As the Saviors reach Hilltop, they put their plan into motion. The group finds out that even when the Saviors aren’t there, their destruction remains. Here’s our recap of “Do Not Send Us Astray”!
“Do Not Send Us Astray” starts out strong and doesn’t let up. It begins with all the people along the route honking their horns to let us know the Saviors are coming. It’s a good thing that signal finally took off after Rick abandoned it last episode.
Out in the woods, Morgan hallucinates a dead Gavin who keeps telling him that it should have been him. I assume he means that Morgan should have killed him and not Henry. Morgan tries to whack him with his staff but Gavin disappears.
At Hilltop, everyone is getting ready for the battle, and Henry really wants to contribute, but Ezekiel tells him to stay inside.
I need to help. I need to fight!”
“No, you do not. Stay inside and guard this place. You will live and help others do the same.”
For those of you not paying close attention, Henry is officially Carl, Jr. Seriously, just wait until later in the episode when eh really can’t stay in the house.
Saddiq is in the infirmary, trying to figure out how to help, and the head lady is just rude as hell. He eventually gets through to her and she tells him that she likes him. It’s because he got sassy with her.
—-
The siege happens at Hilltop with Maggie reaching out to Simon saying that she’ll kill all thirty-eight hostages she has, and he says that he doesn’t care. If there were captured, they deserve to be shot. After she riles him up some more, Simon decides that the plan is bad, and they’re going in there and killing everyone.
Dwight stops him and asks if he really thinks this is a good idea. Negan may still be alive and when he finds out what Simon has done, he’s going to be pissed.
“Alright, people! Let’s get this party started! And though we do not come bearing munitions, remember, the plan has changed. Our goal is not merely infection; it is conclusion. We are doing away with these people. All of them.”
This isn’t what he wanted. You know that, right? I mean, he could still be out there. You sure you wanna face that with him if he shows?”
“Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission, D. Future problems.”
The battle ensues as Daryl comes racing at them with an assault rifle while riding his bike. They follow him in through the gates and a bus is pulled directly into their path. Everyone is waiting for them and open fire immediately. Rick should be there to come up from behind, but he’s late because he was busy chasing Negan.
In the heat of battle, Tobin is stabbed, causing Carol to run toward him. After Simon and Dwight sneak up on Tara, Daryl calls out to her, but she’s shot with an arrow by Dwight.
Everyone from Hilltop retreats inside, and after several seconds of silence, the Saviors walk out into the open with Simon whistling like he’s got this on lock. When they get close to the house, truck lights turn on, blinding them, and our group shoots at the remaining Saviors from the windows until they tuck tail and retreat.
For such savvy apocalyptic survivors, that was a really dumb move by Simon.
Maggie and Rick run after them, but don’t get anyone. Maggie asks if Negan was there because she didn’t see him. That’s when Rick says he went after Negan that afternoon, but didn’t see him here.
“I wanted them dead. All of them. Negan most of all.”
“Me too.”
“Did you see him?”
“He wasn’t here. I saw him out there. I broke away and tried to kill him. I didn’t, but I tried.”
“Thank you.”
—
We see Maggie and Dianne talking, and Dianne is telling her that she’s a good leader. That Gregory wouldn’t have been able to do the things she’s done. She firmly believes in Maggie as the future of Hilltop and all the communities.
This is a common thread throughout the episode with many different, random people telling Maggie she’s a good leader.
It would have been nice if we saw her leadership skills instead of just being told about them. All this faith in Maggie is also a burden to carry when the Saviors plans play out later…
—-
Inside the infirmary, Tobin smiles when he sees Carol there with and jokingly says, “Long time no see.” What follows is a sincere heart-to-heart between them.
I honestly think that Tobin is a great man, and he would have been good for Carol in another life.
“I’m sorry for how I left. What I did to you.
“I don’t need an apology. You don’t owe me anything. I guess I have been wondering..why..was any of it real?”
“I didn’t want any of it to be real. I was pretending.”
“Don’t go easy on me.”
“I was living lie. When I found out we hadn’t gotten rid of the Saviors, and that there would be more fighting and more dying, and I couldn’t. That was right about the time it felt like…like maybe it wasn’t going to be pretending anymore.
“That just might be one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.”
Tobin goes on to tell Carol that “the end of the fight is what we’re fighting for.” That’s when the scene cuts to a voice over and we see everyone at Hilltop dealing with the aftermath.
Carol explains that they’re not guaranteed any set amount of time, and we see Henry look at the his bloody staff then put it down to pick up an assault rifle before going outside.
—-
In the house, another person tells Maggie that she’s a great leader, and many of the people injured at Hilltop are getting fixed up while things start to settle down.
BUT! Remember, all the weapons were tainted with walker blood! So, it won’t be quiet for long.
Maggie looks down at everyone sleeping and seems a bit relieved that not more people were killed.
At the infirmary, we watch Tobin take his last breath while another man is struggling to breath. The guy on guard wakes up and goes for the doctor and is attacked and killed by Tobin. The doctor that was short with Saddiq shows up a little while later and is killed, too.
That’s when all the walkers start waking up inside the house. One even falls down the stairs and no one wakes up.
SIGH.
—-
Henry takes his hidden assault rifle OUT OF THE HOUSE HE WAS TOLD TO STAY IN and out into the yard and starts asking Gregory which of the Saviors killed his brother. Gregory and Aiden (good Savior?) try and talk him down, but he’s not giving up easily at all. He wants to take someone’s life, and he’ll kill as many people as he needs to to get it finished.
That’s when they hear the screaming, and we get inside the house. All the people have turned and there are walkers everywhere. It’s a great thing we don’t care about these people because they all pretty much die.
Back outside, Henry asks Aiden if he killed his brother, and then opens the gate, walks in, and points the AR.
“Be a man. Step forward, so I don’t have to kill your friends.”
At that moment, a Savior who had been hurt and patched up, turns into a walker and starts attacking. Then others wake up, too. They all rush out of the gate and leave Henry on the ground, including Gregory who looks back at him and then continues on. Real classy, Greg.
Back in ‘Henry is Carl’ news, let’s play a game…
Leaves the house? CHECK
Does something stupid? CHECK
People escape or die? CHECK
Everyone looks for him in a panic? CHECK CHECK
Transformation into Carl Grimes? Get this kid a hat!
—-
Back in the house, Carol runs to help a woman who is being attacked by someone, and it turns out it’s Tobin. Carol puts him down and looks around the room. That really sucks because he was a good guy.
Rick, Michonne, and Daryl show up and Carol tells them that Tobin wasn’t bitten, but he still turned. That’s when Rick says that Negan has his bat covered in walker blood, so maybe all the other Saviors were using the same plan.
They go and talk to Tara, who is being guarded by Enid and Rosita. Daryl apologizes, saying he should have killed Dwight. Then they break the news that the Savior’s weapons were tainted, and the people who had been attacked with them had turned.
She thinks she’s next.
“Karma’s a bitch.”
WELP. I can’t say that I’ll be upset if Tara goes, but I don’t think she’s going to die. Dwight shot her, and I think he did it so that his arrow wouldn’t be tainted so she’d live. This will further prove Dwight’s allegiance in the long run. Also, after her earlier conversation with Daryl this episode, where she told him that she was with the Governor and changed. Merle had been with the Governor, too.
Daryl doesn’t like that line of conversation, and tells her he’s going to eventually kill Dwight, but she feels that he’s changed.
Outside in the yard, Aiden pulls a walker off Saddiq and is almost shot by Maggie. He explains why he stuck around and tells them that the other Saviors ran off after Henry opened the cell. He points out the walkers trying to get into the gate, and they send people over to help shut it.
I’m shipping Aiden and Jesus, tbh.
—
The next day, people are digging graves, and also looking for Henry who has disappeared. The Saviors said he had been in the cell, but he’s not there anymore. Carol and Ezekiel are beside themselves searching for him and have no idea where to look next.
After they walk away, rushing to find Henry before something awful happens, Morgan hallucinates Gavin again.
“You know what this is!”
He yells this at Morgan over and over again. They’re really setting up Morgan to have a mental break then walk away. If Henry dies, this will be a believable catalyst for Morgan’s departure from the show. That being said, it might not be enough to get viewership over to FTWD.
—-
Across the Hilltop, Maggie is watching and looking over the graves. Dianne asks her what she’s looking at and Maggie answers solidly:
“The cost.”
Photo from “The Key”
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