“The Walking Dead” sees several Alexandrians take a road trip following Tara’s reveal to Rick that Oceanside exists. Surprisingly, “Something They Need” also splits its storyline up between events with Maggie at the Hilltop and Sasha, who broke into the Sanctuary last week. Sasha is given a difficult choice after she’s captured.
Negan saves Sasha
I fully expected the writers to make us wait another week to find out what was going on with Sasha. While we don’t see her get captured, an awkward cut to black from the opening trek with Rick and company reveals that she’s been caught and is in a cell at the Sanctuary.
Negan saves her from her guard, who intends to assault her in exchange for giving her water, which falls in line with Negan not liking to kill women.
Sasha is given the knife Negan uses to kill her would-be attacker with a choice: she can use it to stop the zombie he’ll become or try a go at Negan again. While Eugene comes in to try and talk some sense into Sasha, the episode moves on from there, and we’re left wondering if she’s going to let the zombie kill her or not. It takes nearly three-quarters of the episode for us to get an answer to something that could have been shown right away while we’re left to wonder what other kinds of trouble she could get into.
In the end, she attempts to play Eugene, to get him to feel sorry for her as she doesn’t want to be used against her friends, and give her a weapon she can turn on herself.
Instead, he gives her the poison he created to give her a way out, which is the opposite of what she really wants. Sasha doesn’t want to kill herself - she wants another chance at Negan. This only makes me worry that next week’s season finale will spell a violent end for Sasha and that she won’t get what she really wants.
Gregory is still useless
At the Hilltop, Maggie goes outside the walls to dig up a young blueberry bush. In an effort for their people to be useful in the community, she’s teaching people how to farm. Of course, Maggie leaves on her own, and then trusts Gregory, who comes out to talk to her, to stand watch. There’s a moment where he has a knife in hand and considers killing her, but really, it’s not a moment of note.
Why? Because Gregory has always been a coward and the audience knows it. He doesn’t get his hands dirty, proven when he then tries to go after a walker to protect Maggie, but ends up having to call her for help when he can’t take one on alone. He remains a coward and incapable of doing what actually needs to be done. I wish we could see some sort of development with Gregory, but at this point, I’d almost rather his character be eliminated instead.
Tara leads the group to Oceanside
Though initially she feels guilty for breaking her promise to Cyndie, it’s Tara who leads Rick to the guns they need as she tells him how to get to Oceanside. With a group of most of the core characters, Tara infiltrates the community again to try to negotiate, but it’s to no avail.
Instead, Rick, Daryl, and Jesus set up explosives in the woods to scare the community and herd them in one direction. It’s a good plan, but what happens once the group is all in one place and in the way of walkers is even better.
The Alexandrians are forced to let some of their hostages go and give them weapons to help in the fight and watching the two groups join forces to hold the line and protect the Oceanside inhabitants behind them is a vision of what they could be when taking on the Saviors. It’s such a great scene as we watch them work together as a team instead of arguing about whether or not fighting the Saviors is worth the risk.
The verdict and what’s next
Though there’s no Kingdom or Carol this week, the return to Oceanside was the most fun part of the episode.
I hope that Cyndie can convince them to join Rick in the fight. Points to Dwight for syncing up with Rosita because he wants Negan too!
4 out of 5 stars.
Next week’s season finale puts a delicate plan into motion.
