Another episode without Negan. I’m sure this makes many people happy. I suppose we’ve had our fill of Negan for awhile at that. We meet a new community of very odd people and we get to see the reunion we all have been longing for. Although, it doesn’t go quite as I imagined.

LAND OF THE ‘UP UP UP UP!’

“Someone showed me enemies can become friends,” Rick to father Gabriel

So what do we call these guys? Garbage Pail Kids? Trash-formers? The Knights that go ‘pew!’? Officially, I think they’re called ‘The Scavengers’ but whatever they’re called they talk funny, look depressed and raided the same closet. They also sport the same hairdo; the car greased, slick back look. The leader is a tall woman with a British accent named Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) with lovely bangs who informs Rick that they take things that they don’t have to work too hard for. They’re not real go getters like the Grimes Gang. They hold Father Gabriel captive and he tells them that Rick can do anything! Whatever they need Rick will get it for them! Thanks, buddy! Jadis tells them they want guns. Rick agrees to get them as long as they help him defeat Negan. In order to seal the deal Jadis tells Rick they need to be sure of him and that they need to go to the ‘up up up up’. This turns out to be the top of a giant trash heap. Rick is enjoying the wonderful view when Jadis pushes him off the heap!

Rick tumbles down into this Gladiator Garbage Arena where he meets Winslow. A Walker Gladiator with a spiky helmet and spikes coming out of all parts of his body! Rick tries to fend it off and keeps getting punctured. Michonne and the rest of his people are able to watch through peep holes. Michonne yells out advice and Rick of course listens to his better half and starts pulling trash on top of Winslow, knocking him down. Rick is then able to take a shard of glass and kill Winslow, winning the death match and passing Jadis’ test.

It reminded me of the original Star Trek, season one, when Kirk had to fight the Gorn!

This was a lot of fun to watch! Never seen anything this crazy on TWD and that’s saying a lot. Now that Rick had proven himself, they give him Father Gabriel and tell Rick they want half of whatever they get after defeating Negan. Rick holds fast at a third and Jadis reluctantly accepts. Rick and Michonne smile at each other and embrace. Rick hasn’t looked this happy in a long time! But now where to find guns? Tara knows where! Spill it, Tara!

THE KINGDOM

Back at The Kingdom, King Ezekiel, Richard, Morgan and some others were making their weekly delivery to The Saviors. Tempers flared again between Richard and the hippie Savior when the hippie wanted Richard’s gun. They pulled their guns and pointed them at each other all ‘John Woo’ like but King Ezekiel tells Richard to give him his gun. When the hippie starts beating Richard up Morgan stops him with his staff. Then the kid Morgan has been teaching uses his staff. Anarchy! Surprisingly The Saviors don’t kill anyone, mostly because the leader of this group just seems over it all. He warns Ezekiel though that if they don’t shape up they will hurt somebody, namely Richard.

Daryl confronts Morgan when they get back to the community. He doesn’t understand why Morgan doesn’t see the problem and help him convince King Ezekiel to fight. But Morgan is holding true to his non violence position. Richard sees that he and Daryl are on the same page and takes him back to his man cave which is a Winnebago where he keeps memories of his dead family and some machine guns. He tells Daryl they just need to ambush some Saviors on the road and then framing Carol so that The Saviors would kill her and that would incite King Ezekiel to go to war. Well, he picked the wrong partner for this job. Daryl tells him that if Carol is so much hit by lightening he’s going to kill Richard.

REUNION AT THE COTTAGE

Carol gets visitors! First, it’s King Ezekiel and his band of merry men passing through. They weren’t going to bother her but since she opened her door Jerry presented her with a nice big dish of peach cobbler! That Jerry! He always has a smile on his face! But I bet one of these days he’s going to show everybody that he knows how to swing that axe he carries around.

Carol takes the cobbler and gets rid of Ezekiel and no sooner has she sat back down by the fire and returned to her book then there is a knock at her door. She opens it and absolutely melts! It’s Daryl. They fall into a warm embrace. Late that night, Carol makes Daryl some supper and asks how everyone is back in Alexandria. Good?

Tell her! Tell her that Abraham is dead! Glenn is dead! Spencer is dead! Olivia is dead! Eugene has been taken captive! My beautiful Rosita has been scarred! Go on! Once she knows all this she’ll pick up her guns and all her knives and whatever other weapons she’s mastered and will become the carol of old and go medieval on Negan’s ass!

“Oh, everyone is fine, just fine. They said to say ‘hello’”

What in the world! OK. Carol is in a fragile state. She needs to be shielded from troubling news and only fed cobbler…..NO! This is absurd! OK. That’s his call. He made it. Now he’s leaving the safety of The Kingdom to head back to The Hilltop to start training them for battle.

But before he leaves he spends some solid time with Shiva in her cage. They seem to be soul mates and Shiva takes to Daryl like a kitten to her momma. Morgan walks in on them and is glad that Daryl didn’t say anything to Carol. Daryl tells Morgan that he had better get with the program and get the King to join the fight as well. It’s going to take some convincing. And maybe some death I fear before that happens.

Oh! And Daryl has got a new crossbow!

5 THINGS I THINK I KNOW

1 Morgan has learned nothing!

2 Jerry is going to turn out to be a mighty warrior!

3 Rosita needs to step up and stop whining.

4 Daryl leaving The Kingdom is not a good move. I’m starting to think Negan captures and kills him and this is what gets Carol off the dime and she convinces King EZ to fight. Sorry Daryl lovers!

5 I don’t think Alexandria is going to have anything to give Negan when he comes to visit next. Will the fight begin THAT soon?