The Walking Dead
Season 11 - Episode 16 - "Acts of God"
19 HOURS AND ONE ACT OF GOD AGO--
At night, Hornsby walks from the smoking remains of the main building at Hilltop; he's distracted from his anger by a swarm of locusts flying overhead...
Earlier that day, Hornsby tries to warm-up to a largely disinterested Leah, who prepares for her mission to kill Maggie, accompanied by troopers donning black "commando" clothing similar to Leah's. Hornsby still pitches his usual, trying to make Leah feel good that she will kill the woman who killed her family,,,and he can continue his business. Hornsby demands that Leah provide proof of Maggie's death; since one can guess that did not mean Leah and the troopers were going to carry a corpse back to camp, it could mean a beheading, or another, equally gruesome act.
Maggie, Elijah, Lydia, Negan and Annie: Maggie, Hershel, Elija and Marco leave Hilltop for a mission, but she has to send a disappointed, eager-to-help Hershel to safety for until the threat is dealt with, Even Hershel knows there's something up with his mother, who seems more distracted than usual. Making their way through the woods (and noticing the oncoming locust swarm), they are met by Lydia, who leads them to a covered, underground shelter once built by the Whisperers. Inside are Negan, Annie and the last of the Riverbend survivors. Negan plainly says Hilltop is not worth Maggie risking her life to protect, and while Annie tries to see what she thought would be Maggie's position, even Maggie agrees that Hilltop is no longer worth saving.
Negan and Annie want to join Maggie, but are asked to keep Hershel--and everyone else--away from Hilltop until she kills Hornsby and his troopers. Negan observed Maggie not trusting him with Hershel, but to his surprise, Maggie says she's starting to, because no matter what's happened in their shared past, Negan did save Hershel, and she will never forget that. Suddenly, the locust swarm flies overhead, prompting Negan to remark that its a sign from "the Man upstairs.
Daryl, Father Gabriel and Aaron: Romano--one of Hornsby's troopers--lead Daryl, Father Gabriel and Aaron into another abandoned home--searching for those who stole the Commonwealth weapons (SEE NOTES); Daryl has been suggesting places as far away from Hilltop as possible. Gabriel wants to return home, but Aaron believes they need to handle their current problem--the troopers--ASAP; Daryl plans to continue to push the troopers out into the wild and when the time is right, the Alexandrians will make their move. Romano is--as you might imagine--a dick, insisting on continuing to look for their target, even after a room full of walkers knocked a boarded-up wall section to attack.
Returning to the woods, the lead trooper is contacted by Hornsby, who orders him to "finish" then return home; Daryl overhears this and knows the trooper was reminded of his order to kill the Alexandrians. Daryl takes the lead to an abandoned autoyard, where the intensity mounts; sensing the impending execution, Daryl spins, firing on Romano, giving Gabriel and Aaron mere moments to take over behind the wrecks. Romano orders his men to surround the trip, and despite of their unceasing gunfire--with Gabriel's wrist and Aaron's shoulder grazed in the process, eventually, all three are armed and pick off the troopers, with Daryl slamming Romano to the ground with butt of his rifle. Romano is given a choice: a shot to the head, or being eaten alive by oncoming walkers--but not before telling Daryl that Hornsby was on a mission to "clear the field"--or as Gabriel clarifies, leave only allies alive. Daryl shoots Romano, who is eventually consumed by walkers; when Daryl answers a call from Hornsby (who learns Romano is dead), Hornsby orders his men to move out....
Knowing what this "clear the field" business means for Maggie, the Alexandrians attempt to head off Hornsby.
Eugene, Max, Connie, Kelly and Magna: At long last, Eugene and Max have consummated their relationship (SEE NOTES), with Eugene expressing how Max is the most remarkable person he's ever met; Max thinks its a bit much, but Eugene is about as sincere as he's ever been on the show. Max is still in on the Alexandrian's plans, but fears what life will be like in the wake of their attempted insurrection...
At work, Max's distracted behavior is noticed by Pamela; Max insists she's okay, with Pamela's somewhat suspicious mind just throwing it out there that they are able to be open with each other, as opposed to their public image. Max mentions there's a $50,000 surplus of cash (Sebastian's ill-gotten gains?) and asks if it could be used to start a college fund for the less fortunate children; Pamela shoots this [/i]"out of the box["[/i] thinking down, informing Max that every extra dollar has to be used for Founder's Day, the biggest day of the year. Max has her confirmation about the uncaring nature of the Commonwealth and its leader.
As Pamela departs for a work dinner, Max rifles through Pamels'a files, finally finding a folder filled with lists of names---of the missing. Her paranoia is compounded by the arrival of Sebastian, who has been given the silent treatment from his mother, and asks, no--demands Max contact her on his behalf. Max is so nervous, she drops the folder, which Sebastian helps her collect, and noticing the file, his expression changes, as if he's caught Max up to no good or....
Sebastian returns to his usual assholish behavior and leaves, with the shaken Max stuffing the folder under her coat...
Back at Eugene's, the couple present the files to Connie, Kelly and Magna; there's back and forth about using the press to expose the corruption, but Connie believes the best start to shake the citizens' trust in Pamela is the Sebastian story. With Ezekiel promising to help with his little band of workers (from the makeshift clinic), the group all seem eager to trigger the insurrection.
Maggie and Leah: At Hilltop, Maggie, Elijah, Lydia and Marco use the Commonwealth's own gasoline to rig rooms on the first floor. By nightfall, Leah's troopers enter the building, heading right for the main office, with one trooper noticing a trip wirea second too late. The pulled wire dets of a massive explosion, killing most of the troopers, with Maggie's team watching from just outside of the gates. Maggie orders the others back to the Riverbend group while she will track the surviving troopers back to their camp to finish off the rest. Marco--feeling confident after the explosion, stands up, but is shot in the back of the head by Leah, one of the few survivors of the blast.
Hornsby arrives (as seen in the teaser), learning three of his men were killed; when demanding answers from Leah, she writes the fallen off as "Collateral damage". Hornsby takes the remainder of his men to hunt down Daryl's group.
Daryl, Father Gabriel and Aaron locate the remnants of a camp and traps indicating Leah was on the scene. Wanting to confront her alone, he suggests Gabriel and Aaron split up to cover more ground...
In the woods, Maggie tracks and shoots Leah in the thigh, but as she moves in for the kill, Leah manages to get the jump on Maggie, knocking her out. By morning, Leah has taken Maggie to another abandoned house, tied her to a chair, and promises to kill everyone Maggie loves for her role in killing Pope's group--her family. For her part, Maggie attempts to keep Leah verbally sparring while she loosens her bonds. Having enough of Maggie's head games, Leah aims her gun--which is kicked out her hand by a now free Maggie. The two women engage in a vicious fight, but Maggie is flipped to the floor, pounded in the face and nearly stabbed by Leah until she's shot in the back of the head by Daryl.
Just as Daryl helps Maggie to her feet, they spot Hornsby and his men approaching the house; Daryl aims for Hornsby's head, but only manages to tear a part of his cheek off. They escape, leaving an enraged Hornsby to discover Leah's corpse, and making a vow which will not end well for the heroes.
Daryl and Maggie are reunited with Father Gabriel and Aaron, who make their way back to Negan and the others--now having nowhere to go, as the Commonwealth has mounted their flags at Alexandria and Hilltop.
Pamela and Max: Pamela angrily walks into Max's office, tossing a stack of newspapers on her desk--the headline reading:
"Pamela MILTON IS LYING to you"
"Milton's Adult Son Used Innocents In Deathly Money Grab"
Max's face at once seemed like she expected the reaction but registers a look of deep fear....
Hornsby: With his cheek wound somewhat treated, Hornsby and his troopers take the Oceanside group hostage; Hornsby flips his coin and it lands on the side leading him to slightly smile...
NOTES:
Ramano leading Daryl and Company obviously knew what happened the weapons (via Hornsby), so from the start of their end of the episode, one had to assume the Alexandrians were being led to their deaths--which the heroes suspected.
I was pleased that Daryl going off on his own (after learning Leah was on the prowl) was not the result of any lingering feelings for Leah, hence his wasting no time killing her.
If Hornsby orders the execution of the Oceansider group, that's one way for the showrunners to never need to address this sidelined collection of no-names ever again, while using them as the catalyst for the coming war.
Pamela's rage over the news story can only go in two directions: she publicly punishes Sebastian to restore faith in the citizens,, or ramps up her own housecleaning (similar to Hornsby in the field), stating with the Alexandrians, who have to be the primary suspects. Perhaps Sebastian will protect himself by saying Daryl and Rosita forced him to do rob the house (and this, Rosita becomes a target, with Gabriel unable to return to the Commonwealth).
The Walking Dead returns in August of this year.
GRADE: A+
