Presumably, these two will meet again, considering the time spent on this near-miss encounter. For a second, it looks like a padre-versus-padre showdown is about to pop off, but Gabe avoids detection. Gabe, meanwhile, scouts out Meridian and encounters their priest on a visit to the local cemetery. But she’s a less compelling character when all of her energy is spent putting Negan in his place and throwing shade.) (Yes, I know this man butchered her husband in front of her. She’s a badass, for sure, but Maggie is also awfully one-note this season. It’s an assignment he delights in, and when Negan cracks wise, Maggie is humorless.
It’s bad enough they’ll need to wear skin masks worse, they need Professor Negan to teach them how to walk like the dead. The two shake hands, but Maggie herself notes that she shouldn’t be trusted on any Negan-related matters.įor some reason, the sight of a hirsute walker whom Negan dubs “Blackbeard” inspires Maggie to think up a wicked plot: Steal not just a page, but the whole playbook of the Whisperers. Or could it be Leah? Negan offers to stick around on one condition: Maggie must consider them even and stop plotting his demise. So does Elijah, who calls dibs on killing “the one.” Presumably, that’s Pope. Now this mission is about more than supplies and reclaiming their old home - Mags wants revenge. Further stoking her fire is the sight of Elijah’s sister’s best friend, who’s now a zombie thanks to the Reaper takeover of Meridian. But Maggie’s not going home empty-handed. Negan, as usual, recognizes said odds and prefers self-preservation. The primary story line belongs to Maggie’s crew, who decide to press on despite what appears to be great odds in confronting Pope’s peeps.
But after last week’s nail-biter with Connie in the horror house, and knowing the show is in its final stretch, it’s mostly a disappointing bit of filler - save for the increasing weirdness of the Commonwealth and a surprising plan to take down the Reapers. We’ve seen these before, and it’s not a bad episode. With this final season split into three eight-episode chapters, what we have here is a classic setup moment: It’s slow, not much happens, and it tees up something big for the mini-finale that’s ahead.