The Walking Dead S6E11: Knots Untie

Knots Untie is about extending trust and offering freedom. Our group is leery to allow Jesus to lead them back to his settlement. But once there, they find themselves in a position to not only trust Jesus and his group, but offer them freedom from a bond they are currently in subjection to. Spoilers ahead.

It came as no surprise at the conclusion of The Next World that Jesus broke free from his cell and made it to Rick’s house. As episode 11 unfolded it became clear that Jesus had scouted out all of Alexandria, even able to check out their arms storage and take a good guess at how many people were there. After a brief explanation of his actions against Rick and Daryl, he reveals to our group that he is from a town pretty similar to them. He even offers the potential for trade. Our group is resourceful and more than capable of defending themselves, but one thing they are beginning to be in great need of it is food. As Rick described it to Carl, if this chance with Jesus’s group is real, it could be the start of something big. It’s worth the risk.

With this decision to follow Jesus back to his town we see an extension of the cautious trust that Rick and his group have been showing for a while now. All the way back to the prison where they developed the three questions to ask to determine if a person was worthy of bringing back to live with them. Though dangerous and at times ruthless, our group still carries this human element with them whereas many other groups they have run into have abandoned this tactic altogether. There have been times where it has been dangerous for them; Woodberry and Terminus. But other times it has been beneficial and has provided valuable additions to the group; Abraham, Sasha, etc. The last time someone offered to lead them to their group (Aaron to Alexandria) they were in a position of great need. Now the need is not so great, but the trust and hope for potential is still there, strong as ever.

Jesus takes them to a place called Hilltop: a colonial-style town with walls similar to those of Alexandria but decidedly smaller in size. They appear to possess no weaponry other than handcrafted spears and knives. There is only one structure of any significance, The Barington House; a former museum converted to living quarters and home to the leader of the town – Gregory. One thing they do have which is in great need to the Alexandrians is food. Livestock and crops. Plenty to go around. Maggie is the de-facto negotiator to strike a deal between the two groups in hopes to gain some food for Alexandria. Both because Rick already senses that he would just as soon punch this Gregory guy as he would talk to him, and because Deanna had already been grooming her for such a role. On first meet, Gregory is quite arrogant and dominant of the conversation, even somewhat demeaning to Maggie in calling her “sweety” and using the wrong name on purpose. Despite their apparent need for firearms, Gregory seemed strangely uninterested in negotiating for any. Something else was going on, and we quickly find out.

I had previously thought that we wouldn’t hear anything of Negan until much closer to the season finale. This was partly based on the fanfare around this character and the promise of him coming to the show, but also on how the show has implemented very slow burns for the last couple seasons. Remember how big of a deal Terminus was, and we spent all of two episodes there. But, thankfully, we’re seeing his influence much sooner, and it is coming in the form of leverage against Hilltop. When a small crew comes back from a delivery to Negan’s group, the “Saviors”, one man reveals that Negan wants more. He’s also there to deliver a message; attempting to kill Gregory. Rick and his crew spring into action to save Gregory and kill his would-be assassin. This event turns the tables dramatically in favor of Alexandria. Jesus explains the Negan is basically allowing Hilltop to exist in exchange for half of all their food. Hence the lax attitude in obtaining any firearms. When learning of this arrangement, it is Daryl who speaks up immediately. After suggesting they should have fought back, and without consulting with anyone, he offers the services of the Alexandrians to take out Negan and the saviors in order to strike a trade deal with Hilltop. Rick agrees, Maggie brokers the deal with Gregory, and our group has made an important shift in tactics when it comes to inflicting violence on others.

We’re all familiar with the military strategy of taking the fight to someone before they can bring it to you. As the theory goes, when a legitimate threat to your homeland or your interests is identified, you bring the fight to them and put them on the defensive rather than waiting for them to attack you. This has been implemented in the very recent U.S. history, and it’s a strategy that has been used multiple times throughout world history. From a Christian perspective, this is a tough strategy to defend, if not completely impossible. At the risk of being overly simplistic, the New Testament directive regarding violence is basically, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” (Rom. 12:18). This is an individual mandate which informs our views on things like war and national defense. For Rick’s group, they have largely held to this general philosophy. They have not taken offensive efforts against another group, unprovoked. I would love to hear feedback on this in the comments, but from my memory I cannot recall a time when they took to violence against another group that was not defensive in nature or in response to a kidnapping or violence of some kind previously brought on them. That’s why taking this action against the saviors would be a significant shift in their approach to securing a future for this world. As the episode concluded and our crew rode back to Alexandria with food and a battle strategy to pitch to the people back home, it felt very much like the calm before the storm and a surreal ‘goodbye’ of sorts for someone in that group: Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl and Abraham.

My Rating: B

The episode dragged at points, especially leading up to getting to Hilltop, but once there and clues about the structure of the world around Alexandria became more clear, it got more interesting. We now have three groups soon to be playing off each other for leverage and power. This is something we haven’t had in the past. It has always been our group against the walkers, or our group against another group. The latter is essentially what we still have here, but some politicking needs done now to secure a trade partner in Hilltop while not risking too much in defeating the saviors. The only character development really happening this episode was with Abraham as he weighed his “options”. He heart is pulling him toward Sasha, who somewhat parts ways with him at the beginning of the show (I think because she has feelings for him too). He’s having serious reservations about developing a relationship, possibly a family, in this world. We get to see him struggle with that inner desire for family and the outer predicament of the zombie apocalypse. And of course that is couple with some typical Abrahamisms, “pouring the bisquick” and “bumping uglies”, which either ruin or make the moment for you as a viewer. It’s an episode that lays the foundation for the impending conflict between Alexandria and the saviors, and it does a fine job at that.