The Walking Dead: The Lost and the Plunderers

First Aired March 4th, 2018

The episode opens the morning after Rick (played by Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (played by Danai Gurira) bury Carl (played by Chandler Riggs). Michonne insists that they put out a burning gazebo, remembering how she and Carl would sit on the roof together, but walkers force them to leave before they fully extinguish the flame. As they drive to meet the others Michonne is shocked to discover Carl wrote a letter to Negan (played by Jeffery Dean Morgan).

Rick and Michonne go to meet Jadis (Played by Pollyanna McIntosh) and the Scavengers but trigger a trap that releases a group of walkers. The action shifts to Negan as he orders the Saviors to find the survivors from Alexandria and tells Simon (played by Steven Ogg) to intimidate the Scavengers to rejoin him. Simon broaches the idea of cutting their losses, and when a coffin with a turned Savior arrives with a note saying the Hilltop has others captive Simon wants to kill them all but Negan furiously refuses. The scene shifts to Oceanside where Aaron (played by Ross Marquand) and Enid (played by Katelyn Nacon) are taken hostage after Enid accidently killed Natania (played by Deborah May). Enid pleads with her granddaughter Cyndie (played by Sydney Park) that killing them isn’t the answer, Cyndie decides to let them live but sternly warns that they never return but Aaron decides to stay behind to convince Oceanside to join the fight.

This episode takes time to check in with several different characters which is standard after such a big premiere episode. Obviously Carl’s loss being felt, but the biggest storylines set up is Simon wanting to kill instead of subdue the communities and Aaron trying to get Oceanside to join the fight. The structure of jumping around to different scenes that are sometimes out of order was great, it was like watching a mini Quentin Tarentino movie. It should be noted that characters like Enid and Simon who have been tertiary characters were given intro titles for their scenes. I think this means that they and other characters like them who usually hang in the background may step up and take major roles in the story. With nearly a cast of nearly 20 I welcome that because too often characters are in the story but just on the periphery; flesh these characters out more so we can root for or against them.

The next scene is Simon and a group of Saviors confronting Jadis and her Scavengers, Jadis lies and claims they were just trying to deliver Rick to the Saviors. The Scavengers willingly give up their guns but when Jadis doesn’t fully submit Simon orders them all executed. Simon returns to the Sacntuary and lies to Negan about what happened, and Negan gets a message from Rick over the radio. The action cuts to Rick and Michonne fighting off the walkers and they find Jadis, the sole survivor of the Scavengers. Rick and Michonne use makeshift shields to escape but Rick refuses to let Jadis escape with them and they leave her behind. Jadis uses herself as bait to lure the walkers into a thresher and emotionally watches as her former people are ground into mush. Rick justifies his actions to Michonne but she feels that Carl’s dying message was for them to have done the opposite. Rick pulls over and reads Carl’s letter to Negan and informs him of Carl’s death and his letter.

Simon is being set up as a major antagonist perhaps more so than Negan because while he plans ahead Simon just likes killing. The fact that he lies to Negan when in general the Saviors are ‘Negan’ also suggests Negan’s hold on his people could be slipping away under his nose. When the Scavengers were executed it was clear Jadis would survive because she was the only one that was ever made into a fully realized character. The loss of her people has clearly shaken Jadis (and possibly ended her distinct speech pattern) and she has no friend in Rick. Speaking of Rick, he’s on a downward spiral and but Michonne is poised to be there to nurture his traumatized psyche. I never expected Carl’s death would lead to any kind of communication between Negan and Rick, although the former did have a few moments with Carl.

Rick reaches out to Negan and tells Negan that Carl wanted both sides to stop and find peace but Rick declares its too late for that and that he will kill Negan. Hearing that Carl is dead leaves Negan shook and he asks if it was their attack on Alexandria that killed Carl. Negan declares that Carl died because Rick continued to fight against the Saviors and urges Rick to stand down before someone else he loves dies.

Negan and Carl developed a complex relationship, enough that it was able to bring out genuine remorse from Negan. Unfortunately for Carl his death and the hope that it could somehow bring peace was shattered and had the opposite effect. Rick and Negan blame the other for his death and the war is about to instead get much more personal for them both.

Quotes/Thoughts

“I didn’t want her dead, I just wanted her gone.”

All those ground up walkers got me in the mood for chili.

“He is dead because of you, because you weren’t there to stop him from doing something stupid…you failed as a leader and most of all Rick you failed as a father.”

Negan is now calling for a ceasefire and Rick is demanding a war, that’s quite a role reversal.

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