Season 11, Episode 14
- While Maggie’s group holes up in the complex, Daryl and Rosita are roped into a fool’s errand for Sebastian.
Carlson watches as some of the complex victims he killed begin to reanimate on the ground below, and radios Lance to tell him they're looking for the missing guns; he and his men continue to hunt down people as Maggie's group hides.
Daryl and Rosita receive assignments from their boss Vickers, only to be annoyed when Sebastian arrives to start bragging about how awesome he is at killing walkers. Daryl reluctantly decides to humor Sebastian and insist he's telling the truth. Two troopers, Alves and Castle, ask Daryl and Rosita to help them investigate a herd towards the north, only for the group to be met by Sebastian. The brat says that due to his mother cutting off his line of credit, he needs money desperately, and orders them to go to a nearby house with a large stash of cash and other paraphernalia. Naturally, Daryl and Rosita refuse to go on such a stupid quest... but then Sebastian asks how their kids are doing. Despite their rage, Daryl and Rosita begrudgingly agree to get Sebastian's prize.
Meanwhile, Maggie's group runs into Annie who is accompanied by Negan. The pair bring them to a hideout where Gabriel and other complex residents are hiding, and the reunion between the Coalition members and Negan goes as frostily as ever. Annie asks Maggie to come with her to help look for survivors, while Negan stays behind with Lydia and the others. He reveals that he and Annie have gotten married since he left the Coalition, and meekly apologizes to Lydia for leaving without saying goodbye. Negan also takes the time to chew out the group for being aligned with the Commonwealth troopers despite Gabriel's protests they didn't know why Carlson wanted to come here. Negan's attention is diverted, however, when he sees Hershel outside being accosted by a trooper. Negan rescues the boy and brings him back to the saferoom, and reports back to Annie and Maggie what has happened. Negan firmly assures Maggie that he will give his life to protect the boy should something happen.
Maggie realizes that Annie is pregnant and is briefly overwhelmed by the bitter irony of it. Maggie tells Annie that Hershel is in the custody of his father's killer, and Annie admits she knows about Negan's past, but has chosen to love him nonetheless. She insists Negan is genuinely trying to do better, and asks Maggie to try to understand.
Back in the hideout, Hershel asks Negan why his mother doesn't like him. Negan says he used to be a bad man, and it clicks for Hershel - he accurately surmises that Negan was the "bad man" who killed his father before he was born. He pulls a gun on Negan to kill him, and Negan confesses to his years-old crime. Negan doesn't resist as Hershel comes closer to executing him, but pleads with the boy to spare him for the others' sake - if he takes his vengeance now, the gunshot will lure the troopers to the hideout and the others don't deserve that. Hershel is able to see reason and lowers the gun, and Lydia comes to take it away from him, giving Negan a disappointed look in the process, and leaving him to reel from what he's done.
Rosita and Daryl make it to the safehouse and find a distraught woman named April hiding inside; she reveals she is just the fortieth person to be sent to the house for Sebastian, and every other person who was forced into it have all been killed. Suddenly, Mercer and Carol arrive, the latter sensing something was amiss when Daryl didn't meet her for lunch. The group tries to navigate through the walkers in the house, but April ends up getting killed. Daryl, Rosita, and Mercer meet with Alves and Castle with the cash, and Mercer executes the two corrupt troopers. Despite everything, Mercer insists they give Sebastian his money, fearing retribution and that he'll make good on his threat on their children. When given the cash, Sebastian gives the pair a small cut before leaving to spend the rest.
Maggie, Annie, Aaron, and Gabriel set an ambush for Carlson, luring him to the roof. Elijah leads the charge in killing Carlson's men, and Carlson gets shot by Aaron, causing him to fall from the roof. Though grievously wounded and paralyzed, Carlson's Commonwealth armor has kept him alive... so he can be alive for every waking moment of the walkers of his victims feasting on him.
As everyone regroups with the Commonwealth troops eliminated, Negan goes to Hershel and invites him to settle their issues when he's a man. Maggie sternly glares at Negan to warn him to keep away from her son. The others discuss their next move, wondering who took the weapons Lance wanted if the complex didn't.
Some time ago, the last surviving Commonwealth trooper screams for mercy to deaf ears - the ears of Leah, disheveled, unstable, and bloodthirstier than ever.
- The Atoner: Annie says Negan is this regarding the atrocities he committed as leader of the Saviors.
- Believing Their Own Lies: As usual, Sebastian thinks he’s a badass survivor as he crows to the Commonwealth troops.
- Berserk Button: Rosita and Daryl nearly kill Sebastian for implicitly threatening their children.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Not only is Lance an antagonistic force, it seems Sebastian has his own agenda (albeit just to get money for himself) - and Leah is out there more than capable of wiping out Commonwealth caravans on her own.
- Big Damn Heroes: Carol grabbed Mercer to go to Daryl and Rosita’s aid.
- The Bus Came Back: Leah returns for the first time since the defeat of the Reapers.
- Call-Back:
- Lydia was hurt when Negan left the group without saying goodbye in “No Other Way”. Leah was also left to fend for herself after the other Reapers were dealt with in that episode.
- Sebastian is trying to get money for himself after his mother cut off his credit line, as was mentioned in “The Lucky Ones”.
- Continuity Nod:
- Negan saves Hershel from a Commonwealth trooper, killing them with a blow to the head much like how he cut down Glenn in the Season 7 premiere.
- Hershel tells Negan how his mother told him a “bad man” killed his father, as Maggie told Daryl in Season 10’s “Home Sweet Home”.
- Similarly, Negan openly tells Hershel he killed his father. In Season 9’s “Guardians”, Negan confirmed to Michonne that he openly told Judith that he killed Glenn to be honest with her.
- Death Glare: Hershel has this for Negan for the entirety of the episode after learning he is his father’s murderer.
- Fourth-Date Marriage: Negan has married Annie and is expecting a child with her in the time span of less than a few months. He even lampshades how crazy it is.
- Friend to All Children: Negan immediately goes to Hershel’s rescue upon seeing him in danger.
- Hypocrite: Negan chides Aaron and Gabriel for being associated with the Commonwealth who he calls the Gestapo. This is coming from a man who once ran a fascist empire that enslaved other states that he ultimately decided to commit genocide on when they refused to submit to his rule.
- Innocently Insensitive: Annie insists Negan stay with our group members since they need someone they can trust, apparently unaware of his history with them.
- Internal Reveal: Hershel learns that Negan killed his father after concluding that he was the "bad man" that Maggie was talking about in Season 10's Home Sweet Home.
- Irony: In a truly tragic and bizarre twist of fate, Maggie learns that someone has embraced Negan as her husband and is expecting a child with him - after Negan killed her husband and robbed her then-unborn son of his father.
- Lack of Empathy: Sebastian shows he doesn’t mind sending people to their deaths if it means getting himself more money.
- Karmic Death: Carlson mercilessly executed several complex survivors by throwing them to their deaths from the roof as a show of the Commonwealth’s superiority. He ends up falling to the ground, kept alive by his armor, but still horribly injured from the fall - too injured to get up, and thus he ends up devoured by the walkers of the complex survivors he killed, his Commonwealth armor doing nothing to save him.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Negan for the first time shows remorse for killing Glenn after seeing Hershel prepared to kill him, seeming to finally realize what he took from him and Maggie thanks to now expecting a child with his new wife.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Lydia says the Commonwealth is just like the Whisperers, set on absorbing other communities and/or destroying them.
- Not the Fall That Kills You…: Carlson’s armor is just enough to keep him alive once he hits the ground, but he quickly wishes it didn’t since he ends up eaten by the walkers he created.
- One-Woman Army: Leah took out a Commonwealth caravan by herself.
- Papa Wolf: And Mama Bear, as Daryl and Rosita nearly kill Sebastian when he brings up their kids.
- Pregnant Badass: Annie is 12 weeks pregnant but still is devoted to fighting on the frontlines.
- Second Love: Negan has married Annie, his first serious love since the death of Lucille.
- Tempting Fate: One of the two Commonwealth soldiers on Sebastian's payroll cockily tells Mercer that they don't answer to him. Mercer shots them both in the head all of five seconds later, showing exactly how keen he is on things like insubordination or 'extracurricular activities.'
- Trauma Conga Line: Maggie learns that Negan has remarried, is expecting a child, and now charged with protecting her son.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Downplayed. Hershel has received training on how to defend himself, but it’s still awful to see him actually pull a gun on his father’s murderer prepared to kill him in cold blood.
- Villains Want Mercy: Carlson acts smug when he and the other Commonwealth soldiers are executing others and have the advantage in numbers, bragging to Aaron and Gabriel that they shouldn't have turned on him. Once his forces are wiped out though, and he suddenly finds himself as the one being held at gunpoint instead of the other way around, he shows to be a Dirty Coward who begs for his life, insisting they can talk things out.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Lydia is still hurt that Negan left without saying goodbye. She also seems unimpressed after learning how he killed Glenn, despite never having met him.
- Would Hurt a Child: Sebastian strongly implies he’s happy to imperil the lives of Coco, Judith, and RJ. A Commonwealth trooper also shows little regard for Hershel’s well-being, roughly handling him and clearly prepared to kill him.
