In the 15th episode of season 7 of The Walking Dead, titled “Something They Need,” Rick and company travel with Tara to Oceanside in the hopes of getting more guns and convincing the Oceanside group to join their upcoming war against Negan and the Saviors. Meanwhile, Maggie attempts to work with Gregory, Sasha is being held prisoner at the Sanctuary, and we learn the identity of the shadowy figure seen with Rosita at the end of the previous episode. The penultimate episode of season 7 is rather slow, but it does a good job of setting up things up for the finale.
Is Sasha Going to Die on The Walking Dead?>>>
Team Family Gets a Big Win
As the episode begins, Tara is telling her people, via voice-over, about the Oceanside community and how they have a lot of guns. Rick asks why she didn’t mention this before and Tara explains that she made a promise. The group is on the move to Oceanside to get their guns, but also with the hope of convincing the Oceanside community to join in their war against the Saviors. While Tara is willing to lead Rick and company to Oceanside, she makes it clear that if things do not go well, she is going to feel bad. Rick says she doesn’t have to.
Once they arrive at the Oceanside community, Michonne takes position in a tree on the perimeter. Tara then heads to the leader’s home. She holds the group’s leader, Natania, at gunpoint so the woman will hear her out. (We later learn that Tara’s gun was never loaded.) Just then, Natania’s granddaughter Cyndie arrives. (Cyndie is the one who helped Tara before and to whom Tara made the promise not to tell her people about the Oceanside group.) Tara then explains that her people have come to take this place so they can get the group’s guns, but it doesn’t have to be that way. She asks Natania to talk to Rick about joining in the fight. If Natania is willing to talk to Rick, Rick and company won’t have to take over the community. Though Cyndie wants to talk to Rick, Natania refuses to even discuss fighting the Saviors.
Just then, Rick and company set off some explosives outside of the community to lure the group into the open. They then gather the Oceanside women together so they can keep an eye on them while they retrieve the guns. Alas, Natania was able to get the drop on Tara so she is now holding Tara hostage. She threatens to kill Tara if Rick’s people don’t leave. Rick says they’ll leave, but they are taking the guns with them. Cyndie tries talking to her people and some of them seem convinced to joining in the fight, but Natania won’t have any of it.
While Natania is prepared to kill Tara, some walkers wander into the community from the sea and Michonne alerts the group to their arrival. Cyndie then knocks out Natania so the groups can work together to fight off the walkers. The Alexandrians work alongside the women of Oceanside to dispatch the walkers and it seems like they would work well together in the future. Unfortunately, since Natania is their leader, she insists that they will not be joining the fight.
As the Alexandrians load up Oceanside’s guns, Cyndie tells Tara that she and some of the others want to help them fight Negan but they cannot do it unless they are all in agreement. Tara thanks Cyndie for saving her life yet again and Cyndie thanks Tara for what her group is trying to do with the Saviors. As the Alexandrians are leaving with their new guns, Tara tells Rick that he was right and she doesn’t have to feel bad.
Sasha Makes Her Choice
Early in the episode, we find out that while Sasha caused a lot of trouble at the Sanctuary, she did not manage to kill Negan. She did, however, get captured and is now being held by Negan in Daryl’s old cell. (Though, thankfully, she gets to keep her clothes and doesn’t have to listen to a certain song on repeat.)
In an incredibly tense and disturbing scene, one of the Saviors comes to Sasha’s cell and tries to rape her. Like in the comics, Negan walks in on this attempted rape and kills the man responsible. After apologizing for killing said Savior in front of her, Negan recognizes Sasha from the line-up. He now understands why she would try to attack him. Negan tells Sasha that he was impressed by her “beach-ball-size lady nuts” and asks if Rick sent her. Sasha acts like Rick is still following Negan’s rules so no, he didn’t send her. Negan says that this can be the beginning for her instead of the end.
Negan then decides to give Sasha a little test to see if she really has a death wish. He leaves the Savior’s body in her cell and hands her a knife. She can either let the dead Savior turn and kill her, use the knife to kill herself, or use the knife on the Savior before he turns. (He also gives her the choice of trying to use the knife on him, but since he has a clear advantage over her, that’s not really an option.) Negan hopes Sasha chooses to save herself because he’s a man down and he thinks she could be a real asset to him one day.
While Sasha is left to make her choice, Eugene stops by her cell to offer her some creature comforts. He tells her that she should take Negan’s offer like he did. He claims the reason he joined Team Negan is because he was never more scared in his life than he was during the line-up and by siding with the Saviors, he’ll never have to face something like that again. Sasha tells him to leave.
When Negan checks on Sasha later that day, he sees that she chose to stab the would-be walker and save herself. Negan seems pleased by this development, but he tells her they still have a long way to go before he trusts that she’s really on-board. Negan also tells her that he heard Rick is planning something and she is going to help him change that. He tells her to get some rest because the next day is going to be a big one.
Later, Sasha appears to have a change of heart when she tearfully asks Eugene to give her something she can use to end her life. However, it is made clear that what Sasha really wanted was a weapon, presumably so she can get another shot at killing Negan. Unfortunately, instead of giving her a weapon, Eugene gives her the suicide pills so she can end her life painlessly. Sasha is obviously upset by this turn of events. Could she find a way to use the pills on Negan? What will happen if she gets caught with the pills?
Quiz: Which TV Vigilante Are You? >>>
Gregory Almost Attacks Maggie!
At the Hilltop, Gregory watches Maggie put her leadership skills into action and he is not pleased at how his people listen to her. When Maggie goes outside the walls to dig up a blueberry bush, Gregory goes out to see her. He says they need to appear to present a united front to the Hilltop members and Maggie counters that it would be better if they actually were a united front. She tells him it’s never too late to change and gives him an opportunity to do so by asking him to keep watch while she finishes digging up the bush.
Alas, instead of keeping watch, Gregory debates using his knife to stab Maggie in the back. Before he can make the decision to do so or not, he spots a walker headed their way. Gregory insists he can take care of it, but he is unable to do so. As Maggie is dispatching the first walker, another one comes along and attacks Gregory. Maggie then has to save his life just as a group of Hilltop members show up. Maggie tells the group that Gregory never killed a walker before but he’s learning. Apparently, he lied to his people just like he tried to lie to Maggie about his walker-killing skills and Gregory is not pleased that the truth is now out.
As the episode comes to an end, Gregory tells one of his men that he will need a ride somewhere and it’s clear that he is headed to the Sanctuary to talk to Simon about Maggie.
Can Dwight Be Trusted?
When Rick and company return from Oceanside, Rosita is there to let them in. Jesus wants to know where Sasha is, but Rosita ignores that question and tells the group that someone is
here. She then takes them to Morgan’s make-shift jail cell where she’s been keeping none other than Daryl’s former tormentor, Dwight. (Yes, it turns out that Dwight was the shadowy figure seen in the last few moments of the previous episode.)
Daryl immediately goes after Dwight, but the others hold him back and Rosita says Dwight wants to help them. Rick asks if that’s true and Dwight says it is. Rick then pulls his gun on Dwight and tells the Savior (or is that former Savior?) to get on his knees.
What did you think of this episode of The Walking Dead? Is Dwight telling the truth about wanting to help Rick’s people? If so, can the Alexandrians ever trust Dwight enough to accept his help? What did you think of Eugene’s supposed reason for joining Team Negan? Is it possible he’s just playing along to try to dismantle things from the inside? If so, why wouldn’t he just tell Sasha that? Do you think the Oceanside group will ultimately join in the fight against the Saviors?
Were you surprised that Eric went on the mission to the Oceanside community? Does his increased screen-time of late mean that his days are numbered? What did you think of Carl telling Enid that while he thinks about the people he’s killed, he also thinks about the ones he didn’t? Jesus is clearly feeling guilty for not doing more to stop Sasha and Rosita from leaving. How will he react if Sasha dies? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
The Walking Dead season 7 airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on AMC. Want more news? Follow our Walking Dead Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of AMC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
