The Walking Dead: Go Getters

By The Lady Cocotte

Get your red-handled machete and katana sword ready, it’s time for another episode of The Walking Dead! Our group of resolute walker killers have become a little fractured this season. While Carol and Morgan are living the high life in the Kingdom (or, in Carol’s case, there but not there), Rick and Michonne are back in Alexandria dealing with surprise visits from Negan.

And then there’s Daryl. Poor Daryl really got the short end of the stick (which is better than the spiked end of a baseball bat I guess) when Negan took a shine to him and decided to torture him into submission. So far it’s not working but you can’t deny Negan’s done his very best to do the very worst. And then there’s Maggie. As if watching Negan kill her husband (and his red-headed friend) wasn’t a bad enough trauma, Maggie was already in the middle of a medical crisis. Luckily, Sasha funneled her grief into lugging Maggie (and the two corpses) to the Hilltop Ob/GYN. Tonight we get to see their story.

Maggie wakes up to flowers and a kindly doctor. She needs lots of rest and the doctor wants her to stay in Hilltop for the duration of the pregnancy. But the baby is fine. To underscore this truth she gets to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. A little piece of Glenn lives on, one beat at a time. Sasha is hovering nearby. Maggie and the baby have become her reminder that a future is worthwhile.

They visit Glenn and Abraham’s graves. Sasha hands Maggie Glenn’s pocket watch. Her father gave it to him and now it’s been passed on to her. Sasha grins wryly. “All Abraham had was a cigar.” Their memories burn deep. Sasha tells Maggie she’s staying with her. They’re an unusual family unit but they have each other and for now that’s enough. Jesus stops by with fresh flowers for the graves. They share a lovely moment that is interrupted by a blustering Gregory. He’s upset that the Alexandrians weren’t able to take care of his little Negan problem and he wants Maggie and Sasha out of Hilltop immediately. He’s terrified that Negan will see them there and put two and two together. “Jesus, do you have any idea what plausible deniability means?” Jesus manages to get approval to keep them overnight but Gregory is firm that that’s all they get. Jesus can’t disguise his disgust. Maggie leaves Glenn’s watch on his grave, a token of her love.

In Alexandria, Rick and Aaron are prepping for a scavenger mission. They need to find something “special” for Negan. If it wasn’t such a serious situation I’d compare him to the Little Mermaid (“I’ve got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty. I’ve got whozits and whatnots galore. You want thingamabobs? I’ve got twenty!  But who cares? No big deal. I want more!“). Carl throws a hissy fit. He’s not happy they’re kneeling. And then he sees Enid going over the fence. I guess she got out of the closet just in time for Carl to lock her back up again. She’s going to see Maggie. Carl tries to talk her out of it and they argue. Finally he concedes, “I’m not saving you anymore.” He means it as a threat but she’s relieved. And outta there. It’s like Morgan and Carol, the teen version.

Sasha and Maggie settle in for a night in Jesus’ trailer. Sasha can’t understand why Jesus lets Gregory make all the decisions. Jesus explains that he’s not a leader. Sasha isn’t letting him off that easy. At a certain point you need to stand up and do what’s right. He slinks away so the girls discuss the Gregory situation. “He’s and idiot,” Sasha complains. Maggie shakes her head. “He’s a coward. They’re more dangerous.” Later that night they’re awakened by strange sounds. The gates are open, there are several fires burning in the Hilltop courtyard and a car is playing loud music. Sounds like someone (cough, Negan, cough) dumped a walker magnet in their lap.The doors are all locked so Sasha crawls out the skylight. Someone has to turn off the music and close the gate. Never one to sit idly by, Maggie climbs up after her. Jesus pops up on a balcony (and it doesn’t look like he was aloooone) so he joins the fight. No one else helps. The car is reinforced and impossible to open so Sasha and Jesus focus on clearing the walkers. And then the farmer’s daughter (Maggie) shows up in a tractor. She takes out walkers and goes all demolition derby on the noisy car. Don’t poke a mama bear!

Enid finds a bike and cycles her way to Maggie. A walker comes for her but before she can react a car plunges into it. The walker gets back up so the car reverses. It’s Carl. He’s not done saving Enid. Since the car is totalled, the kids must walk. Enid asks Carl about that night. He tells her he didn’t look away because he knew he needed to remember it. ”So when I had a chance to kill him, I wouldn’t have a choice.” Enid gets it. You do things for the ones you love. “It’s not for them,” Carl whispers cryptically. Oh! He’s still pissed about Dr Denise. Jeez, you save a kid’s life and he’s all obsessed with revenging your murder. Then he finds some roller skates. And for a brief moment they’re just two kids skating along, laughing and holding hands.

Gregory and Jesus fight over Maggie and Sasha. Jesus wants to keep them because he’s a good person and they were the only ones fighting to protect the Hilltop. But Gregory only cares about protecting Gregory. And, as he keeps pointing out, he’s in charge. Sasha and Maggie barge in. Gregory wants to give them some jam as a thank you but Sasha is intent on taking care of business. She offers to do anything to keep Maggie safe so Gregory tries to get some sexual favors out of her. Before any of them can kick his ass, the Saviors drive up. Gregory tells Jesus to hide the ladies in the closet. He’s panicking.

Simon (Negan’s second in command) and a virtual army storm into Gregory’s house. Simon tells Gregory about the bunker Saviors being killed. Gregory plays confused but he’s a terrible actor. He does his best to suck up and it’s a pathetic sight. Simon plays him like a fiddle. He lets Gregory know that Alexandria is working for them now. And he asks if there’s anything else he should know about. Gregory folds like a wussy pussy and takes him to the closet. No! What an a-hole! Jesus can’t believe what he’s doing. But the closet is empty. Jesus smirks. Gregory plays it off by offering a case of Scotch but you can tell he really doesn’t want to let it go. Save the Scotch but screw the bitches is his motto. On their way out, Simon takes his favorite painting (the one he was oh so proud of). And makes him kneel. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Carl and Enid arrive at Hilltop and see the Saviors. “I don’t think Negan’s here. I don’t see that black truck,” Carl notes. Enid gets it. Carl’s not there to save her. He’s chasing Negan. She understands but she won’t join him. He’s not doing it for Glenn or Abraham or Maggie. He’s doing it for himself and she just can’t get on board. She will smooch him a little though. And ask him not to go in a throaty whisper. But Carl’s on a mission. Bros before hos even applies to murder.

Jesus lets Sasha and Maggie out of the closet he actually hid them in. Gregory is irate. How dare Jesus disobey him! But Jesus has the moral high ground and two pissed off warriors at his back. He informs Gregory that they’re staying or he’ll spill the beans about the deal with Alexandria. That stops Gregory in his tracks. “So you’re gonna be in charge now?” he asks. “No. It’s just that you won’t be.”Jesus drops the mic. Gregory isn’t ready to give up his position quite yet. He claims he made progress with the Saviors today. “You saw it.” Jesus scoffs. “That’s not what I saw.” Gregory walks over to Maggie. He calls her “dear” one last time and she punches him in the face. Then she pulls Glenn’s watch out of his pocket. She is all out of fucks to give. She tells Gregory this is her home now. “So you’ll learn to start to call me by my name. Not Marsha. Not dear. Not honey. Maggie. Maggie Rhee.”

The new power threesome watch the Saviors pack up. Jesus explains that Gregory was already in power when he showed up at the Hilltop. “I didn’t like how he did things but I couldn’t imagine anyone else in his place. I can now.” Maggie asks who. He says they’ll talk about it sometime and Sasha smirks. Maggie doesn’t always see herself the way others do. Maggie returns to the trailer and Sasha asks Jesus if he can find where Negan lives. Yeah, he can. Jesus can work miracles. She asks if he can keep it between them. He doesn’t like keeping it from Maggie. Neither does Sasha but this is their life now.

Maggie returns to the gravesite to find Enid and her green balloons. Instead of returning Glenn’s watch to his grave she gives it to Enid. A family heirloom for their new family.

As the Saviors start driving away, Jesus sneaks into one of the trucks. But he’s not alone. Carl had the same idea.

Next week: Tara washes up on the ocean shore. Where is she? Where is Heath? What happened on their scavenger mission? At least some of these questions will be answered.