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It’s not every episode, or even every television show where you get to see a guy get his private parts bitten on primetime.

With that said…..more spoilers ahead…..

It’s a routine in Alexandra. Food checked, patrols changed, and it just seems to calm. Too easy. Carol is still holding on to her Crucifix. She looks troubled even in her obviously established relationship with Tobin. Oh yeah, Morgan has a whole home improvement project going on building a whole in home jail cell, suitable for home bondage parties, or whatever he might want to lock up next.
Zoe…I mean Denise (sorry still expect Nurse Jackie to show up and set her straight at any point) has gotten tired of the safe, she enlists Rosita and Darryl to go find a nearby boutique and apothecary. They reluctantly agree to take her along. Warn her she’s not ready, but she is bound and determined to go.

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For her part Rosita is still struggling with her breakup from Abraham and has ended up in bed with Spencer, but definitely doesn’t seem to be all that interested in the Relationship he is hoping for.
We find that Darryl is unable to drive stick shift (And I call B.S. writers, he can hunt just about anything that moves but in his entire contrived redneck past, he never learned to drive with a clutch?!?!?!) as he grinds his way into a small town. When a tree has blocked the path they end up on foot. The shortest path is down the nearby railroad tracks, but Darryl doesn’t trust tracks anymore and takes a longer path along the road. Rosita walks down the tracks, and Denise chases after Darryl.
When they all finally meet at the strip mall they were heading for, Daniele tells Rosita that it wasn’t that she chose to follow Darryl over her because she thought Rosita couldn’t protect her. Daniele asks Rosita where she learned all her survival skills….but too soon….too soon….Abraham….too soon.

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Speaking of Abraham, he and Gabriel are off on an adventure of their own. Gabriel who now believes he is at “level 2” survival has found a machine shop and has determined it is time to start manufacturing bullets. When a walker attacks and he needs Abrahams help to bring it down. They get into a fight and Abraham is told his “services are no longer needed.” So Abraham leaves telling Gabriel to find his own way back.
Meanwhile back at the combination dress barn/pharmacia, the scavengers find a massive cache of drugs and as Darryl and Rosita are loading them all up, Zoey…sorry Daniel finds a crippled walker in a storage closet, and then the remains of a baby in a wash basin under the words hush…hush….hush…hush…
When she freaks out, Rosita is quick to point out that she and Darryl knew she wasn’t ready. So Denise ends up sitting outside of the shop clutching a Denis name keychain she found inside.

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Back on the road and obviously happy with the large score of medicine, Darryl decides to take the shorter route back to the truck along the tracks. Denise reveals Denis was the name of her 6 minute older twin. They encounter a car with a cooler and walker inside. Darryl and Rosita think it’s not worth the risk but Denise takes it on alone. She of course needs help and Darryl comes to her aid. Inside is a six pack of soda. Daryl and Rosita are pissed that she risked her life for it, but Denise fires back about how amazing they really are “blah…blah” and should value not only their strengths but their weaknesses and….THE ARROW RIPS THROUGH THE BACK OF HER HEAD AND COMES OUT HER EYE

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Now set the season wayback machine, because that total jerk that Darryl tried to help that ended up stealing his crossbow and motorcycle (Dwight) is back and sho’nuff has all his friends (more Saviors). He thinks he has the upper-hand as they disarm Rosita and Darryl. He has Eugene on his knees and at gun point and even has the brass weighted balls to say he hasn’t learned how to fire it yet and he wasn’t aiming for Denise, he was trying to kill Darryl. We spot Abraham behind some oil barrels, and it appears like Eugene is going to sell him out, but when they all turn to look, Eugene quickly spins and takes a “bite out of crime” quickly causing enough of a distraction for Abraham to take out several of the would be captors, and allowing Darryl and Rosita to grab some weapons and join the fight.

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Darryl gets his crossbow back, but several of the Saviors escape including Dwight. Denise is dead, Eugene has taken a bullet through the shoulder. The medical supplies they found turn out to be the antibiotics they needed to help him recover. Abraham is at his bedside, apologizing for not believing he has become stronger, and proclaiming he is now at “level 2,” to which Eugene proclaims he has “been there for a while.”

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All in all a very solid episode and a good ride this week. There is definitely reason to believe that Negan knows he has another group to conquer.

 

OH and yes at the very end of the episode we find out Carol has left the compound. She leaves a letter asking not to be looked for. She claims it goes all the way back to when Rick kicked her out and she has stayed again too long. What does all this mean with only two episodes until the season finale?!? I think it means we should buckle up for one hell of a season ending cliffhanger, and remember that all of the characters on this show are subject to elimination at any time (just like a bad episode of Dancing with the Stars or Survivor,) so don’t get too attached to how things have been, they are about to radically change again.

About the Author

Victoria Susan (Vicks She/Her) is a lifelong horror fan. She also grew up in the amazing period of time in Southern California when Knott's Halloween Haunt was a regular event and became a true fan of the art and artistry of the haunt community. LGBTQIA+ you used to find her most every fall chasing Norm around with a Video Camera as Horrorbuzz.com's Video Director. Now relocated to Orlando, Florida - where the mazes are houses she enjoys the theme-park scares on the other coast. Still with a video camera in her hand.