When Daryl missed his lunch date with Carol, she grabbed Mercer and the cavalry rode to the rescue. A garage strobe-light zombie party is followed by a home security alarm, which results in a walker mosh pit that’s certain to spell doom until shots ring out. Inside the manse, they find a woman named April trapped in a (literal) safe room - it turns out she’s one of a dozen who were sent here on the same mission and the only survivor. If wanting to watch this shitbag get slowly torn to shreds by hungry “rotters” is wrong, I don’t wanna be right. However, he makes two critical mistakes: calling Rosita “sweetie” and threatening their kids as motivation. Mama’s cut off Seb’s cash flow now this bro needs Daryl & Co. The mission: wade through a herd of undead and raid a mansion where Seb’s dead pal’s dead pappy stashed a ton of cash (along with possibly some cocaine, which is very on-brand for this apocalyptic Guy Who Just Bought a Boat). So it’s no surprise this patrol is off the books and orchestrated by Seb himself. Not coincidentally, only moments before, he humiliates Sebastian - the douchiest and only surviving member of the First Family - in front of his gal and some troopers. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Daryl’s plans to lunch with Carol at the local diner are interrupted when he and Rosita are recruited for a secret mission beyond the Commonwealth walls. It seems his slow transformation from ruthless villain to redeemed hero is nearly complete. Whatever the reason, Neegs gets all choked up at the thought that Glenn’s young son carries the burden of his murderous actions. Maybe it’s impending fatherhood that’s given Negan a new perspective on life, or perhaps it’s the switch from biker chic to a more emo-goth casual-activewear ensemble. Negan masterfully talks the boy into lowering his weapon for the sake of the innocent Riverbenders they’re protecting. “It was you, wasn’t it?” Daaaaaaamn, Hersh! The kid just saw Negan butcher a Commonwealth soldier and senses what he’s capable of doing. “My mom told me a bad man killed my dad,” the kid says. He admits he used to be a bad man, to which Hershel responds by whipping out a gun. Who better to convince Mags that Negan is capable of reform than the woman who is carrying his child and displays Maggie’s own leadership traits? It’s a bit absurd, really - we barely know Annie, but she’s already sort of a Michonne/Connie combo of fierce and compassionate, despite hinting about some dark moments in her past.īut nothing tops the moment when Negan, in an effort to put Hershel at ease, walks right into the kid’s trap. This obviously freaks out Hershel’s mom, but Annie serves a great narrative purpose: She’s the final piece of Negan’s humanization, for both the audience and Maggie. Though Annie is justifiably sick of explaining that her people didn’t steal the Commonwealth’s supplies, Aaron has a fair and darkly funny reason for skepticism: “Your boss had skulls on his bookcase, so yeah, I’m inclined to call bullshit.” As Annie and Maggie unite to clear out the Commonwealth invaders, Negan makes a surprising (if rather implausible) discovery - little Hershel stowed away in Maggie’s truck for the ride to Riverbend and is now his to protect. (Which I guess is appropriate in a world where the motto should be carpe momento.) Among the many shockers: Not only are Neegs and Annie a couple, they’re married, and she’s three months pregnant! We’ve done some timeline hopping this season, but damn, this is one warp-speed relationship. She gets snuck by Negan’s pal Annie, who in turn gets surprised by Lydia and Elijah, who in turn get ambushed by ol’ Negan himself. As Carlson bro-chats with Lance Hornsby back at HQ - the weapons cache is still missing, and Carlson is ready to burn this mother to the ground to find it - Maggie’s hit squad is on the move inside the building. The opening image of Riverbend rooftop victims slowly animating on the ground below sets the scene and foreshadows a righteous demise that’s to come. It’s all proof that TWD is at its best when both the story and the slaughter keep us on the couch’s edge. The Riverbend raid and a secret mission for Daryl and Rosita each feel urgent and become revelatory, shedding new light on key characters and mysteries. This twisty-turny, action-packed episode marks a mini-streak of back-to-back excellent chapters in a season that, to be honest, has been sluggish - especially for a three-part, megalong series finale.
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