With only three episodes left of The Walking Dead — forever — things are all starting to come together now.
The entirety of Season 11C has dealt with the underhanded tactics of the Commonwealth. It has culminated in a mass divide among our favorite characters and the enormous community headed by Pamela Milton (Laila Robins).
Some key players are still inside the Commonwealth but are there either because Pamela needs them or they are about to take the fall for everything.
Most notably, Yumiko (Elanor Matsuura) was initially retained by Pamela to act as the prosecution for Eugene (Josh McDermitt), the unfortunate that is going to take the blame for everything for Pamela to maintain control of her community. However, Yumiko managed to pull a swifty and is now on Eugene’s defense team.
Most of the other characters we have followed through 11 seasons of The Walking Dead have now been put in the equivalent of chain gangs.
Finally, a small batch has managed to escape and is in the middle of working out how to save everyone else.
We FINALLY find out what happened to Oceanside
Ever since the Season 11B finale, viewers have been anxious to learn the fate of Oceanside since Lance Hornsby (Josh Hamilton) was about to decide its fate with a coin flip.
However, AMC has kept us all guessing for most of Season 11C. The most we learned was when Aaron’s (Ross Marquand) group headed off to the community but came across an intelligent walker instead.
Now, in Episode 22 of The Walking Dead, we finally learn not only Oceanside’s fate but that of Luke (Dan Fogler). He and Jules (Alex Sgambati) managed to escape Hornsby’s invasion and are now on the run.
And that’s how we learn that the tight-knit community is under the firm control of the Commonwealth — no surprise there.
It doesn’t take long after that for the Commonwealth guards to end up hot on their heels after a brief reunion.
Luckily, Lydia (Cassady McClincy) remembers her old days as a Whisperer, and they all don some walker guts and hide among the walker herd that just happened to be strolling past at the time.
However, the guards still circle in on the herd, and it looks like they may still be found out. And, to make matters worse, there appears to be an intelligent walker in the horde as well.
The rogue group infiltrate Alexandria
In last week’s episode of The Walking Dead, we learned that most of the group taken hostage by the Commonwealth are now being shipped off to a newly converted Alexandria.
This is possibly the dumbest idea Pamela has ever had because, yes, let’s put the prisoners in a place they know intimately. Nothing could possibly go wrong…
So, of course, Daryl’s (Norman Reedus) rogue group is already all over that.
Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Carol (Melissa McBride) sneak into one of the buildings while Daryl and Connie (Lauren Ridloff) also infiltrate Alexandria.
Maggie and Carol come across a guard who has Young Hershel (Kien Michael Spiller), and he is quickly dispatched. However, he is the only kid inside the building, so it looks like we won’t learn where the others are until at least next week’s episode.
As for Daryl and Connie? Well, read on.
The chain gang politics get dirty
Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Ezekiel (Khary Payton) are trying to work together to help everyone escape the clutches of the Commonwealth guards.
However, Ezekiel still doesn’t forgive Negan for all he did years ago as the leader of the Saviors, and it’s a timely reminder to the audience that this guy used to suck majorly.
To top it off, the person overseeing all those in the chain gang knows something is up among his new crowd of workers and is determined to get to the bottom of the uprising when a map is found.
And, in the way that only douce bag leader jerks can know, he immediately enlists Negan to find out who is at the center of the uprising.
I mean, we all know it’s Negan, but he’s not letting on, and for a moment, it looks like he might dob Ezekiel in rather than have anything happen to his pregnant wife, Annie (Medina Senghore).
Except that Negan is the one taking the fall.
But the douce bag leader decides Annie can take the fall too, and that’s when Ezekiel steps in.
Others quickly follow him, and the jerk leader won’t give in, and I am now wondering if this is when AMC knocks out a huge chunk of their core characters.
It doesn’t take long for one of the guards to go rogue as well.
Then, when the leader takes Annie hostage and viewers are figuring this is why she isn’t in any of the promos for The Walking Dead: Dead City, Daryl stabs the guy, and it looks like Alexandria belongs to the people once more.
Eugene’s rigged trial commences
While all this is happening behind Pamela’s back, Eugene’s trial starts.
And, from the very get-go, it is apparent that everything is stacked in Pamela’s favor — but was there ever any doubt?
The woman even claims that it wasn’t her son’s voice on tape saying the lottery she runs was rigged.
Yumiko tries her hardest, but Eugene has already accepted his fate.
However, Yumiko tries one last tactic. She goes to Mercer (Michael James Shaw) and basically begs him to do the right thing.
Except he is as cold as stone to everything she says, and it really does look like Eugene is finally going to meet his maker.
Until the episode concludes with Eugene being handed over to Mercer and him declaring that it was “time to f**k s**t up,” and I have never fist-pumped the air so hard in all my life over a TV character.
What he means by that remains to be seen, and viewers will have to wait until next Sunday night to find out more.
The Walking Dead airs every Sunday night at 9/8c on AMC.