‘The Walking Dead’ Returns With a Smile

They don’t find Daryl, and they discover that the Alexandrians have an empty pantry. Could it be that the person who spies Alexandria is a Garbage Boy and has asked Father Gabriel for help? Their suspicions are confirmed when they find his beloved Bible left behind, and a clue in a notebook: the word “BOAT” scrawled across a page.

What’s interesting to see is he not only has complacency with the Saviors’ deal, but he’s also completely unaware of his own people’s needs. The smile on Rick’s face as the episode ends says it all – Rick is thinking exactly what we are. Shout-out to Rick’s maniacal half-grin as he and his gang stood surrounded and outnumbered by this motley crew. He wants to take care of his people and he has a good reason: All the children with missing limbs are because he sent them out to fight the Walkers when he shouldn’t have.

As you can see in the clip, Rick and Co. are about to learn who these new best friends are, and how they can serve the greater good by fighting Negan.

Being back at full force clearly agreed with Rick, who hasn’t been this assertive since the end of Season 6, back before Glenn and Abraham got a gruesome introduction to Lucille. It’s only a matter of time before Gregory is removed from power or he fills Negan in on what the others plan to do to save himself. Not a bad idea, right?

That’s where King Ezekiel comes in.

The group made a similar pitch to King Ezekiel during their first trip to the Kingdom.

However, with Daryl under the Kingdom’s protection and Gabriel leading Rick and the others to a new potential ally, the seeds of a war with the Saviors have been planted.

The only thing more conspicuously awkward during this exchange, aside from the failed attempt at humor when Rick reacts to this fucking tiger, is him launching into some folksy story his mom told him about a rock in the road.

Get it? The rock is Negan.

Best ulterior motive: Does anyone else think King Ezekiel let Daryl stay simply to entice Carol to come back? The Kingdom will be the last holdouts, but expect them to join the fray sooner rather than later. Instead, Morgan lied, saying she was simply gone. She’s happy-ish right now.

Carol is seen by Ben out in the woods. It’s not like she’s keeping a completely low profile. A peek at the trailer for the rest of season 7 shows that at least one walker has found his way into a magnificent spiked helmet, and it’s terrifying. This is mainly due to the fact that the show’s writers forget that he’s there most of the time. And that his name is Eric?

Aaron wants to fight, Eric doesn’t want him to. We both had sex with the same dead guy.

In the source material, Eric doesn’t get his wish, as he’s killed by one of the Saviors. But until next Sunday, it seems their identity remains a mystery. Rick smiles when he sees them, and it looks like they will aid Rick in his fight again Negan. How long until they make their final move?

We know what he’s thinking.