'Walking Dead' goes beyond Thunderdome in episode 10

This assessment incorporates spoilers for The Strolling Lifeless Season 7, episode 10, titled "New Greatest Pals." To refresh your reminiscence of the place we left off, take a look at our recap of episode 9.

Finally: Daryl and Carol are reunited, and it feels so good. Even when "New Greatest Associates" had been a horrible episode (which it wasn't — it was arguably one of many season's strongest so far), it nonetheless would've scored bonus factors for bringing our two favourite lone wolves again collectively after method too many episodes aside. 

And what made their reunion even higher was how Daryl came upon about Carol's safehouse within the first place — as a part of Richard's plot to incite a struggle between the Kingdom and the Saviors by framing Carol for killing a few of Negan's scouts. It was an ingenious plan to get Ezekiel indignant sufficient to take motion, however boy, did Richard select precisely the mistaken confederate for that exact scheme. Even when Daryl hadn't recognized that it was Carol that Richard meant to make use of as a scapegoat, there is no method he would've condemned an harmless individual to die as a pawn within the soldier's recreation.

As for the reunion itself... Whether or not you "ship it" or simply recognize the enduring friendship between these deeply broken however achingly altruistic heroes, you'll be able to't deny that the present comes alive any time they share the display. Melissa McBride can achieve this a lot with so little dialogue, and it is exhausting to determine what was extra heartbreaking — watching the worry and nervousness play throughout Carol's face as she waited for Daryl to inform her whether or not the Saviors had killed any of her family members again in Alexandria, or watching Daryl mislead her and reassure her that "everybody's alright," as a result of he does not need to drag her again right into a struggle that would value Carol her humanity. Larger love hath no man than this.

Sadly, it seems to be as if Daryl acquired his fill of The Kingdom's difficult net of politics after only a day behind its partitions, and after getting right into a moralistic debate with Morgan (the man simply brings it out in individuals, I assume) and getting some high quality time with Shiva, he packed his luggage and set off for Hilltop. 

Now it is as much as Morgan to persuade Ezekiel to hitch the battle — apparently getting his employees stolen by the Saviors wasn't incentive sufficient to start out a warfare, however it feels prefer it's solely a matter of time earlier than one thing will push him into the battle once more. In all probability the brutal homicide of Benjamin by the hands of that dickish Savior, proper? The child is approach too wide-eyed and optimistic to outlive in The Strolling Lifeless's world — he may as properly be sporting a purple shirt.

Elsewhere, Rick and the gang received to know the group of strangers (emphasis on unusual), who nabbed Father Gabriel final week — apparently they reside in a rubbish dump and had been watching the boat that Rick and Aaron ransacked for provides for fairly a while, ready for somebody with sufficient talent to do the arduous work for them. 

The strangers had a reasonably sensible survival technique: robbing the boat's robbers with out having to danger a zombie-infested lake themselves. And they might've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for Father Gabriel's pesky means to go away notes throughout a kidnapping!

The entire setup appeared very Mad Max Past Thunderdome meets Return of the Jedi, particularly as soon as the oddly-spoken chief Jadis tossed Rick right into a pit to struggle towards an armored walker with swords and spikes shoved by way of it to show his mettle. Missing the Pressure, Rick (with an help from Michonne on the sidelines) settled for pulling a bunch of trash down on prime of the walker and braining it with a shard of glass — however not earlier than he injured his hand on one of many walker's spikes. 

The present beforehand had a number of enjoyable foreshadowing Glenn's demise courtesy of Lucille with a lot of different baseball bats and head accidents through the years, and it looks like the producers are doing one thing comparable with Rick's proper hand — the man positive does appear to seek out that exact appendage in peril on a disturbingly common foundation.

Might we be heading in the direction of an amputation by way of an infection? In all probability not, however the writers are more than likely going to have enjoyable teasing us with tetanus for some time anyway. 

Since Rick proved himself in one-on-one gladatorial walker fight, he earned the prospect for his group to show themselves to the strangers (they're apparently onerous to impress), promising to seek out them weapons in change for his or her assist in the battle towards Negan. 

And in contrast to the Saviors, the rubbish dwellers even gave again Father Gabriel as a present of excellent religion. Now Rick and the gang simply have to determine the place to accumulate a bunch of weapons with out operating afoul of the Saviors. Tara's in all probability not going to be in any hurry to take them to Oceanside, however perhaps somebody might tip them off concerning the weapons cache Richard left within the shed close to Carol's place, ideally earlier than he has time to spring his lure on the Saviors and get Carol caught within the crossfire.

The Strolling Lifeless airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.