In This Episode...
It has been about a month since the season premiere episode. A huge team has set up a camp, rebuilding the bridge. Things seem to be going pretty well... as well as can be expected in the zombie apocalypse.
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Rosita and a few others are in charge of a plan to set off explosions and sirens to lure a herd of walkers away from the bridge. That doesn't go well; Justin doesn't set off his siren, and the herd wanders into the bridge building party. The people there panic, but luckily a bunch of other folks hear the screams and come running. Aaron's arm gets crushed beneath an enormous runaway log, and Enid ends up amputating it to save his life. When Daryl finds out Justin screwed up, he ejects him from camp. Justin is only too happy to leave.
Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
Michonne visits Maggie at the Hilltop. Alexandria is short on food, so Maggie was going to give them some of their surplus in exchange for ethanol from the Sanctuary. But the delivery of ethanol never arrived, which makes suspicions run rampant that the Saviors are rebelling. Michonne wants to discuss creating a system of shared rules. Maggie is resistant to this idea, though she eventually agrees to at least discuss it.
Maggie has also kept Tammy away from Earl while he has been incarcerated. She is losing her patience, and both Michonne and Jesus think she is being too harsh. Maggie goes to talk to Earl, who shows remorse and tells her the story of his alcoholism and recovery - a story Maggie can relate to. She finally decides to let Earl out "on bail" so he can work under supervision.
While on watch, Anne sees a light in the sky. An airplane? A helicopter? An alien spacecraft? The last time we saw a mysterious aircraft, it yielded nothing but a crash site, so I can't get too excited about it.
And we finally get to see Negan the prisoner in the closing minutes of the episode.
Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
Love is blooming
Ezekiel and Carol are essentially engaged. Jerry has a girlfriend. Diane has a girlfriend. Anne and Gabriel hook up. It's like Cupid exploded in the camp.
Maggie has gotten mean
Maybe it is because she has a baby and therefore has more to protect, and more to lose. I don't necessarily think she was wrong to hang Gregory, but she is being mean even to Michonne, a longtime friend. It's just weird.
Negan
Negan has become something of Rick's confessor, and I'm not sure why. Probably because he is a captive audience. He can't just walk away. Rick shares his triumphs with Negan, who is unimpressed and likes to rain on Rick's parade by invoking the name Carl, just to get a rise out of Rick. "Your family is gone, same as mine," Negan warns Rick. "The bridge is a monument to the dead. You're not saving the world; you're just getting it ready for me."
Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
The Saviors keep disappearing
And I am pretty sure it is the Whisperers who are killing them. We still haven't seen the Whisperers, but it makes the most sense. I think it was a Whisperer who abducted Justin at the end.