In the 14th episode of The Walking Dead season 7, titled “The Other Side,” Sasha and Rosita continue with their plan to go after Negan on their own, and it gives them a chance to bond over their shared loss. Meanwhile, the Saviors arrive at the Hilltop looking for someone, Daryl and Maggie have an emotional discussion about Glenn, and Sasha makes a surprising decision.
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Things are Going Down at the Hilltop
The episode begins with an extended, dialogue-free sequence giving us a look at life at the Hilltop. Maggie and Sasha have begun training the members of the Hilltop who want to join in the fight against Negan and the Saviors. Maggie is also working with Jesus on plans for the Hilltop, while Enid watches over Maggie and makes sure she’s taking care of herself.
Without Maggie’s knowledge, Sasha has continued to make a plan to go after Negan, and Jesus gives her a drawing of the layout of the Sanctuary. We see that Daryl has arrived at the Hilltop as Maggie gives him some food. The next day, Gregory watches as his people look at Maggie, not him, for leadership. Gregory is not happy with this turn of events. This montage ends with Rosita’s arrival at the Hilltop and her conversation with Sasha from the previous episode.
After her chat with Rosita, Sasha listens in on Maggie’s conversation with Jesus. Jesus is telling Maggie that he never felt like he belonged at the Hilltop until she and Sasha showed up. Jesus says he grew up in a group home and he’s always found it hard to get close to people, even boyfriends. Maggie says he should try it sometime, and Sasha watches them walk away, a look of sadness passing over her face.
Sasha then heads inside to pack some things for her mission with Rosita. One thing she needs is bullets, and this is when Jesus and Enid walk in. Jesus tells her she can keep the bullets, and she tells him that she has a gun to go with them now. Jesus tries to talk Sasha out of her plan to kill Negan. He knows Rosita didn’t come to the Hilltop to train people, and he knows what she and Sasha are planning.
Jesus says they should wait until they have more people, but Sasha says she isn’t changing her mind. Besides, Rosita is going with or without her, and Sasha thinks it should be with her. Jesus and Enid offer to go with them, but Sasha says no because Maggie needs them. Jesus says Maggie needs her too, but Sasha knows that isn’t true anymore. Jesus wishes she would stay, but he knows she won’t so he tells her to take anything she needs. He also tells her to talk to Maggie before she leaves.
It is then Enid’s turn to talk to Sasha. Sasha tells her to protect Maggie because she and Maggie are the future of this place. Enid tells Sasha that she’s going to talk to Maggie in 10 minutes whether Sasha does or not. It’s her way of looking after Maggie.
Just as Sasha finishes packing her things, the Saviors arrive. Sasha and Rosita manage to escape through a makeshift hatch before the Saviors notice them. Enid, meanwhile, grabs Daryl and Maggie and hides them away in a cellar to keep the Saviors from finding them.
The Saviors Come for Dr. Carson
It turns out that Simon has brought his crew of Saviors because the Hilltop has something they need — or, rather, someone. Now that the Sanctuary’s doctor is dead, Simon is there to get the other Dr. Carson. (This is apparently what Negan meant when he said they had a “back-up” Dr. Carson.) The Hilltop’s Dr. Carson asks if his brother (the now-deceased Dr. Carson) screwed up and got himself killed. Simon says it was something like that. Since they are taking the Hilltop’s doctor, Simon gives Gregory a box full of aspirin as a trade-off. (Oh, Simon. He is just so generous, isn’t he?)
Later, Gregory takes Simon aside and tells him that if he loses the trust of his people, someone else might take over leadership of the Hilltop, and this person might not be as cooperative as he’s been. Simon tells Gregory that he’ll give Gregory’s name to a guard at the compound so if Gregory shows up looking for help, the guard will let him right in. He then warns Gregory against pulling any “shenanigans.”
Everyone at the Hilltop watches as the Saviors take their only doctor away, and Gregory does nothing to stop it. Later, Gregory and Jesus have a tense talk where Gregory threatens Jesus and lets it be known that they are not friends anymore. (Between Gregory’s inability to look after his people and what looks like a permanent shift in his relationship with Jesus, I think it’s safe to say that Gregory’s days as the Hilltop’s leader are numbered. Here’s hoping Maggie takes over as the Hilltop’s leader by season’s end.)
Maggie and Daryl Have a Much-Needed Conversation
Enid does her best to distract one of the Saviors intent on checking the cellar, but the guy ends up checking it out anyway. Luckily, he doesn’t find Maggie and Daryl hiding inside.
Later, while hiding out in the cellar, Maggie stops Daryl from killing the Savior who walks in on them. Once he’s gone, Maggie tells Daryl that he wasn’t going to find them, so killing him would’ve served a purpose. Daryl admits that he wanted to kill the Savior because he deserved to die. Maggie then confronts Daryl about not saying a word to her since he arrived at the Hilltop. Daryl ends up breaking down and telling Maggie that he’s sorry. Maggie immediately says that Glenn’s death wasn’t his fault, but Daryl thinks it was.
Maggie goes on to say that Glenn thought Daryl was one of the good things in this world, and he would know since he was one too. Maggie admits that she wanted to kill the Savior too, but she didn’t because she knows they have to win. She then hugs Daryl and asks him to help her win the fight against Negan and the Saviors.
(While it was important to see Maggie and Daryl discuss what happened to Glenn, I wish the scene had focused more on Maggie’s grief than it did on about Daryl’s guilt. Maggie has been sorely underused so far this season, and this scene would’ve been a great chance to hear her talk about her husband’s murder.)
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Things Gets Awkward Between Sasha and Rosita
While on the road to the Sanctuary, Sasha and Rosita share an awkward moment when Rosita notices that Sasha is wearing the necklace she made for Abraham. Things continue to be awkward as Sasha tries making conversation with Rosita, and Rosita just shuts her down, claiming she is only interested in discussing the mission. Sasha relents and says Jesus told her about some buildings just outside the Sanctuary. She thinks one of them will have a good line of sight. They can set up there and wait for their chance to take out Negan. This way, maybe they don’t have to enter the Sanctuary at all.
Rosita, however, is not thrilled with this option. She clearly has a death wish and is disappointed they won’t actually be going into the Saviors’ compound. Sasha assures Rosita that if she gets a shot at Negan, she won’t miss. This is the safest play because it means that if they fail, they’ll still be alive to try again.
On their way to the Sanctuary, Sasha and Rosita take out some walkers blocking their path, and Rosita hot-wires a car to take them to Negan’s compound.
Rosita and Sasha Talk Things Out
In a long, beautiful scene, Rosita and Sasha finally have a chance to talk about everything that’s happened between them. Per Sasha’s plan, they take their positions in a building near the Sanctuary while they wait for Negan to show his face. As they are waiting, Sasha asks Rosita about her knot-tying skills, and Rosita opens up about her past.
Rosita names several different men who taught her the skills we’ve seen her use this season. She explains that these guys wanted to protect her because they didn’t think she could take care of herself and, at the time, they were right. Rosita says she played along and learned everything she could from these men. When she outgrew them, she moved on. Sasha asks if it was like that with Abraham, but Rosita says she stayed with Abraham because he knew what she was capable of.
Rosita goes on to say that she had a hard time adjusting when they got to Alexandria. She thought she hated Sasha, but now she wonders if she just hated the fact that Abraham figured out his stuff before she did. Rosita says she never shared that with anyone before, and Sasha is glad that Rosita opened up to her. Rosita goes on to say that she never got to tell Abraham that she was happy he found happiness. She then asks Sasha if she was happy, and Sasha says she was. They are both still so upset over Abraham’s death, knowing that he would’ve wanted to go out fighting, but Negan took that from him. They then agree to have each other’s backs no matter how things go down.
Sasha Sacrifices Herself to Protect Rosita
After their talk, Sasha spots the Saviors bringing Dr. Carson to the compound. She also spots Negan coming out to greet Carson. Unfortunately, between Eugene and Carson, Sasha can’t get a clean shot at Negan. Sasha decides that they need to go in, and Rosita says she’s ready.
Earlier in the episode, Sasha and Rosita spot Eugene giving orders to some Saviors, but Rosita just assumes Eugene is working an angle. Alas, when they decide to head into the compound and take out the guard watching the fence, Eugene declines their offer of an escape and tells them he is not leaving. Is this Eugene’s way of trying to protect them or has he really joined Team Negan now?
As Eugene heads back inside, Sasha tells Rosita to act as a lookout while she cuts an opening in the fence. While Rosita is distracted, Sasha seals the opening in the fence so Rosita cannot follow her in. Sasha tells Rosita to go because it’s not her time and their people need her. Sasha then runs into the compound, and we hear a lot of gunfire. Unable to get inside, Rosita has no choice but to run. Once she gets to safety, Rosita breaks down in tears. She then spots someone with a crossbow watching her from the shadows. (It could be Daryl, but my money’s on Dwight.)
What did you think of this episode of The Walking Dead? Are you glad that Daryl and Maggie finally talked about the Glenn situation? Are you disappointed we haven’t seen more of Maggie this season? Will Maggie take over leadership of the Hilltop before the season ends or will Gregory find a way to hold on to power? Are you glad the show kept Jesus’ sexuality from the comics? Were you happy he opened up to Maggie about his past?
What did you think of the Sasha-Rosita team-up? Were you surprised that Sasha left Rosita behind to protect her? Who do you think was watching Rosita in that final scene? 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
