Good Things Don’t Last

Allison Schonter

If you haven’t watched the newest episode of The Walking Dead, then I would suggest not reading any further, because there will be spoilers. You have been warned.

 

The Plan

Taking on the Saviors and Negan calls for a plan. Rick and Co. have dealt with confrontations before, many confrontations. They have executed said confrontations, with a few casualties here and there, but overall, they have been successful. They have experience. They know what to do. But they still need a plan.

So what do they do? Everyone gathers into the church. Rick explains what is going on and the deal that they’ve made with Gregory and The Hilltop. In Rick’s words, this deal is what will feed them. This deal is what will keep them alive. Without this deal, any trade between The Hilltop and the Alexandria Safe Zone will be off. They need this in order to ensure their survival. Now, killing is a necessity.

What does the plan entail? First, Eddie, a man from The Hilltop who came back with the group, draws maps for Rick and the others. He has been to the Savior’s camp. He has been inside. He knows the layout. So he draws them very rough sketches of the layout so they know where things are and what to expect. The actual plan, however, requires Gregory’s head. Okay, not really his head, but rather a walker head that has an uncanny resemblance to The Hilltop’s leader. After the unsavory supplies that The Hilltop had delivered to Negan’s group, The Savior’s had demanded Gregory’s death, therefore, Rick and Co. needs to make it appear that Gregory is dead. Second. Eddie will approach the guards and show them the head. This will lower their guards and allow them to get Craig, the man who is being held, out of the camp. Third. Simple: kill everyone.

 

The Reactions

 Each of the characters has different reactions to the plan and the events that will be taking place. Rick is indifferent. He knows that this is their only option, and he is willing to do whatever it takes in order to keep his people safe and keep them fed. Morgan, however, sees things differently. He doesn’t want to kill. He believes that they can talk to the Saviors. If Rick and his group are as tough as they say that they are, then maybe simply talking to the Saviors and telling them this will be enough to ward them off. And this is where Aaron steps in. After seeing the attacks by The Wolves and then the damages that the walkers did to the Safe Zone, he isn’t willing to put his people at risk anymore. He wants to keep Alexandria safe, and if that means killing a group of people, he’s willing to do it.

 

Carol

Perhaps one of the most interesting things of this episode was Carol. The episode begins with her making cookies. She then proceeds to hand the cookies out to the residents of Alexandria. She even stops before Sam Anderson’s grave, having made a cookie to rest near his headstone. Is she feeling guilt? Possibly. Morgan interrupts her, asking why she didn’t tell Rick about him hiding the Wolf. Carol responds by saying that she won’t tell, and nobody else will tell Rick about it.

Carol’s story this episode continues with her being unable to sleep. She lies awake in her bed before finally sitting up and grabbing a journal, flipping to a page where she begins to write a list:

R

KD

L

Terminus/Courtyard 3?

Candle Woman 4

Wo 7

18

It’s a kill list, and Carol figures out that she has killed 18 people. She is definitely feeling guilty. After so long of keeping a tough demeanor and pushing the deaths aside, they are finally catching up to her. She has taken 18 lives, and it’s beginning to take a toll on her.

Later that night, Carol is sitting on the porch with Tobin. Tobin is worried about what is going to happen; he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to do the things that Carol has done. He doesn’t know if he’ll be able to kill. He reminds Carol that she’s a mom and because she’s a mom, she has the strength and the courage to do all of the terrifying and scary things that she has done. She’s a protector. After the brief conversation, the two kiss. (Didn’t see that one coming!)

 

The Action

The group gathers into cars and heads out, making their way towards the Savior’s place. They stop in the roadway before they get there, waiting until night to approach the settlement. In the dark of night, the Saviors will be sleeping, which will give Rick and Co. the upper hand as they slaughter the group. While they’re waiting for dark, Glenn and Heath go walker-hunting, killing a group of walkers before cutting off their heads. After they have the heads, they cut the hair, trim the beard, and Rick even punches one in the nose to mess up its nose. This is all in order to make them appear to look like Gregory, of course.

When night finally does come, just before dusk, the group goes to the settlement (Maggie and Carol staying behind to watch the perimeter). Eddie gets out from the car with a bag containing the head. Two guards approach him, make him show them the head, and then make jokes. It’s already painting a pretty clear picture that this group doesn’t show any mercy and that they don’t hold much value for life. As one guard goes to retrieve Craig, Daryl quickly kills the remaining guard, and when the second guard returns, he is quickly disposed of as well.

So our motley crew goes inside, remaining completely silent. Split into smaller groups, they go room by room, killing the men that are sleeping. Glenn kills tow men in one room, saving Heath from having to take a human life. In this particular room, there is an abundance of Polaroid photos depicting dead people, presumably people who the Saviors have killed.

 

The Mistake

Things can never go smoothly, and mistakes seem to always be made, putting the group in a dire situation and threatening their lives. What mistake is made? It’s Sasha and Abraham. They are making their way down a hallway, checking the room and killing the people. Except one room is locked, and just as Sasha tries to jimmy the lock, a man comes out of a different room. The man immediately recognizes both Sasha and Abraham as strangers and lashes out, cutting Abraham with a knife. Before Sasha can kill the man, he is able to pull the fire alarm, waking the entire compound and warning them that something is going on.

Gunfire ensues, and Rick and Co. are forced to fight back with a vengeance. They continue to make their way through the building, killing anyone and everyone that they see. A lot of people die on a staircase thanks to Rick and Daryl. Aaron sees refuge in a room, where he is forced to kill a man. Meanwhile, Glenn and Heath find the armory and close the door. A group is following them and they shoot through the door and execute all of them.

From the outside, Maggie and Carol hear the alarm. Maggie wants to go inside and help; her husband is in there, after all, and like she did in season four, she will do anything to get to him. Carol, however, refuses to let Maggie go. She didn’t think that Maggie should have come along in the first place, and she had been adamant that she stay outside with Maggie, and now that Maggie wants to risk going inside, Carol is putting her foot down.

 

The Radio Message

The group exits the building and it’s daylight. The sun has risen and their mission appears to have been successful. They haven’t lost any of their own, and nobody is injured, aside from Abraham who has a minor cut. They’ve completed their mission, and everyone is happy. It was easier than they had thought it would be, and even Michonne wonders which one of the men was Negan. For being such a big and scary group that had been controlling and terrorizing The Hilltop, Rick’s group took them out in no time. Daryl even gets his bike back after one man tries to escape on it. So, not only did they defeat the group (or at least, that’s what they think), but they also have a man who can give them information, and Daryl’s bike!

Good things don’t last, though, and a voice on a radio soon ends the happiness and relief. Before Rick has the chance to shoot the man, a woman’s voice tells him to lower the gun. To ensure that he listens, the voice informs him, and the rest of the group, that she and whomever else she is with have Maggie and Carol.

 

Final Thoughts…

Where did the happy times go? Can our group ever just be happy? Apparently, the answer is no. “Not Tomorrow Yet” just went to prove that just when you think things are going well, something else happens and ruins everything. With two of their own captured, what will happen? The last time that two members of the group were being held, one of them died. And now it’s evident that the Saviors are larger than Rick and Co. had originally anticipated, and it is now known that they have slaughtered dozens of their men. How will the Saviors retaliate?

 

Bullets

 

Don’t miss an all-new episode of The Walking Dead Sunday at 9 EST on AMC.

 

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