What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

The Walking Dead

Maggie is back home sweet home. It’s night, and she, Carol, Daryl, Rosita, and Kelly go out with a group. They open up a trap door into Fort Connors, and we see bodies everywhere. One lifts its head a little, but they seem to be in a suspended state, like they’re sleeping. Daryl and Jerry stay up top, as the others drop down quietly. They step through the bodies, which still aren’t moving. They go through the room to a padlocked door. One of them opens it, and the lock makes a noise popping open, but it’s okay, and they go into the building. They slip though the hallways, and into another room where they find supplies, and fill their bags. They send the bags back up to ground level, Jerry and Daryl bringing them up on pullies. One of the ropes snaps, but Daryl grabs the bag before it falls. He cuts himself, and a drop of blood falls on a zombie’s head, waking it up. It becomes animated, and alerts the rest, who start to rise. Daryl tells them, hurry, they’re awake, and Carol and Maggie shoot some with bows and arrows; Rosita whacks and slices a few; and Kelly uses her slingshot. They’re severely outnumbered, but still hold their own. Jerry and Daryl shoot arrows from above, and Maggie finally just takes out a gun and starts shooting. Luckily, these zombies are not too fast. Carol breaks out a machine gun and mows some down. It starts getting more chaotic, and the group starts to go back up on ropes, helped by Jerry and Daryl, while Carol and Maggie keep the zombies at bay. Carol shoves some more supplies in her bag, and grabs the rope. The zombies get close, but she gets up top. The zombies that are left huddle at the bottom.

They go back to Alexandria where Aaron meets them. Daryl calls Dog, and hugs Judith and RJ. Negan takes some of the supplies inside, and Maggie eyeballs him. Little Herschel runs to Maggie, and she picks him up. She tells Cole that it’s good to see him, and he says he figured if she was still alive, she’d be there. He’s brought her people Duncan, Agatha, and Frost with him. There’s a fight over some supplies, and Gabriel breaks it up, telling them to calm down; there’s enough food for everyone for one week. Daryl says, just one? and Aaron says, they’ll make it work. Carol wonders how, when they have no crops. Aaron says they’re still scavenging houses, but Gabriel says, it’s hard to build a wall on an empty stomach. Game is scarce too, and Daryl says, they’ll find new territory, but Gabriel says they need food now. Maggie says she knows one more place; where they lived before this – Meridien. It’s got plenty of food, water, and crops. Cole says, now it’s gone, and Rosita asks, what happened out there? Maggie says they were on a mission, leading walkers away. Doug, Agatha, and Frost took a shipment, and on the way back, things went sideways. They got stuck on a boat, but she doesn’t think it was an accident. They heard screams and raced home, but it was too late. The poor people were slaughtered. They ran for their lives. They knew two things about the people who attacked them. They come at night, and by the time you see them, you’re already dead. This was before they caught one. Daryl was with her. It came after them alone. Why? There were not that many at Meridian now, and there’s plenty of food to feed Alexandria until its back up and running. That’s why they took it, and now they need to take it back. Aaron says she’s leaving to fight ghosts? and she asks if he has a better plan. Aaron says, the walls aren’t stable in Alexandria. Walkers could get inside. It’s a matter of if, not when; they’re needed there. Maggie says her son is in Alexandria, so she has skin in the game. She has the best fighters from Meridien, and hopefully some of theirs too. Daryl says, if there’s no food, noting else will matter. He’ll go. Everyone volunteers except Rosita and Aaron, who think it’s a suicide mission. Maggie and the others head out.

They walk in the midst of a thunderstorm, and some want to stop until it passes, but Maggie says they have no time. They see a Metro sign, and go down the stairs. Oh no. Dog is with them. I hate when Dog gets put in danger. Don’t touch Dog! Negan thinks they should wait for the storm to pass, and Maggie says, he doesn’t want to go? He says, no, and she says she doesn’t give a sh*t. Which way? He tells them what tracks to follow, and asks to talk to Daryl, but that’s a hard no. The others bump into Negan on purpose as they pass, like a bunch of babies. No wonder they’re not getting anywhere. Negan seems to do all the heavy lifting too.

They walk, and see graffiti that says, if there is a god, he will have to beg for my forgiveness. They hear a loud noise, and Cole says, it’s nothing serious, just the storm pushing the pipes. Negan says, it sounds serious. He thinks it’s God telling them to turn around, but Gabriel says, he’s sure God would run it him first. Negan asks if he’s willing to lose his remaining eyeball to this flood. He points out a watermark on the wall, and says the tunnel floods on a regular basis when rains. Daryl says, it’s worse up there, and Negan tells him, all he’s saying… but Daryl says, it ain’t working. Keep moving.

People wearing hoods are brought into the Commonwealth via wagons. Eugene sits in an interrogation room, and a woman asks if his name is Eugene Porter. He says, yes, that was his given moniker, and she says, no need to nervous… not if he’s honest. Eugene says, that’s how he rolls, and the woman explains that they’re auditors for the Commonwealth. If they pass inspection, they can go to Level 2. Eugene asks, if they don’t? and she says they go to reprocessing. He asks what that is, but she wants to start the assessment. As the questions are asked, we see the different characters answer them. Are their parents living; what did they do; what was their alma mater (we find out Yumiko went to Harvard Law); their zip code (Eugene has had several, and remembers them all); the results of their last routine physical; vaccinations; have they had cancer? Eugene says, none, and she asks about his goiter. He tells her that it’s a benign growth he’s had since birth. The woman asks Princess where she got the cash she had, and Princess explains that when she cashed her first paycheck, she’d asked for a two dollar bill, so she could have a reminder of the first money she made. The woman asks if they’ve been arrested, and do they have a history of drug use? Eugene says, he was in the anti-drug and alcohol commission when he was in high school, which is no surprise, and tells her that he wanted to meet Stephanie. The woman asks if they’re fundamentally honest, and repeatedly asks where their settlement is. Are there other groups they’ve come across? Some the questions are random and odd, like how they wipe themselves (Ezekiel passes, I don’t think pun intended), and how lucky are they? The woman continually repeats the question about their settlement, and Ezekiel starts to laugh. She asks if he thinks it’s funny, and he says he does. A stormtrooper in red-orange armor (Mercer) stands near them, and Ezekiel asks if he’s in charge; he’s standing there not talking like a man in charge. Mercer says, yeah, he’s in charge, and Ezekiel asks if Mercer thinks he fears him. Mercer says Ezekiel looks scared to him, and Ezekiel asks what Mercer did before the fall. His guess is dude was an a-hole beat cop. That’s why this fascist crap comes so easy. It’s another power trip, like before. They’ve been asked the same questions for over seven hours. He’s been cooperative, and his people have been cooperative. Ezekiel has a coughing fit, and Mercer asks if he’s thirsty, sliding over some water to him. Ezekiel drinks it down.

Back together, sitting at a table in a holding area, Eugene says, Ezekiel told off their leader? Ezekiel says, perhaps he could have handled it better, but he didn’t like way they talked to him. Yumiko says, do they know… but Ezekiel says, no; don’t worry about it. Mercer watches, and Princess says, they’ve got to pull the ripcord. It’s time to get out. Eugene wants them to wait, saying, the gruel isn’t the worst thing he’s ever eaten. Stephanie told him they were cautious. It’s a test. He thinks they should hunker down and level up; get honest. Ezekiel asks if Eugene wants these people to go to Hilltop with machine guns, but Eugene says, they need help. He thinks they can get it from these people. Princess sees a couple in another area, and asks how long they’ve been there. The man says, four months, but the woman says, nine, and he says the reprocessing confused him. One of the stormtroopers takes a guy out who does not want to go, and Mercer says, reprocessing. Eugene says, okay. Gotta go.

Maggie’s group follows the tracks, and stops, seeing bodies in plastic bags covering the space in front of them. Negan looks pretty worried, and Daryl moves to poke one of them. It startles both of us when it moves. He kills it, then checks out the body, saying, his throat was slashed so deep, it almost severed his head. Maggie says, they were killed during the fall, and Negan asks if she’s sure. Whoever is walking them through this masquerade, could still be there. She tells them to take each one out, and clear the path. They keep walking.

They stab each body in the head, but one gets up and out of his bag. He’s a big one too, and looks like one of the radioactive zombies in Planet Terror, all kinds of oozing bumps all over him. He sneaks behind Gage, and they tussle. Negan manages to push him away from Gage, and keeps him at bay for a minute, then shoves him against the wall, splitting his head open with an ax. Maggie tells everyone to pay attention so they don’t lose anymore. Negan asks if that’s her big plan; to pay attention. Does she want them to pay attention to anything in particular? A kid almost died. Daryl says Negan doesn’t give a sh*t about the kid, but Negan says, Maggie doesn’t give a sh*t about the kid. She’s playing dictator and not listening to anyone Whoever or whatever killed these people could still be there. Has that thought crossed anyone’s mind? …Exactly. This is a death march, with Maggie as the Pied Piper. If they want to roll with that sh*t, knock themselves out, but not him, not today. He’s out. Gage says he is too. Negan might be a d*ck, but he makes sense. Roy says, let them go, but Maggie says, Negan knows the city. Negan asks if that’s why he’s there; he’s their DC tour guide. Can no one read a goddam map? Maggie brought him there to die. She’ll find a reason, even if she has to do it herself, away from the prying eyes of Alexandria. He’d thought Daryl was in on it, but can tell by the glazed look in Daryl’s eyes, he had no clue. Gabriel says he’s paranoid, but Negan says, he’s still right. Him dying on her terms is not happening. He’s not letting her drag him through the mud, filth, and slime, and putting him down like a dog, like Glenn. Daryl punches Negan, knocking him down, and Maggie says their kids are starving, and she’s calling the shots because that’s how everyone voted. As for killing him – she cocks her gun, and aims it at him – it’s always on her mind. He’s not wrong about it. The woman who left six years ago, isn’t the one who’s there now. There’s a little bit of the old one keeping him breathing, but she doesn’t know how long it will last, so keep pushing her.

Princess points out two troopers who are flirting, and Ezekiel asks how she can tell them apart. And why does she think they’re flirting? She says she heard some stuff on the wagon, and gives them gossip about several troopers. Ezekiel says, they’re not even looking at each other, but Princess says, it’s obvious in the way they’re not looking at each other. When they go on break, one takes off first, then the other follows. She bets they spend most of their time taking the armor off. Oh…   

Princess and Ezekiel are walked down a hall by two stormtroopers. They walk past an interrogation room, seeing the couple they’d spoken to before, and a third soldier comes out. She asks where Princess and Ezekiel are being taken, and one of the troopers says, reprocessing. She tells them to move along, and the troopers – who are really Eugene and Yumiko – walk Princess and Ezekiel to a room that has laundry bins full of money and papers, marked, for incineration, and a wall of photos and notes, that says, flag for expedited assessment and admittance. They look at the photos, and Eugene opens a door, peeking outside. He tells them that they’ve got to go now, but Princess asks Yumiko, isn’t that you? pointing at a photo. Yumiko looks at a picture of her and underneath it, a note from her brother. She says she has to stay.

In the tunnel, the group is still busy stabbing heads, when one of the flashlights goes out. Cole calls for Gage and Roy, saying, they have the rations, but they’re gone. Another dude says, Negan scared them off, because they just automatically blame Negan for everything. Daryl shines his flashlight down the tunnel, and we hear zombie noises. Yep. Here they come. Maggie uses her bow and arrow, and it’s the usual slicing and dicing. Negan, Gabriel, and Cole try to open a subway car, and I think maybe they wouldn’t be so obvious if Daryl would stop shining the flashlight at the zombies. Everyone scrambles to get on top of the car, and Dog takes off. Dammit! Daryl goes after him, which is as it should be, and Dog crawls into a hidey hole. Daryl goes in after him. Negan is next to last, climbing on top of the car, and Maggie starts to climb up behind him. The zombies are there, and it’s not good. One grabs Maggie’s leg, and on top of the car, Negan looks back. He sees what’s going on, and looks at her for a moment. She says his name, but he disappears, and she slips.  

Next time, Negan says Maggie was right behind him, and Yumiko tells Eugene to stick to the story.

🙀 And So The End Starts…

Not a bad start to the final season. See you on Deck tomorrow, but until then, stay safe, stay equitable, and stay not bringing your dog on dangerous missions.