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.