The Walking Dead S7E05: Go Getters

In the fifth episode of this young season we finally get a wrap on the happenings with all parties in the days immediately following Negan’s introduction. And this is the first episode where, upon further reflection, I ended up liking it more than I thought I did. Spoilers ahead.

I don’t think it’s a shock that Maggie’s baby made it through the trauma of that night. To have Maggie lose both Glenn and their child would have been an unbearable experience and would have removed virtually all reason for hope from Maggie. The show needs her to want to continue fighting. As it is, a part of Glenn still remains with her. The doctor at Hilltop advises her to stay there for the duration of her pregnancy, and Sasha has set her mind to be sure that that happens. Despite the fact that Gregory does not want them there. Jesus makes a small effort to argue on their behalf, but Gregory’s anger at Maggie and her group for not having finished off the Saviors is driving him to fear. I’m sure it won’t be the last time that any viewers might have this thought about Gregory, but one wonders how he ever came to leadership at Hilltop. The fact that he is the leader says as much about this community and their lack of leadership as it does about Gregory and his selfish, all talk persona. Shortly after this first counter, Maggie calls him a coward. “They’re more dangerous”, she says. This is one of those elements that, the more I thought about it, made me like the episode more.

Cowardice is not a trait you typically ascribe to a leader. That word describes someone like Nicholas from seasons 5 and 6, specifically the way he got Noah killed was due to his cowardice. Leaders should be strong, wise, and have a touch of bravery. I can’t imagine anyone thinking of Gregory as brave after last night’s episode. When the Saviors arrived with Simon leading the way, Gregory actually intended to give up Maggie and Sasha. Without even a direct request for them. He just crumbled under the weight of Simon’s glare. A man who would deliver a pregnant woman over to the hands of tyrants and murderers is not a man that should be anywhere near a leadership position. This act from Gregory, coupled with the decisive action from Maggie at dispelling a group of walkers that made it into the compound thanks to the Saviors, has Jesus more convinced than ever that Gregory needs to be replaced. While watching the Saviors leave with half of their stuff, Jesus makes this feeling known to Maggie and Sasha. Maggie asks who will be the leader. Jesus gives a grin, and says they can discuss that later. Never has a more clear implication been made. Maggie should be, and will soon be, the leader of Hilltop.

I think what changed my mind overall about this episode can be best summed up in three words; punch, prayer, truck.

The Punch

With the Saviors leaving and Gregory enraged at Jesus for not putting Maggie and Sasha in the closet he thought they would be in, Gregory begins to tell Maggie that the Saviors really aren’t that bad. “If we behave, they’ll behave.” The words could barely escape his mouth before Maggie punches him straight in the face, no hesitation. Gregory takes it. But not like a man who is above hitting a woman would take it. He takes it the way a dog would take a spanking for peeing on the carpet. It is here, with the aid of Jesus shortly before, that Maggie asserts her authority out of thin air and demands that this is their permanent home, and that her name is not Marsha or honey. It is Maggie Rhee. It’s a terrific moment that perfectly captures Gregory’s weakness, Maggie’s strength, and the beginning of the transfer of leadership. In fact, you could certainly argue that her taking her father’s watch out of Gregory’s pocket after the punch, which she had left on Glenn’s grave, was a symbolic transfer of that power. Just hearing her proclaim her name attached to Glenn’s surname spoke volumes, and helped shade the next item that I gave a little more thought to.

The Prayer

Throughout the episode Carl and Enid made the long walk from Alexandria to Hilltop. Enid had to find out if Maggie was okay and Carl reluctantly went along with his own motives. They shared some moments smiling and roller-skating which I’ll spare you any further mention of. When Enid arrived inside Hilltop, she sat down to dinner with Maggie and Sasha, and Maggie lead them in the following prayer.

“For this new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, For love and friends, For everything thy goodness send. Amen.”

I spoke in my review last week of the hope that Gabriel, our only outright religiously minded character, displayed despite the circumstances they were in. Maggie is the daughter of a preacher, and with all the death she has suffered thus far anyone would understand why she might lose her faith and all hope entirely. But this prayer, clearly one she committed to memory from years of similar sit-down dinners with her family growing up, expresses not only hope for the future in saying a prayer at all, but actual thankfulness to the Lord for just being alive and having the provisions she needs amidst all the personal loss and turmoil surrounding her.

The Truck

To close the episode, and upon Sasha’s request that Jesus discover where Negan lives, we see Jesus jumping into the back of one of the Saviors trucks as it is leaving. He grabs a bottle of scotch they stole and chugs a bit. As he empties the rest on the ground out the open end, we hear Carl’s voice. “Hey”, he says to Jesus. He peaks out from a stack of boxes and we learn he has also hijacked this truck to get to Negan’s place. Jesus gives another of his now patented grins, and the audience can only assume this could mean some very interesting things for both of these characters very soon.

My Rating: B+

The depth of the punch and the prayer scenes, and the intrigue of the truck scene are what really sold me on this episode. Before considering them further I was in the B-/C+ range for my rating and thinking this episode was pretty “meh”. I think those scenes however have a lot to go on, and that’s not to mention the dialogue we got between Simon and Gregory. There was a lot of good acting going on there from both men, and we got to see just how much Negan’s persona has rubbed off on his men.