Inside the episode video
Watch the inside the episode video below to get a breakdown of what happened and comments from the actors. If the video doesn’t play below, you can watch it on AMC.com.
Episode summary
In a nondescript room, Rick talks to someone off-camera to describe the progress made in rebuilding the communities after the war.
It’s Day 35. Rick walks through a camp of workers who are repairing the damaged bridge. Tara and Anne carry a sack of tools. Rosita checks out sidearms to Beatrice and Kathy. Nabila pulls Jerry into a kiss outside their tent. Arat and Laura share a beverage. As Rick looks out onto his bridge project under construction, he proclaims in voice-over that they’re making a new beginning.
Ezekiel explains to Henry that the bridge will enable trade between all the communities. He says goodbye to Carol for now, who is overseeing the Saviors. He tells her that in the real world, it’s about getting to have as many small moments as possible, yet he’s not giving up on the fairytale.
Eugene tells Rick that they have a maximum of nine days to repair the bridge before a temporary water levee breaks. He also informs Rick that more Saviors abandoned the camp over the past month. Rosita joins them with a herd report from the scouts. She warns Rick that a planned blast may attract a nearby herd. He assures her that their siren system will divert the walkers.
Siddiq and Enid treat Cyndie for a cut. Rick asks Siddiq to return to Alexandria – there’s a bug going around. This leaves Enid in charge of the infirmary.
Eugene informs Rick that Alexandria is running low on food. Rick says that Michonne is on it.
Michonne visits Maggie at Hilltop and confirms that the Sanctuary delivered ethanol as promised, even though it never arrived at Hilltop. Maggie refuses to share any more food until she receives the ethanol, explaining that they can’t plow the fields without fuel for the tractor, and that Earl can’t fix the museum plow because he’s locked up for trying to kill her.
Michonne suggests they come up with universal laws to punish lawbreakers and better police themselves.
Daryl and Aaron help the Saviors rebuild the bridge, while Henry distributes water to the crew. Justin, a Savior, shoves Henry and chugs more than his fair share from the water cooler. Henry knocks Justin down with his stick, to Jed’s amusement (another Savior). Justin goes after Henry, but Daryl intervenes, telling him that the kid was just doing his job.
Rick sees the altercation on the bridge and orders everyone back to work.
Daryl accuses Rick of letting Justin off the hook. Rick points out that they’ve already lost enough workers due to Saviors going AWOL and insists that everyone will eventually learn to work toward the same goals. Daryl wonders if Rick is on their side.
Michonne watches Tammy plead with Jesus to visit Earl in jail. Jesus explains that Maggie won’t allow it. Privately, he admits to Michonne that he disagrees with Maggie’s decision to keep Tammy away from Earl. Michonne urges him to talk to Maggie and hints at the need for laws.
In the work camp, Anne sits with Gabriel and sketches a picture of a woman that Gabriel has described. She strokes his hand and thanks him for welcoming her into their community.
Jesus approaches Maggie about letting Tammy see Earl and voices his support for creating laws. Maggie asks if Jesus thinks she was wrong about the fate of Negan, Gregory and Earl. He asserts that even good people can have disagreements.
Maggie takes Tammy to visit Earl in jail. Earl assures Tammy that he is being treated humanely, better than he deserves. Tammy forgives him for his mistake. They both miss each other and their boy. Maggie is moved by their moment.
Rosita and Arat prepare to blast some rocks blocking the road near the bridge. Rosita detonates the dynamite, and the noise draws a herd.
Maggie asks Earl about his history of alcoholism. Earl explains that he stopped drinking the day he drove drunk with his toddler son in the car. He asks Maggie why she hanged Gregory but not him. Maggie asks Earl if he thinks she made a mistake. He says no.
Tara spots the herd approaching the work site and alerts Jerry and Rick. Jerry cranks a siren and draws the dead away from the bridge.
Alden informs Rick that the AWOL Saviors never made it back to the Sanctuary. He says that Saviors are getting worried about the disappearances, especially since they were forced to give up their guns. Rick says he’ll make sure they’re protected. Alden replies, “Oh, so they work for you and you protect them. Who’s that sound like to you?” Tara alerts Rick that the second siren did not go off and that the herd is heading for the work crew.
In the woods, Daryl, Aaron, Jed, and a Savior work crew load lumber for transport, as the herd approaches. Daryl fights them off and calls for his crew to bug out. Jed lets go of his rope, releasing a log that accidentally rolls onto Aaron’s arm, crushing it amid the ensuing chaos. Daryl frees Aaron, revealing a mangled mess of an arm.
Rick and his cavalry come to the rescue, including Alden, Beatrice, Dianne, Carol, Gabriel, Anne, Cyndie, Laura, and others. Ezekiel arrives, surprising Carol. Rick releases a pile of logs onto the herd, killing all the walkers.
Daryl rushes Aaron to the infirmary. Enid has to amputate Aaron’s arm to cauterize the wound. Daryl holds him down for her, while Aaron screams in pain.
Daryl storms into another tent, demanding to know who was supposed to turn that herd, only to find that Carol is already in the middle of chewing out Justin.
Justin claims he didn’t receive the order to sound the second siren because his walkie had no battery. Daryl calls bullshit — it was a solar walkie — and violently attacks Justin for his oversight. Carol stops him, while the camp watches.
Maggie informs Michonne that she will send food to Alexandria and also agrees on the need for laws. She also allows Earl to work on the plow under supervision. Michonne asks what changed. Maggie explains that her daddy drank and was a good man. If he hadn’t been given a second chance, a lot of people would have been worse off for it. But Gregory deserved his fate because he squandered his second chances. Maggie doesn’t regret what she did, because some people can be redeemed, but others can’t. Michonne asks who makes that decision. Maggie says that’s one of the things they have to figure out.
Justin tells Rick to keep his dog on his leash, referring to Daryl. Rick bristles, telling him that he used to be a cop and knows dipshits like him, always running his mouth from the back of his car, blaming someone else for their problems. He’s done giving him the benefit of the doubt and orders Justin to leave in the morning. Justin retorts that he wouldn’t stay if he begged him, and isn’t waiting until morning, either.
Rick visits a newly amputated Aaron at the infirmary and apologizes that this happened to him. He worries that he’s been pushing everyone too hard to finish the bridge. Aaron assures Rick that it’s worth it.
On watch duty near the work camp, Gabriel and Anne listen to frog mating calls. Anne asks about the woman he had her draw. She was the organist at his church, whom he cared for very much. He was afraid, and he lost her. He reveals he’s Episcopalian, not Catholic, and that his vows don’t prohibit him from falling in love. He kisses Anne, and she kisses him back. He says he’s supposed to be on watch. She tells him to watch, as she kisses him and unbuckles his pants.
At night, Rick watches everyone relax and laugh around the campfire. Eugene, Tara, Rosita, and Dianne play cards. Jerry, Nabila, and Henry play a board game. Carol snuggles with Ezekiel and allows him to put a ring on her finger, just to try it on for a while.
Back in the nondescript room, Rick concludes his update, saying that even at the end of a bad day, people came together. From his cell, a hoarse-voiced Negan predicts that Rick’s new world will eventually collapse. He tells Rick the bridge he’s building is not the future – it’s a monument to the dead. “You’re not saving the world, Rick. You’re just getting it ready for me.”
Anne stands watch in the middle of the night, sculpting a frog out of wire. She hears a sound up in the sky and looks up to see a helicopter in the distance. Its navigation lights move across the night sky, as she watches it disappear from sight.
Justin walks down a road alone, drinking the last of his hooch when he hears something rustling in the woods. He takes out a machete, then lowers it as he recognizes the person approaching. Suddenly, he gets knocked out as if shot by an unseen weapon with powerful force.
Source: AMC
New characters
- Jed
Characters that died
- None
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