If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Daryl finds himself in bad company as his group heads to the Hilltop; Gabriel’s faith gets tested. (IMDB)
Writers: Channing Powell and Corey Reed
Director: Greg Nicotero
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 46mins
After a subpar episode, will this season get back on track or will it be knocked off the road?
The episode started off with Negan welcoming Dwight back to the Sanctuary. Negan bought his story. After last week’s master plan, the Saviors were preparing their weapons accordingly before their attack on the Hilltop. Dwight wanted to go ahead in preparation for the attack but he wasn’t allowed to get too far.
Meanwhile at the Hilltop, Rick and Michonne have arrived. Rick and Daryl reminisced while Daryl apologized for his earlier reckless behavior. Rick was fine now as he was initially concerned about hurting innocent people but now their people are more important.
Simon tried to get Dwight to open up about the others but he stayed quiet while Simon shared his skepticism about the plan and how it wasn’t working. Rick was watching them coming before engaging the Savior convoy himself and knocked Negan off the road. Now it was just him, Rick, and some walkers but nothing was really going to happen here. Rick chased Negan until he ran out of bullets and then had him in a vulnerable position, falling from a second story.
Rick and Negan had a heated conversation while Rick was trying to find him in the dark but it’s not something we haven’t heard before. Negan made a deal to forgive him and take less from Alexandria if he got everyone else to fall in line and he’d work for him. Rick was skeptical after what happened to the Scavengers, however, Negan didn’t know what happened to them. He was visible taken aback by the news. Rick then came across Lucille.
The Simon and Dwight buddy time continued as Simon wondered why Dwight didn’t retaliate for what was done to him. Simon shared his vision of what the Saviors could be, however, Dwight didn’t seem interested. They found Negan’s car but then the question became whether or not they actually try to find him. Back to Rick and Negan, they aired their differences and Rick set Lucille on fire. He then fought Negan and some walkers with it. Negan eventually escaped.
The Hilltop then got containers full of records and an offer from a stranger which could be the key to their survival or very well be a trap. Maggie, Enid, Rosita, and Michonne met this stranger which was a woman named Georgie (Jayne Atkinson). They were obviously suspicious of her. Georgie was offering knowledge that was in her head about the future. She’s made similar offers to other communities but hadn’t seen one in a long time, apparently. Maggie wasn’t interested in making a deal and wanted to take her and her entourage back to the Hilltop.
Michonne wanted to make a deal with Georgie but the others just wanted their food. Georgie changed her mind and ended up giving the Hilltop food and several helpful plans to build new infrastructure. Enid was frustrated about Carl but Michonne reminded her of the future.
Simon and Dwight returned to rest of the Saviors without Negan. Simon rallied the troops and imparted his own plan to eliminate the Hilltop. Negan is safe, sort of, as Jadis had him at gunpoint in a car.
Overall, this was a better episode than last week but we’ve more or less seen most of it before. However, there were a few nice touches with the addition of Georgie (I hope I’m spelling it right), Simon taking charge, and the fight between Rick and Negan despite nothing happening because it isn’t the season finale yet. was this episode even necessary? Probably not, as it seems to often take multiple episodes to do one thing. Maybe the attack on the Hilltop will happen in the next episode? Who knows? There’s still 3 episodes left until the season finale so something better happen soon.
Score: 7.5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.