The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 16 "Wrath"

The new world begins.

We see Rick with a young Carl. They are holding hands and walking down a country road. Zombies growl. Alden walks down a road with two others. Zombies follow them. Rick covers Gracie with a blanket. He looks up as if he just remembered something. Siddiq comes in with a baby bottle. Rick asks "How'd it happen? Please tell me." We see Alden and others walking down the road. In voice over we hear Siddiq speaking. "My mother's dead. She was bit. I had to watch her die. Not long ago. And she believed people, their, their souls, were trapped in the bodies of the monsters. That killing the dead lets the living move on into an afterlife. Carl was taking me back to your community and I told him what my mother believed. And we saw a few of the dead. He wanted to honor her. I think he was trying to show me that I could trust him. That's how it happened. He died paying respects to a woman he never knew. But it was dangerous. It was dangerous and I didn't think about that. I should've. But all that's left of the people we lose, what was theirs, are their ideas." Rick thanks him and leaves.

Henry tells Carol that they are going to beat the Saviors. He asks her to return with them to Kingdom. She's going to think about it. Ezekiel tells Jerry that this could be their last morning. Jerry replies, "This isn't the last of shit." Ah, Jerry. Ezekiel says that he accepts that some of their people will fall. They must risk losing everything in order to justify what they have lost.

Daryl, Michone, Rick, Carol, and Rosita discuss the plan. Michonne asks if they can trust Gregory and his information. Maggie locked Gregory up in the house. She says Gregory knew he would be coming back to that. He only cares about himself. She points out that he would really have to believe in the Saviors and a rescue from them in order to put with being locked up. She doesn't believe this is a trap. Daryl points out that Dwight could have set them up without Gregory knowing about it.

Morgan walks around looking crazy. Carol asks him what's wrong. and he replies, "They're gone. They're doing something." The gate opens and in walks Alden with several others. They have machetes. Morgan walks towards them with his stick at the ready. He goes to attack Alden when someone tries to stop him. He knocks that person to the ground and just as he is about to plunge his stick into them he sees that it is Henry and stops. Carol takes his stick from him. Everyone starts to gather around them. He says that they were gone and then they were coming in. Alden explains that they went out to clear the walkers surrounding the wall of Hilltop. Rick tells everyone to get ready to go. Maggie tells Alden that he and his people will not be joining them. They will stay at hilltop. "You can be here. But you're not us." Rick tells Morgan that he shouldn't go with them but Morgan says he has to. "I have to . . . It's not me. It's everybody else, and I'm gonna keep them alive. I'm gonna keep Henry from . . . We are worse than we were . . . me and you. We are. Giving your word to those men back at the bar. I, mean, it's what it took, yeah, but . . . But that was something else. That was something wrong for you. And we crossed into it because, because we've both lost everything, everything good. What does it matter if we spend whatever's left on keeping people alive?" Rick replies, "Because we haven't lost everything. Not yet." Morgan interjects, "We have. And we can't go back. So let's just finish this." Rick nods. Rick and the others head out. He and Michonne hold hands.

Eugene and Gabriel are back at Sanctuary. Everyone is getting ready for the fight. Dwight is in a prisoner's uniform. He is handcuffed. Negan points out that Dwight used to have people's respect but now he has nothing. He orders Dwight to be locked up. Eugene tells Negan that the order was filled and he personally checked that the ammunition was working properly. He hands Negan a gun for him to test fire. Negan points and shoots at a hay stack wearing a t-shirt that says "Rick" on it. Eugene is going along with them and suggests they attack in one fell swoop. Negan asks if he is sure he wants to see the attack (since they will be killing all of his friends). Eugene says he has to. Negan gives orders to his people. Negan wants Gabriel to ride with him. He has things he needs to confess. Rick and his group are in position in the woods. In voice over we hear Negan beginning to confess. He tells Gabriel that he sent a group to one of the spots marked on the map so that Rick would attack them. His people don't know they were sent to die. He says they are taking one for the team. Rick's group shoots and kills all of the Saviors. Negan explains that he gave Rick false information. He set a trap for Rick. They will find a map with a time and location of where Negan will be and they will believe it because they will have killed all of the Saviors. As Morgan walks around the road block he finds a surviving Savior. The Savior puts his hands up and says he gives up but Morgan kills him anyway. Morgan sees ghost Jared. Jared says, "That was messed up. . . Listen. You don't think you can kills your way out of this, seeing everybody else go do you? 'Cause let me tell you . . . not gonna happen." He laughs. Jesus gets Morgan's attention. Ezekiel found the map with the false info. Rick calls to Maggie and says, "It was a trap." Gabriel wants to know why Negan wants to kill everyone when before it didn't seem like he wanted that to happen. Negan says. It's not about want, Gabey. It never was." They swerve to miss hitting a zombie and Gabriel takes the opportunity to open the car door and jumps out.

They stop the car and go search for Gabriel. Gabriel stumbles through the woods. He still can't see well. A zombie attacks him. He fights it. One of the Saviors kills the zombie. Eugene points a gun at Gabriel and says he will shoot. He asks Gabriel, "Where does your faith go when you truly need it?" Negan comes up and hits Gabriel in the stomach. For a moment it looks like Negan is going to kill Gabriel but instead tells the others to put him in the car. Jesus talks to Morgan. He says, "You want to keep these people safe, and you think you need to kill other people to do that. That's not exactly safe for you, which ultimately may not be safe for the people you're trying to keep safe. It's a conundrum. Or it's not. But you can stop people without killing them. I mean, you almost stopped me. I have a simple proposal. Something to try." He grabs Morgan's stick. "This end for the dead [he points to the pointed end] and this end for the living. [he points to the blunt end] And things will get better." Morgan says nothing. Carol says she's starting to like Jesus. They all stop and look. Is it a giant zombie herd? They continue on their way. Back at Hilltop the watchmen see several cars arriving and scream "Saviors!" Tara takes a woman into hiding. Rick and his group are walking when the whistling begins. They hear the Saviors but don't see them. Negan can be heard over the walkie. He says, "Well, damn, Rick, look at that. Pegged again. Pegged so very hard."

Rick calls out for Negan to come out and face them. Negan brought some of Rick's old friends. Eugene made today possible as well as Dwight (although Dwight didn't know it), and he has Gabriel. He points a gun at Gabriel's head. Negan says they never had to fight. Rick just had to accept Negan's way. Negan counts down from 3. A massive line of Saviors come out of the hills. They point their guns and shoot. Negan goes to shoot Gabriel. But all the guns backfire (including Negan's). Many
Saviors die. Rick takes the opportunity to attack. Negan's hand is injured. He screams out, "Eugene!" Gabriel punches Negan. He pushes Gabriel back but then Dwight attacks him. He runs away.

The people of Hilltop are escaping to the woods. Kal asks if anyone has seen Gregory. Enid says they left him for the Saviors in the house. They need to keep going and meet up at the rendezvous. Tara is going to stay to slow down the Saviors while the others get away. They can hear Gracie crying. Alden is going to stay with her. She won't give him a gun but he won't leave her. He calls to his friends, "Any of you gents with me? 'Cause I'm with her. Even if she's not with us." His friends join them. She drops a bag of weapons for them. One of the lieutenants goes to kill Eugene when she realizes it is his fault. Eugene uses his own gun to shoot at her (it works just fine, it is also the gun he had Negan use to test the bullets earlier). As other Saviors approach shots ring out and they go down. Rosita shot them. Morgan sees Dwight hiding behind on of the cars. He knocks down a Savior and is about to stab him when Jesus tells him he doesn't have to. Morgan pauses then flips the stick to the other side and hits the Savior with the blunt end. Jesus says, "Let's clean this up now shall we?" Morgan nods. Tara and the former Saviors are positioned in the woods. As the Saviors approach a giant fireball goes up. Tara looks confused. They walk towards the fire and see the women of Oceanside (with Aaron) coming out of the woods lobbying Molotov cocktails at the Saviors. Rick's group encounter a group of Saviors. Laura calls out for them to not shoot. They are surrendering. They all kneel down. Rick follows Negan. He shoots at him. He runs out of bullets. Negan comes out from behind the tree which he was hiding and tackles Rick.

The two of them fight. Negan grabs Lucille. He tells Rick that the whole eeny meeny minny moe thing was for show. "I made a choice. I just didn't want to kill a kids' dad in front of him." He regrets his choice. Rick is injured. Rick says, "You're beat. You're people are down." Negan replies, "I'll get out of it. I always do. I am bigger, I am badder, and I got a bat." Rick says they can have a future. He wants 10 seconds for Carl to explain how they can have a future. Negan begins to count down from ten. Rick begins, "Carl said it doesn't have to be, it doesn't have to be a fight anymore." Negan says Carl was wrong. Rick replies, "No, no. He was right." They are both crying. Rick slashes Negan's throat. Negan whispers, "Look what you did. Carl didn't know a damn thing . . ." He falls to the ground.

Rick closes his eyes and remembers holding young Carl's hand as they walked together. He looks up at the sky. He turns around and everyone is there. Maggie and the others begin to walk towards him. He orders them to save Negan. Maggie screams, "No!" and has to be held back by Michonne. "No, he killed Glenn!" Rick says they have to save him. She screams, "We have to end it! We have to make it right!" Michone tries to comfort her and tells her it is over. Maggie says, "It's not over! It's not over till he's dead!" Rick says, "What happened. What we did, what we lost there's gotta be something after." Maggie falls to the ground. Rick orders the Saviors to put their hands down. He says, "We're all gonna go home now. Negan's alive. But his way of doing things is over. And anyone who can't live with that will pay the price, I promise you that. And any person here who would live in peace and fairness . . . who would find common ground . . . this world is yours, by right. We are life. That's death! [he points at a massive zombie herd] And it's coming for us. Unless we stand together! So go home. Then the work begins. The new world begins. All this . . . All this is just what was. There's gotta be somethin' after." He walks back towards the tree. Rosita asks Eugene if he was responsible for the Saviors' guns backfiring. He says he was. He was inspired by Gabriel and what she said to him before he threw up on her. She punches him and says, "That's for the puke." He responds, "Fair play." Morgan hands his armor to Carol and tells her it is for Henry. He wants her to tell Henry that he (Morgan) is going to be okay. She asks if he is going to be okay. He replies, "I'm gonna try. I know I need to be." He takes his stick and walks away. We are now back to
that close up of Rick under the tree from earlier this season. He cries. He says, "My mercy prevails over my wrath." He laughs. He sits under the tree.

Dwight gets into a truck with Daryl. Alden walks up to Maggie. His friends are going back to Sanctuary to try to make something better out of it. He tells her he was never meant to be in Sanctuary. He's been reading the book "A key to the future". He can build those things for her people. It's what he wants to do with his life. She says okay. Truck carrying glass pulls up to a Sanctuary. Tara and Rosita get out. Some of the Savior there are planting. A school bus pulls up. It is carrying more glass for them. And more people to help with the labor. Daryl's truck stops in the middle of the woods. Daryl tells Dwight to get out. Dwight says, "I know why I'm here. I know what I did to Denise. To you. To other people. And it doesn't matter why. I knew I'd have to face it, to pay, and I should. I'm ready. I got to see Negan taken down, and that's enough. Me? I'm a piece of shit. There's no going back to how things were." He kneels on the ground and cries. He says, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please. Please." He cries and Daryl tells him to shut up. He tosses the car keys at him. Daryl say, "You go, and you keep going. Don't you ever come back here again. If I ever see your face around here again, I'll kill you. You go out there, and you make it right." He walks away. He calls back, "Find her."

Jadis sits at the dump writing in her journal. Someone knocks on her door. It's Morgan. She opens the door cautiously. He tells her she can go to Hilltop if she wants. She asks why. He says Rick is trying to build something. "He wants to show people that things can change. You don't wanna be alone. People. Everything is about people. Everything in this life that's worth a damn." She asks his name. He laughs and replies Morgan Jones. She says he can call her Anne. She is going to grab her things so they can go. He says he is going to stay. He needs to be alone. Dwight drives up to a house. Inside is a note with the letter D written on it. He opens it and reads. He laughs. Written on the paper is the word "Honeymoon" and the infinity symbol.

Henry, Ezekiel, Jerry, and Carol arrive at Kingdom. Maggie tells Jesus that he was right in saving the lives of the Saviors at the satellite outpost. She says, "I don't regret what I did. But you were right. And Rick was right about not killing all the Saviors. Not about Negan. We have a lot to do. We have to build this place up, make it work better than before, make it thrive for the people who live here. We need our strength, the ability to defend ourselves better. We have to have that. " Jesus says they will. Maggie continues, "But Rick and Michonne . . . Rick was wrong to do what he did. Michonne, too. So we're gonna bide out rime, wait for our moment, and then we're gonna show him." Jesus nods. Out of the darkness Daryl says, "Yeah. We will."

Negan lies in bed. His throat is bandaged. Michonne says they know he is awake. She says, "We need to tell you some things. And you don't have to open your eyes now. But you're gonna open them soon. Because we're gonna make you watch what happens." Rick chimes in, "And this isn't about who you killed. No, we've killed people. No, this is about what you did to us, what you did to so many people." Negan goes to speak but Michonne grabs him by the throat. This isn't a discussion. Rick continues, "Carl pictured something better. All of us working together for something bigger than all of us. And you'll have a job too." Michonne says he gets to be a part of it. He will be an example. They are not going to kill him or hurt him. He will rot in a cell for the rest of his life. Gabriel walks among the ruins of his church at Alexandria. He kneels down and says, Thank you. Thank you. I understand. I know now. You've given me so much . . . after you've given me so much. I can see." He looks at the light coming in from the window.

Rick and little Carl hold hands as they walk. Voice over of Rick, "Dear Carl. I remember. I forgot who I was. You made me remember. I remember that feeling walking with you that day. Like I finally knew who I was for the first time in my life. Thing is, we were walking side by side, but you were bringing me somewhere. Bringin' me here. Bringin' all of us to the new world, Carl. You showed me the new world. You made it real. I see it. I remember. Dad."



Final Thoughts
- I'm surprised no main characters died in the season finale. I guess they felt that after losing Glenn, Abraham, and Carl we needed a break.
- I understand why Rick didn't kill Negan but I still worry Negan will get out and wreak havoc.
- I don't understand the Maggie, Daryl, Jesus conspiracy. I know why Maggie and Daryl are upset but wouldn't it be better to just sneak in and kill Negan in secret instead of getting revenge on Rick? Why is Jesus there? Negan didn't personally do anything to him and he seemed to like Rick?
- I am really going to miss Morgan.
- Let's hope there is more of Siddiq in the upcoming season. I really like him.
- Will something actually happen next season? All this talk about how this was the most exciting season ever was really disappointing. Very little happened this season with the exception of Carl's death. Hopefully we will see some interaction with some new groups or a new danger.

The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 15 "Worth"

Start over.

Rick reads Carl's letter. He looks out at Judith playing with Michonne. Carl's letter talks about his 8th birthday, his mom, cartoons, all the things from his childhood before the zombiepocalypse. "Holding your hand, I felt happy and special. I felt safe. . . growing up is making yourself and the people you love safe, as safe as you can because things happen. . . I want to make you feel safe, Dad. I want you to feel just like I felt when you held my hand." He mentions that Sanctuary has workers and that Rick doesn't want them to die. There have to be more people out there and everyone giving the opportunity to live life. He asks Rick to find peace with Negan. He wants everything to start over. For things to go back to the way things were before the zombiepocalypse. He believes things can be that way again. Michonne lies on her bed. She looks at the dresser. She opens the top drawer and pulls out the letter Carl wrote to Negan.

Gregory speaks with Simon. He went to Sanctuary to make amends. Simon feels Gregory made him looked like an ass. Gregory says his information was old. He didn't know what was going on with Alexandria. He wants to make it up to Negan. Simon tells him and he is now in charge. They clink glasses. Simon says he can't be seen going easy on Gregory. He tells Gregory to go. Gregory says he could be a good advisor. Simon says it is over but Gregory won't let it go. Gregory gets in Simon's face and Simon throws him to the ground. He says he wasn't going to send Gregory away; he was going to kill him. He decides to give Gregory a chance.

Some of the women of Oceanside walk in the woods discussing Aaron. They know he is still in the area. Rachel says he won't give up so they should just kill him. A zombie walks towards them. Cyndie goes to kill it but Aaron gets it first. Aaron collapses on the floor. Beatrice asks if he has eaten. Cyndie says he made his choice and walks away. The others follow her.

Eugene scoops up soup into a bowl. The two women that made it think it's a waste of their resources. He says the recipe was one he used in college. He eats it up. He orders them to serve it to the workers. Simon has ordered an acceleration of production now that he is in charge. He says they won't make the quota but hopes they can make enough to appease Simon. Gabriel begins to cough. Eugene orders him to put his mask back on because Eugene cannot get sick. He hands Gabriel a bullet and tells him that it was made incorrectly. If fired it would backfire on the shooter. He knows Gabriel is doing it on purposed. Gabriel says he was trying to make sure the bullets wouldn't work. His intention was never to hurt anyone. Gabriel says, "I don't want to help you. But, I do fear death. Maybe all this is His way of showing me I haven't changed." Eugene suspends him from working and orders him to go sit in a corner. Eugene goes outside to tests some bullets. One of the Saviors goes with him and is shot in the head by an arrow. Rosita and Daryl are there. Daryl points a gun at Eugene's head. They take him with them.

Dwight goes out for a smoke. He hears the Negan whistle and turns around to see Negan. Dwight starts to explain they thought he was dead. Negan stops him and asks for Dwight to help him move a dumpster. Negan knows what they were thinking. Does Dwight still remember who he is? He says Simon is Negan's number two. He continues, "I'm Negan." Negan says good. He says when the time comes he wants Dwight to remember what they've done and what they can still do together.

Simon talks to Negan. He explains that he thought Negan was dead. He changed things from infection to extermination at Hilltop and is asking for a pass on his wrong choice. He asks for a second chance. Negan says he remembers when Simon helped him take Sanctuary. Simon killed a lot of men and boys in a settlement long ago (Oceanside). He thought Simon could be a psycho so he kept an eye on him. It worked well until now. He asks Simon to get on his knees. "You gonna make a move or is that it?" Simon replies, "No move to make." Negan says, "No. There isn't. All is forgiven." Simon says he won't let Negan down. One of the other lieutenants pulls out a map. They don't have to take Hilltop just make sure the Hilltoppers can't leave. Every time one of the Hilltoppers tries to leave they will kill them. The next day they are each going to go out with a 10 person team to take ammo to several locations marked on the map. The new outposts surround Hilltop. They will have teams surrounding Hilltop 24/7. Simon says the plan is good and he's glad Negan is back. He orders everyone out except for Dwight. He tells Dwight he is smart. After everything that happened to him he didn't do anything stupid. He kept his eyes on what could keep him alive and well. Negan wants him to keep doing just that.

Eugene's hands are tied as he follows Daryl and Rosita. Eugene says that he knows the reason he is still alive is because they still feel for him as a friend. Daryl turns around with his knife and tells him to stop talking or he will cut out his tongue. Rosita has to intervene. She says they need to keep going. Eugene tries to thank her but she tells him to shut up. He says that he told Negan he could make bullets to save Rosita's life. He tried to resist his instinct to survive but he couldn't. She says everything that happened at Sanctuary and after is his fault. When he tries to blame Rick she calls him a coward and a traitor as she points her gun at his head. She says they are only keeping him alive because they need his brain. He'll live but he will be forced to do something useful with his life.

Dwight makes a copy of the map for the new outposts. On the copy he has written "Tomorrow afternoon Negan and ten men at the X. Other 11 person teams at each of the circles. END NEGAN. END the REST. END THIS." Someone knocks on his door and he hides the maps. Simon walks in. He wants to know what Negan said to Dwight. Dwight said it was just a pep talk. Simon says they need to have a serious talk with the others who are not happy that Negan has returned. "Let us gather our like-minded individuals, draw strength from each other, and do what we need to do." He reminds Dwight of everything Negan has done to him. He wants Dwight to meet him and the others after rounds to "begin what's next." Dwight agrees.

Daryl, Rosita, and Eugene encounter a group of zombies. Daryl goes to kill the zombies with his crossbow. Eugene makes himself throw up all over Rosita and  makes a run for it. She follows him and shoots at him. Daryl and Rosita look for him. They walk past a pile of bones and ashes. Once they are gone Eugene comes out from hiding in the ashes.

Aaron sits against a tree in the woods. Rain pours down on him. He grabs a can he was using to catch water and takes a drink. He hears a zombie and gets his knife ready. The zombie approaches and he kills it. Another zombie comes up from behind and he struggles with it. He drops his knife. He looks for the knife but can't find it. Several zombies approach. He has to use a stick to kill them. He falls back on the ground. Rachel asks if he is dead. Aaron wakes up surrounded by women from Oceanside.  He says, "You blamed Enid for Natania's death. But it's really the Saviors. What they did to you, what they turned you into . . . it's their fault. You hide. You don't trust. You don't live the life the way you want to because of them. They hurt you, and they're gonna keep hurting you. Unless you do one thing! Fight!" He collapses again.

Dwight waits for the others outside. Gregory and the lieutenants arrive with Simon. Dwight leans against the dumpster. Simon announces that those that are there are in. No take backs. "We need to make this quick, quiet, and respectful.  He deserves that." He says that Dwight can kill Negan if he wants to since he has legitimate personal issues with Negan. He wants to destroy Hilltop and its residents. Negan whistles. He comes out from behind the dumpster. He thanks Dwight. He counts down from three. Silenced gunshots ring out and the Saviors that were with Simon fall dead. Two Saviors hold Simon back as he lunges for Dwight. Simon asks why Dwight sided with Negan. Dwight says it's because Negan would win. He tells Simon that he knows he killed all of the garbage people. He uses Lucille to bash the heads in of the dead traitors. He says he is still going to give Simon his shot. "You want to be the man, you got to beat the man. If you can do that, then, hell you should be the man."

Inside Sanctuary Negan stands face to face with Simon. Simon announces to all those present that once he is done they will get to work. The Sanctuary must stand. He hits Negan again and again. Negan fights back. Negan eventually knocks Simon to the ground and starts kicking him. Gregory starts to back away. Dwight grabs Gregory by the arm and pulls him away. He tells Gregory to get out. He hands Gregory the map he made and orders him to give it to Rick. He gives them the keys to a car he left hidden for him. Gregory runs off. Negan chokes Simon. He says he got a lot of Saviors killed at Hilltop and then ran away. He's going to kill all of the Hilltoppers just like he is going to kill Simon. He crushes Simon's windpipe, killing him. He stands up and says, "What an asshole."

Gregory arrives at Hilltop and is placed in the holding pen. Maggie hands the map to Rick. Rick reads it. Maggie asks what they are going to do. Negan complains to Dwight that killing Simon is a waste but he was left with no choice. He says he can always count on Dwight. He says Dwight is now his right hand man. Dwight says he will help end things with Rick. Negan says he already has. They walk into Dwight's room and sitting in the chair is Laura (the Savior that escaped the night they attacked Alexandria who knows Dwight betrayed them). That is who Negan found on the side of the road on his way back to Sanctuary.  She tells him what happened that night. Negan smiles. He knows Dwight told Rick everything. "You are nothing. A nobody way in over your head. I knew that I could count on you to deliver my plan to Rick, my brilliant, if I do say so myself, fake-ass plan." He knows he used Gregory. Now Rick will head into the line of fire. He thought about killing Dwight but he has other plans for him.

Eugene made it back to his outpost. One of the lieutenants tells him Negan is back and they need the bullet order by the next day. He tells her they will fill the order in it's entirety and on time. They will kill all of the them. They will change Savior history. He tells Gabriel he is to sort shells. He can do what Eugene asks or he can die. He orders everyone to start. To do something useful with their pathetic lives.

Simon is now a zombie tied to the fence. Michonne calls over the walkie asking to talk to Negan. She says she's calling about Carl. She is delivering the letter Carl wrote Negan. She tells him to shut up and listen. She then reads the letter to him. "Negan, this is Carl. I was helping someone. I got bit. We didn't even have to be doing what we were doing. I was just helping someone. Now I'm gone. You might be gone. Maybe my Dad made your people give you up and he killed you, but I don't think so. I think you're still around and you're working on a way out. Maybe you got out. Maybe you think we're a lost cause and you just want to kill all of us. I think you think you have to be who you are. I just wonder if this is what you wanted. I wanted to ask you. I wish I could've. Maybe you'll beat us. And if you do, there'll just be someone else to fight. The way out is working together. It's forgiveness. It's believing that it doesn't have to be a fight anymore. Because it doesn't. I hope my dad offers you peace. I hope you take it. I hope everything can change. It did for me. Start over. You still can. Carl." Negan says there is no getting out of it now. He won't accept their surrender. Winning is about killing all of them. That is starting over. "I never wanted this. Rick made this happen. No more talk." He stomps on the walkie.

Final Thoughts
- I loved both of Carl's letters. Unfortunately, both Rick and Negan are too stubborn to listen to him. Maybe if he'd lived he could eventually have changed their minds.
- Eugene echoes Rosita's words at the end of the episode when he tells his outpost to do something with their pathetic lives. Nothing that Eugen does surprises me. Only time will tell what his fate will be.
- What are Negan's plans for Dwight? He already burned his face. He hasn't killed him, yet. Will he make him a zombie to join Simon on the fence? What could be worse than that?
- Who will die in the season finale? I think Gabriel, Eugene, and Dwight are at the top of the list. I figure at least one of the main characters will die. Maybe Rosita?

The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 14 "Still Gotta Mean Something"

You didn't lose you.

Jadis running away from machine gun fire. She hides the body of one of her people under junk and then lies in a pool of blood pretending to be dead as her people are gunned down. One of the Saviors spits on her and says she should have played the game. She closes her eyes. When she gets up all is quiet. She takes off her blood soaked clothes. She is now in the nightgown Rick last saw her in. A door to a room that looks like an Ikea showroom is opened. Lucille is inside. Jadis walks in and begins to cry. She packs a suitcase. She grabs Lucille and looks down at her watch. She opens up a metal container and we see Negan is chained up. He wants to know what is going on.

Carol chops firewood. Ezekiel walks up to her and says the escaped prisoners could be on their way back to Sanctuary. They must go after them in search of Henry. Carol says Maggie needs her at Hilltop. He tells her she is choosing to stay and wants to know why. Is it because she believes Henry is already dead? "Or can you no allow yourself to believe otherwise? You told me to pretend to make it real until is is so, an you cannot." She says, "It may not be so." He is worried for Henry. He accuses her of being stopped by cowardice. She goes back to chopping wood.

Daryl says hi to Tara. She tells him that she hasn't been sick since she was shot a day ago so the doctor thinks she'll be fine. He says that she's tough but she says that it just means Dwight's arrow was clean. Daryl say, "Or it means you got lucky. Could be anything. It's not like a bite. Sometimes nothing happens." He says that if Dwight knew about Negan's plan he could have sent them a warning message. Tara defends Dwight saying he might not have been able to warn them. He asks her if that means Dwight gets a free pass and she says yes. If she had killed him in the woods she might be dead now from a zombie blood infected injury. She tells him, "Look, do what you gotta do. But know it's just for you. I'm out." Daryl doesn't respond.

Michonne cries as she read the letter Carl left for her. Rick comes in and wipes her tears. She asks if he wants to read her letter. He shakes his head no. He is going out to get food. She asks what Carl wrote to Rick. He hasn't read the letter yet. He can't. She says he has to. She knows what it is like to lose a child. "I did it too . . . when it happened to me. You keep moving to move away from it. Andrea stopped me. And now I'm stopping you. Carl wrote that because he wanted you to read it. It was one of the last things he ever did." She tells him he's staying and leaves him alone. Rick takes a deep breath and grabs the letter from Carl.

Carol stops chopping wood when she sees Morgan. She asks if he going to look for Henry and he says he is going after the escaped Saviors. She says he doesn't have to but he says he does. "I could've before and I should've. I was supposed to. See, we're the same, and I was supposed to. And I thought that . . . Thought I had to. Thought it'd be different." Carol says she is going with him. She grabs her guns and they go.

Maggie is meeting with Dianne and Rosita. Cars are set up to warn if the Saviors come back but they don't have enough ammo for another attack. Daryl comes in and says going hand to hand is their only option. He thinks the Saviors must be low on ammo too since they had to get through the hoard of zombies at Sanctuary to get out. Rosita realizes that the Saviors can make more bullets since they have Eugene.

Jadis sits and looks at her watch. She is still holding Lucille. Negan lies on a tarp on the floor still chained up. He says, "I smell it. Whatever the holy hell happened here, I smell it." Jadis pours salt over a wheel barrow filled with wood. "That's what that fire is about, that salt, burning it away. I told you people are a resource. I don't throw resources like that away. I got a lot of confidence that most people can be put on the right path, my path. I wouldn't have killed all your people. No. That was the work of someone not following the program. But this? This is my mistake. I'll own this. I took a chance on someone, thought I was doing the right thing, and all I did was punch myself in the dick. I am sorry for this. I really am. I'm sorry that you lost all you had. But I know, in some way, I can help get it back." She swings Lucille towards his face and stops short of hitting him with her.

Morgan and Carol make their way through the woods looking for the Saviors. She finds a turnip on the floor. They are on the right track. Morgan sees someone he thinks is Henry. He runs after him calling out "Henry." He gets to a clearing and sees Henry. Henry turns around and has a bloody wound on his neck. He says, "You know what it is. You were supposed to!" Morgan says to himself, "You're not here. He's not here." Carol comes up and sees Morgan shouting to no one. He says, "He's dead. You know he is." She says she didn't come out to the woods to look for Henry but to keep an eye on Morgan. He says, "You save people. I've seen it again and again. But you can't save the dead, Carol." She says he's not dead. He knows. He doesn't die. He just sees death again and again. He notices something behind her and walks towards it. He finds a zombie that has recently been killed. He knows the escapees went through there.

Rick looks at his/Carl's sheriff''s hat. It sits in a bag on the floor by Judith who is playing with her toys. He gets up and is outside with his rifle. He walks up to Alden and asks where the escaped Saviors went. Alden says he guesses they went back to Sanctuary. They didn't have a specific plan. He asks how Alden would get back to Sanctuary with someone that was injured. Does he have a place where he could hide out for a while? He tells Rick about an old dive bar a few miles away. He was taken there once and asked what it would take to turn the bar into an outpost. It's located half way between Hilltop and Sanctuary. Rick walks away. Alden calls after Rick and asks him to do him a favor. He asks for Rick to not kill more than he has to. They made the wrong choice in escaping. Rick could bring them back. Rick says he could and walks away.

Jadis's watch alarm goes off. She throws Lucille in the wood pile. Negan wants to talk but she just walks away. He scoots himself away. Jadis comes back pushing a zombie that's attached to a dolly. Negan shoots at her. He has a flare in one hand and a gun in the other. He says she must not really want to do what she is getting ready to do because she left him by a bag full of guns. He also found a bunch of photographs. Negan wants to talk.

Carl and Morgan come out to the road and see a herd of walkers crossing further down the road. Carol wants to wait for the herd to pass. Morgan doesn't want to lose the trail. As they make their way towards the herd Carol notices something. A zombie comes towards them. It has been stabbed in the stomach with Henry's stick. Morgan grabs the stick and kills the zombie with it. Carol begins to cry. She tells Morgan to stop. The zombie came from the other road. Maybe they could follow it and find Henry. Morgan replies, "We take that road, you know what we'll find." She says she doesn't know. "I won't know unless I go, unless I try. And you can try too." He says no. "You save people. I watch 'em die. I have to. I'm supposed to." Carol remind him that when she tried to run he found her. He saved her. "You knew I could come back. You can too." He says he's not strong like her. "I was there that whole time watchin' em. Knowing that something would happen. I knew it. I saw it. I was waiting for it to happen, and then it did, like it  . . . Like it always does. So I just have to. I have to kill 'em. I have to." He hands Carol Henry's stick. She takes it and pleads but he just walks away towards the woods.

Jadis walks out and tells Negan to leave the pictures alone. He wants to know what it going on. Does she kill people with that zombie thing? She says that people are a resource (using his same words). The pictures are all she has left. He took everything. "You took away me." He says, "My wife's name was Lucille. She got me through. I didn't give her shit, and she got me through. Just life. Regular life. The bat . . . the bat got me through this. So I named it after her. That's it. Nothing more to do with her than that. But it is the last little piece of her that I got left." Lucille means to him what those pictures mean for Jadis. Her alarm goes off. She looks up and pushes the dolly. She fights him for the flare. It lands in the water. A helicopter approaches. Negan says, "What the shit?" The helicopter turns around and flies away. Jadis calls after it with another flare in her hand. She puts the flare above Lucille. He tells her he didn't burn her pictures. He says, "You burn her and all you have is ashes." She says, "No, I get to hurt you." He says, "I didn't do it. I can settle it. Okay?" She moves the flare away and cries.

Rick makes his way through the woods. He stumbles upon the herd. Morgan comes up behind him. Rick has to remind Morgan that he knows him. Morgan tells, "I'm not right." Rick says Morgan shouldn't be out there. Morgan says he's not going anywhere. Rick says that they are both out there looking for the Saviors. "Then, we finish it, you and me." They continue on their search together. They come out to the road and find a foot and an arm lying there. Someone knocks Rick to the ground.

Rick wakes up in the old bar. He and Morgan are tied up. The Saviors look down on two of their own who are sick. One of them says the reason they don't look well is because they hacked off some of their body parts. Now we know who the foot and arm belong to. Jared and one of the Saviors want to leave them behind. They are dying anyway. One of the Saviors doesn't want to abandon his friends even if the rules say to. Rick asks Morgan how long he was out. "Just long enough to end up here." Not all of the Saviors want to return to Sanctuary with Jared. Jared says bringing Rick to Negan will be a win for them. Jared announces that now that Rick is awake they will leave the injured men behind and head to Sanctuary. Just as he is about to kill one of the injured men with a mic stand Rick stops him by saying his truck is nearby and they can take the sick men to the Hilltop's doctor. They could all go back with Rick and Morgan. Rick then echoes what Alden said to him earlier. "You didn't want this. You made a split-second choice, and you chose wrong, but it's not too late." If they set them free and cooperate Rick will give them a fresh start at Hilltop. He gives them his word. Jared doesn't believe Rick but Saviors want to talk about it. Rick says they don't have much time because a herd is headed their way. Jared says Rick is lying. Rick and Morgan came to kill them. Morgan says, "You know, you're right. I cam here to do what I was supposed to do. To kill every last one of you." Jared points his rifle at Morgan's head and Morgan warns him to save his bullets because the herd is coming. He says it'll be a shame when the zombies eat them because he won't have anyone left to kill. Jared wants to leave. Morgan shouts that he doesn't die, nobody dies, everybody turns. Jared goes to shoot him but one of the other Saviors stops him. The herd comes in. They begin to shoot at the zombies. Some of the zombies eat the injured men. Rick shouts to be cut loose to help them. Jared won't let them but he gets knocked out and the others cut Rick and Morgan loose. They fight the zombies as they try to escape together. Rick turns to Morgan and hey exchange a look. Rick uses his ax to kill a Savior and Morgan uses his stick. They kill the remaining Saviors except Jared who ran ahead. Morgan follows Jared. He sees ghost Henry again. Jared hits him from behind. He has Morgan's stick pointed at Morgan's neck. Morgan pushes him off towards the zombies. He closes a gate and holds Jared at the gate while the zombies eat him. Rick walks among the dying Saviors. Rick admits to a dying Savior that he lied. The Savior says, "We could have lived  . . . after this." Rick points his gun at him and shoots. Morgan joins him and says, "Everybody turns." Rick says, "You saved me. I would've died. Maybe on that street, right in front of your house. You didn't know me. Why'd you do it?" Morgan says, "Because my son was there." Rick looks at himself in a mirror.

Negan walks around the dump with Lucille. He tells Jadis, "You didn't lose you. You should know that." She stares at her photographs. He wants to know what happened there today. She just stares at him. He says he could go with her. She doesn't want to follow his path. He says he will visit. Maybe one day she'll want to share.

Carol walks through the woods in the dark alone. She finds a piece of Henry's armor covered in blood. A zombie can be heard and Henry screams for someone to help him. She runs towards the sound. He is hiding among the roots of a tree by a river fighting off three zombies. Carol fights off the zombies and hugs him. He cries and says he is sorry. She tells him it's okay and that she is sorry. She was wrong he can survive. Jerry smiles at the gate. He goes down to Ezekiel and says, "Dude." In comes Carol with Henry.

Carol tells Ezekiel he was right. He says she is not a coward. She tells him about Sophia. Being with her people allowed her to find herself. A better self. "Still if feels like it could just be swept away again. But that doesn't mean it will, and it doesn't mean that I couldn't find myself again if it does." The gate opens and in walk Rick and Morgan. Morgan walks up to Henry and checks his neck to make sure he is real. He say, "I killed them. I killed the man who killed your brother. I did. I killed him." He smiles. Henry says, "I'm sorry." Morgan tells him to never be sorry. Rick walks past Alden and Alden knows his friends are dead. Morgan sits on a log crying. Jadis opens the door to her room and unpacks. She lies down on her bed and looks up.

Negan drives. He stops and opens the door. He says, "If shit could shit, it still wouldn't look as shitty as you. Get in." We don't see who he is talking to. He pulls up to Sanctuary. One of the Saviors on guard says he knew Negan was alive. Negan tells him to keep it a secret. He wants it to be a surprise. Through binoculars we see the Saviors outside of Eugene's outpost. Rosita and Daryl are watching. Rosita says they don't need to take out the machines. They take out the man (Eugene).

Rick gets dressed after a shower. He turns to the dresser and opens the drawer that contains Carl's letter to him. He pulls it out. Michonne walks in. He thanks her and apologizes. She says he doesn't have to be sorry. He says he loves her and she says it back. Rick opens the letter and begins to read.




Final Thoughts
- Negan's apology to Jadis seems sincere. It's interesting that she never says a word.
- We finally got some back story on Negan and Lucille. I was not surprised. I assumed that Lucille was named after someone that meant a lot to him. He wouldn't react the way he does to other people holding her if she was just a bat. 
- Is Jadis in the military? Who does the helicopter belong to? Will we meet the group who owns it?
- I love scenes between Morgan and Carol.
- Henry was hiding in a similar location to where Rick left Sophia after saving her. While Sophie died Henry lived, probably because he know how to fight.
- I was not surprised at all that Rick lied to the Saviors about giving them a chance to join Hilltop. He mas out for revenge and not ready to forgive anyone. It wasn't until he got this out of his system was he able to read Carl's letter. Will he be able to do what Carl asks of him.