Rick and the gang are ready to continue their war on the Saviors in this episode of The Walking Dead, titled “The Damned.” They have a precise plan and have broken off into three groups for their next attacks. But are they being too brutal, rash and confident?
The episode begins with various groups on their next missions. Rick and Daryl are working together with some others; Ezekiel, Carol and their group are recovering from the explosion; and Jesus, Tara, Morgan and Aaron are all getting ready for their next attack.
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The Satellite Attack
Morgan, Jesus, Tara, Diane and some others are preparing to attack the Saviors’ satellite location. Tara says this is just like their attack on the location before, but Morgan wasn’t there before. He’s pretty confident, though. “I don’t die,” he says.
Morgan distracts some Walkers at the fence, and some Saviors show up to find out what’s going on. One of our friends swiftly shoots them in the head.
Jesus, Tara, Morgan and their group then head inside to take out the Saviors. One of the guys is pretty freaked-out about killing people and starts shaking, but he calms down. They creep up to all the doors, then bust them open and start shooting all at once. But Morgan, the shaking guy, and another guy are shocked to see more Saviors than anticipated in the room they’re covering — and they’re gunned down!
Jesus and Tara, meanwhile, find a guy in a closet begging them not to shoot him. He even pissed his pants. He claims he’s not one of the Saviors. And Tara and Jesus get into a huge argument about it. Tara wants to shoot him, but Jesus wants to wait. They hear some more shooting, and Tara goes to check it out. Jesus almost lets the guy out, but Tara comes back to finish the job, especially because they guy has the Hilltop’s stolen prenatal medicine. But the guy claims he’s just a forced worker the Sanctuary sent over. Jesus refuses to shoot someone with his hands up, but Tara still wants to shoot him. While they argue, though, the guy manages to attack, get Jesus’ gun and hold Jesus hostage. He even crushes the medicine. He almost shoots Tara but, of course, Jesus manages to get free. He still doesn’t shoot the guy, though. He knocks him out and ties him up. Tara’s pissed, but Jesus says Maggie will listen to him.
Tara and Jesus get called out and see that their way out is blocked, so they need another exit. At the same time, Morgan thankfully wakes up to find that his two comrades are dead. He seems devastated, but he gets up and keeps moving. Morgan walks around and shoots Saviors without thought while he has flashbacks. He’s clearly not doing well. Look at who he’s turned into.
Jesus, Tara and the rest, meanwhile, have made it outside and continue looking for Saviors. Jesus wants to give the rest of the Saviors a chance to surrender. The first guy they find does surrender and tells the rest to surrender too. Tara’s pissed, though, and tells Jesus that even if Maggie listens to him, Rick will listen to her.
That’s when Morgan shows up outside, though. He has a flashback of Rick telling them that they can’t leave them alive. But then Jared, the guy who stole Morgan’s stick and killed Benjamin, calls out to Morgan. So Morgan goes up to him with the gun. Jesus stops Morgan and tells him this isn’t what they do, and Morgan finally lowers his gun. “Then what do we do?” he asks.
Ezekiel and Carol Fake It ‘Til They Make It
Ezekiel and Carol finally get up and see a whole group of Walkers stumbling toward them. Luckily, they and Ezekiel’s followers kill them all. The problem? They lost the Savior lookout who’d set off the trap. Carol thinks the Savior will warn the others at the outpost they’re going to attack that they’re there, but Ezekiel says they’ll get him and complete their mission. They’ll have a “certain victory.”
The group makes its way through the woods, with Carol still issuing her warnings. While it’s a possibility, there’s just one fact, according to Ezekiel: they’re going to get the job done. Quietly, he tells Carol that he’s faking it until he makes it like he always has. He just keeps smiling. One of the guys finds blood from the Savior they’re looking for, though, so now they can track him.
They finally track the Savior, They’re about to shoot him, but Shiva shows up just in the nick of time and gets the job done.
Ezekiel gives a rousing speech. He’s not happy about the Savior’s death or anyone’s, but he’s happy that they got him. They hear a voice over the radio, though, and realize the Saviors know they’re coming. Still, Ezekiel refuses to retreat, especially since Shiva’s there.
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Rick’s Blast from the Past
At another outpost, a woman named Maura chastises a guy, Todd, for not cleaning a gun correctly and tells him to get inside. She radios to “Little Roy.” She doesn’t get a response, so she gets worried and radios Todd to block the stairwell. That’s when Aaron, Eric and some of our other friends show up and start shooting the place up, and a huge fight breaks out.
Rick, Daryl and some others make it into the building while the battle still rages on outside. Rick has a map and note, presumably from Dwight, and he and Daryl realize they need to go upstairs to search for the Saviors’ stash of guns. They eventually make it to the last floor, and Rick wants to split up and check each room.
Outside, Tobin gets shot, but he isn’t hurt too badly. The fight rages on, and the Saviors who die turn into Walkers and start biting other Saviors.
Daryl barges into a room and ends up coming across a cell like the one he was held in, and it really gets to him. Meanwhile, a Savior attacks Rick as he’s creeping around, but Rick ultimately gets a hold of him. He asks where the guns are, but the guy says there are no guns, and Rick kills him. It’s pretty brutal. The question is: is Rick wrong about the guns or was the guy lying?
Rick grabs the guy’s keys and makes his way into a nursery. There’s a baby named Gracie in there! Is that what they were protecting in the top floor? It’s unbelievably devastating. Rick catches himself in the mirror and is just shocked and disgusted with himself.
The shooting’s still going on outside, and a woman dies right in front of Eric. He’s been freaking out this whole time, and this naturally really shakes him up. Aaron makes his way over to him and finds out that Eric’s been hit too! It’s too sad.
Rick, meanwhile, continues to make his way through the rooms and comes across a photograph that seems to upset him. Suddenly, a Savior shows up with a gun. They know each other! Rick recognizes him. It’s Morales from Atlanta! But that was a long time ago, and Morales tells Rick that he’s called the other Saviors and that they’re coming. Then he cocks his gun. The group’s in huge trouble.
Well, we knew this war wouldn’t be that easy. “The Damned” ends with the group, once so confident, completely destroyed. Rick’s in trouble; Daryl’s upset; Aaron’s trying to get Eric out; Jesus, Morgan and Tara are all upset; Ezekiel’s got a fake smile; and Carol’s super worried. Plus, they’re pretty much all conflicted about whether they’ve gone too far or are doing the right thing.
Is Rick about to get shot? Do you think Carol and Ezekiel’s group will make it? Has Morgan lost it? And is Tara or Jesus right? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
The Walking Dead season 8 airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on AMC. Want more news? Like our Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of AMC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
