Previously on "The Walking Dead"...
Carol: We just took in two new communities.
We have no crops, no back stock.
The last big horde scared all the animals away.
We can find new territory.
We don't have time. We need food. Lots of it. Now.
Maggie: The people that attacked us --
we only knew two things about them.
They come at night.
And by the time you see them, you're already dead.
Run!
[Whistles] Dog![Dog barks]
Elijah!
No!
See you in 30.
Kel. Kel, Kel.
I missed you this morning.
Thought we had a shift together.
[Sighs] Sorry. Something came up.
You still want to do those shifts with me?
It's okay if you don't.
Next one. I promise.
Kel.
Do you...
Do you wanna talk about it?
Nothing to talk about.
Man: Come on. Everyone -- pull!
Hey. Going somewhere?
We need to get our horses back.
You see the east wall when you came in?
I did.
You were marked down to help today.
Looks like you've got a crew already.
Well, you were gone all morning.
We started without you.
I'm sorry, Aaron. I can't today.
[Sighs] Because you're tracking horses
that you have almost no hope of catching?
You know, Daryl and I went down that road before.
Didn't work out so well for Buttons.
We're almost out of MREs,
and the fields are a joke --
And our walls are about to fail.
Well, if we don't get those horses,
we're not gonna be able to move anything heavier
than a sack of grain.
Or go out far enough to scavenge anything,
and we're all gonna starve to death.
So I'll be back in a few hours.
I'm hungry, too.
Do you ever worry about your mom when she goes away?
I'm used to it.
Grown-ups are always running off doing things.
"Promise I'll see you soon.
Love you."[Chuckles]
They used to say that kind of stuff
in the olden times, right?
They can't promise it now, but they say it anyways.
They don't want us to think they're never coming back.
It's supposed to make us feel better.
They say it to make themselvesfeel better.
Still...
my mom always comes back.
Yeah.
Dang it.
Lord, you are my refuge and my strength...
My refuge and my strength...
My refuge...
[Gasps] Alden.
Maggie.
Jesus.
Let me see?
Sure thing, boss.
That good, huh?
You think you can walk?
Not gonna know until we try.Whoa, whoa.
[Groans]You're not seriously thinking that we keep going.
They'll be back. We gotta keep moving.
Alright, wait. What exactly is the plan here?
The plan doesn't change.
We need that food.
We get to the radio tower, find the supply house,
and wait for the others.
And what if the others are dead?
Listen, I know theatrics.
Those people, they just told us
exactly how insane they are.
We can't be on a road.
We can't be on anyroad that they could use.
It's a shit plan.
Then you tell me a better one
that doesn't starve us all.
Right.
I am on your side, Maggie.
Then help me with him.
2, 3, go.
No.
Not unless you want Coco tripping the light fantastic.
Yeah, but just for like a week, tops, right?
You good?Yeah.
Yeah, it's just that Gabriel's on a mission,
and I'm over being stuck in the house.
Why? What're you guys doing?
Wait.
Damn it![Horse neighs]
Fourth time's the charm.
Let's get a move on.
You okay?
I'll be better when this is done.
I've been having dreams about Abraham recently.
Yeah?
Yeah, he's trying to tell me something.
I know it's something important, something I'm supposed to do.
But I can't hear him most of the time,
and just when I'm about to...
he, um -- he gets shot in the head.
Well, that's dark.
Yeah, I don't know why I just told you that.
No, I get it.
It used to freak me out,
but now I think it's a message for us, for Alexandria.
What do you think he's trying to say?
I don't know.
You know, if a horse lets you touch its ear,
it means it trusts you.
I read that once.
You think we'll get them back?
Horses are wild creatures.
You never know.
It's 2 miles. It's further than I thought.
We better get moving.
Holding your hand's not gonna help me walk any faster.
Yeah? Does the thought of one of those things
ripping your face off do it for you?
If you're scared, why don't you
make yourself useful and go kill 'em?
Really? So we're just gonna go towards the screaming?
Cool.
Agatha!
Maggie. It's Duncan.
Duncan.
I'm so sorry.
For all of it.
Why?
We were good.
We were lucky.
[Sniffles] For a little while.
Make sure she gets home.
Promise.
Carol: This way.
Kelly: No.
No. [Sniffles]
It can't be.
It's okay.
We'll keep looking for the rest.
They'll stay close to the water.
Not if it's full of corpses they won't.
Carol, it's getting late.
She's right.
We don't have to do this right now.
Let's come back tomorrow.
No, Alexandria needed these horses yesterday.
Carol...
Let's go home.
We'll try again.
Next time.
Hey.
Maybe not.
Dope. [Chuckles]
Rosita: They're headed towards the dairy farm.
And?The dairy farm's got paddocks.
We can pen them in.
Come on. Let's go.
Easy now. Easy now.
Drop the lassos.
Why?
Just do it.
They're not running.
I think they want to come home.
Hey.
Whoa.
Nicholls: Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
You move slower than I thought you would.
Don't be scared.
I'm not.
We have been blessed.
I...
I have been blessed.
You have a funny definition of blessed.
But it is you who has come for me.
Will you pray for me?
You tried to kill my friends.
Yes.
And they tried to kill me.
Pray for me.
Even your enemies deserve that much.
I thought you were a man of God.
God isn't here anymore.
Twice as many as before.
We need to rethink your plan, Maggie.
You're a free man, Negan. You wanna go?
Go.
I can help you.
You know, your friends, they trusted me.
You were gone for a long time.
Things change. People change.
No.
Maybe you've got them fooled, but not me.
Stop pretending you're one of us, Negan.
Maybe you even believe it.
But you're probably as good at lying to yourself
as you are to everybody else.
You okay, Maggie?
Yeah.
I can handle Negan.
I wasn't talking about Negan.
This can't be what you thought you'd be coming home to.
It can't be what you told Hershel he'd see.
You know, not much surprises me anymore.
Except Hilltop.
It's not the place I told Hershel about.
Hold on a sec.
You know, I'm not sure much surprises him anymore, either.
You'll build it back up,
better than it was before.
Wewill.
Sure.
We'll get it done.
At least by the time
that Adam is old enough to remember.
I leave for one minute, and you're raising a kid.
Maggie, if I, uh...
We'll start when we get back, okay?
The good news is, he lives in Alexandria, so...
small wins.Mm-hmm.
What the hell?
This way.
Come on!
Let's go.
I got him.
Agatha!
Go! Just go! No! Come on!
Run! No!
Agatha, no!
No! Get off!
No! No! No! No! No!
Woman: Look! They're back!
They've got the horses!
Oh, my God!
I'll go get Aaron.
Alright, I'm out.
Bye.
Very good boy.
Hey, Carol.
Can we talk?
Yeah, sure.
I know what you're doing, and I want you to stop.
Sorry?
You're giving Kelly false hope.
I-I don't understand.
Yes, you do.
You don't think Connie's alive.
You just can't accept what it means if she's not.
Well, you're Connie's family.
I would think you'd want to know either way.
I want my family to heal.
All that's left of it.
Kelly looks up to you.
Carol, I'm sorry for whatever you're going through,
but I'm asking you, I'm begging you,
whatever doing or telling her, stop.
You're just making it harder.
Come on, buddy.
There you go.
Go on.
No, thank you.
Just take really small bites.
The smaller, the better.
You've eaten it before?
Hershel: Yeah, on the road, with my mom.
You eat what you find.
You ever been on the road?
Not like that.
Well, you meet a lot of different people.
Just chew it fast.
It's not that bad.
Not like the spiders.
Wanna see if we can pet a pony?
[Gasps] Hey. Look.
They're interested.
Do you want to pet a pony? [Chuckles]
Beautiful, right? Look. Look.
Ready?
Carol: Mm-hmm.
Goddamn shit.
What?
You like the taste of crap cardboard?
We should get back in the woods.
The road is faster.
He's right. The woods have cover.
It's safer.
Let's go there.
No.
We need to keep moving.
No, we need a break.
We'll rest here for a while, and then we'll head out.
I know what you're thinking.
The answer is no.
He's right, Maggie.
I'm slowing you down.
Nope.
We're fine.
Maybe now.
If these guys are anything like you say they are,
then it's gonna get worse.
I'm dead weight.
We all know it.
We'll help you.
You wanna know why I walked away from him...
and everything he stood for...
joined up with you?
It's 'cause I trust you...
to do the right thing.
No matter how hard it is or how much it costs you.
The supplies -- Maggie, look at me.
The supplies are the only thing that matters now.
Alexandria needs us to do this.
They're waiting for us.
Hershel and Judith.
Adam...
And Adam needs a father.
You think I'm gonna make it out of that town alive like this?
You left Gage. Leave me.
Gage made his choice.
And I'm making mine.
No.
Just... No.
Maggie, if this plan fails...
then everything you've worked for,
everything you want for the future,
it dies with it.
And then what happens to Adam?
Okay.
It's not that simple.
Yeah, it is.
Negan: The sun is going down.
Maggie...
you have to make a decision.
It's easy for you, isn't it?
Being reckless with somebody else's life.
But you don't get to decide
who lives and who dies anymore.
It's your fault.
That we're here.
It's your fault.
Because you destroyed everything that we built.
You still have to decide.
Ma-- Maggie.
Here.
You better be here when we get back.
You better come back.
Man: Do you feel that?
All that chaos.
Death, day after day.
God is angry.
I'm angry.
make them feel our wrath.
This episode is pretty much a direct pickup
from the previous episode,
but we are really living
in Maggie's point of view.
Maggie's the one that kind of
brought everybody on this mission
and they're already off to this chaotic, intense start
and they're realizing
just how scary and dangerous these Reapers are.
There's so much going on and, you know,
they can all barely see each other.
Everything's happening in these kind of flashes and blurs.
There's sort of this helplessness,
in some ways, to our people,
like they feel like there's not much they can do,
other than just try to scramble and survive it as best they can.
And that's already weighing heavy on Maggie
as we start the episode.
Carol and Aaron are a little bit at odds
and I think, in a lot of ways, it's just important to remember
that Carol and Aaron are friends.
They are basically on the same side,
but reasonable people can disagree
about what is the best way to move forward
and I think Carol is really in a place
where she's feeling like
so much of what has happened to Alexandria
is indirectly her fault.
You know, you can't really say
that it wasn't going to happen, anyway.
I mean, the Whisperers were always going to get
into conflict with our people, but she's still working
through everything that's happened with Connie
and, you know, when she and Magna were lost in the cave,
as a result of the explosion that Carol caused.
She just feels massive guilt every day.
So she is dealing with that in her own way
and I think Carol functions well as a lone wolf.
She's always kind of had this instinct to go out and do things
and think in ways that maybe everybody else isn't thinking,
but sometimes it does put her in odds with her friends.
There is love there.
There is respect there.
However, there's also frustration
that it's just they can't get on the same page
about how to address the problems.
We really enjoy getting to see the kids on our show
and to put them in interesting situations
and see them also kind of grow up
as they're working on the show.
And we really wanted to see
Judith and Hershel getting to interact together
after they didn't grow up in the same community.
There's a hopeful message in it, too,
which is that children find ways to be resilient,
even in the midst of a world
that feels like it's breaking apart,
and that there is hope in the ways
that they can find little spots of normalcy.
And you also kind of get to have the perspective of,
"Oh, the grownups, they're so [Laughs] annoying,
in the way they do things."
Like which I think is sort of
a universal attitude that children have.
I remember having that attitude.
Grownups are always running off doing things.
"Promise I'll see you soon!"
[Laughs]"Love you!"
They were so charming together.
They really seemed to have a great time doing that scene.
Dang it!
We wanted to show Maggie
in kind of this horror movie sequence, basically,
where she's going down this staircase
and she's trying to escape from the Reapers
and not make any sound,
but can barely see what she's doing
and is trying to create little sound traps,
so that she can hear them coming.
But the Reapers are sort of spooky
and they're very sneaky and good at working in stealth,
and so that was one of the things
that we wanted to show with them in the sequence.
I personally always feel like I'm going to get murdered
in a staircase or like a parking lot.
Those spaces can feel really, really terrifying sometimes
and they're empty and dark.
So we fully wanted to kind of play into that,
that aspect of hearing like echoing steps,
just not being able to see around the corner
as you're moving up in the levels,
that can feel really, really creepy.
And, you know, it's also just fun
to see Maggie just be awesome and be an awesome survivor.
Aah!
When Negan saves Maggie, I mean,
I think he's accepted that, to get through this,
I mean, Maggie's a really good fighter, too.
He doesn't want to see her go.
He's very, very drawn to people
who are very strong and stubborn
and have leadership qualities.
We've seen that throughout the years.
In some ways, you might even say
that was sort of his Achilles' heel,
is that he was always thinking,
"I can turn this person on my side
and I like you because you're a badass
and you tell it like it is
and I like that you push up against me."
And he's always trying to go like, "Come on!
Like, now take all of that and just transfer it to my team.
Like don't you get it?
If we work together,
it's all going to work out."
So I think that that's actually
kind of consistent with his character,
is that, as much as he doesn't trust Maggie and fears her,
when she does give him that gun in the subway,
I think that that kind of triggers
a little bit of a sense in him
of like, "Alright, maybe I don't have to be afraid
that she's going to shoot me in the head
when the opportunity comes.
Maybe she does find me valuable,
and that's something that I can work with, in some kind of way."
And so I think, when he saves her,
he probably does it out of instinct...
...but I also think he's smart enough to think,
"We are kind of in it together and we're stuck together,
so like, let me see if I can get a favor from her, too,"
because he did pick her over Alden."
You think you can walk?
Not gonna know until we try.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're not seriously
-Aah! -thinking that we keep going.
The plan doesn't change.
We need that food.
Negan is absolutely shocked that, after all this,
Maggie wants to keep going.
The interesting thing, with Negan, is
this is not a guy that was an angel before the apocalypse,
but neither was he a guy that was just like,
"I actually want to shoot people up all the time."
He, in fact, was like, "Let me try to kill
the minimum number of people to make my point,
and then, hopefully, you'll just fall in line
and I don't have to deal with it."
Like he'd rather just not deal with it.
So I think, for Negan, he's kind of grumpy
and he's like, "This is the army?
This is the army that's going to go in against these people?
That, clearly,
we're a little outmatched, in terms of skill set
and there seems to be a lot of them.
They seem to be really mad."
Like, you know,
his perspective's not wrong.
It's a valid perspective, but he doesn't give
his notes gently. I'll just say that.
Those people, they just told us
exactly how insane they are.
We can't be on a road.
We can't be on any road that they could use.
It's a shit plan.
By the time we get to that big scene
with Negan and Maggie at the end
and, you know, Alden's there
and Maggie's going to make this heartbreaking choice
that they do have to keep going and leave Alden,
which she absolutely does not want to do,
I think that, for Negan, he's a smart guy.
He can see that she doesn't really want his advice.
That doesn't mean he's going to stop giving it, altogether,
but I do think he's kind of at a point where he realizes,
if he's trying to push her too hard, here,
all that's going to happen is she's going to get angry
and it's going to delay, maybe,
this choice that she knows herself she needs to make.
He's pretty sure that she's going
to make the choice to keep moving.
He knows that she's mission-focused,
but she kind of has to go through the emotion of it
and it makes it even that much more heartbreaking,
when the person who should be kind of panicking is like,
"You know as well as I do what has to be done."
And, at the heart of "The Walking Dead,"
it's about those hard choices
and sometimes our heroes make choices that they don't like.
Sometimes they make the wrong choice
and sometimes they make the choice
that is right and feels good.
But this is one of those ones where it just feels like
there's no win in any situation.
They just have to make the one that helps them
do the most good for the most people.