The Walking Dead – A Certain Doom

By: Kelly Kearney

After months of waiting, the wrap up of the Whisperer arc is finally here! With the Beta in charge, he orders his people to go to war in honor their fallen leader. Unleashing a massive herd on the hospital hide out, he is forcing our heroes to take a deadly trek through the dead to end this battle once and for all.

We Are the End of the World

We open on Father Gabe (Seth Gilliam) trying his best to keep everyone calm as the Whisperer herd descends on their hide out. The children are afraid and Gabe reminds them they can survive this if they work together. We cut to all the characters rushing to get ready for what is coming, including Maggie (Lauren Cohan) who finds the box and note Carol (Melissa McBride) left for her explaining what’s been going on with Alpha (Samantha Morton). Outside the hospital Beta (Ryan Hurst) is in the middle of thousands of walkers and Whisperers chanting, “We are the end of the world.”

Elsewhere, Eugene (Josh McDermitt), Yumiko (Eleanor Matsuura), Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and Princess (Paola Lázaro) are making their way to the meet up with Stephanie when disaster strikes in the form of a bike crash. Bleeding from the head, Eugene is at the end of his rope when it comes to roadblocks popping up in his way to Stephanie. He is ready to give up and head back home when Ezekiel boosts his mood with one of his famous “don’t give up” pep talks. This meeting is more than a blind date for Eugene as their communities are depending on them to find other survivors who can help them build a new world from the ashes of the old one.

Speaking of not giving up, the conditions outside the hospital are getting worse and a plan to escape is in the works. The herd is massive and right outside the hospital’s door. There doesn’t seem to be anyway around them. If they can’t go around them then they will have to go through them, but thats just one part of this plan. The rest relies on a speaker connected wagon that they can use to draw the pack away and over a cliff, trapping the dead in a valley. There is just one problem: who will be brave enough to risk their life and walk through Beta’s pack of freaks? Lydia (Cassady McClincy) jumps at the chance to prove herself. After all, who knows how these people operate better than the girl who lived among them.

With the plan set, everyone gathers their supplies and prepares for the mission. Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol start setting up boobytraps in the staircases and the two briefly discuss Michonne. Daryl is certain he won’t see her again and he is in disbelief over why she would leave her children behind to go searching for other communities. He still doesn’t know about Rick and Carol reminds him that Michonne would have never left if it wasn’t for the fact she trusts him with her kid’s lives. That doesn’t seem to soothe his fears. He has lost so many and is convinced the warrior mother is next. Carol, who spent most of this season stuck between avoiding her loved ones and trying to kill herself, reminds him of their special bond. “I’m still here,” she says and he looks at her as if he doesn’t fully believe her. They might have patched things up after she went rogue with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), but he doesn’t seem ready to trust her at her word just yet. After the BFF chat, Carol wanders into one of the rooms where they store their weaponry and takes a knife that she hides in her shirt sleeve. We see she’s still wearing Daryl’s friendship bracelet and maybe it’s a sign that she is ready to stop dwelling on the dead and start planning her future – one that includes Daryl and possibly the daughter of her enemy, who she sent Negan to kill. Surprisingly, Lydia has already forgiven Negan for his part in Alpha’s death and now she lets Carol know she doesn’t blame her either. Alpha was never a mother to her, but she understands Carol was and Alpha took that from her. Carol admits her revenge mission “didn’t fix anything” and a lot of people got hurt in the process, Lydia included. The guilt is evident on her face, but Lydia has nothing but forgiveness for Carol who is taken aback by the teen’s kindness. Even more shocking to the woman is when Lydia awkwardly blurts out that she isn’t looking for a mom replacement, but it’s pretty clear she is and she has her eyes on Carol. This lost child just wants to fit in with this new group, so Carol offers her a piece of advice. “You have to find your own way,” she says, meaning get out of the shadow of your mother. But Lydia is wiser than Carol gives her credit for. Nodding, Lydia says, “I can be someone else. …so, can you.” Carol doesn’t have to be the distraught mother to an ever growing list of dead children any more than Lydia has to be the Whisperer Princess. They can choose their own paths which aren’t tied to the mistakes of their pasts.

Burning Down the House

With everyone prepping for their walk through the dead, Negan approaches Lydia as she wraps up her conversation with Carol. He tries convincing her to bail on this whole plan and escape through the herd. These communities will never accept him or her and she would be better off on her own. He hands her Alpha’s skin mask and the two hug as if it’s the last time they will ever see each other. Negan, who plans on staying at the hospital, changes his mind when Daryl tests his loyalty to the group. “If you want to be a part of this, you gotta put your ass on the line like everybody else.” The choice is up to him.

As blood drips from their clothing to cover their human scent, our heroes creep through the herd undetected. They travel in groups of two, with some of them wearing skin masks and the rest hoping their zombie costumes will be their protection shield. The scene is tense as they meander their way through the slow moving crowd of dead while Diane (Kerry Cahill) picks off Whisperers with her bow from the hospital window. All seems to be going well until Beta catches on to their plan. He realizes they must be hidden in his pack and that’s when all Hell breaks loose! Under their leader’s orders the herd turns and instantly Carol spots a knife wielding Whisperer approaching. She alerts a nearby Beatrice (Briana Venskus) who tries to take the masked person out but winds up getting stabbed in the leg while dodging their attack. Her screams echo through the walker herd like a dinner bell and the hungry mob goes into feeding mode, ripping her to shreds. Her harrowing cries for Carol go unanswered, who keeps walking passed the gruesome feast of cannibalistic gore. Eventually, everyone makes it to the wagon where Luke (Dan Fogler) fires up the speakers and blasts The Talking Heads’ hit song “Burning Down the House.” The plan works and the walker herd begins to follow the music as Daryl, Carol and Lydia hold the line with their masterful archery skills. As they survivors get closer to their destination, the Whisperers break through the herd and go on the attack. Daryl and company take out a few, but amidst the chaos they lose control of the wagon and have to abandon their plans and take cover. With walkers and Whisperers surrounding them, Daryl moves on to Plan B – take out the Whisperers from inside the herd before they can go back to the hospital. Killing them means an easier time luring the dead over the cliff. Lydia offers to be the bait and with her mother’s face mask she might be the best one to do it.

At the hospital Gabe tries to hold off the ensuing attack and things go from bad to worse when Judith (Cailey Fleming) hears people coming up the steps. Gabe barricades the doors, preparing to risk his life to keep the children safe. In an instant two of Beta’s men burst into the room, pinning the Father down to the floor. One raises a knife above his head and just as Father Gabriel is about to meet his maker Maggie and that masked ninja come to the rescue! They make easy work of both Whisperers, leaving Gabe shocked and tearfully grateful to see his old friend.

In Darkness We are Free

Back in the woods Daryl’s plan to infiltrate the herd is working. Lydia, in Alpha’s mask, lures her Beta towards her. With his mind already obsessively occupied with Alpha, Beta is confused by what he sees. He draws his knife and starts to stalk the imposter through the crowd. That’s when Negan proves his worth with a quiet, “Hey, shithead!” Beta turns his attention to him and with his knife out, sprints towards Negan and tosses him like a ragdoll on to the ground. In a split second, Daryl jumps in to save Negan and end Beta’s life once and for all. He slashes the big man’s torso, forcing Beta to turn from the helpless Negan and face his attacker. With one massive blow, Daryl drives two daggers directly into Beta’s eye sockets! As the blood spurts from his eyes, the lights go out. We hear Alpha whispering, “In darkness we are free,” and then herd turns on their master. The former country music star envisions the walkers as his fans, desperately fawning over him as he dreams of his one true love Alpha. The hungry dead rip him apart and he dies with a smile on his face. While witnessing the whole gory scene unfold, Negan catches a glimpse of the celebrity behind the mask. Stunned by the reveal, he asks Daryl if he knows who that was. Daryl responds with, “Yeah, nobody.”

As the sun rises we see Lydia in her mother’s mask leading the herd to the edge of the world with Carol not far behind. In one selfless moment, Carol makes the choice to save Lydia by sacrificing herself. She orders the girl to go and shuffles her way to the front of Alpha’s army. As she approaches the edge, the camera scans back to the vast landscape below. Hundreds of feet above the valley she stands in the exact spot she once locked eyes Alpha. Everything she has been through has led her to this very moment. Her pause is a goodbye to this life of suffering, something she has been searching for since she lost her daughter, Sophia. As the walkers tumble past her, Lydia grabs Carol’s hand and forcibly drags her from the cliff’s edge. The girl is desperate to save her and Carol is both distraught and confused as to why this child would even care. Pulling her to the ground behind a boulder, Lydia wraps her arms around Carol while the entire herd plummets through the air and down to their end. Carol is destroyed in a mix of agony and appreciation for what her enemy’s child has done. They hold each other tightly as Carol asks her why she didn’t go when she was told to. Lydia says, “You told me to find my purpose,” and in this moment, maybe they both have. Lydia, who never knew the selfless love of a mother, looks down at Alpha’s mask then glances towards Carol and tosses the skin into the air and over the cliff. It’s a symbolic gesture, a goodbye to the animal who tried to eat her young to remain the Alpha of her pack.

With the Whisperer threat gone, the survivors gather in relief, happy most of them made it out alive. Everyone reunites but none more touching than when Maggie hugs Judith. In the background a pensive Daryl leans against a tree waiting for word on Carol and Lydia. When the two show up unharmed and embracing, he runs to greet them. They both confirm the plan worked and everyone is relieved, including Negan who gets a hug from Lydia. After Carol makes her congratulatory rounds she finds Daryl and the two wander off to talk. They exchange their usual “you good,” but the question is weighted and really all he wants to know is if she has come to terms with Henry’s death and quit her self-destructive ways. With a simple yes, the two friends embrace and he wonders if it’s the perfect time for their road trip to New Mexico is. Setting the stage for that Carol and Daryl spin off, she signals that she is ready to start that future he’s been telling her they have, but not until they finish up a few things in Alexandria. New Mexico will always be there, just like these two will always have each other’s backs.

As the survivors celebrate their victory, we head back to the woods for a shocking discovery that could put a damper on that future in New Mexico. We see a muddied and bloodied Connie (Lauren Ridloff) dragging herself through the woods on her way back home. Like Magna (Nadia Hilker) said, she survived the cave in but for how long depends on island man, Virgil (Kevin Carroll)!  As she falls to the ground he’s seen standing over with what we can only hope is a helping hand. As if that reveal isn’t big enough, the episode closes on Eugene’s group finding their way to Stephanie’s location. As he expected, missing the meet up time means she isn’t waiting for him, but a group of heavily armed storm troopers are. It looks like Eugene and his friends just stumbled upon the final story arc of “The Walking Dead” universe. Here comes the CSM and, hopefully, Rick Grimes too!