‘The Walking Dead’ Recap With Spoilers: The King, The Widow, And Rick

Rick’s journey down the road continues. He takes a note out of a microwave which is sitting in a wheelbarrow.

At Alexandria, Carl opens the gates for the army to return.

Daryl zips down the road on his bike.

Nabila and the Kingdom decorate a memorial for the fallen. Carol watches them and readies her weapons, simultaneously. Two residents present her with notes from Rick.

Michonne is given the same note.

“The plan is working, we’re doing this, we’re winning. We had a hard fight. We lost people. Brave people who gave their lives to make sure we won. By the time it was over, there were no Saviors left standing.

Maggie gets the same note from Aaron.

Carol and Rick read notes from Maggie which inform them that they have Saviors as prisoners at the Hilltop.

Maggie and Rick read the note from Carol which discuss the Kingdom being ambushed and her, Jerry, and Ezekiel being the only survivors.

Rick’s note pushes everyone to continue, citing Sasha as the first, with more sacrifices coming after. “The rest of the plan’s still a go, I’m headed there now,” he said. “The Sanctuary is still surrounded…” They have snipers planted at the Sanctuary.

“We meet at Sanctuary in two days to end this,” Rick said. “To win it all. It’s not like we haven’t fought before. We fought every step of the way.”

Jadis sits wearing only an apron, creating a cat from wires. Suddenly, she hears someone banging on a container door. Two Scavengers open the doors.

The Walking Dead‘s opening credits play.

Continued

Jesus hands out food to the Saviors. Maggie bursts in and orders him to stop giving away the Hilltop’s food. Gregory suggests killing them but Maggie orders him away. Enid escorts him in. Maggie is frustrated with Jesus for creating this situation. He is shocked that she would consider killing these men.

At the Kingdom, Carol marches past Jerry and to King Ezekiel. She bangs on the door and tells him they promised Rick they would meet. Carol storms off and Benjamin’s little brother tries to follow her but she rejects him.

At the trash heap, Rick is escorted to the center of their ring. Jadis, now dressed, approaches him. “I shot you,” she says.

“Grazed me,” he corrects her.

He tells her he is here for the same thing he wanted before. “We need you and you need us,” Rick said. She suspects him of tricking them. He says they don’t need the Scavengers to save them anymore. He shows them photos of the outposts which have been destroyed before handing the photos to Jadis. He is offering a better deal to Jadis, promising his people will win, and inviting her to “the next world” the communities will build together. 

“Yes or no?” he asks.

“No,” Jadis said. Rick is escorted away. “Talks too much,” she adds.

Continued

Maggie and Gregory chat in Gregory’s office. He insists, again, that what he did with Negan was in the best interest of the community. Maggie accuses him of being scared. “My motives were pure,” he promises. “I’ve sat in that chair. I can help. I’m already in the room.”

She is not interested but he says he can tell her she needs someone to tell her to follow her gut. “You’re the shephard,” he said. “You can’t have wolves wandering around amongst the sheep.”

In Alexandria, Rosita and Michonne break the rules of Rick’s plan and set out on a ride together.

Meanwhile, Daryl and Tara talk on her porch. She tells Daryl he was right for not killing Dwight because he has been integral in getting this far. In the end, though, she will kill him for what he did to Denise. Daryl tells her, “Maybe it could be you and me both and we ain’t gotta wait so long.”

At night, Jesus watches the Hilltop from outside the walls with the Saviors. He hears walker in the woods. The Savior from the satellite outpost keeps talking, frustrating Jesus. He vouches for himself and explains why he was a part of the Saviors. It all started with putting up a fence. Jesus cuts him off. “Don’t pretend that any of us are innocent,” he said.

“Jesus, I’m no angel,” the Savior tells him. “No such thing.”

Continued

Michonne and Rosita continue their ride. Rosita is driving. Michonne is asked why she had to come out here. “The second they rolled up to the Sanctuary and I wasn’t with them, it’s like this siren’s been going off in my head,” Michonne said. “I helped get this started. It’s been a day and a half and I have felt every second so I just need to see it. Turn the alarm off in my head, turn around, and go back home.”

Suddenly, Michonne orders Rosita to stop the car. She hears something in the distance which sounds like loud music. They journey through the woods to find out and discover an abandoned building as the source.

In the woods, a walker is pinned on a spike reaching for a plastic bag. Carl approaches it. He sees a man, however, who beats him to putting it down. It’s the man from the gas station in the Season 8 premiere. Carl insists his dad wasn’t shooting at him and introduces himself.

The man reveals his name: Siddiq.

Carl brought food and water for the man. He says his mom always told him to do what’s right, so that’s what he’s doing. Siddiq grabs the bag and drinks. Carl reveals he had been looking for him and he comes from a community. He asks the man some questions.

“How many walkers have you killed?”

“237. Give or take a couple.”

“How many people have you killed?”

“One.”

“Why?”

“Dead tried to kill him but they didn’t.”

Carl asks about the walker traps. “It’s only part of it,” Siddiq said. “My mom thought, or hoped, that killing them would free their souls. Maybe she was right.” Carl thinks that would make things harder. “You gotta honor your parents, right?” the man said. 

“If I wasn’t honoring my dad, we wouldn’t be talking right now,” Carl said. “And I definitely wouldn’t be bringing you back to my community.”

In the woods somewhere else, Benjamin’s little brother tries to take on walkers but Carol puts them down. She scolds him for following. He insists he is a fighter and wants revenge on the guys who killed his brother. Carol takes the stick from him and gives him her gun. He insists he knows how to use it and she orders him to keep the safety on until she says otherwise.

Continued

Enid emerges from the Hilltop and tells Jesus that Maggie has ordered the Saviors inside. They have built a holding area to keep them. “We’ll keep the prisoners here,” Maggie said. “We’ll feed them. We won’t mistreat them.” However, they won’t accept anything less than cooperation.

Gregory says they shouldn’t have people at the Hilltop who they can’t trust. She agrees with him, which prompts Eduardo and Cal to put him in the same prison. Aaron, Enid, and Jesus look on. Jared walks toward the exit but Maggie strikes him down. He talks about getting people killed, so she strikes him with her rifle again. 

In the woods, Carl escorts Siddiq toward Alexandria. They come across some walkers eating a horse and move in to put them down. They quickly become surrounded and lose control of the fight until Carl uses his gun to put them down. Siddiq is grateful but says Carl could have left. Carl insists sometimes kids have to show their parents the way.

Elsewhere, Michonne and Rosita explore a warehouse set up like a grocery store. Inside, people discuss Negan and the “fat lady” which sounds like a plan for Negan and the Saviors. The two Saviors are standing near a truck with huge speakers loaded on top of it. 

Michonne accidentally kicks a tennis ball in their direction, earning their attention. They open fire on Rosita who runs away but drops her gun in the process. The man approaches, whistling, as Rosita reaches in boxes for weapons but finds a hot glue gun. 

Michonne’s gun is knocked away and she gets into a fight with the Savior woman. She orders Theo to rush to the Sanctuary and leave her to fight. Michonne is losing the fight since she isn’t fully recovered. Rosita catches Theo with a rocket launcher pointed at him. He insists she won’t use it but she blows him away with it.

The woman rushes the truck outside, though. While making an escape, Daryl and Tara cut her off with a garbage truck. They shoot her down quickly. 

Michonne and Rosita tells them they want to see the Sanctuary. Daryl and Tara claim they have a lot more work to do. 

Continued

Carol approaches Jerry and orders him to the side. She takes aim with a shotgun but Jerry tells her the doors is not locked.

Inside, Carol greets Ezekiel on the stage. He is sitting in front of his chair with Shiva’s chain, pitying himself. “People out there need you,” Carol said.

“Who was I to choose for them?” Ezekiel asks.

“You’re their king,” Carol said.

Ezekiel, however, insists he was only playing a part. He knew and, yet, he smiled. He asks to be left alone, prompting Carol to walker away, only to come back and ask why he kept coming to visit her. “It was my duty,” he said. “To make sure you were okay.” Carol asks for the real reason.

“You just make me feel real,” Ezekiel said. “Not of fiction. Real.”

“You are real,” Carol said. “To me. To the Kingdom. Those people need their king to lead them.”

“You. You can lead them,” he said.

“It has to be you,” she insists. “You inspired them to build this place, to believe in something. You have to help them grieve, to move on, to end this. You owe them that. Henry needs you. Those people need King Ezekiel. And if you can’t be the king, then do what you do best, and play the part. I have to act every day. It used to bother me but this is who I am and I am still standing. You just have to act like everything is normal until it is.”

“I can’t,” Ezekiel says.

Back at the Hilltop, Jared is working to free himself from the ropes in the prison. The friendly Savior knocks the rock from his hand and insists he won’t let him get them all killed. Gregory is listening in.

In the office, Aaron talks about the loss of Eric and the weight he is carrying as a result. Maggie is holding baby Gracie. She says the feeling doesn’t go away but it helps to do something about it. Jesus enters and thanks Maggie for doing the right thing. Maggie says those people might be bargaining chips. “They’re alive because we might need them,” Maggie said. “Jesus, if we don’t, we can’t let them live.” 

Aaron exits the room. Outside, he packs a car. Enid rushes to him. He says he is going to make sure they win and she wants to go with him. “Grab your stuff and some food,” Aaron said. “We might be gone for a while.” 

Elsewhere, Daryl parks his truck and shows Michonne the overrun Sanctuary. Daryl turns the truck on and promises they’re going to end this thing right now.

At the heap, Jadis marks the container Rick has been locked away inside of with an A. He is stripped of his clothes and sweating.