Season 9, Episode 6
- Alexandria weighs letting in a new group of arrivals.
- The Aloner: Daryl takes this to the extreme, as it’s revealed that he never returned to the group after the loss of Rick.
- Asshole Victims: Jed, Regina, and so many other Negan loyalists had it coming for reverting to their old ways murdering and robbing others aside from attacking Carol. No tears are shed when they are burned alive by her.
- Breaking the Fellowship: The communities are no longer close partners, with Alexandria being the most isolationist of them all. Ezekiel mentions how Hilltop and the Kingdom are now distant, though since they don't hesitate to send Henry to Hilltop, it can at least be assumed that Hilltop and the Kingdom are still in friendly terms. Sanctuary is mentioned to have already fallen and the remnants of Saviors either join other communities like Laura and DJ joined Alexandria, or become roaming bandits like Jed's group. Oceanside is conspicuously absent and unmentioned.
- Call-Back:
- A primary theme of the first five episodes of the season was that the Sanctuary was on the brink of collapse due to poor harvests and general dissent. During the Time Skip, the Sanctuary fell, and the Saviors either joined the other communities (as Laura joined Alexandria) or became roaming bandits like Jed’s group.
- Combat Pragmatist: Carol gives up without a fight when she's surrounded and outgunned by Jed's group. Henry is angry with her that she didn't fight back... except that later, it turns out she was just picking her moment. Instead of fighting them head on, which would have gotten both her and Henry killed, she tracks them down that night and sets them on fire.
- Continuity Nod:
- Michonne speaks to the absent Rick, who she believes to be dead. In Season 3’s “Clear”, she confessed to Rick that she sometimes spoke to her deceased boyfriend as a way to cope with her loss.
- In Season 7’s “Say Yes”, Rick asked Michonne to take command of Alexandria should he die during the then-forthcoming war with the Saviors. That request has now come to pass.
- Judith has to do homework despite being in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. Earlier in the season, Henry was mentioned to be going to school as well, but Judith isn’t the first Grimes child to have homework during the apocalypse, as Lori made Carl do homework back during Season 1.
- Magna’s group undergoes interviews with the Alexandrian council, among them Aaron. Back during Season 5, Aaron’s primary job was finding good people to bring into Alexandria.
- Cryptic Background Reference: Something happened during the Time Skip that engineered Michonne’s decision to turn away any new survivors, and it is known among all the communities, but so far, we don’t know what happened.
- Decomposite Character:
- With the departure of Rick, an event that did not take place in the comics, several characters pick up his storylines and relationships with other characters. Michonne fills in for Rick as the leader of Alexandria, and by extension the rest of the allied communities. Judith has taken his place in having semi-frequent conversations with Negan, and Aaron has replaced his severed right arm with a prosthesis identical to Rick’s in the comic.
- Henry and Judith both take Carl’s place as the series’ young leads.
- Gabriel has taken Eugene’s place as the one who got together with Rosita.
- Death by Adaptation: Not much, but Bernie is already Killed Offscreen before Magna and the others being rescued by Alexandrians. In the comic, he's overrun and devoured by walkers during the rescue.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Jed openly acknowledges that Carol spared his life in the past and makes a point of sparing her and Henry even after Henry snaps and attacks them. Unfortunately for him and his group, though, them hurting Henry isn't something Carol is willing to let go.
- Good Is Not Soft: When beginning the interview, Gabriel attests that while Alexandria strives to be kind and helpful, this doesn’t make them soft.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Eugene is clearly jealous of Rosita’s relationship with Gabriel.
- He's Back!: Or she, in this case. During the previous two seasons, Carol went through an existential crisis over whether or not she could keep killing to protect those she loves. This episode shows her first real confrontation after the time skip... and she backs down without a fight, indicating that she has given up fighting for peace. But then, she tracks the ex-Savior bandits down, takes her stuff back, and sets them all on fire.
- Kill It with Fire: Carol kills the ex-Savior bandits by burning their compound.
- Mama Bear: Carol burns the ex-Savior bandits alive because, "You hurt my son."
- Man on Fire: The ex-Savior bandits get killed when Carol sets them on fire.
- Mythology Gag: Eugene begins needling Rosita about her relationship with Gabriel and awkwardly suggests that she turn her affections towards him. This is a reference to how in the comics, they hooked up after Abraham dumped Rosita.
- Rule of Symbolism: There's a long shot of the destroyed bridge from the first part of the season, revealed to have never been rebuilt, to symbolize that the communities are no longer close partners and that Rick's desire for a closer future between them failed to come to pass in the last six years.
- Soup of Poverty: Played with — Luke, who is trying to help his group gain membership with the Alexandrians they've just encountered, offers to make a fancy meal out of the deer they've killed. Eugene shoots him down, stating they primarily make stew since it will feed more people. At this time, Alexandria, though isolationist, is doing reasonably well in terms of food and survival, so the stew isn't out of desperation but just them still being smart considering the many times they have suffered food shortages.
- Super-Persistent Predator: Rosita and Eugene have a hard time escaping the herd and only barely manage to hide. This is partially because, as they learn at the episode’s end, this is not just any herd.
- Title Drop: Said by Gabriel to Magna's group.
- Took a Level in Badass: During the Time Skip, Eugene finally became a courageous, badass warrior for good.
- Took a Level in Cynic: After the loss of Rick, Michonne severely hardened and lost much of the idealism the pair of them had gained together.
- Villain Has a Point: Negan is correct on two fronts: Judith’s lessons should consist of a curriculum that actually applies to the world she lives in (since airplanes will likely never return to society), and that it’s entirely possible that any new arrival to Alexandria could turn on them like the dog he claims to have brought home did.
- Wham Line: As Rosita and Eugene hide from the passing herd, they hear whispers.Walkers: Where are they? They must be close. Don’t let them get away.
