The Walking Dead
Episode 7.5 “Go Getters”
Directed by Darnell Martin
Written by Channing Powell
Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Christian Serratos, Sonequa Martin-Green, Josh McDermitt, Khary Payton, Austin Amelio, Tom Payne, Katelyn Nacon
AMC
Air Date: Sunday, November 20, 2016

Warning – SPOILERS for AMC’s The Walking Dead…

Last week’s episode of The Walking Dead was yet another one focusing on Rick knowing his place in the new Negan-ruled world. While in the past, Rick was always confident that he and his well-trained people could defeat any foe, this time, he knows that they are so outnumbered by Negan and his Saviors that there’s no retribution plans in the works. Instead, he tried to convince everyone at Alexandria that going forward, they will be kneeling to their new leader Negan, who they’ll have to pay tribute to in the form of goods and services. Carl and Michonne weren’t too keen on backing down, even though they witnessed Glenn and Abraham’s horrific deaths at the hands of Negan and his barbed-wired wrapped baseball bat. In Season 7, we’re seeing a side of Rick we’ve never seen before – one that’s so terrified that his children will be killed that he’s willing to do anything Negan says.

In this week’s episode, 7.5 “Go Getters,” we don’t get too much of the Alexandrians. Instead, we touch base again with the Hilltop Colony. After their fatal altercation with Negan, Rick and his group all went back to Alexandria, except for Sasha and Maggie, who instead planned to bring Glenn and Abraham’s bodies to Hilltop to lay the men to rest. Also, pregnant Maggie needed medical attention, and the Hilltop has a doctor and medical equipment.

The episode opens on Maggie safe at the Hilltop Colony. Dr. Carson tells her that the baby is fine, but that the placenta has become detached from her uterus, so she will need to take it easy going forward. He also says she should stay there for the duration of her pregnancy. (Hang on a second — wasn’t the doctor’s name at The Sanctuary named Dr. Carson?)

Turns out that’s going to be difficult, because Hilltop leader Gregory wants Maggie and Sasha to leave, as he fears what the Saviors will do if they find out that he’s harboring people from Alexandria.

Gregory doesn’t know this, but the Alexandrians told Negan that Maggie passed away, and showed him her grave, so Gregory is actually in more danger than he realizes. Sasha pushes for him to at least let Maggie stay, and Jesus backs her up, but Gregory is a coward. Remember — Rick had promised Gregory that he’d wipe out the Saviors, thereby emancipating the Hilltop from Negan’s rule. But Rick miscalculated and ended up attacking what turned out to be just an outpost with a small fraction of Negan’s people in it. The rest — hundreds of them — reside at The Sanctuary, but no one knows the location. But perhaps they soon will… more on that soon.

Meanwhile, Maggie and Sasha go to where Glenn and Abraham have been buried. Sasha hands her a pocket watch that they found in Glenn’s pocket — we know that this belonged to Maggie’s father Hershel, who passed it down to Glenn when it became clear that he was serious about being with his daughter. Maggie puts the watch on Glenn’s grave; Sasha says that all Abraham had on him was a cigar. Just then Jesus comes with flowers to try to make things all better — he means well, but he’s got to contribute more than just flowers; he needs to convince Gregory to let Sasha and Maggie stay.

Meanwhile, back at Alexandria, Rick and Aaron are prepping to head out North to scavenge for Negan, as is now expected. Michonne is staying behind because she has “to figure some things outs,” she tells Carl, who doesn’t want to live this life of subjugation. While there’s been tension between Michonne and Rick since they’re now forced to bow to Negan, before Rick sets out, Michonne gives her lover a passionate kiss. “Thank you,” he says as he leaves.

Over at the gate, Enid is climbing the wall, because she wants to go to the Hilltop to check on Maggie. Carl finds her there, and they have their usual emo conversation, and he tells her “I’m not saving you anymore.” Last season, Carl had locked Enid in the armory to protect her, but she didn’t exactly feel like this was “saving” her. She makes it over the wall, and he does not go with her.

Back at Hilltop, Jesus tells Sasha he’s glad that she and Maggie are there. Sasha doesn’t understand why Jesus is not is not in charge of the colony; he says he’s no leader, but rather, he’s “just trying to help.” We see this when he has a private conversation with Gregory, who flat out tells him that he can lead if he wants to, but he’d have to actually stick around to do so. The men seem to have a deeper connection than just being fellow residents; Jesus seems to have more pull with the man, who doesn’t get upset when Jesus pushes him. Sasha tells Jesus that he’s got to do more than just “help.” He then gives her a necklace that he found that belonged to Abraham — this is the pendant that Rosita created for Abraham as a token of her love for him just before he dumped her to be with Sasha. When Maggie shows up, she asks Jesus why the Hilltop burn their dead (whereas, the Alexandrians bury theirs). He says that initially the idea was “just to keep going.” When Maggie asks him what do they have to remember them by, he says, “us.”

Out on the road, Enid is riding a bicycle when a car shows up and hits a walker, before smashing into a sign that says “Drive slowly.” It’s Carl, of course, who says he just “felt like a drive.” Looks like Enid’s going to have company on her visit to the Hilltop. Too bad, there’s trouble brewing there, and they’re walking right into it.

It’s nighttime now, and classical music is blaring from a car in the middle of the Hilltop Colony, waking up the residents. The gates are opened, walkers are filing in, and there’s bonfires all around. Sasha immediately springs into action, killing walkers on her way to shut the music off. Jesus runs to her aid, but Maggie won’t stand idly by. She starts off barking orders at the residents, who, for some reason, were just standing there in shock, and then she takes action on her own. So much for best rest, because here comes Maggie backing up a tractor, rolling over the walkers AND crushing the car that is blasting the music. So, Maggie, Sasha, and Jesus save the day, while Gregory, we see, hides up in his bedroom.

The next morning, Gregory still wants Maggie and Sasha to leave, despite their heroic acts, although he then implies that sexual favors from Sasha might make him reconsider (that didn’t go over well with the ladies). Gregory once again gets everyone’s name wrong because he doesn’t care enough to learn them — a pattern we’ve seen from him in the beginning when he kept calling Maggie “Marsha.” The previous night’s bonfire was a message from Negan, and now, the Saviors have arrived in full force to drive home the point, so Gregory directs Jesus to hide Maggie and Sasha in a closet.

As this is happening, Carl and Enid are still making their way to Hilltop. Carl talks about how he watched when Glenn and Abraham were brutally killed because he felt that he’d need to remember that moment. Enid says that’s not something she’d want to remember, but she understands the anger that is motivating Carl to want revenge on Negan and his people for what happened. Eventually, they come upon a bag in the road that happens to have old school roller skates in them! The two teens don the skates, and blissfully roll down the road, smiling and holding hands, the seeds of young love sprouting. But, unfortunately, they are rolling into some hostile territory.

At Hilltop, one of Negan’s top men, Simon, is there to get half of the colony’s stuff. But with the Saviors, they can never just show up, get their stuff, and leave. No, they have to grandstand and monologue. They have to terrify and intimate and terrorize, which is what Simon does to Gregory. They go into Gregory’s study, and Simon goes on and on about a painting on the wall, and then blathers on about how much safety the Saviors provide them. (Seriously, I’m just so sick of their shit!) Gregory stresses that he got the message and he knows who’s boss. Simon points out that he was surprised that the Hilltop residents were able to combat the walkers the night before — he seems suspicious, but Gregory says they must have learned some survival skills from the Saviors. Simon then reveals that the Hilltop allies — the Alexandrians — got “butchered” and that the survivors are now under Negan rule now, too. Simon also tells Gregory that he’s his new Negan, and does everything to drive home that point, including making Gregory kneel before him. We’ve seen everyone kneeling to Negan, but this is the first time anyone’s been made to bow before any of his underlings. Is Simon overstepping here? Could be. But Gregory will do anything to survive, including give up Sasha and Maggie. When Simon asks if there’s anything he should know about, Gregory brings him to the closet the women were supposed to be hiding in. Thankfully, when he opens the door, the women aren’t there; there’s only boxes of whiskey. While Simon hates whiskey, Negan loves it, so he’s going to take it back to his leader and take credit for the gift. Before leaving, Simon takes the painting he rambled on about.

Just then, Carl and Enid arrive to Hilltop to see the Saviors loading their trucks, but no Negan, much to Carl’s disappointment, leading Enid to realize that he was out there hoping to kill Negan. Carl wants her to help him, but she doesn’t have that same need for revenge like he does. He then tries to throw her off by saying he’s just going to head back home, but she doesn’t believe him. As he goes to leave, they share their first kiss. She doesn’t want him to go, but knows she can’t stop him from his quest. He’s worried the Saviors will see her. “No, they won’t,” she says.

Now, where are Sasha and Maggie? Turns out, Jesus hid them in Gregory’s bedroom closet, which of course upsets the man — again stressing about the consequences had they been caught. (Personally, I think the Saviors would have checked the man’s closet to make sure he wasn’t hiding any goods.) Seeing as Gregory was about to give the women up, Jesus takes a stand against him, saying that not only are the women staying, but that he’s no longer in charge. When Gregory tries to protest, saying that the Saviors can “actually be quite reasonable,” Maggie punches him right in the face! And then grabs the pocket watch he stole from Glenn’s grave. She’s not taking any of his shit anymore. She tells him that the Hilltop is her home now, so he’s going to have to start calling her by her actual name — not Marsha, not dear, not honey. “Maggie Rhee,” she says forcefully, using her married surname. Yay!

Afterwards, Sasha, Maggie, and Jesus talk about Hilltop’s leadership, now that Gregory won’t be in charge, and Jesus alludes to Maggie becoming their new leader, but says that’s talk for another time. When Maggie leaves the room, Sasha asks Jesus if he knows where Negan lives. He doesn’t, but since once of the trucks that came that day is going back to Negan’s residence, he says he can find out.

So, about Enid getting in without anyone seeing her — it turns out, she was right. Enid slips into Hilltop undetected, and visits Glenn and Abraham’s graves. She puts a few green balloons — which were a symbol of hope and survival last season — on Abraham’s unmarked grave when Maggie finds her there. Maggie reveals that her tractor episode from the previous night was not the first time she’s done something like that — in high school she ran over a boy with his own car. Later, as the two sit down for dinner, Sasha arrives, surprised to not only see Enid there, but the balloons on the grave. Enid says she wanted to mark his grave, to which Sasha says “Nothing wrong with balloons.” Then, Maggie gives Enid the pocket watch, saying that she doesn’t need it to remember Glenn by. As they hold hands as Maggie says a blessing over their food, we see the Saviors’ trucks driving away. Soon after, we see that Jesus actually made it into the cargo hold of the Negan truck — to his surprise, Carl is already in there! While it’s great that they can now work together, something tells me they’re both going to end up face to face with Negan real soon, and that’s never a good thing.

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