Madison stumbles upon a community where Strand has been hiding for years under a new identity.
The Atoner: Strand leads the peaceful community as a means to atone for his actions last season.
Behind the Black: The walkers that sneak up on Frank practically teleport onto the scene when both he and Strand should’ve noticed them sooner even with their argument.
Big Damn Heroes: Daniel, June, Sherry, and their army arrive to save Strand, Madison, and Frank’s people from Troy.
Strand says that the survivors he made it to shore with - and were not found by PADRE - refused his help and were all killed.
Troy claims that he killed Alicia and presents her prosthetic limb as proof, with it being ambiguous as to whether or not he really killed her.
Continuity Nod: Strand once again takes on a new identity in a bid to separate himself from his shame for his past actions. He previously tried to claim he was Morgan in the Season 6 finale when he was ashamed that he helped buy Teddy time to set off the nukes.
Crazy-Prepared: It’s implied Strand hid the raft he rode from Texas in as a failsafe in case he needed to flee the hotel.
Dramatic Irony: Madison wants to know why Strand has formed a new identity for himself, seemingly unaware of his actions in Season 7. The hostile men also believe that PADRE remains the evil child traffickers they were under Shrike’s leadership, unaware of her death and their reformation.
Dramatically Missing the Point: When Frank tells Strand that if he is "Victor Strand" and has done bad things, he promises he’s sure he can forgive him. Strand instead insists he’s not "Victor Strand" while still refusing to come clean.
Easily Forgiven: Defied. Many of the survivors who found their way to the coast with Strand refused to forgive him when he tried to make amends with them.
Foil: Strand is one to Negan. He’s also an Ex-Big Bad who struck out to join a new community and was lucky enough to even find love and a new family there so he could atone for past misdeeds. However, Negan was brave and honest enough to tell his new wife, Annie, of his past atrocities and thus she found it in her heart to forgive and accept him. Strand kept Frank and Klaus in the dark about his past and thus it causes a lot of problems as he falls to paranoia and causes his family to struggle to trust him. That said, Frank insists that he can find it in him to forgive Strand for whatever he’s done.
Heel–Face Turn: Strand has reformed from his days as the murderous Big Bad of Season 7, helping lead a peaceful community.
I Did What I Had to Do: Strand uses this to justify his actions in Season 7, but folds and admits he was too ruthless and villainous.
I Hate Past Me: Why Strand took his new identity to try to distance himself from his past actions.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Madison aired her broadcasts looking for the parents PADRE had stolen children from, only for Troy and his group to
Oh, Crap!: Strand has a particularly big one when he sees Daniel approaching, knowing that trying to preserve his life will become virtually impossible with a second survivor from his past around.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Frank quickly notices Strand’s fearful refusal to let Madison in and becomes suspicious. He also refuses to initially hand over Madison.
Second Love: Frank is the second known lover of Strand after Thomas Abigail back in the early seasons.
Spotting the Thread: Frank notices the inconsistencies in Strand’s story and the convenience that he keeps finding useful tools like the raft and his sword.
Uncertain Doom: Strand says the other survivors he was with who made it to shore without finding PADRE were killed. As of this episode, the Rabinowitz twins, Rabbi Jacob Kessler, and Josiah LaRoux are still missing, leaving it unknown if he’s referring to them. Charlie is also worth mentioning since the first half of the season avoided explicitly confirming whether she died of her radiation poisoning.
Villain Has a Point: Troy gets into Madison’s head by pointing out that even if they go to war, it’s only going to be a petty war of vengeance over the apparent death of Alicia.
Was It All a Lie?: Strand confirms to Frank that he wasn’t lying about loving him.
Wham Episode: Strand has rejoined Madison’s group, with his new family and hotel community having joined as well. The larger group now faces their new enemy in the form of the returned Troy Otto, who claims to have killed Alicia and has possibly credible evidence of having done so.
