AMC
Tonight is the fourth episode of Season 9 of The Walking Dead. We have heard that we’re looking at Rick’s final episodes on the show, but it’s unclear what’s going to happen. Will this be Rick’s last episode? We will update this post as the show airs with a recap and review of what happens, so just refresh to see the latest.
The episode begins with a Michonne montage as she helps Alexandria and its residents develop a new world. She wakes up to see Rick sleeping next to her, then turns and sees her sword on the wall. She takes it and goes outside the city, killing walkers with her sword. Then we return to a montage in Alexandria, showing Michonne helping Judith, then writing the charter…then we’re back at night, when she’s going out and killing walkers with her sword. She does this over and over. Honestly, I think this is a good thing because she’s not losing her edge and she’s staying sharp. But the montage makes it look like she’s troubled.
She walks outside one night and sees someone hanging from a rope who is now a walker. I don’t think we know who this person is. But the sight troubles her, until another walker comes and almost takes her out. Michonne has been taking a lot of risks lately – that’s one of the lessons we’re walking away with. She killed the walker with a bat that reminder her a lot of Negan’s Lucille. I guess the message is that Michonne has some darkness in her. But after what everyone’s lost, I’m sure everyone has anger issues to deal with. Who wouldn’t?
Next we cut to the amazing new intro, and we’re at the first commercial break.
The next scene begins with Maggie holding sweet baby Hershel. She looks over Hilltop, and it’s being built into a pretty amazing community. Jesus brings a letter from Georgie (the leader of the Commonwealth) to Maggie. He notices that she’s packing a crowbar and leaving the camp.
“I’m going to make things right, like we talked about,” she tells Jesus. Jesus tells her that Rick was wrong not to kill Negan, but he wants to make sure Maggie’s sure about what she’s doing now. Maggie says she is sure. “I’ll be back when it’s done.”
Rick is at the bridge, watching the water rush beneath. Eugene tells Rick there’s not a good chance that the bridge will hold. “In the long term, it’s bad. I’m sorry.” It’s not safe to keep the project going, he explains. “The two nearby herds we’ve been tracking…show no signs of merging…” Eugene is blaming himself for not reading more books to help. But Rick doesn’t want him to be so hard on himself.
Now we’re at a scene with Carol and Rick. “I’m taking my people home to the kingdom,” she tells him. “You’ve seen it out there Rick.” She said she sent the Sanctuary to head off the group and lead them back. “They need to try standing on their own.”
“They don’t want us there anymore,” she said, “but I know they don’t want Negan anymore either. Not most of them… So it’s up to them to figure out who they want to be… Like we all did.”
Rick’s not sure if they’re doing the right thing. He’s struggling. “But if anyone gives me hope for how things turn out, it’s you,” he tells Carol. She says she’s still trying to figure things out.
“I am sorry Rick. I really wanted it to work,” she said.
Jerry shows up, telling Rick that Maggie is running down to Alexandria and “you know what that means.” He tells the relay to not let her into Alexandria without an escort.
Daryl hears the whole things and approaches Rick. He offers to take Rick to Alexandria on his motorcycle. Hmm… We know Daryl’s on Maggie’s side, so that’s interesting.
Back at Alexandria, Michonne gets a visit from Nora with news. She says they’ve lost about a quarter of their tomato crop to the crows. Michonne says getting a windmill up will help. Nora then says that Negan is refusing to eat.
Daryl and Rick are heading to Alexandria. Daryl is not actually taking him to Alexandria. He wants Maggie to kill Negan.
Darryl going to be responsible for getting somebody else killed. #TheWalkingDead
He and Rick get into a big fight and fall down a ravine into a hole. That’s not good.
Just before #Rick and #Daryl fell into the #SarlaccPit from #ReturnOfTheJedi!!
@TheWalkingDead @WalkingDead_AMC @DanaiGurira #TheWalkingDead #TWD
Now we’re at Negan’s jail cell. Michonne is delivering him food. “The hunger strike ends today.” Negan says he’s not on strike, he’s just not in the mood to eat.
Negan says he’ll only eat if Michonne stays and talks to him. She agrees but only for 20 minutes. “Then you’re going to eat every last bite. You want to talk? Let’s talk.”
Back at the hole, Rick is realizing they’re stuck. “You set that up too?” Rick asks Daryl. Daryl says it’s Rick’s fault because he had to go chasing after Maggie. Rick said he knows how it’s affecting Maggie, and why she never comes to Alexandria. Daryl reminds him that he wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for Glenn and he wouldn’t have found any of them if it weren’t for Glenn. Rick said he hates taking this from Maggie, but it’s what he had to do. Daryl said that Maggie’s doing what she has to do.
Rick says Maggie was coming around, but Daryl says she couldn’t live with Negan being alive, just like Oceanside. “You knew and you didn’t say anything?” Rick asks. “The truth is, I couldn’t live with it either,” Daryl said.
But Rick is convinced that if Negan dies then he becomes a martyr and everyone, including Carl, died for nothing.
“You keep asking us to have faith in all these other people,” Daryl said. “Truth is you don’t have enough faith in us… I’d die for you. And I would’ve died for Carl, you know that. But you gotta hear me. You’re chasing something for him that ain’t meant to be, man. You just gotta let him go.”
What Rick just said about Carl. And Daryl: “You’re chasing something for him that isn’t meant to be, man. You’ve just gotta let him go.” 😭 #thewalkingdead
And THAT was an amazing scene. But this is a good point:
You know it’s funny how Daryl blames Rick for alot of things yet he forgets to remember that his actions are what got Glenn killed . If he just “let things be” like he said Glenn would still be alive . #thewalkingdead
We return to Negan saying that Michonne’s day was more boring than his. “I think I’m not meant to be rotting in this cell, just like the warrior in you is not meant to be planting kale and kissing boo-boos.”
Why is he in that cell🤔😐😑 #TheWalkingDead
Michonne says that what they’re doing is very important and the start of everything.
“I am grateful my wife didn’t have to see me like this,” Negan says. “She was an angel. She deserved better than what she got…”
He says cancer got her. “We would’ve loved to have a kid like Carl,” he adds. But Michonne says she sees Carl everywhere, even in Negan’s cell. Negan observes that Carl wasn’t her first child to die.
“His name was Andre and he just didn’t make it,” she says. “I’ve made my peace with it.”
Negan says it’s better this way. “My wife, she wasn’t made for this. She was weak when she died. There was a part of me that was relieved. And now I know she made me … weak. It was you, with you it’s the same. We’re built for more, we still are Michonne. … And that is why you’re grateful to. That Andre’s gone, because you know all he would’ve done is make you weak.”
Back at the Junkyard Gabriel is tied up and passed out. Jadis kisses him and he opens his eyes. She has a walker with a bucket on its head standing over Gabriel. Jadis says she’s a better person because of Gabriel but it was all for nothing. Gabriel said what she’s doing is his fault. Jadis is lowering a zombie down to bite Gabriel (what the heck?) Gabriel asks Jadis to forgive him someday, just like he forgives her, because God’s love is bountiful. Jadis pulls the walker away at the last second. This is SO WEIRD what the heck.
So nobody thought to look for Gabriel? #TheWalkingDead
But she then puts a handkerchief over his mouth and he passed out.
I am so confused.
After the commercial break, we’re back to Carol’s caravan back to the Kingdom. But a bunch of people from the Sanctuary show up and Jed has a gun along with some other former Saviors. Jed said he figured out that Oceanside was killing his people. He said now that it’s war, they have to kill them too. Jed and Carol have guns pulled on each other. Jed tells her to step aside. She lowers her gun and steps aside. (Carol is pragmatic as always.)
Jed takes her keys, and Carol kicks him in the knee and knocks him down
Rick and Daryl are in the pit and hear the gunfire. But they can’t get out.
Back at Alexandria, Michonne has her books out again and is working on the charter after an unnerving meeting with Negan (to say the least.) But she can’t stop thinking about what he said and looking back to her sword. (This is a phenomenal episode.)
She goes back to Negan’s cell and brings him back his food. “Why did you say those things?” Negan said he shouldn’t brought up her son because she wasn’t ready to hear that she’s trapped just like him. “We are the same and you can’t stand that we’re the same.”
“We’re not,” Michonne says. “You get a kick out of it. Me. I’m trying every day to make things better. Thinking of ways to bring people together, not pitting them against each other… Yeah, I do get strength from the dead, but I live for the living.”
Negan observes that she’s scared she’ll end up like him. But Michonne observes that he’s trying to connect with her.
Negan takes one bite of his sandwich. He says there are things in the world they desperately hold on to when there’s nothing left. “I need to see her,” Negan says.
“We don’t have your bat,” Michonne says. “She’s still out there.”
Negan is freaking out because Lucille is still out there. He’s lost it.
After the commercial break, Daryl and Rick are still stuck in the pit. Walkers are being drawn to the pit and they keep falling in. This isn’t good.
But they’re being smart and stacking the walkers on top of each other so they can climb out. Brilliant. But the walkers falling down the pit might mess that plan up.
Rick is climbing the roots, pulling himself out, and is just finally out of the pit while Daryl is still struggling. Rick finds a root attached to a tree and holds onto it, while offering his free hand to Daryl. This is making me nervous.
It works. Rick pulls Daryl out to safety, but they’re under attack by more walkers. A herd has arrived. Rick says he’s staying and he’s going to lead the herd of walkers away from the camp because he’s not ready to give up o the camp or the bridge. A white horse magically showed up and Rick is going to take it and try to lead the walkers away. This is NOT a good idea.
Meanwhile, Gabriel is being held prisoner by Jadis now. But he wakes up to the door open, so he stumbles outside. Anne/Jadis is gone and the Junkyard is empty. But she left him a note. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. I need to go fast,” she wrote in a note that makes little sense. Poor Gabriel. :(
Back at Alexandria, Michonne is reading to Judith. (Judith is adorable, by the way.)
Maggie and her friend are riding to Alexandria and see all the dead walkers that Rick and Daryl left behind. Rick is leading a herd of walkers after him while he rides the symbolic white horse. But he runs into an even bigger herd going the opposite direction. The horse freaks out and pushes him off, and Rick is impaled. He’s stuck as the herd of walkers approach. :(
This is terrible.
Rick passed out from the pain, impaled as the walkers close in on him. :( They’re almost on top of him when the episode ends.