The flashback takes place in the Sanctuary, the former Savior base. Negan is shown sketching the compound’s walker-guarded fences, Lucille the bat is shown by his side, and Simon is shown as his second in command.
The Croat mentions Ezekiel by his former title of "king", as well as Hilltop, which would later be the community Simon would be appointed to deal with in Season 7.
Simon says the Saviors don’t do what the Croat did to the Kingdom girl to children. His genocide of Oceanside was committed against every male over the age of 10.
Simon takes a moment to needle Negan insisting that harsher authority be taken against the Croat and imply that he be given more command; his arc in Season 8 revolved around how he believed Negan was too soft to lead the Saviors, which was just his way of saying he wanted Negan to commit complete and total genocide.
Maggie and Negan encounter a teen walker who they worry is Hershel thanks to his strong resemblance to him. Maggie underwent a similar scenario back in Season 4's "Inmates" where she thought Glenn was among the walkers on the bus full of reanimated prison survivors.
Maggie leads the group in fighting their way through the horde using some makeshift shields in a tight formation like how she and the other primary fighters of Season 3 - Rick, Glenn, Daryl, and T-Dog - used to battle their way into the prison in the Season 3 premiere "Seed".
The Croat learns that Lucille was destroyed, which happened in Season 10’s finale "Here’s Negan".
The Croat says he learned of the Savior War in Season 8 and muses on what damage Simon must have caused. Simon’s push towards genocide was indeed a major contributing factor towards the defeat of the Saviors.
The Croat also references the fall of the Sanctuary, which fell during the Time Skip of Season 9 due to failing crops.
The Croat also refers to Maggie as "the widow", the title the Saviors gave her during the Savior War.
Dramatic Irony: Seeing Simon deride the Croat for his crimes against a child rings a bit hollow for the audience given they witnessed him try to commit genocide on AHK, up to and including all their children.
Even Evil Has Standards: Even Simon, evil and sadistic as he is, is appalled by what The Croat did to The Kingdom girl, saying they don't do that to kids.
I Did What I Had to Do: The Croat justified his actions against the Kingdom girl this way.
I Hate Past Me: Negan says the closer they get to the Croat, the more he’s reminded of his vile past.
Inspector Javert: Even after Negan saved his life when he didn’t have to, to the point even the Croat was shocked by such an act of goodwill, Perlie still decides to arrest Negan for having broken New Babylon’s laws.
Internal Reveal: Averted. Maggie almost tells Negan that Ginny is on the island, but stops when she notices Luther's tin of beeswax in Negan's bag, confirming her suspicion that Negan killed him.
Interservice Rivalry: The Croat and Simon are shown to have been at each other’s throats well before his final straw that broke the camel’s back.
It's Personal: The group counts on the Croat’s personal vendetta with Negan and it works, as he personally pursues him with a few men.
Mass "Oh, Crap!": The reaction of Maggie's group when they realize they've been set up, and hundreds of walkers swarm into the arena.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Negan saves Armstrong when the latter is thrown off a balcony by the Croat. Armstrong still places him under arrest after they get to safety.
Precision F-Strike: Maggie says she buried Amos’s harmonica "in the fucking ground".
Soundtrack Dissonance: Deliberately used by the Croat who plays mockingly upbeat music to lead in the moat of walkers.
Spanner in the Works: Ginny’s appearance at Madison Square Garden is the first thing that throws the group off their game and indirectly leads to the group being overwhelmed by the horde.
Spotting the Thread: Maggie is able to pick up on Negan killing Luther from watching his face while the others wonder about his whereabouts.
Storming the Castle: Negan and Maggie lead Amaia's group in raiding the Croat's headquarters at Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately for them, he saw this coming and evacuates while also setting up bombs to let the horde of walkers surrounding the building in to overwhelm the attackers.
Title Drop: To quote Amaia: "You get your kid. We kill the psycho. Everybody wins a prize."
Ungrateful Bastard: Even after Negan saves his life, Perlie pulls a speargun on him and prepares to take him in. Granted, he is a Marshall and is required to do so, but he sure picked the wrong time to do so.
