Dead Digest: The Walking Dead (SSN 7, EP 9)

Episode 9 - "Rock in the Road"

The long, cold winter is finally over. And with the thaw comes rotted corpses and the grungy humans who kill them. How fitting that we open the mid-season with Father Gabriel standing watch over the flock reading his bible! Awww! Not too surprising, that tender moment turns out to be short lived. Next thing we know it, Padre is stealing weapons, rations, and a car. What the actual fuck is this? After Gabriel was such a team player in recent episodes, and now he and the mysterious stalker in the hoodie are making a break for it. Better have a damn good reason for this Gabriel.

Meanwhile, Rick and the crew are off trying to get Gregory, the lame-o “leader” of Hill Top to join forces against The Saviors. The slimy politician won’t consent, but little Enid rallies the civilians to take action! Huzzah! Apparently Jesus knows everyone, so he takes our heroes on a quest to meet King Ezekiel. We all love Ezekiel, and part of the package deal we get with him is the lovely Tiger, and Jerry the hilarious bodyguard! Neither disappoint. Morgan is such a class act, he doesn’t let the Super Friends know Carol is still hiding out there. Daryl is going to stay at the Kingdom for safe keeping since he’s on the lam from Negan. I’m assuming it won’t be long till Carol and Daryl are reunited...some of the King’s men want to join the fight with Alexandria, but our beloved King isn’t so sure. Remember, the people outside of his Knight’s circle don’t know about The Saviors and their deal. I think we’re gonna need Negan to do something horrible to the Kingdom to get the damn point across. We all can agree it’s just a matter of time till the deal goes south anyway. I’m just hoping Jerry will be safe.

The group now has a long distance radio and some rad explosives! Jesus stole the radio so the gang can listen in on Negan and his shenanigans. They get dynatime, RPG’s, and some other cool junk from a fancy Negan booby-trap. Apparently Rosita is some kind of demolition expert?? I don’t recall this fact, but I’ll allow it. In the process, Michonne and Rick mow down a slew of Walkers with two cars and a glorified clothes line. Frankly…it’s awesome. Back at good ole Alexandria, The Saviors (minus Negan) come looking for Daryl. They don’t find him, but they break people’s housewares and behave like assholes anyway. And what about that ending?? Seems that Father Gabriel may be up to something, but what?! He leaves clues for the group to meet at that boat Rick and Aaron found a while back. Once they arrive, our heroes become surrounded by a whole passel of Hoodie people! What the hell is this about? Obviously the creeper following them around is part of this bigger entity. Who are these crude looking (mostly) women and men?! And more importantly, can we use them to fight The Saviors?

---

Top 4 Moments of the Episode

1. It should be fairly obvi, gotta go with Michonne and Rick finding an inventive new way to kill a huge mob of dead people.
2. Letting Aaron and Eric have a damn moment. I wish these two got more screen time like their hetero counterparts. But I was happy to see them having a good, albeit, short scene together. Eric got the hell beat out of him by The Saviors. He doesn’t think they should go to war. Eric’s also hurt that his husband is keeping secrets and plans from him. Their convo didn’t end well. Looks like there could be some hard choices for Aaron up ahead.
3. The notable absence of Negan. We hear his voice on the radio, but not a peek at the man himself. Smart decision there. I miss him, and the best way to keep me missing him is to stretch out his return. At least for an episode.
4. Morgan stuff. He had to admit to Rick that he killed someone, which is something he is against doing. AND he lied to them, saying Carol was gone. That’s another very un-Morgan like thing to do. He isn’t on board with killing Negan, but I’m starting to wonder how long that will last. Especially since they just told him hella people he knew and cared about are dead now (RIP Glen!)

---

Dead Digest: The Walking Dead (SSN 7, EP 8)

Episode 8 - "Hearts Still Beating"

WHERE TO BEGIN. I can’t do this Dead Digest as my usual recap. There is just too much going on. Too much WONDER. To say I was pleased with tonight’s mid-seasonal finale would be a vast understatement. It didn’t go how I thought it would, and I am so totally happy with that.

• For starters, Daryl is safe. Well, safer. He’s on the lam after that little love note last week helped him escape the compound. He met up with Jesus and killed the heavy-set gentleman who was supposed to be on watch. Negan is gonna be hella mad when he finds out his handy-dandy bargaining chip has escaped. Luckily, Rick & the gang all have alibis. But I’m still recommending Daryl lay low for a while now that he’s “safe” at The Hill Top. Yeah, I know, it’s not going to happen.

• Spencer is dead. I knew that would be coming soon. I never liked that preppy, spoiled weasel. His only redeeming factor was that he made Rosita kinda happy. Negan gutting that loser was gross AND satisfying. He massively underestimated Negan. Negan is smart. A diabolical genius who doesn’t take too kindly to the fake nonsense Spenser was spewing. Good riddance. Oh, and Rick stabbing zombie Spencer in the head was even better. Take that you alcoholic mama’s boy.

• Michonne. She is so beautiful, and oh so wise. I could probably just watch her read the phone book for 90 minutes and be totally happy. I get it; she had to see the compound of The Saviors with her own two eyes. Waltzing through the front gate for an assassination attempt is not going to work. Even if you are an epic badass like she is. Most importantly, this realization led her to that gorgeous monologue she shared with Rick. They’re a family, a team, a unit, and they can only fight this evil as a united front using their combined super powers. Or something to that extent. Whatever, it was a touching moment. Father Gabriel has been saying this for like, several damn episodes now and no one was listening. Except me.

Running up to Negan + shooting him in the head = BAD. Blindly living in servitude to Negan = BAD.

• Rosita still had to try and shoot Negan with Eugene’s homemade bullet for some stupid reason. This will come as a shock to absolutely no one, but that plan didn’t work. Lucille took the hit for her man, and he got REALLY angry. Denise the inventory lady is dead now. Eugene manned up though and confessed that he can craft ammunition and was carted off as property of The Saviors. I think he’s going to be ok though, he’s too useful to them.

• Carol, it was lovely to see you! Too bad you’re still being an emo child, sulkily reading books and pouting on the outskirts of The Kingdom. Morgan was his regular Zen/chill self as always. One of King Ezekiel’s knights was trying to get our pair on board to attack The Savior. He knows he needs them to help get the king on board with the crusade. Yeah, they were none too pleased with that notion. Which brings us to

• The sweet, uplifting, and hopeful ending. We see Rick and all the key players meeting up at The Hilltop! And the teaser for the show picking up again in February is clearly setting up these three communities as uniting to take Negan down. But how will they tumble this despot?!? They’re really going to have to put their brains together to solve this pickle. Not to mention, who is this mysterious hooded figure watching everyone from afar? Is it a man or woman? Are those electrical wires really effective as shoelaces?! And more importantly, is this person friend or foe?

Okay, I need to stop now. It’s late, and my cat won’t go to bed until I do so I need to wrap this up. Now begins the long, cold winter were myself and the other Walking Dead fans go through the stages of grief until our beloved show returns.

P.S. I still think Negan’s downfall ultimately will be at his own hand. Also, why didn’t Carl get grounded for sneaking into that truck and killing men with a machine gun? I hope his punishment was to clean up Spencer and his guts off the asphalt.

---

Dead Digest: The Walking Dead (SSN 7, EP 7)

Episode 7 - "Sing Me A Song"

Spoiler Alert: Negan is an asshole. Perhaps that could be the tagline to the whole of Season 7 thus far? We got another awesome 90-minute episode this week before next Sunday’s mid-season finale. I’m dreading the break of course, but I can’t help but be totally excited for the upcoming episode. Here’s a quick breakdown: Rosita bullied Eugene into crafting her a bullet(s?), Michonne stealthy struck off on her own to kidnap a Savior and go after Negan, Rick, and Aaron are still out scavenging, Spencer found a cache of goodies, and probably still hates Rick despite a-come-to-Jesus chat with Father Gabriel. Oh, and Jesus! Jesus and Carl were still on that truck back to Negan’s main camp. Carl tricked Jesus into thinking he would bail out with him, but instead stayed on.

I will admit, it was kind of badass to see Carl pick up a machine gun and mow down two of Negan’s men once they arrived. Obviously, this was a poorly constructed plan; but, a believable thing for a testosterone-ridden teen boy to try to pull off solo. Negan decides to take young Carl on a little tour, since he is having a hard time deciding on how to punish him for his crimes. We get to meet the wives! The wives hang out in this fancy room full of booze and plush furniture, more like an upscale brothel than a home, which I suppose it is. And they all wear black cocktail dresses just to make it even more awkward. Sadly, one of the wives strayed and hooked up with the guy she, presumably, actually loves. Negan has “no choice” but to give the lover-boy the iron. Just like Dwight! The iron is exactly what it sound like, a red hot household iron stuck in the furnace and then onto some dude’s face. Ouch.

Negan also demonstrates to Carl what a good cult leader he is. His people bow to him and are rewarded with fresh produce. He gives a nice speech about how The Saviors are restoring order and civility to a world gone mad swarmed by the undead. Negan also exacts some pretty uncomfortable psychological torture by having the kid remove the wrapping off the empty eye socket (ewwww!), and sing him a song his dear departed mummy used as a lullaby -- Hence, the title of the episode. Negan then decides he better take Carl home...this can’t be good. He demands to look over the Grimes’ home and discovers baby Judith. The episode ends with Negan holding Judith, sitting with Carl on the front porch. Some sort of sick Americana tableau.

Negan seems rather taken with little Judith. I don’t think he’ll hurt her, I think he intends to kidnap her. And what would Rick & the Peeps be able to do to stop him? Michonne is headed to the compound when she should be back in Alexandria where Negan actually is. And what about Rosita? Will she take a shot at the Big Bad Wolf while she can? Perhaps the most exciting thing, Daryl is back in the hole after threatening Negan to not harm Carl. Someone slides him a note under the door to escape, including a key and a match. It looked like a women’s handwriting to me. Could it be wife Sherry, Dwight’s former lady? Or maybe even Dwight himself? Who cares!! Run, Daryl!! RUUUUUUUN!!!

---

Top 4 Moments of the Episode:

1. As previously stated, I am a totally trash Daryl Dixon fangirl. So naturally my heart burst into song when he got that note. I hope he makes it!
2. Carl’s yucky empty eye socket. Negan says he should leave it uncovered and no one will fuck with him. I am inclined to agree.
3. Iron to the face. The poor dude eventually passes out from pain. It’s horrible, awful, and very effective. This is a horror TV show people; this is what we wanted after all!
4. Since Negan hasn’t “punished” Carl yet, I’m a little tense about how that will shake out. We know Negan’s MO is usually to punish a loved one of the person who acted out…who will it be?

---

Dead Digest: The Walking Dead (SSN 7, Ep 6)

Episode 6 - "Swear"

Words cannot express how excited I was to see Tara and Heath. I had kind of forgotten about those two seeing how it was like, 9 episodes ago when we last saw them. After Rick & the gang (including those two) attacked the Neegan outpost, Heath and Tara set out in the RV on a two-week scavenging mission. Heath was not in favor of the killing mission. It seems he’s still struggling with it, and what this means for their future and survival. The pair get separated with Tara going into a river and washing up on a beachy shore in Virginia. Oh, and it looks like Heath just let her go over without helping her. Not cool!

A nice young lady spares her life and leaves her supplies. There’s a weird little girl with her who gleefully wants to stab Tara in the head. Now, here is where things get really interesting. Turns out that Tara is an unwelcomed guest at this compound called Oceanside. The villagers there have a kill on sight policy. The girl who saved her, Cindy, is the optimistic grandchild of leader Natanya. Once they discover Tara’s intrusion, the wild women of Oceanside try and shoot her down. Cindy intervenes AGAIN to save our friend. Natanya and her two sidekicks offer Tara the chance to stay on with them. It turns out the group of ladies are hiding out from the Saviors, who killed all their menfolk. Tara has no choice but to come clean and tell the troop about Alexandria, her friends, her girlfriend (whom she doesn’t know is dead!!!), PLUS that she thinks they killed Neegan at the satellite building, and that she just wants to find Heath and go home. Tara tells them she will build an alliance and Alexandria and Oceanside can help each other.

Natanya’s right-hand women, Beatrice and Katherine (??) agree to lead Tara back to the bridge she fell off of. Well, turns out it was all a big trap. The two beezies were just taking her out back to kill her! Beatrice explains the brutality the group faced under with the Saviors. All the men and boys over 10 were lined up and executed. The women were supposed to serve them, and managed to escape instead. She goes on to explain to Tara that she and her peeps just took out an outpost, the Saviors is a massive organization that cannot be beat. And if the people of Alexandria has run into them, it’s already too late. And yet AGAIN Cindy saves Tara’s ass. Cindy still has hope in humanity! She makes Tara swear to tell no one about Oceanside, then uses her major sniper skills to help Tara escape.

Tara makes it home, because she’s a bad ass. It looks like Heath may have made it out of the scuffle on the bridge too. We see in flashbacks that despite their differences, Heath DID try to save her. I’m really happy about that, cause I liked Heath. Sadly, Tara is greeted by Eugene telling her everyone she loves is dead. Rosita plies her for info on weapons and ammo, anything they can steal or scavenge to take out Neegan. Because Tara also still has some of that good ole’ humanity in her, she keeps her promise to Cindy and doesn’t say a word about Oceanside.

---

Top 4 Moments of the Night:

1. TARA is BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!! Not only is she awesome, this girl brings with her some much needed comedic relief. She’s got jokes, sarcasm, and the BEST delivery. I hope that she keeps some of that humor throughout the rest of season despite the REALLY bad situation she just came home to.

2. Cindy! This girl was lovely. Her mother and brother were killed by The Saviors, but she is still clinging to hope and not despair. Forgive my paraphrasing, but near the end of the episode she tells Tara, “no one is evil, they just choose to forget who they are.”

3. The sand drenched zombies. In a neat little trap, a whole mess of walkers come tumbling out of a dump truck filled with sand on the bridge. They look almost mummified and have this satisfying way of crumbling when stabbed in the head.

4. Finding a new community! Oceanside may not be the friendliest city in the apocalypse, but I’m still happy to have met them. I love that this season our survivors are getting a taste of what is out there, and the promise of more to be explored.

---

Dead Digest: The Walking Dead (SSN 7, Ep 5)

Episode 5 - "Go Getters"

Good news! Maggie, the baby and Sasha are all doing okay! Maggie’s been unconscious for a few days given the trauma her the yet-to-be born kiddo have gone through. The doctor at The Hilltop reckons she stay living there until the birth. And lookee, Jesus is still around! This time it feels like we see a more angsty side of him. We also find out he’s kind of a commitmentphobe; hence why he spends so much time out on the road. He’s happy to have the gals there though. The only person who seems to have an issue is their “leader” at Hilltop (HT, for short), Gregory. He recovered from being stabbed by The Saviors last season. He’s a cowardly drunk and a total jerk. He can’t seem to get anyone’s name straight, and wants our heroines to get back to Alexandria before Negan knows they’re there. Remember, Greg & Jesus are the ones who got Rick & the gang tangled up in this whole mess. They were dispatched to the outpost to kill Negan in return for food and stuff, if you recall. Our crew become guns for hire and ended up killing a ton of people who were NOT in fact Negan.

Back in Alexandria, Rick and Aaron head out to look for some cool stuff Negan may like. Carl is being a grumpy teen to his pops. It seems the lad doesn’t like his father’s choice to serve The Saviors. Michonne doesn’t like it either, but she is keeping a level head and weighing options it seems. Enid wants to leave for HT to see her surrogate mom, Maggie. Carl escorts her. Along the way they roller skate (it’s adorable, actually), and kiss! Awwww. A little young adult romance never hurts in these zombie situations.

Before Gregory can throw the ladies out of HT, The Saviors break in at night and leave a trap to bring walkers in. Of course, Maggie, Sasha and Jesus handle it. No help from stupid, mean old Greg. And still, the ass won’t let them stay. The next day, The Saviors come back to collect their goods and make sure Greg knows who’s still really in charge. Negan’s sidekick Simon gets to do the honors! Predictably, Gregory tries to fork over Sasha and Maggie, but Jesus being the smart cookie he is saw that one coming and instead Simon gets to leave with all the drunken leader’s booze. Ha! The trio lets Gregory know they will expose him unless the women can stay. Sasha asks but one secret “repayment” from Jesus; for him to follow The Saviors home and find out where Negan really lives and hides out. But, it looks like Carl had the same idea, as Jesus and he are both stowed away together.

Top 4 Moments of the Episode:

1. Sasha. I’ve always been a big fan of that girl, and damn is she amazing. Not only is she a STAND OUT badass as always, but can we all please take a sec to remember she’s suffered worse than most in this apocalypse?? Her awesome brother Tyreese is dead, her old boyfriend Bob died but not before cannibals ate his FUCKING leg! And right when she and Abraham fell truly for each other…well, we all know what happened there. And she had to WATCH it. No wonder this lady’s last shot tonight was her chompin’ on a cigar and sharpening a knife.

2. Maggie backing over walkers and the Savior’s bait car in a giant tractor. Well done Mrs. Rhee.

3. Jesus alluding to Maggie that maybe SHE should be the next leader at HT. We’ve always known she has what it takes to get stuff done and inspire the people…

4. Enid, Sasha, and Maggie sitting down to dinner and holding hands to say grace. All three of these girls has been through a lot. And it’s nice to know they still have each other.

---