Six years has passed since Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) disappeared on The Walking Dead. Life goes on, but Michonne (Dana Gurira) still talks to Rick. She tells him still feels him. There are flashes of light in the darkness. She hasn’t given up and she never will. Michonne still scavenges and finds a toy sheriff that resembles Rick.
Daryl (Norman Reedus) fishes in a river. He catches a pretty big fish but has to let it go when a walker emerges out of the water. He leaves the river and comes across a walker with it’s arm caught in a tree. A bird picks a worm off of the walker and takes it to it’s next.Daryl leaves the walker and the nest alone.
The Queen
Carol (Melissa McBride) wakes up in the Kingdom. They’ve rebuilt the community and it is flourishing slowly. Jerry (Cooper Andrews) promises his queen that it will all grow back. Carol doesn’t really like the title, but it’s kind of fitting. She is married to the King Ezekiel (Khary Peyton). And Henry (Matt Linz) is their Prince.
The buildings are old and deteriorating. The pipes are bursting and Henry tries to fix them. He’s frustrated because he doesn’t have the right training to keep them stable. When he expressed that frustration, Ezekiel has to correct his tone. Carol agrees with Henry. It’s time to let him go to the Hilltop so he can become a blacksmith. Ezekiel is concerned though. The Hilltop just isn’t the same. Carol reminds him that he has to let the cracks happen to let in the light. Ezekiel agrees and Carol decides to take Henry to the Hilltop herself.
Ezekiel is planning a fair to bring the communities together. Henry promises to be back before the fair starts. Ezekiel tells him to be respectful, responsible, kind and safe. He is concerned for the safety and asks to let him or Jerry go with them. Carol promises they will be fine. Ezekiel says Henry is a dreamer. He must have gotten that from his dad. Carol says the world could use a few more dreamers. And Ezekiel agrees that they need more people to keep the dreamers’ feet on the ground.
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Newcomers
Rosita (Christian Serratos), Laura (Lindsley Register), Aaron (Ross Marquand) and Eugene (Josh McDermitt) search for Judith (Cailey Fleming). She comes running up with the new people she saved last week. Magna (Nadia Hilker), Connie (Lauren Ridloff), Kelly (Angel Theory), Yamiko (Eleanor Matsuura), and Luke (Dan Fogler). Judith says they need their help and insists on taking them back to Hilltop. Rosita and Aaron tell her no, it’s against the rules. Judith says she’s not going if they can’t go too, so Aaron agrees to take them home.
They blindfold the newcomers and take them to Alexandria. Magna is hesitant at first, but Judith assures her that she is safe. They are in awe of Alexandria. Connie is deaf. Kelly translates for her what everyone is saying. At first the entire community gathers around them. Rosita tells Siddiq (Avi Nash) about the injured woman, Yamiko and Siddiq takes her to his infirmary.
Michonne returns and isn’t too happy about the newcomers. She tells Aaron that it wasn’t his call to make to bring them in. Judith tells her that she found them and made that call. Michonne reminds her of the rules. Aaron says they should all decide on their fate. Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) suggests that they hold a council to decide if they can stay or not. Michonne says to put them in holding. After everyone clears out, Judith finds the toy sheriff.
The Council
Magna, Connie, Luke and Kelly stand before the Alexandria council. They want to know who they are, where they came from, what they did before and what they do now. Magna and Yamiko knew each other before the world ended. So did Connie and Kelly. The four ladies met Luke and someone named Bernie. They just lost Bernie. Magna says she waited tables before, Connie was a reporter, Kelly was in high school, and Luke was a music teacher. Now they are fighters, and guardians. Luke says he’s still a teacher.
Michonne is suspicious of Magna in particular. Magna is wearing a piece of cloth on her hand. Michonne asks her to remove it to reveal a prison tattoo. Magna says she can explain and has nothing to hide. Michonne tells her to put the knife on the table. Magna is wearing a belt buckle that is actually a hidden knife. Michonne says she remembers, and knows they do too. She walks out telling them to vote.
Reaching Out
The newcomers reminded Gabriel that there are still people out there. He thinks Magna and her group are good people. Rosita says they have time to change her mind with one of them in the infirmary. Gabriel wants to try to reach more people. He and Eugene think they could set up a remote amplifier, they could boost a signal to reach others. Rosita says she and Eugene will go out to put up the amplifier. Gabriel needs to stay and help the new people. Rosita kisses Gabriel passionately and leaves.
Eugene and Rosita leave on their mission. Eugene takes the opportunity to express his jealousy about Rosita with Gabriel. He says there are other options out there for her. They come across a set of tracks made by a herd of walkers. The herd went east and luckily, they have to go west.
Eugene puts up the amplifier on top of a water tower. When he finishes, he looks out and sees a herd headed their way. Rosita runs to get the horses, but someone let them go. Eugene tries to get down quickly. He gets to a point where he thinks he can safely jump down. When he does, he lands funny and hurts his knee. Rosita finds a stick for him to use as a crutch. They have to run from the approaching herd.
The Lesson
Michonne is talking to herself, or Rick. Judith hears her and sneaks up to her room to listen. She turns around and steps on a loose board that makes a noise. Michonne stops talking and tells Judith it’s time for her lesson. Judith says okay and leaves.
Magna checks on Yamiko in the infirmary. Siddiq says she should be okay in a day, but Magna asks if she should be up and about. Luke asks Siddiq about where he came from. Siddiq admits to being an outsider like them, but says things were different back then.
Judith goes to Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) for help with her math homework. Negan tells her that math doesn’t matter because it’s not applicable to their world. She tells him that her mom is going to send the newcomers away. She wants to help them because she found them. Negan tells her a story about how he used to bring home stray dogs. One day, he brought home a dog that killed the other strays and hurt his mom. He says that dog seemed just as friendly as the others. He never brought home another stray again. Judith decides she only wants his help with Math. It doesn’t matter if you’re good or bad on the inside because the numbers don’t care.
Familiar Faces
Henry realizes they aren’t going to Hilltop. Carol assures him that they will get there. They hear a woman screaming. Henry jumps off the wagon and runs towards the screams before Carol can object. He finds a woman being dragged by a group of men. He demands they let her go. Savior Regina (Traci Dinwiddie) smiles at her hero and holds a gun on Henry. Carol comes around with her bow and arrow and demands the woman drop her gun. A door opens behind Carol, Jed (Rhys Coiro) walks out with a group of Saviors to greet Carol. They take all of their supplies and Carol’s Ring. Henry tries to fight back, but Carol gives up the ring so they will leave.
Carol and Henry set up camp for the night. Henry is upset that Carol let the Saviors take their supplies. He says she taught him to fight for what’s right. What happened? She says Henry happened. She says one day he will understand and they go to bed.
After Henry goes to sleep, Carol finds the sleeping Saviors and douses them with gasoline. She wakes up Jed and lets him know that he won’t hurt anyone else. He promises they didn’t hurt anyone and says she will never see them again. Carol says she knows and lights the gasoline. She walks away as the Saviors burn.
Fight or Flight
Magna, Kelly, Connie and Luke discuss their situation. Magna wants to fight to stay. Connie and Luke agree that Michonne and Alexandria are cautious for a reason. They need to save the fight for a community that deserves it. There are to many children there for them to hurt anyone. Luke asks Magna for Yamiko’s necklace. The necklace turns into a knife. Magna reluctantly hands it over.
Later, Magna goes to back door of Michonne’s house. She sees Michonne in the kitchen and then a little boy runs in. RJ. Rick and Michonne’s son. Magna decides to knock on Michonne’s door instead and hands over the knife. She says Michonne is right about her. If she had everything that Michonne had, she wouldn’t trust Magna either. Michonne says they’ve all done things to get here and it’s not always easy to live with. Magna says it’s better than losing everything.
After Magna leaves, Michonne finds Judith on the stairs listening. Judith doesn’t understand. She knows she did the right thing by helping the strangers. Michonne says her dad and Carl would have been proud. So why is Michonne sending them away? Michonne says one day she will understand.
Judith says she hears Michonne talking to Rick and Carl. She is starting to forget what their voices sound like. She hopes Michonne can still hear them. Judith sits the toy sheriff on the stairs and goes to bed. RJ runs in, saying he’s hungry and jumps in Michonne’s arms.
The Next Morning
Henry apologizes for talking back to Carol. He notices that she got her ring back. He asks where they going. Carol tells him to trust her. Daryl steps out and Carol asks if he needs a ride.
The newcomers get ready to leave Alexandria. Luke thanks everyone for trying to help them, especially Judith. Michonne tells them that they might be able to stay at the Hilltop. She will escort them there and talk to the leader on their behalf. She asks Siddiq to accompany here to keep an eye on Yamiko.
The walker herd follows Eugene and Rosita throughout the night. Eugene stops and says he will distract the herd so Rosita can get away. But first he has something he wanted to tell her for a long time. Rosita tells him to shut up and keep going. They run into the woods and finally find a ditch to hide in. They cover themselves with mud and wait for the herd to pass them.
When the walker herd catches up, Rosita and Eugene can hear them talking to each other. One asks “where are they?” Another says they have to be close. The first one answers, “don’t let them get away.”
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The new world without Rick Grimes looks a little harsh. From what I gather, things between the communities are not good. Alexandria is in good shape, but not as welcoming as I remember. There are so many kids now. So I understand the security concerns about Alexandria. The Kingdom could be doing better, but are hopeful that things will get better. And Hilltop. We didn’t get to see Hilltop, but it doesn’t sound like they are doing well. Otherwise, Ezekiel wouldn’t have been so concerned about sending Henry there.
Judith is cute! I love her sassy attitude about the world. She’s a dreamer…like Carl…like Rick. She believes that people are essentially good. But we all know that’s not always the case. Judith may be able to bring out the good in people though. Let’s hope no one hurts her the way Carl was hurt. But eventually she will need to see the ugliness of this world.
RJ!! OMG!! I knew we were getting a Richonne Baby, but the reality is so amazing to watch. I hope we get to see more of him.
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
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