THE WALKING DEAD Season 10 Finale Recap: (S10E16) A Certain Doom

Noetta Harjo

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Daryl among the Walkers in The Walking Dead season 10 finale

The Walking Dead are literally descending upon Team Family in the Season 10 finale. The Whisperer War comes to an end in “A Certain Doom.” 

RELATED: Our recap of the Previous Episode of The Walking Dead, “The Tower” 

THE TOWER

With the Whisperers heading toward the tower, Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) and the others prepare to defend themselves. Gabriel reassures RJ (Antony Azor) and Gracie (Anabelle Holloway) that they are going to be OK. He uses his hand to demonstrate how strong they are. Each finger represents a community: Alexandria, Hilltop, The Kingdom and Oceanside. The fifth finger represents the others who aren’t with them. The others who might find help for them. And others who will come to help them. Together they will fight. This is how they survive.

While Gabriel speaks, we see Daryl (Norman Reedus), Judith (Cailey Fleming), Carol (Melissa McBride) and Kelly (Angel Theory) make it into the tower safely. A walker follows Daryl into the tower, but Carol is there to kill it. 

Eugene (Josh McDermitt), Ezekiel (Khary Peyton), Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura) and Princess (Paola Lazaro) are riding bikes. 

Virgil (Kevin Carroll) walks up to the gates of Oceanside and is shocked to find no one is there. 

Aaron (Ross Marquand) and Alden (Callan McAuliffe) fight off the small group of Whisperers. They run into someone in a brown coat, with a mask on, and wielding two blade weapons. 

Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan) reads a letter from Carol about the Whisperers and everyone they’ve lost. 

Beta (Ryan Hurst) tells the Whisperers to begin. They whisper-chant the Whisperer mantra as they make their way to the tower. 

Eugene has an accident and realizes that he won’t make his date with Stephanie. He says they should go back. Yumiko, Princess and Ezekiel agree that they need to keep going. Ezekiel says they have to keep going for everyone they left behind. He wants to remember that they gave everything they had. They will make it, even if he has to carry Eugene. Eugene is overwhelmed but doesn’t think Stephanie will wait for him.

THE PLAN

Cassady McClincy as Lydia — The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 16 — Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Daryl and Carol set up explosives in the main stairwell of the tower. He tells her that Michonne (Danai Gurira) left. He’s starting to believe he won’t see her again. They return to the group, where Gabriel is talking about their plan to lead the horde away from the tower so they can escape. Luke’s (Dan Fogler) device is broken up into four parts. They will need to get the parts to the wagon that will lead the horde, Pied Piper style. That means someone will have to walk through the horde to get to the wagon. 

Gabriel says they need four groups of two. One carries a part and the other watches their back. Lydia (Cassady McClincy) volunteers, but Oceanside is uneasy about her. Beatrice (Briana Venskus) says they are willing to volunteer, but not with Lydia on board. Rachel (Avianna Mynhier) explains that Lydia may have gained trust in Alexandria, but Oceanside isn’t ready. Gabriel is fine with that because he needs Lydia in the tower. Daryl tells everyone that not everyone will make it through, but it’s the only way. Kelly volunteers only if Daryl goes. 

 Dianne (Kerry Cahill) voices her concerns about Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to Carol. She says Negan helped the Whisperers attack Hilltop. Carol knows and apologizes. And that’s all that will be said about that. Dianne walks away and Carol gets ready to go. Lydia tries to talk to Carol, asking her to not avoid her. She doesn’t hate Carol for killing Alpha, in fact something good came out of it for her. Alpha was never really her mother and Lydia thanks Carol. She still wants to talk, but she’s not looking for a new mom. Carol tells her to find her own way. Lydia says they can be something else. 

A CERTAIN DOOM

The volunteer groups are Luke and Jules (Alex Sgambati), Magna (Nadia Hilker) and Jerry (Cooper Andrews), Beatrice and Carol, and Daryl and Kelly. Negan was supposed to go, but he decided not to. He says the Whisperers don’t want him there. Daryl says if he wants to be a part of this, he has to put his life on the line. 

The four groups, covered in walker guts, make their way out of the tower and slowly through the horde. Daryl spots someone with a knife. The Whisperer gets close to Daryl and Kelly, but is hit by an arrow. Gabriel and Lydia are looking for Whisperers in the crowd as Diane, Scott (Kendrick Green) and other archers prepare to fire. Lydia spots a Whisperer near Magna and Jerry. Diane shoots him and walkers jump on him when he screams. 

Beta looks around for the location of the archers and spots them quickly. He tells his people to tighten the herd. They all whisper, “Together.” The move makes it hard for Gabriel and Lydia to spot the Whisperers. Beta knows the volunteers are in the horde. Rachel thinks she sees a Whisperer and prepares to shoot. They hear an explosion, and someone screams. Judith checks the stairwell. She sees an injured Whisperer and another coming up behind him. They’re here.

THE ESCAPE
Beta leads his horde on The Walking Dead
Ryan Hurst as Beta — The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 16 — Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Gabriel instructs people to block the doors to that stairwell. He tells Diane to take the first group of evacuees, then Scott will take the second with children and wounded, including Rosita (Christian Serratos). And if she argues, find him. 

Negan tells Lydia to slip out and leave. These people don’t trust her, and her presence won’t stop Beta’s attack. Lydia knows Negan could slip away too. He says he’s no hero, but he could be. Negan gives Lydia a whisperer mask, Alpha’s (Samantha Morton) mask, and leaves. 

Everyone but Carol and Beatrice makes it out of the horde. Beatrice encounters a Whisperer and goes down with her into a group of walkers. Carol has to keep going, and once she is clear, she turns around. She sees Lydia, in Alpha’s mask emerge with the device part. Carol leads her away from the horde and they meet up with the others in the woods. 

Gabriel and the archers wait for the Whisperers while the others escape. Daryl radios in to let them know they are hooking up the device. The Whisperers start banging on the door and Dog starts barking. Judith takes Dog away while everyone waits and watches.

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE

A Whisperer walks by Beta and asks if the end is almost here. He looks around and hears music. The Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House” is playing loudly. The horde turns toward the music. The Whisperers turn with them and start walking. Marco (Gustavo Gomez) drives the wagon. The wagon has large speakers all around it as the music blares. The volunteers surround the wagon to defend it from the Whisperers. They start to smile because their plan is working. 

Back at the tower, the Whisperers chop a hole in the door large enough to throw a grenade in. Gabriel pushes Rachel around the corner and falls on top of her to shield her from the blast. The other archers die in the explosion. 

When it gets dark, the Whisperers quickly make their way to the front of the line. Lydia warns the group and they start shooting arrows at the horde. The Whisperers use real walkers to shield themselves from the arrows. Daryl tells the wagon to speed up, and Whispers start running in from the sides. A Whisperer throws a chain at the wagon, causing a wheel to to fall off. Daryl tells everyone to run, abandoning the wagon.

Daryl radios Gabriel to let him know they’ve lost the wagon, but there’s no answer. The Whisperers turn the horde around and go back to the tower. Daryl says they have to go into the horde and take out the Whisperers. Then someone has to lead the horde to the cliff, as they originally planned. Lydia volunteers, saying her mother taught her how to lead the horde. But Daryl doesn’t want to talk about it. They have to go now to save their people at the tower.

TRIUMPHANT RETURN
Father Gabriel prepares to face the Whisperers on The Walking Dead, A Certain Doom
Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel Stokes- The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 16 — Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Gabriel tells Judith, Rachel and Scot to get out of the building. He’s going to stay behind to keep the Whisperers from cutting the rope that everyone escaped on. Judith asks if Rosita knows. Gabriel tells her to give Rosita a message: Half Orange. She’ll know what it means.

Gabriel loads his gun. The door breaks open as Scott starts climbing down. Three Whisperers run in. Gabriel shoots one of them, and fights off the other two, but they are too strong. They pin him down and are getting ready to kill him. 

The masked individual from the woods runs in and kills two of the Whisperers. The third Whisperer comes up behind the masked individual, but someone behind him shoots him with an arrow. It’s Maggie! She says the priest is with her. Maggie helps Gabriel up and they hug. Aaron follows her in and watches, giving the masked individual a weird look.

HALF MOON

Daryl and Magna infiltrate the group and start killing the Whisperers, one by one. Beta hears his people screaming for their lives. A whisperer walks past and says, “Alpha.” Beta looks up and sees her. Lydia is walking to the front of the horde. Beta pulls his knife and starts to head for Lydia until he hears someone whisper, “Hey s**thead.” 

It’s Negan. Beta runs towards him, throwing a walker into Negan to make him fall down. Negan kills the walker and Beta jumps on him. He pulls back to stab Negan. Daryl runs up and slices Beta’s arm. Beta swirls around to face Daryl, and Daryl has two blades in his hands. He raises his blades and stabs Beta in the eyes. 

Beta has a vision. He pulls the blades out of his eyes and hears Alpha say, “In darkness, we are free.” The Walkers surround him. He starts remembering everything about Alpha. Beta stretches out his arms among the walkers. In real life, Daryl removes the blades. He and Negan step back and watch. The walkers pull off Beta’s mask and they eat him. Negan asks Daryl if he knows who Beta was, obviously recognizing him. Daryl says he was nobody.

THE HORDE
Carol on The Walking Dead, A Certain Doom
Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier — The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 16 — Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Early the next morning, Lydia reaches the cliff with the horde behind her. Carol walks up behind her and tells her to go. It’s her choice, and she is finishing it. The walkers start following Carol. Carol stands at the edge of the cliff. The walkers close in on her. She walks to the edge and Lydia grabs her and pulls her to the side. They hide behind a rock as the walkers all fall over the cliff. 

Carol told Lydia to go, but Lydia remembers she said to find her own way. She holds on to Carol tightly and cries. Carol grabs on, crying and thanks Lydia. The horde falls over the cliff, and Lydia throws Alpha’s mask to fall with them. The Whisperer war is over. 

TEAM FAMILY

The survivors regroup and take care of the wounded. Gabriel, Rosita and Coco are safe. Maggie meets Gracie and reunites with Judith. Carol and Lydia return and let everyone know that it’s over. Daryl asks Carol if she got what she wanted. She didn’t and knows she won’t, but she still has Daryl. He hugs her and says New Mexico is still out there. She says they still have things to do here.

Elsewhere, a muddy hand moves in the brush. It’s Connie (Lauren Ridloff). She’s covered in blood, dirt and leaves. She opens her eyes, and she is still alive. Connie stumbles through the woods, making her way to the road and falls. A horse approaches and stops next to her. Connie looks up and sees Virgil looking at her.

WEST VIRGINIA
Josh McDermitt as Dr. Eugene Porter, Eleanor Matsuura as Yumiko — The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 16 — Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

In West Virginia, Eugene and his group arrive at the railroad tracks where he was supposed to meet Stephanie. It’s nighttime, and Eugene is sure he missed her. But he says they can’t stop. Stephanie is out there somewhere. They just have to keep going to find her. After his inspiring talk, Princess remarks that he’s one horny dude. 

As the group laughs, the lights around the rail yard come on. A bunch of armed men in white and red armor jump out. They tell everyone to drop their weapons and freeze. Eugene quickly drops his knife, and everyone else follows suit. They are surrounded. 

RELATED: Catch Up on Season 10 of The Walking Dead Here!

 

 

Noetta Harjo
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