for all of this to happen. Also to note, Carol told Daryl that she is claustrophobic. Daryl wants to know if she can promise him that they are on the same team and that they are fighting for their future and not for revenge.
Magna then goes to another area of the cave and lights a match. She observed the area until a Whisperer run towards her. Magna killed that Whisperer, and more were approaching after that. Daryl and everyone else took care of them and killed them. Daryl asked where did they come from and Jerry noticed a sign going left (Also, Jerry said that he knows road signs when he sees them). They followed the sign. While Alpha was using a makeshift bathroom, Negan tells her that there is a spy among The Whisperers. Negan compares himself to Alpha and says that they are exactly the same. Alpha disagrees and told him that they are different. Negan calls Beta Frakenstein and says that Gamma is the spy. Alpha places her knife on his crotch and told him that if he is lying, that she will cut “them” off. She then pushes him down.
Daryl found an opening and told everyone to follow his voice. Connie then checks on Carol due to her phobia and everyone squeezes through. Carol was afraid to go through the tight space and he told her that she would be okay. She made it through. Jerry told everyone else that did not go through to remain silent because he hears noise. Jerry sees that walkers are crawling through the tight space behind him and as everyone else in front of him gets through safely, Jerry becomes stuck for a moment while he is kicking away the walkers. Jerry finally gets through and Daryl and Aaron killed those two crawling walkers. They all check Jerry’s boot and he was safe as the walkers bit his boot and it was thick enough to not contact his foot inside the boot. They all also realize that they are close to getting out and that they are above Alpha’s horde. Daryl tossed the torch into the wide space of the horde. Now everyone is walking through the mine section of the cave and then we go back to Alpha as she asks Beta if he seen Gamma. Beta told Alpha that she never made it to the border. Beta says that he will kill Gamma if she betrayed them and Alpha told him that she will deal with Gamma when she sees her.
Kelly found a stack of dynamite in the mines and and Jerry told Kelly to put it back since he suspects that it could be a trap (also, Carol looked right at the dynamite the second Kelly found it). Magna mentioned that she wanted to fix things with Yumiko as they were clearing the logs. Negan is with a Whisperer and Alpha called for Negan to walk with her. Negan is not used to long silences as he thought it was disturbing since all she is telling him to do is to look forward and keep walking. Alpha then told him to stop and undress until he is naked. Negan tried to talk his way out of it and told her that she was right and that they are very different. Negan is then told to turn around and Alpha is completely naked (her mask is still on). Alpha wants to thank Negan for not lying to her and she does this by wanting to have with with him. Negan asked if this was a “preying mantis” situation and she did not say that she would kill him afterwards. The two kiss as they are about to engage in sex.
At the cave, they breakthrough a hole and Kelly notices that they are at the exit of the cave. Carol is missing again as she went with the dynamite. At the same time, everyone begins to escape, and Daryl saves Carol as she wanted to blow up the boulder to take out half of the horde. The cave then begins to come down due to the explosion and Jerry tries his best to keep the pillar up. Connie wanted to see if Daryl and Carol is okay. As Kelly and Aaron was outside, they fight off a few Whisperers and kill them. Magna and Connie does the same thing while they were in the cave about to exit. Everyone exited the cave except for Magna and Connie as another explosion happened which caused for the exit to crash down while Connie and Magna were still there. Carol blames herself for this happening and she wanted to be taken to The Whisperers and she also wanted Daryl to tell her that she is the blame. Daryl tried to dig through, but Aaron and Kelly told him that it would take too long to try this as Whisperers could be coming from miles away. Daryl says that they know where the horde is as they all leave. The episode ends as Connie and Magna’s fates are unknown since they did not escape.
This episode is a great way for The Walking Dead to return from the fall break as it did not waste any time to continue right where we left off. Seeing everyone trying to squeeze through the tight spaces of the cave really brought in that tension and fear of them all getting stuck. I am still questioning why Carol is being written that way with making poor decisions that affected the group during this whole season so far. I do not want to go on the “Carol blame train”, but there is no way to go just ignore that this has been happening all season and to find excuses to justify it.
The few moments that I thought that Jerry was doomed was great storytelling and it proved that anyone of any size could be stuck in the cave and could have a hard time getting out. I also hope that Magna and Connie are not done for good. Also, I would like to see more of Negan and Alpha interracting as they have a chemistry as much as Negan and Beta did. However, them getting naked together was bizzare, but it made sense for who Alpha is. Now that almost everyone is out of the cave, what is next for everyone?
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