While Negan embarks on his own odyssey, the group begins investigating their new enemies upon their return to Hilltop.
Bait-and-Switch: We cut from Eugene’s saddened reaction to Rosita running out on his love confession to Rosita puking outside. One might mistake this for an extreme reaction to Eugene’s confessing his feelings, but it’s actually Rosita suffering from morning sickness.
Batman Gambit: During Daryl’s interrogation of Lydia, Henry keeps shouting at him to stop threatening her despite Lydia being an enemy of the allied communities. Daryl notices Henry’s reckless protectiveness and decides to leave the pair of them alone so that Lydia can befriend and open up to Henry... and pave the way for her to let slip some real, valuable information about the Whisperers.
Black Comedy: Daryl and Michonne have to deduce who amongst the small group of walkers is an actual walker, so Daryl simply tests them by shooting them in the leg. The walkers continue unfazed, but a Whisperer doubles over in pain and is promptly devoured by the walkers who turn around to him.
The Bus Came Back: Tammy Rose makes her first appearance since the time-skip.
Negan told Judith a story about how a dog he brought home as a kid killed all the other dogs he’d brought home in “Who Are You Now?”. Now he ends up being hunted by a pack of wild dogs.
When Negan is stealing food from Alexandria's garden before escaping, the shot of him kneeling and picking tomatoes is very similar to the reformed Negan shown in Carl's imagined future from season 8's "Honor".
Cannot Spit It Out: Played With. Eugene is making his big confession to Rosita about how he feels about her, but Rosita runs out on him just as he is about to reach the end of his rambling. Rosita realized what he was saying, however, and likely would’ve left even if she didn’t need to throw up.
Negan finds himself back in the clearing that he murdered Glenn and Abraham in during “Last Day on Earth” and “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be”.
Negan faces a lot of Mundanger during his sojourn, among them lack of supplies and wild dogs. He basically endures his own personal version of Season 5’s “Them”.
Decomposite Character: In the comics, Rosita cheated on Eugene with Siddiq, and got pregnant with his child. In the show, things are played with; Rosita didn’t cheat on Gabriel, but she had a fling with Siddiq before getting together with him, and is now pregnant with another man’s child.
How the Mighty Have Fallen: We finally get to see the Sanctuary, which is now completely abandoned and ruined.
Hypocritical Humor: Judith orders Negan to watch his language around her... because “[she’s] a kid, asshole”.
It's All My Fault: Eugene blames himself for Jesus’s death since he died on the rescue mission for him, but Aaron curtly stops him from apologizing for it.
Mythology Gag: Negan’s solo journey through the wilderness is by and large adapted from issue #174, albeit it takes place earlier in the timeline (not counting the six year Time Skip).
Now What?: Negan is delighted to finally be free of his prison for the last several years, so everything should be hunky dunky (to quote Eugene), right? Nope. Negan finds nothing but hardship and loneliness on the road alone. The Sanctuary and his former empire are nothing but ruins, he has to constantly fend for his life from walkers and wild animals, and he has to scrounge for his own supplies.
Remember the New Guy?: A posthumous example. Negan encounters an old Savior called “Big Richie” who is now a walker, a character who had never been introduced or mentioned before now.
Swiss-Cheese Security: After escaping his cell, Negan is able to casually stroll around Alexandria, stealing as he pleases and even strolling right into Judith's bedroom. He almost makes it over the wall undetected, and the only one who confronts him at all is not any adult on patrol, but Judith herself. The Guards Must Be Crazy indeed — or just complacent, which bodes poorly for whenever the Whisperers arrive.
Who's Your Daddy?: Rosita reveals that she is pregnant with Siddiq’s child, conceived in a brief fling they had before she got together with Gabriel.
You Are in Command Now: With Jesus dead, Tara has become the new leader of Hilltop, with Daryl agreeing to give her a hand in running things.
