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The battle is over on The Walking Dead, but no one is safe
In The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 12: "Walk With Us"…
We open right where we left off, with Hilltop under attack from zombies and fire. A few notable things happened: Mary tries to convince Lydia to give Alpha what she wants, but Lydia will "never walk with her"; instead of hanging with the kids, Judith has gone into the fight, and unknowingly kills a Whisperer; Yumiko sees Magna walking among the dead but very much alive.
Morning comes, without any explanation of how Hilltoppers escaped, or how they extinguished all the fires. All of our principles have been separated, with plans to meet up at Oceanside, I assume.
Kelly, Alden, and Adam are together, with Mary allowed to follow at a distance. Adam cries, and after much argument and debate, Alden finally allows Mary to hold her nephew. Unfortunately, his crying has lured zombies out. Kelly finds a minivan for them to hide in, but stays outside to lure the zombies away. She kills them all — then turns around right into Beta's blade. He wants her to "walk with him" and guts her, then leans her against a tree to wait for her return. A tiny bit of Beta's mask came off in the struggle, enough so that a nearby Whisperer recognizes Beta. Beta kills him, too. Alden shoots Mary in the head as she begins to turn, and Beta runs away.
According to Magna, she and Connie survived the cave-in and kept searching for a way out. Before they knew it, they were in the horde, but at some point they were separated and Magna lost Connie. Carol wants to move on, but Yumiko wants to give Magna a chance to rest longer, so she punches Carol in the face. Carol takes it. She sits down, alone, and Eugene checks on her. He tells her about his secret meeting; she convinces him to go. As she is moving forward, Carol finds something on the ground. I think it is Michonne's sword sheath.
Daryl and a few others go to meet Ezekiel and the kids at a rendezvous spot. But when they get there, there is only a single zombie. They set out looking for the group, but only find Ezekiel beneath some sheet metal.
Earl has gotten the kids to a nearby shack. He gets them settled in and calms them before going into another room and wedging a large metal spike into a table. He has been bitten, and is preparing to drive his head into the spike. Judith wanders in, and he tells her it is up to her to keep the kids safe and calm. She holds his hand briefly then goes back into the other room. Earl smashes his head – but misses. When Judith returns, he reaches for her. Daryl and his crew arrive and collect the kids – except Judith. Entering the house, he finds Judith curled up on the floor, having had to kill zombie Earl.
And finally, we have Negan and Alpha. Negan finds a Whisperer badly injured, so he bashes his brain in with new-Lucille. Alpha chastises him, but not for killing one of her own; for killing him in such a way that he couldn't come back. "It is not a victory if I don't have everything I want" Alpha explains. A lightbulb goes off in Negan's head, and he captures Lydia, leaving her tied up in a shack.
Negan returns to Alpha, promising her a surprise. As they walk, Alpha talks about how she wants Negan to go out there, "preaching" her word. Negan isn't really interested in that, and explains that his strength in this world is that he is dead to it; he doesn't feel anything. He thinks Alpha is pretending. Alpha insists it is Lydia's destiny to be killed and walk with her. They arrive at the shack – but it is empty. Negan had stashed Lydia someplace else. When Alpha turns to Negan with confusion in her eyes, he slits her throat and kisses her as she dies.
Negan brings Alpha's grumbling, zombie head to Carol. "Took you long enough," she replies.
Negan and Alpha
This was, by far, the most fascinating plot point. I have long said that I didn't fully believe that Negan was down with the Whisperers. Not because he had "changed" or anything, but because he just doesn't seem like the type to be commanded by another person. I'm glad that it was all a plot, a scheme. But now Beta is going to take over, and frankly, I think he is more brutal than Alpha, but less calculating.
And separately, I thought they were going to reveal Alpha was carrying Negan's baby. Talk about an unholy devil spawn. It could have been interesting, though that plot point would have been way too soapy, and I think killing Alpha was a better call.
Also of note: watching Negan try to "herd" a walker, then give up and kill it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen on this show.
Judith
We didn't really explore it tonight, but I expect her to become a big story point. She killed her first human being tonight. That has to take a toll on you, unless you are a sociopath, and I don't think Judith is a sociopath. How will she handle the toll of having taken a human life? Will it traumatize her? Make her stronger? Or will the show completely ignore it and move on?
Maggie
Speaking of ignoring a plot point… I know I have bemoaned this point in the past, but it seems especially relevant, now that Hilltop has burned to the ground. Where is Maggie? I know things didn't end well between production and actress Lauren Cohan, but they didn't even try to make anything up. It's as if she no longer exists. They didn't even have the decency to kill her off.
