This week’s episode pairs a new The Walking Dead writer, Eddie Guzelian (Blood Punch) with a director in the regular rotation, Michael E. Satrazemis. The episode avoids gimmicks this week in favor of a more straightforward episode divided into four storylines: Gabriel and Carson; Dwight and the Alexandrians; Maggie at The Hilltop; and Negan and Eugene. The theme of the week seems to be “God has a plan,” but ask most of this week’s characters, and they might suggest that either there is no God or that God has a very cruel sense of humor.
Things continue to go sideways for the Alexandrians fleeing their sacked community and heading toward The Hilltop. Along for the hike is Dwight, with whom the Alexandrians have a very uneasy alliance. At this point, they’re only keeping him around because they believe he can help them defeat Negan. Meanwhile, Dwight understands that, even if he eventually aids the Alexandrians in that effort, they will kill him anyway. He doesn’t care. He hates Negan more than he wants to live, although he still holds out hope that Sherry is out there somewhere (perhaps the show is holding her in reserve in case they need to hastily replace Maggie’s storylines from the comics in the event that Lauren Cohan doesn’t return).
Meanwhile, Tara clearly hates Dwight more than she wants to defeat Negan, and for good reason: Dwight killed Tara’s girlfriend, Denise, and Tara is in no mood to forgive Dwight. There is some hypocrisy to that, considering that Glenn and the Alexandrians forgave Tara for aligning with The Governor, the man who killed Hershel. Nevertheless, at her first opportunity, Tara tries to kill Dwight, which leads to a chase that nearly lands them in trouble with a group of Saviors. Dwight, however, proves once again that he’s on #TeamRick by sparing Tara’s life and rejoining the Saviors, who don’t realize that he has not only betrayed them but killed several others. Though the Alexandrians have lost him as a resource for the time being, Dwight has finally won the trust of Tara. (Daryl, meanwhile, remains skeptical of Dwight’s motives.)
Elsewhere, at The Hilltop, Maggie is relegated to another leadership test storyline. Confronted with dwindling rations, she decides to withhold food from the imprisoned Saviors and refuse them the opportunity to exercise outside their pen. Later in the episode, however, she has a change of heart after learning of Carl’s death and meeting Siddiq. Siddiq, a stranger to her, comes into The Hilltop, expresses immediate gratitude, and offers his medical services. Maggie, touched and appreciative of the newfound his doctor skills (especially given her neverending pregnancy), softens to the imprisoned Saviors and decides to share rations with them and give them a few minutes of freedom each day. Maggie, it seems, sees in the arrival of Siddiq the work of God’s plan (ignoring, I suppose, the death of her husband, her entire family, and most of the world’s population).
God’s plan did not work out so well for Carson, however. Gabriel had planned to bring him back The Hilltop to care for Maggie, but that journey ran into a number of obstacles. The trip initially seemed to be divined by God. They stumbled upon an abandoned house, which just happened to contain life-saving antibiotics for Gabriel. A nearly blind Gabriel knocked over a piggy bank only to discover the keys to a car and a map inside, and Gabriel managed to shoot a zombie in the head despite his condition. At this point in the episode, even a skeptical Dr. Carson has become a believer. Unfortunately, God could not save them from a group of Saviors who apprehend them. When Dr. Carson attempts to fight back. he’s killed. It’s one of those moments that shakes Gabriel’s previously unshakeable belief in God.
Gabriel is returned to a new outpost, this one operated by Eugene. He’s making bullets for the war effort. Negan offers a newly blind Gabriel a position in the outpost, sorting bullets. However, in Gabriel’s illness, Negan also sees an opportunity. Recognizing that Gabriel had been infected and sickened by a small amount of zombie blood, Negan is struck by inspiration. In a famous scene from the comics, Negan explains to the Saviors that he will dip all of their weapons in zombie blood before future battles, ensuring that they will die even if they are not immediately killed by gunshots or arrows.
How’s that for God’s plan?
Additional Notes
— When Daryl and co. return to The Hilltop and let Enid know about Carl’s fate, she is absolutely devastated. She still has a letter from Carl to read, too. I hope Carl left her his roller skates.
— When the Hilltoppers return, it didn’t take long for Henry to asked of Carl, “How did he die?” It struck me how odd a question that is, though it’s a question everyone immediately asks. The answer will not change the outcome, but I suppose we all think that the manner in which someone dies will help us make sense of their death.
— I cannot believe that Morgan told Henry that Gavin killed his brother, Benjamin, instead of the truth, which is that Jared killed him. This is no time for Morgan to suddenly go soft. No one deserves to die more than Jared, and no one deserves to kill him more than Henry, even if Henry is only 10 years old.
— Note that when Dwight reconnected with the Saviors, he asked if they’d seen Laura yet. Laura is the only Savior who knows that Dwight has switched allegiances.
— Here’s a look at next week’s episode. It appears that Negan doesn’t know yet that Simon obliterated the Garbage community.
