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The Walking Dead returns - now with choreography!
In This Episode...
Michonne, Aaron, Daryl, Jerry, and a bunch of others are hanging out at Oceanside, clearing out zombies from ghost ships and showing the kids the ocean for the first time. A Whisperers face mask washes ashore. Aaron is concerned, and tells Alexandria to go on lockdown. Michonne overrides this and tells them to go on alert. It is at this point that the story splits, and we see what happens from different points of view, all starting with Aaron on the radio, and ending with an explosion across the sky.
Michonne gathers a group to go patrol the area. She and Aaron peel off and he goes running to kill some zombies, worried they may be Whisperers (they aren't). Michonne flips out, mainly because Aaron is killing walkers on a bridge and she still has trouble with bridges after Rick. Aaron is sick of being nice; Michonne suggests they be smart. The rest of the group finds them and shows them a former Whisperer camp site. At least one Whisperer has crossed the border.
In Alexandria, Rosita had her baby, named Coco. She, Gabriel, Eugene, and Siddiq are all co-parenting. Gabriel gets the call about the Whisperers and clears out the schoolhouse to hold a meeting. Lydia is fine with that - she can't read, and is frustrated by her lessons. Outside, she practices her aikido and chats with Negan, who is allowed out of his cell to farm. Siddiq also has some flashbacks which reveal that he was part of Alpha's group when she went crazy, cut off her hair, and killed everyone. So surely that is going to be a thing.
Back at Oceanside, we discover Kelly is losing her hearing. A boat pulls in and Carol gets off. She has taken to fishing, and her return brings anxious, uncomfortable interactions between her and Ezekiel, and warm, genuine love between her and Daryl. Carol and Daryl take a ride into the woods on his motorcycle. They hunt zombies and a deer, but the deer crosses over the Whisperers border, so Daryl won't let her cross. She wants revenge for Henry's murder; Daryl just wants to keep his best friend (something which he actually calls Carol, for which she teases him mercilessly about) safe. Carol wants Daryl to join her on the boat, but he doesn't want to be cooped up on a boat. Instead, he suggests they drive off on his motorcycle, maybe head out to New Mexico, "see who is left."
So now we are back to the explosion raking across the sky. Everyone sees it, and everyone panics. It turns out it is an old USSR satellite that has fallen out of orbit and crashed into the forest just outside Oceanside, setting it alight. Everyone jumps to action, though some worry about the fact that they will have to cross the border in order to stop the fire. Many justify this, saying that putting out the fire helps the Whisperers, too.
As day breaks, the fire lures zombies, so some people continue fighting the fire, while others fight the dead. With little fanfare, the fire is out and the walkers are all dead-dead. Eugene insists on pilfering the tech from the satellite before returning to their side of the border. Aaron hopes that maybe this will buy them some goodwill with the Whisperers.
With the dangers resolved, Daryl and Carol climb up to a hilltop. Carol still wants to run away; Daryl needs her to stay. Daryl leaves her alone, and as Carol stands on the hilltop, staring down, her eyes lock with Alpha's - and they stare daggers at one another.
Opening sequence
Brilliant. It was like a sophisticated dance; a well-choreographed ballet. It was beautiful to watch, and I wanted to watch more of it, in different situations. If we don't see them doing these moves again in the season, I will be severely disappointed.
Rosita's family
I like that in this new world, there seems to be no qualms about having a plural marriage, or multi-father family. I don't know what you call it, but I don't think Gabriel is happy with the situation, because in tonight's episode, he didn't seem to spend a second with the child that, as of last season, I was under the impression was biologically his. But Siddiq seems to devote far more attention to the baby - maybe he is the biological father? Eugene dotes on the baby because he loves Rosita and he can use the baby as a science experiment. I can't wait to see this situation explode.
Oceanside
Glad to see they are finally doing something with it. It was introduced several seasons ago, and mostly ignored. Also, when we previously saw Oceanside, it seemed deep in the woods. Glad they finally showed the ocean side of Oceanside.
