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?
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