The Walking Dead Season 9 Episode 3 "Warning Signs"

Zombies eat someone. They get distracted and walk away. Gunshots are heard in the distance. The person that the zombies were eating has reanimated. It is Justin. He follows the other zombies. He walks past a sign that reads "FINAL WARNING."

Rick gets dressed while Michonne sleeps. He checks on Judith who was coughing. On the wall hang the pieces of wood that have Carl and Judith's hand prints. Rick walks through Alexandria's crops. He grabs a ripe tomato. He places it on the grass by a grave marker? He comes back to find Michonne awake. He tells her she will have to finish the charter by dinner. He says he is glad that she is in charge of Alexandria. She wants to take Judith to see Siddiq because of her cough. He's going to take the day off from the bridge work to do that. Maggie will be going to the bridge. She warns him that Maggie, Daryl, and possibly others are still upset with Rick. He says it will all work out. He thanks her for everything she's done and doing. He hints that he wants a child with her. They kiss. She says okay. "For the future."

Maggie and Kal ride a wagon. All of a sudden several Saviors walk out of the woods. She asks why they aren't working at the bridge. They are looking for a friend that went missing. She says she doesn't know anything about it. She mentions the missing ethanol and they say the people delivering it also went missing. One of the Saviors steals a tomato from the back of the truck. When she asks his name he says it's mud. Laura tells Maggie that his name is Jed and she should mark him down for the tomato. Then she thanks Maggie for bringing Sanctuary the food rations. She promises that Sanctuary will make good on the fuel as soon as they can. They head back to the bridge. Ken says the Saviors can't be believed. She says they are giving them a chance. They see zombie Justin up ahead.

Rick, Michonne, and Judith are having a family day. Rick is getting examined by Siddiq as Judith looks on. They walk down the street holding hands. They play hide and seek. Michonne teaches Judith how to fight with a stick. They have a picnic. Rick reads to Judith "The Wizard of Oz." One of the Alexandrians runs up to them. Michonne goes to talk to him. He tells her about the missing Savior the others were looking for. He was found dead but his death doesn't appear to be an accident. Someone killed him. Michonne and Rick look concerned. They hold hands.

Justin's body has been brought to the bridge campsite. The Saviors are getting mad at the others saying they want them dead. Alden yells for everyone to stop. Jed says Alden is not one of them. Alden says "us" means all of them. Carol steps in. Laura steps in. The Saviors want guns to protect themselves. Daryl says no guns. The Saviors start accusing people of killing Justin from Daryl to Anne. They grab axes. The others aim their weapons on them. Gabriel steps forward but Rick rides up on a horse and stops them. Laura tells the others to let it go. Alden says he will talk to Rick and find a way to make everyone safe. Rick orders them to start the redirect and pair off to work the grid. Everyone disperses. Rick asks Gabriel if he knows where Anne was last night. Gabriel says she was on watch with him. Rick tells Gabriel to keep an eye on her. Alden wants Rick to give a couple of guns to some trustworthy Saviors to help calm them down. Maggie says no guns for any of the Saviors. She says that was a part of the deal. He says that she trusts him now and should trust other Saviors that have made a change (I'm thinking about Laura). Rick says they need to figure out who killed Justin before arming anyone. Maggie doesn't like the idea. Rick brings up the point that the deal she put in place makes the Saviors the majority of the work force and they deserve to be safe. She nods in agreement. She asks who he thinks killed Justin. Rick looks over at Daryl. Gabriel asks Anne if she is alright. She says she didn't do anything. He says he knows. He tells her he told Rick that she was with him all night but he left after they were done having sex. He asks if she saw anything that could help explain what happened to Justin. She responds, "You think I'm hiding something?"

Daryl sharpens his knife. Rick sits by him. Daryl tells him to ask. Rick says the wound on Justin looks like a puncture from an arrow. Daryl asks if Rick really thinks he did it. Rick says no but others do. Daryl tells him if he had killed Justin he would have done so in plain sight. True, Daryl isn't the kind to stab someone in the back He doesn't know who but he knows why. This was always going to happen by bringing the Saviors to join them. "Why do they get this future? And Glenn don't? Abraham? Sasha? You ever think about what they want? What they'd do, if they could?" Rick does think about that. For awhile he wanted the Saviors dead too. "But killing each other when the world already belongs to the dead? It's not the way, not anymore." Daryl begins to go back to work. Rick knows Daryl doesn't agree but he wants him to try. To let others see him try. "And maybe everyone moves past what's happened to what could happen and maybe, just maybe, it'd be one of the best decisions you ever made. Like not killing a guy who left your brother on a rooftop to die."

Maggie walks the grid with Cyndie. She hears over the walkie everyone calling in their grid. She sees a couple of zombies and lets the others know over the walkie. Cyndie says there is a house over there and maybe that's where the zombies are headed. She used to live nearby before Oceanside. Several zombies surround a boarded up house. Maggie says they have to take the zombies out. She hands Cyndie a pitchfork and tells her to head towards the roof to stop the banging from the roof tile. She whistles and calls the zombies over. Cyndie walks toward the house. One zombie stands there. She kills it. When she walks up to the house she sees several zombie hands sticking out form the  boarded up door. She falls through the porch and zombies begin to spill out. Maggie comes to her aid killing zombie after zombie. Cyndie struggles to kill a zombie and an arrow comes through it's head. Rick, Daryl, and Rosita are there as back up. Rosita asks what happened to group five. They should have arrived first. Rick calls over the walkie but nobody responds. They arrive at grid five's location. They find Beatrice on the floor. Someone hit her from behind. She doesn't know what happened to the rest of her group. Maggie says whoever attacked took Arat (a Savior that was part of the group). Back at the camp they discuss what to do. They need to find Arat. For the moment they are telling everyone she is on watch duty. One more missing Savior will only worsen the situation. Jerry pipes up. What do they do when they find the perp. "Is it gonna be a 'Gregory' or a 'Negan'?" Rick and Maggie look at each other. Cyndie says when the time comes the guilty party will get what they deserve. Rick orders everyone to pair up and look for Arat.

Rick and Carol walk through the woods looking for Arat. He asks Carol if the Saviors should be a part of all this. She responds, "It's not your choice or mine. They just have to want it like the rest of us. Today, I saw it starting again, and I just wanted to pull that trigger. End it before it begins. 'Cause if we don't find Arat, we're gonna have a fight whether we want it or not." Rick says he won't and can't let it come to that. "Every day since I put Negan in that cell . . . I have this moment, usually right when I wake up, this feeling that I should go down there and kill him. To keep going, finish them all. And in that moment, it's all I want. But, then, I remember everyone we've lost, not just to the Saviors. But the whole way. And I know I need to honor them. To build life, not take it. Because it's us or the dead. And every life counts now."

Daryl and Maggie search together. He asks if she agrees with this or she is just going along with Rick's plan to be nice. She's not sure. Neither is he. She wishes she could look forward and not back but every time she looks at Hershel she sees things the way they might have been and she can't let it go. He tells her she doesn't have to. He hasn't. She says, "What Rick's doing is right for the future. Better for Hershel." They hear a zombie growl. It is crawling towards a dead body. She kills it. Daryl looks at the body and finds an arrow in it. He knows who took Arat.

Anne returns to her former dumpster home. She puts her flashlight down and pulls out a walkie from a box. She turns it on and says, "It's Jadis. I know you're in range. I saw the helicopter last night." A man replies over the walkie, "What do you have? An A or a B?" She asks if he took the Saviors. He says, "No pickups. But the deal still stands. Will you have an A or a B." She says neither. It's just her. She's paid her share. He says she's been compensated. She wants to know what will it take. He says an A. She replies, "An A." He says, "Tomorrow." Gabriel comes up behind her and asks who she was talking to. He asks if she did something to Justin. He wants to know who she was talking to and what she did. She says she did bad things but not the killing or missing people. He wants to know the truth. She traded people. He wants to know why. She did it for supplies for her people. "It didn't start that way. It just ended up there." She tried at Alexandria but when anything goes wrong she is suspected. When the Saviors went missing everyone suspected her except for Gabriel. She asks him to leave with her to another place far away. "It can be different for us." She takes him by the hand. She tells him he can't tell anyone. "But if you could trust me, and help me with a small part of the deal, we can have a life like you can't imagine." He says he can't do it. He has to tell Rick. She wants him to choose her instead. He says, "Not like this." She replies, "And all this time I thought you were a B." She hits him on the head.

Carol and Rick walk through the now dark forest towards zombie sounds. Carol grabs her knife and finds Jed. Another Savior grabs her from behind and pushes her to Jed. Rick comes up and tells him to drop his weapon. Jed tells Rick to do the same. Jed says he will kill her before Rick kills him. Rick asks if Jed killed the others. Jed says no. They are not killing anyone unless they have to. He says this is about the guns. They are leaving the bridge project and want some protection to get back home. Rick says it doesn't have to be this way. Jed wants Rick to give the other Savior his gun. Carol has a knife hidden up her sleeve. Rick sees her take it out while Jed rambles on. Rick says, "You do this, there's no going back. Everything we're doing, it ends." Jed says it ended with Justin. Carol say, "It's over." Rick says it's over. Carol stabs Jed in the shoulder. Rick orders the other Savior to stand down. Rick says they will take him back to camp to fix his wound. Jed wants to know why they don't just kill him. Carol says, "'Cause every life counts."

Daryl and Maggie show up at the building from the beginning of the episode. Daryl wants to know how Maggie knows about it. She says she thinks it's where the Oceanside group lived before the Saviors killed all the men. They find the cans of missing ethanol. They hear someone say, "Beg, like you made them beg." They run towards the voice. Cyndie has her gun to Arat's head. Several Oceanside women are with her. Daryl and Maggie come up. Daryl orders them to drop their weapons. Cyndie tells Beatrice it's okay. Beatrice killed Justin because he killed her husband. Daryl lowers his crossbow. Arat begs Daryl for her life. Cyndie says she is the last one.  Maggie says, "With something like this is it keeps going." Cyndie says this was their home. They were  many of them then. But then the Saviors came. After Simon gave them their final warning they ran to Oceanside and tried to forget. Then Rick and his group found them and asked them to fight. They agreed because they couldn't forget what happened. "We went along because we thought we didn't have a choice. Until you hung Gregory. That's when we knew. Rick's rules aren't the only rules. You showed us the way. It was time." Maggie realized they did it because of her. Arat killed Cyndie's brother. Arat cries, "It's not like that anymore. I'm one of you now." Maggie asks her if she did it and Arat says Simon would have killed her if she didn't. Cyndie begged Arat for her brother's life. He was only eleven years old. Cyndie asks Arat to repeat what she said when she begged for her brother's life. Arat said, "No exceptions." Maggie looks at Daryl and walks away. Daryl joins her. Arat begs them They keep going and Cyndie stabs Arat in the back of the head.

The next morning all of the Saviors walk out of the bridge project. Maggie and Daryl walk through the woods. Maggie says, "Right after we agreed we'd wait." Daryl responds, "Ya, we did." Maggie continues, "Cyndie said I showed them the way. She did the same thing for me. We gave Rick's way a chance. It's time to see Negan." Daryl says, "All right." They walk down the road together. Daryl carries two cans of ethanol.

Final Thoughts

-  [SPOILER ALERT] I hope Michonne ends up pregnant before the show kills off Rick. 

- I'm interested in finding out who Anne has been dealing with. How do they have a helicopter? Military group? What is an A vs a B.

-  Are Daryl and Maggie going to kill Negan? I kind of hope they do. Maybe that would help quell some of the rioting Saviors.

The Walking Dead Season 9 Episode 2 "The Bridge"

Rick sits in Negan's cell. Rick is giving him an update. Today is day 35. Rick walks around a campsite in the woods. He walks past Anne and Tara and then Rosita and some of the women from Oceanside. There are signs for the different settlements on a tree including: HQ, Alexandria, Oceanside, Sanctuary, and Toledo. Jerry comes out of a tent with Nabila and they kiss. The campsite seems to have a mixture of people from all the settlements. It appears that the campsite is for the crew rebuilding the bridge. He looks over to the bridge that is being repaired."We're not just fighting to survive anymore. We're making a new beginning."

Ezekiel tells Henry he should be proud of the work he has done on the bridge. One day he will tell his grandchildren how he helped build it. "Roads are the life blood of civilization." Carol walks over as Henry walks away. She says he is forgetting something. He comes back and kisses her on the cheek. He looks taller to her.  She needs to head back to Sanctuary. Ezekiel says, "Fairy tales end with heroes living happily forever, but in the real world, in this world, it's about finding the small moments and getting to have as many of those moments as possible." He's still not giving up on the fairy tale. Eugene gives Rick an update on what is needed for the bridge. Rosita tells him that a herd (named Horatio) with over 100 zombies is headed their way.  They make a plan to deal with the herd. Eugene tells Rick that six Saviors have walked out of the bridge building crew. Rick will speak to Carol about it. Enid sews up Cyndie's hand as Siddiq supervises. She is his student and will be left in charge of the camp when he heads back to Alexandria. Food is running low since Alexandria is providing food for the camp and Sanctuary.

Maggie trains a horse in Hilltop. Michonne is here to talk to her. Michonne tells her that she went to Sanctuary and they told her that they sent the ethanol shipment to Hilltop. Maggie says it never arrived and she believes they are lying about sending it. Michonne wants them to send Sanctuary food until things get sorted. Maggie doesn't want to because they need the ethanol for the tractor to plow the fields. She can't use the museum plow because her locksmith is locked up. She hasn't decided for how long. Michonne tries to convince her to let Earl fix the plow since they all need the food. Maggie doesn't agree. No one gets extra food until she gets the ethanol. Michonne looks over at Jesus but he looks down and says nothing.

Daryl and Aaron work on the bridge. Aaron is telling Daryl about Gracie's diaper exploding all over him. Aaron loves it. He is happy being a dad. He tells Daryl he thinks he'd be a great dad. Henry offers water to the workers on the bridge. Justin pushes Henry when he tells him he can only have one serving of water. Henry knocks him down with his stick. Justin walks off and Daryl tells him to get back to work. Justin doesn't like being told what to do by an Alexandrian. Daryl tries to stop him and they fight.

Eugene tells Rick his plan on re-purposing expired canned goods and condiments to make new food. They come to the bridge and see the fight. He breaks up the fight and orders them to go back to work. Back at the camp Daryl is mad that Justin gets a free pass for his behavior. Rick says they need Justin. He is strong and they need the workers since too many Saviors have walked away. Daryl says that some of the Saviors will never be tamed. Carol agrees with him.  The Saviors haven't forgotten what happened. Rick says, "It's not about forgetting. It's about moving ahead, all of us, together. We keep doing that they'll see we're all on the same side." Daryl asks, "Are we, though? Are we on the same side, Rick?" Rick replies, "Well you tell me." Daryl responds, "Thing is, man, I've been trying, to. But you don't seem to want to hear it." He walks out of the tent. Rick says it's complicated. Carol says he should talk to Daryl. Maybe some of the Saviors aren't ready for this new society. She leaves Rick alone in the tent. He picks up the manual "A Key To A Future."

Michonne overhears Maggie asking for Jesus to help convince Maggie to let her see her husband Earl. She says she still has her rights. Jesus seems sympathetic. He reminds her that Earl tried to kill Maggie. Let Maggie have some time to figure things out. She says she won't leave until Maggie lets her see her husband. She grabs a stool and sits outside of the basement where they are keeping him. Michonne watches and asks Jesus if he is going to talk to Maggie about the situation. He says it's not his call. She asks if he agrees with it. He doesn't know why Maggie hanged Gregory but he is not against Tammy seeing her husband. Michonne says he should talk to Maggie because Maggie listens to him. He trusts Maggie and her decisions. "No one's right all the time, not her, not me, and not you." Michonne replies, "That's why we need to build something that's bigger than any one of us."

Anne sits with Gabriel in the food tent at the bridge camp. She is drawing someone for him. She says it makes her feel like she is one of them. He says she is one of them. She says Gabriel, Rick, and Morgan reached out to her. He says the others will come around. Nobody trusted him at first. She says Rick is not the only one that is good at reaching out to people. She caresses his hand. He says his job is being there. Jesus discusses plans for the school with Maggie. He notices a letter from Georgie on her desk. He asks if she is thinking of joining Georgie. Apparently, Georgie asks this of her all the time. Maggie shakes her head. She likes Georgie's ideas but not enough to join her. "I'm plenty busy building a future right here." She plays with Hershel. Jesus brings up Tammy. She asks him if he thinks she's made the wrong decision. He says, "I think some decisions are too big for one person to make. That's why we had laws." She realizes he's been talking to Michonne. He says Michonne is right. Maggie and Tammy go down to the basement to see Earl. Earl tells Tammy he is okay and they have been treating him fairly. He's brought shame to his family. Tammy forgives him. He doesn't need her forgiveness. He misses his son. Rosita and a Savior set of an explosion with dynamite. It draws the attention of a zombie herd.

Maggie visits Earl. She wants to know about his drinking. He started drinking after he quit smoking. He was drunk when his son was born. He joined AA after that. He drove drunk with his son in the car. He called his wife and she picked them up and took them home. His wife stayed with him. He never drank after that until his son died. Maggie thanks him. He asks why she hanged Gregory but not him. She asks if she made a mistake and he says no. She leaves.

Tara looks out from a tower. She spots the zombie herd. She calls to Rick over a walkie. She tells him where the herd is headed. She calls Jerry on the walkie and he sounds off an alarm. Alden keeps trying to talk to Rick but he is distracted by the herd situation. The zombies turn to follow the sound of Jerry. Alden reports that none of the Saviors that left the bridge crew ever made it home. He says some of them had families so they wouldn't abandon them. Alden says Sanctuary is worried and they don't like that they no longer have guns. Rick says he will protect the Saviors. Alden says, "They work for you and you protect them. Who's that sound like to you?"

Tara calls over the walkie to tell Rick the second siren hasn't gone off so the zombies are headed towards the bridge crew. The bridge crew works at lifting logs. The horses start to freak out and Daryl notices. A few zombies make their way towards them. Daryl kills them and then notices a huge group of zombies headed right at them. He shouts for the crew to leave. One of the Saviors lets go of a log and as it falls Aaron pushes another work out of the way but gets pinned under the log. Daryl orders one of the crew to grab the mules as he runs to help Aaron. Aaron tells them to go when he sees the zombie approaching. Daryl kills a couple of zombies and then goes back to help Aaron. With the help of a couple of others they free him. His arm is all messed up. As they leave a zombie grabs Daryl. It is shot by Beatrice. Rick and his crew have arrived to help. He orders Daryl to get Aaron back to camp. Rick and his group begin killing the zombies. Rick shoots at the pile of logs and breaks the rope. The logs roll down and kill several zombies. Daryl takes Aaron to the infirmary but Enid is the only one there. She looks at his arm and says she has to amputate. Aaron doesn't want her to.  He doesn't have anything for the pain. Daryl will hold him down. She grabs the saw and Aaron looks at her and tells her she can do it. Daryl walks out of the tent splattered in blood. He enters a tent and asks Carol who was responsible for turning the herd. Justin says the walkie wasn't charged. Daryl punches Justin and beats him. Carol stops him. The camp looks at them. Carol says they will deal with this. He says, "There's only one way to deal with these assholes."

Michonne tells Maggie she has done something amazing with Hilltop. Maggie says they can discuss common laws. "But I'm not giving up the right to do what I think's best for my people." Michonne replies, "Neither will we. But I do think what is best for everyone will wind up being what's best for Hilltop too." Maggie hopes so. She asked Jesus to load up the food they promised to give to Sanctuary. Earl will pay off the debt he owes by working under supervision and a council will help her decide when that needs to change. We see Earl fixing the museum plow. Michonne smiles. Michonne wants to know what changed. Maggie says that Hershel used to drink. He was a good man that was given a second chance. "But Gregory he had chance after chance, and he wasted them all. I don't regret what I did, Michonne. Some people can be redeemed. But others can't." Michonne asks who gets to decide. Maggie says that's one of the things they'll have to figure out.

Justin walks past Rick at the camp and tells him he needs to keep his dog on his leash. He says Daryl almost killed him over nothing. Rick says he knows Justin. Rick used to be a cop. He used to pick up jerks like Justin and have to listen to them blame everyone else for their problems.  He tells Justin to pack up and leave in the morning. Justin says he won't wait until morning. Rick goes into the infirmary and sees Aaron. He tells Enid she did a good job. He'll survive if he doesn't get an infection. Daryl says Aaron is holding on. Aaron say, "Damn right I am."  Rick sits by Aaron and apologizes for what happened. Aaron says Rick couldn't have know this would happen. Rick says he has been pushing everybody hard. He put the project first and Aaron paid the price. Aaron says it was worth it. "When the dead started to rise, I thought I was seeing the end of everything. But you changed all that, Rick. It's not the end of the world anymore. It's the start of a whole new one." He's glad to be a part of this new world. Gabriel and Anne sit in the dark. He says the sound they hear are frog mating calls. She asks him who is the woman he had her draw. She was the organist at his church. He cared for her very much but was afraid and then he lost her. She thought priests were celibate. He's Episcopalian not Catholic. She asks what is stopping him. Is he still afraid? He kisses her.

Rick walks out of the tent and looks at the workers sitting around relaxing. Some are playing games. Others sitting by a fire. Carol asks if Ezekiel has the ring. She isn't saying yes but wants to wear it. He starts to kneel down but she stops him. He wrote a speech. She says he can read it to her later. He puts the ring on her hand.

Rick voice over: "It was a hard day. Hardest we've had in awhile. A man lost his arm. . . People were at each other's throats. Thing is, though, bad as it was, when the day was done, they came together. Not all of 'em, but enough. They chose to be together. You see what I'm getting at? No matter what happens, it's human nature to come together. That's just what we do." Negan says, "That's a real pretty picture you paint there, Rick. When do I get to see it?" Rick replies, "Never. You're gonna die behind these bars. You know that." Negan asks, "Well, then, don't I get some kind of final request?" Rick says, "Don't you ever get tired of acting like you're still in charge?" Negan responds, "Do you? When it finally goes to shit, and it will, you make sure you come back and you tell me all about that day, too." Rick answers, "We're thriving without you, building a future, just like I said we would." Negan asks, "Building it for who? For Carl?" Rick says, "You don't speak his name." Negan says, "That bridge is not the future. It's a monument to the dead. You're not saving the world, Rick. You're just gettin' it ready for me."

Anne stands at the watchtower making art with copper. She looks up at the sky and you see a plane flying overhead. Or is it a helicopter? Justin walks down a road with his belongings. Someone is watching him. He hears a noise and pulls out a machete. He recognizes the person and says he thought they got themselves killed. He is attacked.




Final Thoughts
- I get the feeling that the theme for this season is redemption. Who can be redeemed. Who deserves to be redeemed. And who doesn't deserve redemption.
- Is Daryl dating someone that Aaron hinted at him being a good father some day?
- I like Michonne's plan to create laws. The question is will everyone agree on what laws to have and will people follow them?
- Did Anne see an airplane or a helicopter? Is it the helicopter she called last season? She seems to have kept that a secret. Or at least that is what I got from her conversation with Gabriel.
- Who did Justin meet? Saviors or someone else? Alden seems to think the missing Saviors must have been attacked since they had families. Or were only some of them attacked and some are getting ready to fight to get rid of Rick and his group?

The Walking Dead Season 9 Episode 1 "A New Beginning"

New walls for Alexandria. Large garden, new church, solar panels, etc. Michonne paints with Judith. One of the paintings is of her and Carl. The other one is of her family including a grumpy Rick, Aunt Maggie, and the King. Michonne, Rick, and Judith walk through a field looking at birds taking flight. Sanctuary has corn crops. Eugene and Rosita make corn fuel. Daryl is also there. They use a zombie as a scarecrow. Daryl shoots the zombie through the head. Eugene calls over the walkie to Alexandria. Tara answers. Eugene tells her the corn crop is ready. She is running into the city per Daryl's request. Jesus answers over the walkie that he will meet her at the rendezvous point as he kills zombies with Aaron.  Aaron calls over the walkie to someone at Kingdom. Daryl rides his bike. He runs into Jerry and Jerry tells him the rally point is clear. Several zombies walk outside an abandoned building in the city. Rick and Michonne kill them while riding horses. They are joined by father Gabriel, Maggie, Carol, and others on horses and wagons.

Someone kills to attract any zombies in the building. Michonne says they need to do the sweep protocol. The group enters the building. The building is a museum (Smithsonian I am assuming). They kill zombies as they walk. Maggie smiles and says, "This is gonna work." Michonne looks down and sees several zombies on a lower floor. A zombie falls from an upper level and gets impaled. Daryl shoots it in the head. They head down a darkened stairway to what looks like a storage room. A zombie grabs Siddiq's foot. He kills it and is more freaked out about the spiders coming out of the zombie than the zombie itself.

Gabriel kills a zombie and it ends up stuck on the display for human evolution. Gabriel says, "Intelligent design." Anne (formerly Jadis) responds, "The de-evolution of man. I like it." Daryl helps Cyndie with a canoe. She shares a story about fighting with her brother at a canoe ride in a fair. She asks if he's had the same thing happen and he says most of his memories with his brother was with the two of them fighting. "But I had friends that fought with me. They wanted to be here. They didn't make it." They lift the canoe. At the horticultural exhibit Rick and the others break open the doors. They open drawers and pull out packets of seeds. Rick says Anne was right. Gabriel wants to know how Anne knew they would find the seeds there. She says she brought her class to the museum back when she was teaching.  They take the seeds and go to meet up with the others.

Maggie tells Michonne and Carol that Gregory has called for an election at Hilltop. Maggie says it's weird that he is being nice even though he lost the election. "They rebirth of democracy by that guy." responds Michonne. Carol mentions that while Hilltop has a democracy she lives with a king. They all laugh. Michonne stops to read a sign about the forming of the US including the colonies and the Civil War (foreshadowing?). They find a plow. Maggie says the blacksmith can use it as a model to make more. They will send one to Sanctuary.

The group tries to pull a wagon down the main staircase using ropes. They have to do it slowly because it is heavy and the floor at the bottom of the stairs is made of glass. Underneath the glass are a bunch of zombies. Rick carefully walks on the floor in front of the wagon. The glass begins to creak and break under the wagon. The wagon makes it. Cyndie and Maggie now carry the plow across the floor. Maggie has tied herself with rope around the waist. They make it across. Rick goes back and helps Daryl carry the canoe. Ezekiel and Carol carry another plow across the floor. Ezekiel falls through the floor as the glass breaks. He is tied to a column by rope. The zombies grab at him as the others pull him up. Daryl shoots a zombie right before it takes a bite of Ezekiel's leg. They pull him to safety. Carol kisses Ezekiel. They load the canoe and a plow on the wagon. They all go back to their colonies.

A speed limit sign has been changed to read "Route B." Daryl rides down the road and kills a zombie. He circles back to collect the spear he used. Alden talks to a man named Ken. He wants to know if there is room in his dad's blacksmith class and will he take on another apprentice because Marco wants to learn. Ken thinks his dad will take another apprentice since Kingdom sent them a load of sheet metal and they could use the help. Ezekiel tells Carol he was scared back at the museum. It made him remember that you can't wait on life. He proposes to Carol and she tells him to put the ring away. She's asked him not to propose before. She adds, "And this is not happening on a horse." He laughs and says, "I love you. And I always will. I'll keep this till you're ready." Daryl and Rosita stop in front of Rick and the others. Rosita shows them that the bridge collapsed because two herds merged into one. Rick asks if Route A is clear. She says it is too close to the herd. Michonne suggests they all go to Alexandria and wait until the herd passes but Maggie wants to get back to her son Hershel. Carol suggest they take Route D. Gabriel take some of the group back to Alexandria. The rest will continue to Sanctuary and Hilltop. Rosita spray paints a sign to read "Bridge Out."

The horses can't pull the wagons through the mud on this route. Maggie suggests leaving the supplies and returning for it in a few days. Michonne says a herd can destroy it if they pass. Rick suggests splitting the group. They can swap out the horses so they can rest. They try to pull the wagon by using ropes.  It is not going well and zombies start to come towards them. They give one more push and the wagon moves. Rick tells everyone to get out of there. Daryl and Michonne are ordered to take care of the zombies. The canoe and plows are loaded on the wagon. A zombie comes out of the woods and spooks the horse. He reels and the plow falls and breaks. Rick tells them to leave the wagon. They start to run down the road but Ken runs back to cut the horse free. As he does so a zombie bites his arm. He gets kicked by the horse and falls back. Ken lies on the ground they've cut off his arm. Maggie tells him to stay awake. He says, "Tell my mom and dad I'm comin'."  He dies. Maggie cries. Enid cries. Maggie takes her knife and digs it into the back of his skull. Maggie sits with Ken's parents. Ken's mom is upset. Her son died for a broken plow. Maggie tells her that run was important for the future. Ken's dad tries to calm down his wife. She blames Sanctuary. Maggie wants to arrange a funeral but Ken's moms says she will do it and Maggie is not invited. "I voted for you Maggie Rhee but we're not friends." Maggie understands. Ken's mom says maybe Gregory was right to put Hilltop first. Her son is dead and Maggie's son has no father. Sanctuary eats the food they grow and that's not right.

Alden sings at Ken's funeral. Maggie looks down from the balcony holding baby Hershel. Daryl walks into Sanctuary with Rick. Someone shouts that Rick Grimes is there. A man asks him if Negan is suffering because he sure hopes he is. Eugene reports to Daryl that all is well. Laura tells him she inventoried the supplies and that he should tell everyone. Daryl refuses to give a speech like Negan. He tells her they lost someone. Michonne calls Daryl's attention. On the wall is written "Saviors save us. We are Negan." She asks if that happens often and he tells her it is happening more often since the crop has been dying. Daryl orders Justin to clean it up and he gives him attitude saying there is no more paint. Gregory speaks about all Ken did at Hilltop. Jesus tells Gregory that his words were beautiful. Gregory says he is just grateful for where he is. Rick shakes hands with the people at sanctuary.

The same man that hopes Negan is suffering tells Rick that the crops are suffering and they need a boost until the spring rain comes. Rick says they will have it. He brought them farming tools and seeds so they can get back on their feet. They all clap. Daryl looks on. Rick is getting credit for something Daryl also helped do. Daryl and Rick talk. Daryl doesn't want to lead Sanctuary anymore. Rick wants to know why. Daryl says, "Bein' here behind these walls again, it just don't feel right man. I'm better out there. A always have been." Rick tells him, "You kept this place together. Kept people in line here. Can't just let the Sanctuary fail after everything that's happened." Daryl responds, "Man, it's gonna fail anyway. Nothing grows here. It's a damn factory, man." He says they still need people to provide things just like when Negan was in charge. Rick says things are different. People now give willingly. Daryl wants to know how long that is going to last. The bridge has collapsed, most of the roads are gone, and they've scavenged the area for gas. They can't make enough corn fuel for the trucks. "Pretty soon it's going to be more than a day's ride from one spot to another." Rick replies, "It's on us to figure out how to make it work." Daryl says, "Man, there ain't no 'us' anymore. Everyone's everywhere. That small group we had back in the beginning we could do anything. That was right. That's what I know." Rick nods. Rick asks if he wants to go back to Alexandria but Daryl says no. He wants to go to Hilltop. Rick wants to know who will take his place. "We're not together because things have changed." Daryl answers, "The thing is, you changed them, Rick. But I get it." Daryl walks away. Gregory hands a bottle of liquor to Ken's parents. He remembers that Ken's dad is sober. Ken's dad tells his wife, Tammy, she can go ahead and drink. She does. He leads her to bed. She sobs. He wants to know what to do. She wants to sleep and she wants him to stay. Gregory offers to sit with him.

Daryl sits outside smoking. He offers the cigarette to Carol and she puts it out. He asks why she isn't in bed. She asks him the same question. She continues, "We don't sleep." Ezekiel sleeps just fine. He asks if Ezekiel snores fancy. She laughs. He thinks Ezekiel is corny but alright. She's glad Pookie (aka Daryl) approves. "After what I went through with Ed, corny is really, really nice. " He's happy for her. "If anybody deserves to be happy it's you. I don't like not seein' you though." She says, "I want to take over here for awhile, for you, and don't argue." He asks if she is going to bring Henry and Ezekiel with her. She hasn't told Ezekiel yet. She tells him that Ezekiel proposed. "And a part of me wanted to just say 'yes' right then." He asks why she didn't and she says she doesn't know. She says, "I want to help out, take my time, you know?" He asks if she want him to stay with her and she says no. She leans on him. Earl, Ken's dad, complains to Gregory that his son didn't have to be out there. Gregory pours him a drink. Gregory says the election was a joke. Maggie's buddy Jesus counted the votes. He says a lot of people have been telling him they are unhappy with the way things are going. "Maggie will do whatever her pal Rick says, even if it's not good for Hilltop." Earl says Maggie is the one who decides everything. Gregory replies, Well, it is the decisions she's made and the priorities she set that put your boy into the ground. . . I'm angry to see the lives at the Hilltop, your son's life being treated like the price of doing someone else's business." Earl says Maggie's the leader. Gregory responds, "She doesn't have to be."

Rick washes his face and gets into bed with Michonne. She jokingly says, "The famous Rick Grimes. It's sweet. Just don't let it get to your head." She doesn't envy Maggie at this moment. She asks, "Seeing his name on the wall, did we do the right thing? Sometimes I think maybe we just should have killed him." He thinks about it a lot. "But killing him wouldn't have changed anything we saw today. They don't want Negan. They want food." She says, "We don't know that, Rick, not for sure. . . Maybe we need an agreement between all the communities, like, 'This is what we believe, this is how we treat each other, and this is what happens when we don't.'" He thinks it's good and the timing is right. It could pull people closer together. He tells her Daryl isn't happy. She says Daryl is worried because he cares. He says they need to fix the bridge. She will get the people to agree with the charter. He asks, "How did I get so lucky finding you?" She replies, "We've both lost enough. It's time we won a little don't you think?"

Maggie runs into Gregory as she is walking Hershel. He's sorry for the tough night. She appreciates it she knows it's hard for him. He says she won the election fair and square. She says, "It's hard not knowing what your place is. I'm sure you have one if you want it." He tells her that someone defaced Glenn's grave. "I hope it wasn't that someone was angry." She goes to the graveyard and someone in a cloak attacks her. Hershel falls out of his stroller and cries. Enid comes to her help but is knocked out. Then Alden and some others come. The person in the cloak is Earl (Ken's dad). She enters Gregory's house and he asks her what happened.  She say, "What happened?  You tried to have me killed 'cause you're too chicken shit to do it yourself. ... You want to lead this place? You can't even murder someone right." He says he built Hilltop. "None of this would exist if it wasn't for me. You're just Rick's lackey." She replies, "Rick ended the war. That's more than you ever did." He says, "You can't go back to Alexandria because you-know-who is there." Does he even care about all the stuff he's done and all of the chances he has been given? "No. Because I'm still here." He tries to stab her. They fight. She takes the knife away from him.

The next morning Carol tells Ezekiel she is not running away. Her friends need her help and she wants to be there for them. She wants to come back to her home and to him. They kiss. Ezekiel says, "Though the waiting is such sweet sorrow." She tells Jerry to take care of Ezekiel. They ride off back to Kingdom. Daryl rides his bike to Hilltop. Rick and Michonne ride their horses alongside him. Maggie comes out to meet them. They see the bruises on her face. Rick holds Hershel. He says, "He's just perfect." Rick wants her to visit Alexandria. Judith talks about her all the time. She tells him she can't. She knows he's here for a reason. He needs her help fixing the bridge. Hilltop is doing better than the other communities. He's asking if she will be generous again. She won't stop her people from working on the bridge but she won't give anymore food or supplies without getting something back. She wants Sanctuary to provide most of the labor for the bridge in exchange for food. And she wants all of the corn fuel they've made. Rick tells her Sanctuary is barely holding on. They are obliged to help them. "Why? They surrendered. We didn't kill them. That's it. I can't solve all their problems when I clearly have things to take care of here. . . It has to stop. When we were fighting the Saviors you told me that soon, you'd be the one following me. But you didn't. 'Cause I wasn't someone to follow. That changes now."

That night at Hilltop, Maggie says that at Hilltop the punishment fits the crime.  She asks Gregory if he has any final words. He is sitting on a horse with a noose around his neck. He tells her she'd doing this at night because she is ashamed. She tells him she is not ashamed. He cries out for her to stop this. She signals to Daryl he walks towards the horse. Michonne turns around and sees two kids walking towards them She calls out for Maggie to stop. Daryl hits the horse and Gregory hangs. Maggie orders for the children to be put back to bed. She says, "I made this decision. But this is not the beginning of something. I don't want to go through it again." Gregory swings. Rick looks a bit upset and possibly scared.







Final thoughts
- Interesting that Daryl mentions friends that fought with him that are no longer there. It seems that Rick, who has been more of a brother to him that Merle ever was, is not as close of a friend anymore. He sounds lonely.
- What did Jadis/Anne teach? History? Science?
- While I know Michonne gets the idea for the charter from the sign at the museum giving some US history info my eye caught the section on the Civil War. Foreshadowing of things to come?
- I'm not as shocked as I expected to be when Maggie had Gregory hanged. Maggie is no longer the same person from a few seasons back. You can tell she is fed up. While I'm glad that Gregory is gone I feel that Maggie would prefer Negan to be dead. Maybe we will finally see the end of Negan in this season.