The Walking Dead: The King, the Widow, and Rick

First Aired November 27th, 2017

Each community delivers notes for the others giving updates on their fights and the losses they sustained. Rick (played by Andrew Lincoln) lays out a plan to attack the Sanctuary again while they grow weaker from lack of supplies while cut off from the hordes of walkers surrounding them.

At the Hilltop, Maggie (played by Lauren Cohan) is concerned that Jesus (played by Tom Payne) is giving the captured Saviors too much of their food. Gregory (played by Xander Berkeley) sees that Maggie has reservations about the Saviors and tries to convince her to kill them. Eventually Maggie decides to let the Saviors into a makeshift prison in the Hilltop and distrustful of Gregory has locked up too.

Rick goes the Scavengers compound and tries to make Jadis (played by Pollyanna McIntosh) to join him against the Saviors. Jadis is doubtful of Rick because they betrayed him before and refuses his deal has him locked up. Carl (played by Chandler Riggs) tracks down Siddiq (played by Avi Nash) the man he found at a gas station to gives him supplies and decides to take him to Alexandria. Carl and Siddiq stop to kill a few walkers (Siddiq believes killing them frees their souls) but more arrive and they’re nearly overrun. Carol (played by Melissa McBride) is followed into the woods by a young boy Henry (played by Macsen Lintz) whose brother was killed by the Saviors and reluctantly lets him join her.

I bet everyone misses when they could text instead of running around leaving letters. Kids are inexplicably drawn to Carol it must be that mothering side that’s lurking under the badass. This whole situation with Maggie and Jesus keeping the Saviors is a situation waiting to boil over. She doesn’t want to kill them but food is a problem, and at least some are going to want revenge no matter what. But at least she had the good sense to lock up Gregory before he tried anything sneaky again.

Rick decided to confront Jadis alone and practically demand an alliance, the weird talking Scavengers had all the sense here. It’s either bad writing or bad judgement at work here. It’s unclear why Carl is so fixated on helping Siddiq or where this story is going, but Siddiq will be around for a while otherwise why give him that long speech about walker souls? Although minutes after teaming up Siddiq nearly got Carl killed because of that so it looks like father and son are both making questionable decisions.

Tara (played by Alanna Masterson) tells Daryl (played by Norman Reedus) that she plans to kill Dwight (played by Austin Amelio) when the war is over, and he decides they may not have to wait that long. Having missed the fight Michonne (played by Danai Gurira) goes to see the Sanctuary and Rosita (played by Christian Serratos) tags along. They are sidetracked by loud music and happen on two Saviors in a warehouse attaching speakers to a truck to lure the walkers from the Sanctuary.

When Michonne gives their presence away Rosita kills the man with a rocket launcher, the woman tries to escape but Daryl and Tara run her down and kill her. Carol goes to speak with Ezekiel (played by Khary Payton) who’s been despondent since losing many of his people and his tiger Shiva but he ignores her pleas that his people need him and insists he is nobody’s king. Carol says his people need him regardless and if he has to at least act the part but he refuses.

Daryl and Tara both acknowledged Dwight got them this far in the war but are ready to kill him; bad decision making is going all around. Dwight killed Tara’s girlfriend (while trying to kill Daryl) but seriously can’t they wait until the victory party? Michonne and Rosita have been MIA for weeks but they made a hell of a comeback. What started as a needless side story turned into a good one when they stumbled upon a Savior rescue mission. Ezekiel might be out of commission for a while so Carol should be focusing on taking up his position. I doubt she’d call herself Queen Carol (although it has a nice ring to it) but she is a natural leader, and it’s a great direction for her character. She can combine her tactical skills with the mothering instincts that she displays now and then.

Maggie reasons the captured Saviors can be used as bargaining chips but tells Jesus that once they’re no longer needed they can’t be left alive. Aaron (played by Ross Marquand) still mourning the death of Eric (played by Jordan Woods-Robinson) goes to continue the fight and Enid (played by Katelyn Nacon) joins him. Daryl takes the others to see the Sanctuary and says they are going to end it, possibly referring to killing Dwight. Maggie has been a good leader so far but how she handles the Saviors will be a big test for her. Like I figured losing his boyfriend would help propel Aaron’s character forward but there is no reason for him to take Enid along. Every so often a character is included in a story to give them something to do and this is clearly one of those times.

Quotes/Thoughts

“Do you know what happens to kids when they go wandering around in the woods? They’re never seen again, and if they do they’re monsters.”

Rosita grabbing a rocket launcher for that one guy was the definition of overkill.

“Sometimes kids have to find their own way to show their parents the way.”

Things were going very well for the most part but it feels like this episode set up several ways that are going to set Rick and everyone back.

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