In the fifth episode of The Walking Dead season 7, “Go Getters,” we finally get to catch up with Maggie and Sasha at the Hilltop as they deal with threats from all sides. Meanwhile, Carl and Enid go on a road trip, and several characters are poised to go after Negan. Also, we see the return of Jesus!
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Maggie Recovers
The episode begins as Maggie wakes up after a few days of being unconscious. The Hilltop’s doctor tells Maggie that the baby is fine and lets her listen to the heartbeat. (She apparently suffered from a placental abruption, as quite a few fans had already guessed.) He says she needs to rest for the next few days and that she should stay at the Hilltop for the remainder of her pregnancy so he can be close to her if she needs more medical attention.
When Maggie is back on her feet, she goes to see Sasha. Maggie asks Sasha where “they” are, and Sasha takes her to Glenn and Abraham’s graves. Sasha also gives Glenn’s watch to Maggie. She says it was in his pocket. (Apparently, all Abraham had was a cigar.) Maggie puts the watch on Glenn’s grave. While they are mourning for their lost loves, Jesus arrives.
Jesus has a nice chat with Maggie and Sasha before Gregory interrupts. Gregory calls Maggie by the wrong name before insisting that they have to leave so the Saviors don’t realize that the Hilltop has an alliance with Alexandria. He wants plausible deniability. Jesus argues against making Maggie and Sasha leave, but Gregory will only agree to let them stay for the night.
That night, Jesus helps the women get settled in for the evening, and this gives Sasha a chance to talk to him. She wants Jesus to convince Gregory to let them stay. She wonders why Gregory is in charge instead of Jesus, considering that Jesus would make a much better leader. Jesus claims that that’s not who he is. Sasha offers to go out and scavenge for the community if Gregory will let Maggie stay, but Jesus doesn’t want things to work that way at the Hilltop.
Before Maggie arrives, Jesus gives Sasha a necklace that Abraham lost when he visited the Hilltop. (It is the brake light necklace Rosita made for him.) Jesus lets Maggie and Sasha know that he will try talking to Gregory again. Once he leaves, Maggie and Sasha discuss Gregory. Sasha thinks he’s an idiot, but Maggie knows he is a coward and that is much more dangerous. In the morning, they’ll come up with a plan on what to do next.
Alas, they are woken up during the night when the community is attacked. Maggie and Sasha wake up to see that fires have been lit inside the Hilltop’s walls and there is a car blasting music. Sasha immediately springs into action, telling Maggie to rest like the doctor advised. Yet, even once Jesus shows up to help, it’s clear he and Sasha cannot handle things on their own.
As they try to both fend off walkers and break into the car blasting the music, Maggie steps up. She drives a tractor over the car — she also uses it take out some walkers — essentially crushing it and silencing the music. Aside from Maggie’s awesome car-crushing moment, this scene also gives us another look at Jesus’ impressive fighting skills. He and Sasha make a pretty great team, especially once Maggie joins the fray.
The Saviors Arrive
Despite Sasha and Maggie helping Jesus defend the community, Gregory still wants them to leave. Jesus and Gregory are arguing about this when Sasha arrives. She offers to leave if Gregory will just let Maggie stay. Gregory doesn’t seem inclined to agree, but he hints that maybe he and Sasha can talk about it some more in his office. (Does this guy make a pass at every attractive woman he comes across?)
Before their conversation can continue, the Saviors arrive for their offering. Gregory tells Jesus to hide Sasha and Maggie in the hall closet so the Saviors won’t see them.
This group of Saviors is led by Simon. Gregory welcomes Simon and his men to the community. Simon says they need to discuss things in private. One of those things turns out to be the killing of the Saviors at the outpost. Gregory acts like he doesn’t know what Simon is talking about and even feigns surprise that those Saviors are dead. Simon clearly doesn’t buy Gregory’s act, but he says things worked out in the end because the people who killed those Saviors are now working for them. Simon is pleased that Gregory understands and appreciates the service the Saviors provide.
Carl and Enid Head to the Hilltop
When we check in with the Alexandrians, Rick and Aaron are about to head out on a run to gather supplies for the Saviors. Rick asks Carl to go with him, but Carl isn’t interested. Rick and Michonne share an excellent kiss before Rick leaves. Michonne is heading out herself, though I am not sure where she is going. Carl tells Michonne that Rick is wrong, and they both know it. Michonne says she might believe that, but she doesn’t know it, not for sure.
Once Michonne leaves, Carl spots Enid heading over the wall. She wants to go see Maggie at the Hilltop. Carl tries to talk her out of it, but things are still a bit tense between them thanks to Carl locking her in a closet last season. Carl eventually lets her go.
Later, Enid is riding a bike to the Hilltop when she stumbles upon a walker. Next thing you know, Carl is mowing the thing down with a car. It’s actually pretty great. Carl apparently decides to escort Enid to the Hilltop. (Later on, Enid says she knows that Carl wasn’t coming after her but was in fact on a mission to track down Negan.) This gives them a chance to talk about what happened to Glenn and Abraham. Carl is glad that he saw it firsthand so he will remember it when he faces Negan.
As they continue on their way, Carl spots something on the side of the road. It turns out to be two pairs of roller skates, and the teens take full advantage of their find. (I never thought I’d be so happy to see two kids roller skating. It’s such a rare moment of happiness, especially given how bleak this season has been so far.)
When Carl and Enid finally arrive at the Hilltop, they see the Saviors, but Carl realizes that Negan isn’t with them. He still intends to go after Negan, and he asks Enid to go with him. She says she can’t because it wouldn’t be for those they’ve lost but rather for them. They share their first kiss, and it’s exactly as sweet as it should be. Enid tells Carl that she doesn’t want him to go, but she knows she cannot stop him. As she heads into the Hilltop, Carl says he’ll see her later, but Enid says he won’t. Which one of them is right?
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Maggie and Simon Put Gregory in His Place
As they are wrapping up their chat, Simon asks Gregory if there is anything else he should know. Gregory, giving in to his cowardice, takes Simon to the closet that he believes Maggie and Sasha are hiding in. They saved everyone at the Hilltop, but Gregory still intends to sell them out. Luckily, Jesus realized that Gregory might do this, so he stashed Sasha and Maggie somewhere else. When Gregory opens the hall closet, all that’s inside are boxes of Gregory’s best booze. Simon isn’t that impressed with the offering, but he knows that Negan will be and he intends to take credit for the find. Before he leaves, Simon forces Gregory to kneel before him. (I still don’t like Simon since I hate all the Saviors on principle, but I do love that he forced Gregory to kneel.)
Gregory is deeply annoyed that Jesus hid Maggie and Sasha in a different closet (in Gregory’s bedroom, no less). Gregory starts insisting that they have to leave again, but Jesus isn’t having it. He lets Gregory know that if he keeps trying to force the women out, the Hilltop’s deal with Alexandria will be public knowledge and Gregory will no longer have plausible deniability. Gregory thinks Jesus is angling to take over as leader, but Jesus says all that matters is that Gregory won’t be in charge anymore. Gregory finally backs down and agrees that they can all live there together.
Gregory starts to say that the Saviors can be reasonable when Maggie punches him right in the face. (It is easily the best moment of the episode and one that I have been waiting for since Gregory first showed up on-screen.) We then see that Gregory took Glenn’s watch off his grave, and I wish Maggie had done more than just punch him. She tells him that this is their home now, so Gregory has to start calling her by her actual name: Maggie Rhee. (Did anyone else cheer and choke up at the moment or was that just me?)
Sasha Gives Jesus a Mission
Jesus tells Maggie and Sasha that Gregory was the leader of the Hilltop community when he arrived, and he assumed there was a reason for that. Now he thinks it just happened. He never challenged it because he didn’t think there was anyone who could take his place, but now he does. Maggie doesn’t understand what he means, but he just smiles and says they can talk about it later. Jesus knows that he should’ve spoken up for them sooner, but he promises to make that up to them.
After Maggie leaves, Sasha tells Jesus that she knows of a way he can make things up to them. She asks if he can find out where Negan lives, and he says he can. Sasha wants to keep this quiet for now, even from Maggie. Jesus agrees, though they are both conflicted about keeping something like this from Maggie.
Maggie is going back to return the watch to Glenn’s grave when she spots Enid. Enid has left her green balloons on Glenn and Abraham’s graves. Enid asks if Maggie is okay. Maggie says she’s not, but she will be. Enid and Maggie have just finished making dinner when Sasha arrives. They let her know that Enid put the balloons on the graves as a marker.
Maggie says she was going to use the watch to mark Glenn’s grave, but she decides to give it to Enid instead. She says they don’t need material things to remind them of those they lost because they are there to remember them. (Sasha apparently takes this to heart, as we see her about to smoke Abraham’s cigar in the final scene.) They all sit down to eat, and Maggie blesses the meal.
As the episode comes to an end, we see Jesus sneaking onto the truck that’s heading for Negan’s compound. He takes a swig from a bottle of Gregory’s booze before pouring it out. We then see that Jesus is not the only stowaway on the truck. Carl is also there. (I’m sure fans of the comics love this moment. Carl has a pretty great arc at this point in the comics. Do you think the show’s version will live up to it?)
What did you think of this episode of The Walking Dead? Were you glad we finally got to check back in with Maggie and Sasha? What do you think of their developing friendships with Jesus? Do you think Jesus is right that Maggie would make a good leader for the Hilltop? What did you think of her confession to Enid that she had experience running over cars thanks to a boy from her high school? Was Maggie’s gesture of giving Glenn’s watch to Enid a sign that she’s made Enid part of her family now? Am I the only one who thinks that this was hands down the best episode of the season? Am I just biased because I loved the Sasha/Maggie/Jesus team-up so much? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
The Walking Dead season 7 airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on AMC. Want more news? Like our Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of AMC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
