Previously, on "The Walking Dead"...
I got her! Let's go!
Hey Maggie.
We were gonna lose everything.
Negan's the reason we didn't.
You attacked our home, killed my friends, our family!
Who are you?!
So this is home sweet home.
Yeah...
it is.
Come on.
*THE WALKING DEAD* Season 11 Episode 01
Episode Title: "Acheron: Part I"
Come on, boy!
Mom! Mom!
Cole has a surprise!
Guess who this cat dragged in.
Agatha!
Oh!
Can't get rid of us that easy, kid.
Shoulders.
I missed you, too, man.
It's good to see you, Mags.
Good to see you, too, Duncan.
I thought you guys were dead.
We thought the same about you.
When we got to Meridian, we, uh...
well, we figured if you were still alive,
you'd be here.
That him?
- For my family, man! - Hey!
Hey, break it up.
- Come on. - That's mine, alright? I said break it up.
Come on.
Everyone calm down.
There's enough food for everyone.
One week.
That's it? In that last run, just a week?
We can make it work.
How?
We just took in two new communities.
We have no crops, no back stock.
We can get there.
Got people out there right now,
scavenging houses for materials.
And they're slowing down.
It's a little hard to put up a wall
with broken tools and an empty stomach.
Our people are good hungers.
Frost and I could take a group out.
Ground's all spent.
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.
I know one more place.
The place I lived before this.
Where we lived.
Meridian.
It's got plenty of food, water, crops, and animals.
Yeah, and now it's gone.
So, what happened out there?
We were on a mission.
Leading walkers away.
Duncan, Agatha, and Frost
took the last shift at the front of the herd.
Going miles out.
I circled back with Elijah, Cole.
On the way back home, things kept going sideways
and we got stuck out on the road.
Looking back now, I don't think that was an accident.
All of a sudden, we heard these screams in the distance.
We raced back home.
But it was too late.
Most of our people had been slaughtered.
And the rest of us barely got away with our lives.
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.
That was before we caught one.
Daryl was with me.
He came after us alone.
Why?
Because there aren't that many of them.
They're at Meridian now.
There's plenty of food to feed Alexandria
'til we get this place back up and running again.
That's why they took it.
We just need to take it back.
So... you're leaving to fight ghosts.
That's the plan?
You have a better one?
Shore up Alexandria, for starters.
The walls are not stable.
Walkers will get inside.
That's not if, it's when.
Alexandria needs us.
This is for Alexandria.
My son is here.
I have skin in the game, too.
Yeah, but if they slaughtered everyone once,
what the hell makes this situation any different?
Duncan, Agatha, and Frost are Meridian's best fighters,
and now I have them.
And hopefully, some of you, too.
Maggie, this sounds like a suicide mission.
Well, if we don't have food,
it's not gonna matter, anyway.
I'll go.
Anybody else?
Alright.
Negan, how much longer 'til we're through the city?!
Well, we got about six hours!
We should hunker down, wait for this to pass!
You don't get a vote, asshole!
Ah, he's right. We need to find some shelter.
No! We don't have time!
We can't stay out in this.
Yeah.
Let's go.
Alright. Which way?
Not to sound like a broken record,
but I think we ought to take a breath,
hunker down, and wait for this storm to pass.
You don't wanna go in there?
No, I don't.
I don't give a shit.
Which way?
Yellow line north.
Switch to blue at Reagan National,
then hop the red toward Bethesda.
Come on. Let's go.
Hey, can I talk to you?
Why's that?
You think we're buddies or something?
Come on.
Come on, boy.
What the hell was that?
The storm's pushing air through the pipes,
making them groan.
It's nothing serious. We're good.
Know what that noise actually is?
That is God, telling us to turn around.
I'm pretty sure He would have ran that by me first.
Yeah?
The Good Lord direct your one eyeball to this?
Water-line mark.
That means this tunnel floods on a regular basis,
like when it rains.
It's bad down here. It's worse up there.
Look, man, all I am saying...
And it ain't working.
You trying to run shit.
Keep moving.
Come on.
Dog!
You're in on it.
Eugene Porter?
Yes.
That is my given moniker, yes.
There's no need to be nervous, Mr. Porter.
Not if you're honest with us.
Those who know me, know me to be an honorable gent.
If you're inferring something
from my manner of speaking, well...
that's just how I roll.
Verbally, that is.
We are Auditors for the Commonwealth,
and you are under Level One Assessment.
If you pass inspection, you'll move to Level Two.
What if we don't pass inspection?
You will go through re-processing.
What's re-processing?
We should start the assessment.
What did your parents do for a living?
My father was a mechanical engineer, and...
My mother taught Sunday school.
You mean deadbeat loser number one
or raging prick number two?
What did you do for a living?
I was a zookeeper.
I worked at a music store.
Lawyer. What is your alma mater?
What's the relevance? It's just procedure, ma'am.
I attended Oxford for my bachelor's,
Harvard for Law.
Highest level of schooling?
Three years at the University of North Carolina.
You didn't graduate?
- I had to leave due to a... - So, no?
What was your zip code?
How can anyone possibly be expected to remember that?
From 1978 to 1984, it was 75001.
From 1984 to 1996, it was 76244-0361.
From latter half of 1996 through...
What were the results of your last routine physical?
Uh... I-I don't think I've had one.
Have you ever been vaccinated for measles?
Would you like the dates?
Any history of cancer?
None.
Tell me about the goiter.
It's a benign growth. I've had it since childhood.
Where did you get the cash we found on you?
The $2 bill?
Tell us exactly where you got it.
Uh, so, when I was 15,
my first job was at Missy Moose's Pizzeria.
- You know, the... - You can skip to the end.
When I cashed my paycheck at the bank,
I asked for a $2 bill so I could keep it,
because it was the first money I'd ever earned.
When we're done with these questions,
can I get my $2 back?
Have you ever been arrested?
- No. - No.
- Yeah, but it wasn't me. - Wasn't me. Yes, during a student protest.
- History of drug use? - Define "drug".
I was a proud founding member
of the anti-drug and alcohol coalition at my high school.
How many bowel movements do you have a day?
Excuse me?
- What do you use to wipe? - Pass.
Why were you at the train station?
I was on the road with my traveling companions,
Ezekiel and Yumiko...
...for years, wandering from place to place.
We ran into Princess...
...I helped them out. They loved me.
I decided to stick with 'em.
We were holed up at a place that had a working radio.
Stephanie and I made a connection.
We wanted to meet,
but my friends were worried, so I...
...pretended like there were more of us than there really are.
- And that's how we wound up at the rail yard. - So we wound up at the rail yard.
I would really like to speak with Stephanie.
Do you consider yourself a fundamentally honest person?
Yes. Of course.
- Yes. - Hell yeah.
Did your mother work outside the home?
I told you. Grace Baptist Church.
What's the location of your settlement?
You already asked that one.
What was your highest level of education attainment?
- Location of your settlement? - What settlement?
Have you run into any groups out there?
We've had some negative encounters.
How lucky are you and why?
What?
Location of your settlement.
Do you think this is funny?
Yeah.
Yeah, I do.
Are you in charge?
You've been standing there,
not saying a damn word like you're the man in charge.
Yeah.
I'm in charge.
Do you think that I fear you?
You look scared to me.
What did you do before the fall?
Let me guess. Asshole beat cop.
That's why this fascist crap comes so easy to you.
Look at you.
All they had to do was give you
a pumpkin colored space suit
and you're back to power tripping
with your head up your own ass, just like before.
You think I was some "power tripping cop"?
The shoe fits. But honestly, I don't care.
You've been asking us the same damn questions
over and over for seven hours straight.
I've been cooperative.
My people have been cooperati...
Thirsty?
I'm fine.
You told off their leader?
I was asserting myself.
Perhaps I could've handled it better, but...
I didn't like the way they talked to me.
Ezekiel, do they know...
No. They don't know.
Gonna be fine.
They seem obsessed with our medical histories.
- They might not let you... - I said don't worry about it.
We gotta pull the rip cord on this.
Yes.
Thank you.
This place is...
I don't even know what this place is.
And does anyone else think
the Commonwealth might not be real?
Yes, Yumiko. Thank you.
I assumed you would think otherwise, but...
It doesn't matter. Never mind. Time to get out. We gotta...
No, no, no, no.
Please, hold... Hold onto your horses.
Look... they're asking
admittedly strange and intrusive questions,
but in a polite manner,
and this gruel is not the worst thing I've ever eaten.
Stephanie warned me up front
that her people were uber-cautious.
Michonne... Our Michonne...
Shut people out from Alexandria for years.
This is a test.
We have to hunker down and level up.
Maybe we should just get honest with the "heat".
- Oh, you mean the solider-cops? - No. No.
Yeah, that's funny. No.
You really want these guys rolling up to Hilltop
or Alexandria with their machine-gun swords?
Apologies.
Our people need help,
and... I-I think these people can give it.
Excuse me?
Uh, sorry to bother,
but... you mind me asking how long you've been here?
- Four... four months. - Nine.
It's been nine, remember?
Right. Yeah. The... the re-processing...
But... but it feels like things are finally...
I'm sorry. What do you mean?
Wait. Wait!
Wait, no! No!
Stop! Stop!
Wait! Wait!
What did I do?
Where are you taking me?
Re-processing.
Okay, we gotta go.
Oh.
Why didn't it make any noise?
Throat's slashed so deep it almost severed his head.
The guys we're going after do this?
No.
These people were killed during the fall.
All of 'em?
What?
We're walking through a mass grave
that could still be in use.
So, I am asking you...
Are you sure all of them were killed during the fall?
Take each one out.
Clear the path.
- Maggie, hold up... - We're not stopping.
Kid!
Pay attention so we don't miss any more.
Pay attention?
That's it? That's...
that's your new big plan?
Tell me, Maggie, anything in particular
we should be paying attention to?
I'm real close to shoving a gag in your mouth.
Well, why don't you
get up on your little tippy toes and try?
Cut it out. Both of you.
This kid almost died.
You don't give a shit about that kid.
No, shedoesn't give a shit.
She has been playing dictator since we left,
not listening to me, not listening to him.
Hell, not even listening to you.
We don't know if this tunnel
even has a way out.
Whoever or whatever
killed these rot bags
could still be down here.
Has that thought crossed anyone's mind?
Exactly. It has.
So, then this is a death march,
and you are the goddamn pied piper.
Now, y'all wanna roll with that shit, that's fine.
Knock yourselves out.
But not me. Not today.
I am out.
Me, too.
What?
He... he's a dick, but... he makes sense.
Yeah, we shouldn't have come down here.
We're not splitting up.
It ain't up to you. "Buddy".
Just let him go.
He's supposed to be helping us,
but all he's doing is slowing us down.
- We can't. - Why not?
We need him. He knows the city.
Oh, is that why I'm here?
I-I'm your DC tour guide?
What, nobody here know how to read a goddamn map?
I'll tell you why I'm here, man-tits.
She brought me here to die.
If we get through this, I'm not coming back.
She'll find a way, she'll find a reason,
she'll do it herself.
Away from the prying eyes of Alexandria.
Here in the jungle.
Man, I really thought you were in on it.
I did.
But see, I can tell from that glazed look in your eyes,
you didn't have a clue.
None of you did.
You're paranoid.
But I'm right.
Look, you all want to put your lives
in her hands?
Her head isn't even in the game
because I'm in her head, living rent-free.
So, Maggie, me dying on your terms,
it ain't happening.
So, what do you say?
Let's just get her done.
Right here and right now.
Because I am not gonna let you drag me through the mud,
filth, and slime to put me down like a dog.
Like Glenn was.
We're down here because up top is death.
We're moving fast because our kids are starving.
And I'm calling the shots
because that's how everyone voted.
As for me killing you...
It's always on my mind.
I'm not gonna tell you that you're wrong about me,
because you aren't.
The woman who left six years ago
is not the one standing over you now.
There's a little bit of her left in me,
and that little bit is the only thing
keeping you breathing.
But I don't know how long that's gonna last.
So keep pushing me, Negan.
Please.
What do you think, Princess?
Princess.
- I'm sorry, what? - Ideas?
How to get past the guards.
Oh, yeah. Not yet.
What? What are you looking at?
Livits and Zell are at it again.
- What and who-who? - You know, the two
that are always flirting with each other.
The big guy... Livits.
The skinny one... Zell.
You know their names?
- Yeah. - You can tell them apart?
- You can't? - Okay, we're wasting time.
Hold on. Princess,
how can you tell them apart,
and... and why do you believe that those two are flirting?
Oh, I dunno.
I overheard stuff when were on the wagon,
and I remember things about people, you know?
Like, Zell is from Cleveland.
Livits hurt his leg, so he favors the left one.
Sorsensen smokes. He doesn't like Garcia.
That's the guy with the bladder problems.
I always used to ask him if I needed a pee break
when we were driving here.
Oh, and Livits and Zell are having sex,
but they don't want anyone to know.
They're not looking at each other.
Yeah, but it's obvious
from the way they're not looking at each other
that they're jonesing for it.
They, uh, change shifts every six hours.
Whenever they're on break, one of them takes off,
and then three minutes later, the other one disappears, too.
Gone for about an hour, mas o menos.
Probably most of the time is spent
taking off their armor.
Oh.
Uh-huh.
What was the result of your last routine physical?
I don't understand these questions!
What are you talking about?
Hey!
Where are you taking those two?
Yeah, that's what I'd like to know!
This is bullshit! We have rights!
Re-processing.
Move along.
A wall of the lost.
We have a straight shot to the back gate,
but we gotta go now.
Yumiko!
- Let's go, let's go! - No.
Mira.
Isn't that you?
Yumiko!
I...
I have to stay.
Shit.
Need a battery swap.
Gage?
- Gage? - Roy?
Has anyone seen them?
They took our supplies.
Ammo clips, rations...
Oh, great. That's just great.
It's this asshole's fault. He scared them off.
Shh!
Listen.
Alright. Cut them off.
We'll clear the rest. Agatha!
- Blocked. - Here, too.
Hold this. Let me try.
Fall back! Now!
Go! Go!
- Go! - Can we get around it?
It's a choke point.
We don't know what's on the other side.
Up top.
Go, all the way up.
Go, man. Up top. On top of the platform.
Go. Hurry.
Come on, man, get up.
All the way up to the top. Go!
Come here, boy.
Dog! No! Come here! Dog!
Go. Let's go. Let's go.
Meet me at the next platform.
Daryl, wait. I'll be fine. Go.
Daryl, wait! Dog!
Dog! Dog!
Negan!
Where's Maggie?
She was right behind me.
And then we just keep going.
- Ezekiel's gone. - Someone took him!
For the last time, just stick to the story.
Hey! Dog! Come here!
Dog!
I did what needed to be done.
Sync corrections by srjanapala
This first shot, on Daryl's wings...
It just feels right to kind of start this season on Daryl.
There's this big story line that
he's helming for this first block.
And I think that that angel-wing vest
with the modifications that Judith made in the last season,
there's something that's so emblematic about it.
I think it speaks a lot to the person that Daryl wants to be,
and there's times when those angel wings
have gotten destroyed.
There are times when it's been built back up.
And so we love that image, and it just felt like
the right thing to kind of start the story on.
So, we have seen lurkers on "The Walking Dead" before,
but we just haven't really done
a big lurker action sequence like this.
They're the type of zombies that
just seem like they're dead,
and, suddenly, they'll wake out of this sort of dormant state.
They are a big part of the mythology of the comic book.
Most walkers are roamers.
They are the ones that just... They move and move and move,
constantly in search of food.
We thought it would be really fun to just feature the lurkers,
where the danger is, how many of those bodies down there
are actually dead, how many of them might be alive,
and how do you avoid kind of, like,
stirring up that hornet's nest?
So, it's definitely always been part of the mythology
but not one that we've used very much until now.
It was really fun to do this action sequence and see our
amazing women do the fight.
That idea really came about because
if you're gonna send people down into a building,
you want to send the lightest people.
And why not do, like, a super-cool sequence
with the women and start off the season that way?
It was really, really fun to see them kick ass
I think what's really important to keep in mind
when we're talking about our characters
and the debate about whether to go to Meridian
is that they have just come out of
this massive war with The Whisperers.
And it just was devastating for their communities.
So they're still just licking their wounds
and trying to pick themselves back up.
There are people that wound up homeless, basically,
and had to be taken in as refugees.
So the idea of kind of traveling a distance,
going to face these people, when they are practically starving,
for some of our people, it just feels like it's bad trade.
Why not try to fix those walls
and find the food closer to home?
For Maggie, of course she wants to help our people,
but is there this element of revenge that's driving her, too?
Does she want to take it back just to get the food
or does she want to take it back because she's angry about
what happened and because the people from Meridian
are kind of pushing her?
So, I think, really, there are multiple sides to the issue,
and I personally don't feel like
any character is wrong in this scenario.
You know, it's just really a matter of,
what are the different things that need to be done
to keep everyone safe?
And I think people come down on different sides of it
and have reasonable opinions on either side.
Well, if you don't have food,
then it's not gonna matter anyway.
I'll go.
Anybody else?
In the subway, we really loved that feel of, like,
the long corridors that you're sneaking around,
and it's just... It's dark and it's dank,
and there are things moving and lurking.
That was something that we particularly love.
Whenever we do an environment on the show,
especially if it's something that's as featured
as the subway, we want to tell a little bit of the story
of what was there before,
you know, or, like, what has happened since.
And I think, for us, we were really thinking about
stories of people who are homeless living in subways,
and there's a real story about class
which runs through what happens in a subway.
And it's also a place where people from a variety of classes
crash into each other as they're going to work
or they're kind of going about their lives.
That, thematically, is very important for us
for the entire season.
So we thought we'd take this opportunity in the first episode
where we wanted to do the subway 'cause we thought that that
was cool and scary and we just...
We haven't done something in a subway before on the show.
So we're always looking to kind of mix that up.
But we thought like, "You know, there is this opportunity
to tell this story about high and low
and the mix of people that kind of crashed into each other
at the beginning of the apocalypse.
We are walking through a mass grave
that could still be in use.
She has been playing
dictator since we left.
Maggie and Negan...
There's just no love lost between them.
They don't trust each other.
And why should they, you know,
given the history that has preceded them up to this point.
After Glenn was killed in front of Maggie
and he just seemed to find such glee in that,
I don't feel that Maggie is at a place
where she thinks she's ever going to forgive this person.
And I think, for Negan's part, he feels like
he's been on a journey to try to redeem himself,
and it's been a bumpy one, you know?
I mean, this is not a person who is, by any means, perfect.
I think there's a lot of times that he is
definitely in a gray area, maybe even still in a villainous area.
But he's trying, and she has not been privy to a lot of that.
And so he feels like her view of him is stuck back when
she came and was going to, as a vigilante, take him out.
And she just left him to rot in jail.
So I think, on either side,
the lack of trust is absolutely warranted.
Like, if you were Negan, of course
you think she's gonna try to take you out.
She did it once. Why wouldn't she do it again?
And I think, for Maggie's part, I think she recognizes,
very reluctantly, that this is a person who is
formidable and can be a resource,
but she doesn't trust him.
So I think, like, they're really starting out the season
just as far apart as they can possibly be.
Keep pushing me, Negan.
Please.
In our first view of how the Commonwealth handles things,
our people basically going through a detention center,
which is, like, prior to coming into
the walls of the Commonwealth.
For the interrogation, we wanted this sense of a few things.
Like, one, that our people are going through
this really horrific sort of repetitive, strange process.
We also wanted to show that they
were good liars and had clearly
come up with some sort of story, maybe on the wagon ride over.
But they have decided that they're gonna tell a lie,
which is probably smart,
given how hardcore this group is.
Do you consider yourself a fundamentally honest person?
- Yes. - Of course. - Yes. - Hell yeah.
We sort of thought, early on, like,
"You know, maybe this would be a time to try a split screen."
It's not something that has been part of the visual language
of this show up to this point.
But it felt like it was right for this moment.
And I think, like, we got some really great moments out of it.
Have you ever been arrested?
- No. - No.
- Yeah, but it wasn't me. - Yes.
- It wasn't me. - During a student protest.
Do you think this is funny?
Yeah.
Our people find themselves in the uncomfortable position
of being wannabe immigrants or refugees
into whatever this place winds up being.
I don't think they have a really good sense yet of what it is,
but what they're seeing are just these kind of odd clues
that perhaps the Commonwealth is both like and unlike
a world that they once knew before the apocalypse.
And so, you know, they see this wall of the lost,
and we've seen things like that just in the real world.
When there's a major disaster,
people are looking for their loved ones.
And that comes straight out of the comic book.
And I think Kirkman took inspiration from similar things,
where there's this real sadness to think about
how many people were lost
during even this fictional zombie apocalypse.
It's just that reminder, once again, that any community,
at this point in the story, is comprised of people
who have lost so, so much.
And so that's gonna drive the decisions
they make about how to move on.
I have to stay.
The final scene with Negan and Maggie...
I think we were really interested in the idea of just
pushing the conflict between them as far as possible.
Negan... that guy's a survivor,
and if he thinks somebody is out to kill him,
then, you know, I don't know that he's actively trying to
get rid of her, but he's an opportunist, as well,
so he sees this opportunity to just not help,
even if that effectively means he's okay with
letting her fall to her death, possibly.
For us, it was always about this character moment
of these two people that hate each other
and don't trust each other.
And when you're in an extreme situation,
do you step up and help unexpectedly,
which is usually, like, what we see our characters do,
or do you let kind of, like,
the worst version of things happen?
We just thought that it was interesting
to push them to that point.
Negan!