We take another step away from Alexandria in “The Walking Dead” this week as “The Other Side” takes us back to the Hilltop, a community we haven’t spent a lot of time in other than Rosita bringing Sasha a gun. It’s not all happy-fun-times at the Hilltop though as the Saviors show up unannounced.

The opening montage

The first four minutes have no dialogue as we get a quick catch up for the residents at the Hilltop, but we don’t need dialogue to get the sense of what’s been going on. While Maggie, Jesus, Enid, and Sasha have been focused on training the residents of the Hilltop, Sasha hasn’t actually been as focused as they’d like.

She’s been preparing herself to take on Negan.

What’s nice here is that we see how close Maggie and Enid still are though as Enid takes care of Maggie and Maggie shows so much pride as Enid hits the center of her targets during knife throwing. It’s a reminder that the people who aren’t at Alexandria aren’t all on their own like Carol was or like Eugene. This small group of former Alexandrians are a little family, and it’s refreshing to see this bright spot when you know all of the darkness is on the way on the show.

The Saviors search the Hilltop

If there’s one thing “The Walking Dead” does well, it’s giving us suspenseful moments that make us worry a main character is about to die. As the Saviors search the Hilltop and pick up some supplies along the way, Maggie and Daryl hide in the basement of the big house.

We don’t spend a ton of time focusing on the two of them, but what we do get, on top of Enid fumbling with vegetables and trying to distract the Saviors, is enough to make you worry that one of them won’t make it out, even if you know the producers would be fools to kill either of them off at this point.

Rosita can’t cut Sasha a break

Considering how hostile Rosita has been since she picked herself back up after Abraham’s death, it’s kind of amazing that Sasha has been able to handle being around her for the limited time they’ve been working together. Sasha tries to be nice and to start conversations with her to pass the time as they head out on their mission, but it never works.

What Sasha gets for her attempt is Rosita snapping at her that she made Abraham’s necklace that Sasha has been wearing.

As an audience, we get that Rosita is hurting. We get that Rosita is angry. But Rosita’s attitude has got to get in the way of their mission sooner rather than later. They both seem to be heading to certain death at this rate. Fans have been speculating about Sasha’s fate since Sonequa Martin-Green was cast in the upcoming “Star Trek” series.

A little Rosita backstory

Rosita reveals to Sasha that she picked her way through men during the zombie apocalypse. Men wanted to protect her, so she picked up their skills as they did, then moved on. While some might see this as Rosita relying on men, it actually shows just how smart and independent Rosita is.

She uses people for their knowledge and puts it to good use. It’s a long time coming that Rosita opens up to someone about something, even if it’s just this brief conversation. She even manages to talk about Abraham without yelling at Sasha and gives a couple of smiles.

There’s a wrinkle in the plan

In addition to the Saviors taking Dr. Carson since Negan killed his last doctor, Sasha and Rosita discover that Eugene is working for Negan. This prompts them to try to break him out, but he doesn’t want to go. Sasha takes the initiative, heading into the Sanctuary and making sure Rosita can’t follow. Will this be the last of her?

The verdict and what’s next

I’m not happy that the writers decided to give us a cliffhanger in regard to Sasha’s fate.

It would be better to let fans know one way or the other so the speculation stops and focus can be paid to the rest of the story. I am, however, glad that they decided to give Sasha and Rosita some real conversations.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Walking Dead” has two more episodes left this season! Who’s going to make it out alive?