The Walking Dead - S8E3 - Monsters

Previously on The Walking Dead, “The Damned”

Images: AMC

Reunited with Morales, a man he only knew for three days, Rick tries to appeal to Morales’ better angel as Morales points a gun at his head. Morales left his better angel in Atlanta. He’s lost his family. He’s a Savior now. He knows if the roles were reversed, his brains would already be cooling on the wall and Rick would be continuing his weapons search. Rick insists this isn’t true. Rick is lying. If he hadn’t seen the photos, if he had just walked in the room and gotten the drop on Morales, Morales would be dropped. The only reason Rick isn’t dead is because Negan gave instructions to bring Rick, the Widow, and the King in alive. Daryl interrupts with an arrow to Morales’ head because Daryl got the damn memo that they weren’t showing up to fuck around.

Rick: “That was-”
Daryl: “I know who that was. I knew him before I knew you. Doesn’t matter. Not one little bit. Where dem guns at?”

That backup Morales called was the Saviors from the courtyard embroiled in a gunfight with Aaron’s group. They switch gears and directions and head inside to take care of Rick, pinning him and Daryl down inside a hallway. Rick and Daryl prevail with an assist from Aaron (who had previously left a bleeding Eric under a tree).

When Aaron returns to the tree, Eric is gone. He finds him shuffling off to join his new zombie brethren. RIP, Eric. We didn’t know you not one fucking bit. Aaron is stopped from following him by Scott. Grief stricken, Aaron offers to take baby Gracie — freshly orphaned thanks to Rick — to Hilltop.

Rick and Daryl prepare to leave and split up, but are fired upon by one scared, young Savior who somehow managed to survive this long. With a herd on the way, they convince him to drop his weapon and tell them where the guns are — they were moved to Gavin’s compound the day before. Daryl thanks him for this info with a bullet to the head because DARYL GOT THE FUCKING MEMO.

Jesus and crew make the slow march to Hilltop with their prisoners in tow. Tara keeps herself busy by imagining putting bullets in all of their heads and Morgan has to listen to the taunts of the Savior he should have killed four times over already. But Jesus is being all Jesus like and won’t let anyone have any fun.

In one of the most absurd scenes in The Walking Dead history, they’re surprised by walkers who come rolling down a hill on the side of the road. In the confusion, a group of prisoners — all tied together — escape and Morgan follows. He kills one, but before he can finish off the rest, Jesus stops him. The two fight. Morgan is relentless and fueled by insanity. ClearMorgan is a fucking beast! But Jesus is wearing his Matrix coat so he wins.

They arrive at Hilltop to find that Maggie has already relented and given Gregory safe passage in his former community; she doesn’t know what he did to Gabriel, though. Despite not getting the approval of any other community members, despite the fact that there are families in there that have already lost loved ones to the Saviors, and despite the fact that you can’t trust a Savior for shit, Maggie lets them in.

Ezekiel’s group sees one success after another, skillfully ambushing the Saviors in the woods. When they finally arrive at their destination (Gavin’s compound), even Ezekiel is amazed that his prophesying was accurate: they lost not one of their ranks.

That is until those transported guns are used from inside Gavin’s compound.

Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

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