This week on The Walking Dead Gregory’s a dick, Daryl’s sorry, and Sasha and Rosita go on an adventure! That’s about the sum of it. We’re coming up in just a few weeks on the season finale, it seems like just yesterday that the entire internet was overanalyzing soundbites to uncover the mystery of who’s brain’s Negan beat in. Now we are nearing the end and I can’t help but debate with myself whether it will be the end of the war that’s been building or a season ending cliffhanger with Rick’s combined forces facing off against Negan and his Saviors…it’s starting to feel like the latter. There just isn’t time to properly setup a war. This episode cemented a few theories I had, one in particular that I’ll get to at the end so as not to spoil for you non-comic fans.
Most of the episode takes place on Hilltop where, and I must have forgotten about this, Maggie and Daryl are not supposed to be. Daryl I knew but I totally forgot Negan wanted Maggie for one of his “wives”, of course them being there wouldn’t matter had it not been for the surprise visit by the saviors. Immediately the two hide out in a storm cellar, earlier in the episode we could see how uncomfortable Daryl was around Maggie obviously still distraught over the fact that he thinks Glenn’s death is on his head, so the hideout in the storm cellar is a little uncomfortable. We’re lead to believe that the Saviors have shown up at Hilltop for the same reason they dropped in on Alexandria, a Daryl hunt. After some pathetic attempts at brownnosing and some A+ performance by Simon, played by Steven Ogg (Trevor for you GTA V fans), Negan’s right hand we find out that it’s neither Maggie or Daryl that they are after but rather the resident doctor (Carlson maybe? Honestly I can’t pull his name for the life of me), since they, umm, lost their’s last episode. It’s obvious that Gregory dropping to his knees in compliance on this is going to be the tipping point in the hilltops support of Gregory in command, Jesus even tells us as much…the show Jesus, not the Nazarene. 
This trip doesn’t leave Daryl and Maggie in the clear, they’re still up shit’s creek if they’re discovered and they almost are. A savior comes down into their hiding space looking for stuff to pilfer which leads to a few tense moments where Maggie has to keep Daryl from gutting the guy. Once they are in the clear we FINALLY get to see some emotion from Daryl as he tearfully says sorry to Maggie. She of course says it’s not his fault and hugs him. Say what you will about Norman Reedus the guy can play that angry loaner who’s uncomfortable with emotion but has a heart of gold pretty damn well. Thankfully the saviors load up with just the doctor in tow and head out of town.
On the other side of the story is the “enemy of my enemy” game being played by Sasha and Rosita who’s common love for Abraham has lead them into joining up for a suicide mission to take out Negan. Rosita arrives at the beginning of the episode and comes upon Sasha at Abraham and Glenn’s grave site, it’s awkward and angry and everything you’d expect the wife and mistress of a dead man to be when planning revenge against the one who killed their man. Their’s some obvious resistance from Jesus and Enid against Sasha’s leaving but in the end they let them go, with Jesus even supplying some ammo. Sonequa Martin-Green, Sasha, gets a chance to display some really wonderful understate emotion in a scene you may have caught in the previews where she gives Enid a half-completed friendship bracelet for Maggie’s unborn baby. There are little to no tears but the emotion just leaks through the screen. This is an actress we’ve really only seen play angry, I’m glad they finally gave her a chance to show just how talented she can be, honestly she gets quite a few spotlight scenes this episode.
Sasha and Rosita’s plan has to be kicked up a notch when the Saviors show up unexpectedly so they grab their gear and head out a secret escape hatch that Sasha built for just such a moment. The two uncomfortably make their way to Savior HQ. Honestly this is where the episode fell a notch or two. I really get tired of the whole “I’m an angry at the world type badass” schtick taken up by so many of the characters in the show, this time around Rosita, who takes every opportunity to say something along the lines of “Look, we’re not here to get to know each other” or “We ain’t friends” or something like that, it’s just tired and counterproductive, I’m not saying they have to hold hands and skip but shit, act like adults that are on a mission to kill a bad guy….however those people would act, maybe this is it, I don’t really know having never been on said mission before. Anywho, they arrive at a building with a good sniper’s nest just across from the factory the Savior’s call home. As you probably could have guessed the time spent staking out and waiting for a shot eventually turns into bonding time for the two. Not generally the type of scene I love but it was somewhat refreshing given the previous banter between them. Among other things we see Rosita accept Abraham’s leaving her and admit that she was only mad because he died before she could tell him that she was happy for him. Even more oddly Sasha admits that she was happy. I never got the sense that the two were ever functionally an item in any official capacity, more just flirty, angry, back and forth with some occasional time in the bone zone. While staking out they see Eugene, who seems just a bit too comfortable, but I will admit that I had a good laugh seeing him still carrying around the stuffed bunny he took in his last episode. Negan finally shows his face but the duo are unable to get a clear shot, forcing them to change their plan from long range assassination to going in and taking care of Negan up close and personal. Upon getting to the gate their faced with Eugene, who emphatically tells them to go home, that he doesn’t want them there and runs inside. I honestly can’t tell if he’s running an angle or just sees more safety with Negan. Sasha begins cutting through the gate while Rosita watches her back, when Rosita turns around she finds Sasha on the other side of the fence, having zip tied the cuts she made. She looks at Rosita and says “It’s not your time” with a smile before she jogs off into the building. Rosita freaks out, understandably, before running off into the woods directly toward a silhouetted man carrying a crossbow.The previews for next week show a world in turmoil with shots of the Junkyard Gang, what looks like Oceanside finally coming into play, and all types of chaos leading up to what is going to be a classic season finale! Until next week deadites! (Read ahead for the comic book spoilers!)
***COMIC BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD***
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Here’s where two of the main twists from the comics are going to come into play. First, the silhouetted figure is obviously Dwight. We are about to see the first real step towards his double agent status that will factor in so heavily in the war against the Saviors. Second was one of the best moments from the comic arc and lines right up with Sasha in all but name, now her fate is sealed. The comics have a character named Holly, who was formerly in a relationship with Abraham, that sacrifice’s herself during an initial battle by driving through the Saviors fencing allowing walkers in to their sanctuary. She isn’t killed but is taken hostage by Negan, she’s later traded back to the Alexandrians but the Holly they get back isn’t the Holly that was captured. I’ve thought Sasha would play the Holly role for some time but this cements it.
