The Walking Dead Recap With Spoilers: Hearts Still Beating

12/11/2016 10:04 pm EST

WARNING: This is a full recap of The Walking Dead midseason finale. It contains nothing but spoilers.

Maggie is sitting alone at Glenn's grave crying. After she gets up, she heads to the top of the wall around Hilltop and she looks down. Gregory appears below her and addresses how she saved the community from the Saviors. She says it bothers him that she did that, but he doesn't respond. Maggie wants Gregory's apple, and Eduardo convinces him to give it to her.

Back at ASZ, Negan is shaving in the mirror with Carl and Lucille behind him. He tells Carl to always shave against the grain.

Daryl is alone in his cell, looking at the note. He escapes shortly after.

Back at ASZ, Negan is making spaghetti with Carl. Olivia is outside crying and is about to enter the house when Tara brings her more lemonade. Tara offers to take her place inside, but Olivia refuses. Tara leaves and Olivia enters the house.

Negan is teaching Carl how to set the table, and tells him they will need one more, Olivia walks over with Judith and pours him some more lemonade.

Rick and Aaron are looking out over the zombie-pond. They notice that the boat is filled with holes and it will take on water quickly. Aaron kicks out a board from the sign to use as an oar, and says they are both going to see this adventure through. They sail of into the pond.

Negan sits with Carl, Olivia, and Judith. He says he's not waiting for Rick anymore, and he sits Lucille in the empty chair. As Carl passes the rolls, Negan smiles and the opening credits roll.

COMMERCIAL BREAK.

Eugene enters the ASZ gate and walks past Spencer and some Saviors. The Saviors compliment Spencer on his effort to get the supplies. A female Savior flirts with Spencer, and then yells at Eugene.

Carol is sitting by the fire in her house and she hears something outside. Morgan has set something on her stoop. She opens the door and invites him back in. Morgan explains that he brought her fresh produce, and she shows him that Ezekiel had already brought her produce. She is upset because she's not getting left alone. She wanted to check on Morgan, and then asks him to leave. As he opens the door, Richard is standing there. He says he wanted to speak them both about something important.

Rick and Aaron are struggling to get across the pond. Zombies start reaching in and the men stab them with the wood. They are getting closer to the other canoe in the water.and a walkers is inside of it. As Rick kills it, Aaron falls in and is surrounded by zombies. Rick yells for him, and Aaron goes under. He comes back up in a other location and says he's alright. Aaron climbs up into the house boat and Rick joins him.

In Sanctuary, Dwight is sneaking around the halls trying to escape. He hears people and ducks into a bedroom. He finds clothes and peanut butter. He first eats, then changes out of the nasty sweats.

Aaron and Rick are in the house boat and they find a cache of guns. There is no ammo, though. They are going to take it all back.

Daryl is listening to the talk outside, and he is eating the rest of the peanut butter. He flips a table before leaving.

Aaron and Rick are loading up their truck with their guns, and Rick acknowledges that many don't believe in what he's doing for Negan. Aaron says he understands why he's doing it, and that he's with him. Rick says he knows Michonne doesn't agree, and Aaron understands that it's hard to give up everything, but it keeps his people alive so he has to do it.

A set of muddy boots walks to the edge of the pond and it's evident the person is watching Rick and Aaron.

Michonne is holding her gun to the head of the woman, and the car is being driven down the road. Michonne asks the woman about her actions, and about Negan, but she doesn't answer. Michonne persists, but still nothing. Michonne says she isn't going to kill Negan today, but she will find a way to win. That's why she's out alone.

Sasha enters her place to see Maggie and Enid. Someone gave her a pie for saving Hilltop, and Sasha shows off some knives Jesus gave her. Sasha says Jesus left that morning, and Maggie hints that she has been talking to people about leadership. After Maggie leaves, Enid calls out Sasha for lying to Maggie about Jesus. Sasha doesn't want to tell her because Maggie will want to help. Enid tries to plea that they tell her, but Sasha insists that they have to keep Maggie safe. Sasha says it seems like she's the only one trying anything.

Richard tells Carol and Morgan that a lot of communities banded together after everything happened, but that they all died. He believes in what Ezekiel is doing, but the Saviors are trying to take from them. He says Ezekiel and Negan have met about the deal with the Saviors, and he needs their help to turn around and kill the Saviors while they have a chance. He knows things will go bad, and the Kingdom will fall when that happens. He says he lost his family already, he doesn't want to lose his new one. He asks Morgan to convince Ezekiel to attack the Saviors, and destroy them.

Rosita holds the bullet in her hand, and she tells Gabriel that it's for Negan. She says she will probably die, but that Negan has to die as well. Gabriel agrees, but says she may not have to. He says she doesn't need to lie if it's their last conversation. Rosita explains that Abraham and Glenn would have wanted to fight, and that she doesn't have anything in this life worth anything. Everyone else has someone, or a set of skills. Gabriel says none of them should have had to lose anyone, but they need to wait for the right moment, together. He pleads with her not to shoot Negan, and that they still need her to make their victory a reality. Gabriel gets up and leaves the church.

Daryl is sneaking around the Sanctuary with a knife in his hand. He ducks past a room of people, and grabs a pole to use as a weapon.

Richard is explaining to Carol and Morgan that they need to strike first, and they tell him Carol is a capable warrior. Carol says no, that she doesn't want anything to do with anyone. She just wants to be left alone. Morgan says a lot of people will die, Richard says they have to choose to kill them, or his own people will die. Morgan says there's a peace right now, and they can build on it. Richard says that will never happen, and the people's blood is on their hands. After he leaves, Carol tells Morgan not to come back, and to tell anyone they know that she's gone.

Spencer enters his house back in ASZ and he sees where Rick tore it apart looking for the guns. he cleans it all up, as well as himself, and heads out the back door.

Richard takes down a sign in the woods and enters a hidden trailer. He looks around inside and starts to cry. Richard starts breaking bottles, and then just sits down to cry.

Spencer is walking down the street with a bottle of whiskey and Rosita calls him out. He says he's trying to get closer to them and get on the inside so he can one day defeat them. It's what Deanna would have done. He tells Rosita that they had something good, and he asks why she even started it. She says she didn't think much about it, and she just used him. She apologizes to him, and he asks her if she would join him for dinner, and she agrees. As they smile, Spencer walks away.

Daryl gets outside and tries to take a bike. Fat Joey sees him and says he will just let Daryl go. he says he's just trying to get by, just like Daryl. As Jesus walks up, Daryl beats Fat Joey to death with the pipe. He notices Rick's gun on Joeys hip and takes it. Daryl says it isn't just about getting by in Sanctuary, it's about getting it all.

Spencer wants to talk to Negan, and Arat won't let him. Negan allows him to talk, and Spencer introduces himself.

The woman driving Michonne puts the car in park and shows her and entire compound of Saviors. She says that they are all Negan, and there are more. She tells Michonne to go home, and that there's a silencer in the glove compartment. Michonne shoots the woman and turns the car around.

Rick is sitting in the truck as the ASZ gate opens and he is surprised that the Saviors are there. The first man tells Rick that Negan is in his house. Another Savior says they need to have a look at what he brought before he talks to Negan.

Negan and Spencer are on the porch drinking whiskey, and Negan says he wants to play pool. Spencer says the house across the street as a table, and Negan decides it's too nice to be cooped up inside.

As the Saviors are unloading the gear, they find the rude note that the man in the houseboat had left for them. The men start beating on Aaron, and they tell Rick he has to go see Negan.

Negan and Spencer take the pool table outside and rack the balls up. Spencer says he wants to talk about Rick and Negan breaks. He tells Negan he understands what he's trying to build, and a lot of the survivors have surrounded the game. Spencer says Rick doesn't work well with others, and that his mom was a great leader before Rick showed up. Negan says Rick isn't in charge anymore, and Spencer says he will find a way to screw things up. Spencer says he can be the leader his mother was, and it's what this place needs. He tells Negan that everyone would be better off if he was in charge instead.

The Saviors stop beating on Aaron, and Rick helps him up. They start walking toward the house.

Negan says he's thinking, and he knows Rick hates him, but he's out there gathering things so no one gets hurt. He says Rick has guts because he's swallowing his hate. Then he asks Spencer, if he wants to take over, why not just kill Rick himself. He says Spencer has no guts, and then he splits his stomach open and watched the guts fall out. Negan says his guts were there the whole time, and he was wrong. Rosita gets angry, and Negan says someone needs to clean the mess up. He points Lucille around at everyone asking if they want to finish the game. Rosita pulls out the gun and fires.

Rick and Aaron are walking and they hear the gun shot. The bullet hit Lucille and Negan freaks out. Art holds Rosita down, and Negan asks about the bullet, he says it was homemade. Negan says to hold the knife to Rosita's face, because Lucille's face is damaged. He asks her to tell him who made the bullet, and he knows she's lying. He says she gets one more try, and she still lies. Negan says to have it her way, and he tells Arat to kill someone, and Arat shoots Olivia in the head.

Rick and Aaron approach, and Negan tells Rick he should thank him. Negan knows they're never going to be best friends, but he deserves credit for how he handled Carl. He kept Carl safe, even when he killed Negan's men. Then he explains Spencer wanted to kill Rick, and Negan killed him instead. The two men stare at each others, and Rick says his shit is waiting for him at the gate. Negan says he will go, but not until he finds out who made the bullet. Tara steps up, but Eugene cuts her off. He says he made the bullet, and he begins to cry. Eugene starts explaining how he made the bullet and Negan believes him. Negan looks at Lucille and asks for strength, and then tells Rick that he is taking Eugene with him. Negan tells Rick that whatever he brought isn't enough because of the hole that was dug today. The Saviors leave, and Rick watched them go. Spencer starts to come back as a walker, and Rick puts him down.

Rick is down in the ASZ jail cell looking at the note from the house boat, and Michonne enters. Rick walks over and the couple hugs. Michonne says they found what they were looking for, and that she wanted to go with him and Aaron. She says that when she found her way, she didn't want it to be hers, she wanted it to be theirs together. Michonne says they're outnumbered and it's not even close. She says they're still alive, and that they've done that together. She says they have to fight, because she and Rick are the ones who live. They have to fight for everyone else, because they are the ones who can do it. She says they can win, but only if they do it together. Rick says he knows that now, and he appears to be over his brokenness. The two begin to kiss.

Back at Hilltop, Maggie is once again looking at Glenn's grave. She climbs back up to the top of the wall and looks out. In the distance, she sees something and smiles. She yells out for Sasha and Enid and they open the gate. Rick, Michonne, Carl, Tara, and others appear to Maggie. Rick tells Maggie that she was right, and that they need to fight. Daryl and Jesus appear and Rick hugs Daryl and cries. Rosita and Sasha share a moment, and Michonne hugs Sasha. Enid and Carl look at each other and smile. Daryl pulls out Rick'a gun and hands it back to him, symbolizing that the old Rick is back. Rick leads his people into the Hilltop mansion.

THE END.

After the credits, someone is seen watching ASZ through binoculars.

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.