"The Walking Dead" Season 8 Episode 11: "Dead Or Alive or" definitely put things in motion for the second part of "All Out War." However, as it is usually the case with "The Walking Dead," especially this season, there was more to this episode than met the eye. So with that in mind, let's go over some Easter eggs, comic book references, interesting callbacks to previous seasons, and other not-so-obvious details you might have missed in "Dead or Alive or." Be careful though, because some spoilers will follow for both the TV show and "The Walking Dead" comics.
So stay away if you are not up to date with the recent events.
Ham radio comic book connection
During their escape from the "Sanctuary," Father Gabriel and Doctor Carson stumbled upon an interesting house. The place was completely empty, but it was littered with all sorts of communication devices which might just as well be a subtle comic connection with "The Commonwealth," a mysterious new group that has just been introduced in "The Walking Dead" comics this January.
They are (comic book spoilers) a very successful community of 50,000 people with high-tech armor led by the new governor Pamela Milton. But let's see how this ties into the radio scene from "The Walking Dead's" recent episode.
Much earlier in the comics, during the "Whisperer" war, Eugene found a radio and then tried to reach out to other communities.
At first, his attempts were unsuccessful, but he was eventually able to reach a woman named Stephanie from "The Commonwealth."
In our opinion, after the "All Out War," Father Gabriel will take Eugene to this house and Eugene will repair the radio which he will use to reach out to others, just like in the comics.
Eugene's new mission
While on the topic of Eugene, he got his very own outpost in this episode. The outpost is, of course, a machine shop. Because, as Negan said, he needs his bullet maker making bullets.
But what you probably missed is that this machine shop is the same place Eugene discovered with Abraham in Season 6. This was actually the first time Eugene came up with the idea to manufacture bullets.
Only now, he will be making them for the "Saviors" instead of Alexandrians.
What's even more interesting is that in the end, Eugene, with the determined look on his face, straight out told Father Gabriel that he found what he was meant to do. Check out the scene down below.
Could this be the beginning of Eugene's redemption? Will he turn on Negan? Only time will then, but if we have to guess, he most definitely will join Rick's cause once again.
Negan's new trick
Negan's zombie gut strategy he shared with the "Saviors" was pulled straight from the comics. And it was during this speech that we noticed the episode title reference. While Negan was explaining to his men how the new trick works, he told them that the goal is to get Hilltop to join the zombies club.
They could be "dead or alive or some kind of sh-- in between," Negan concluded.
Click here to find out more about whether Negan's new trick will work or not.
Dwight's mission
Dwight was also the big part of the episode, proving once again where his true loyalties lie. Hopefully, Tara will now understand that, as well. In any case, Dwight led the "Saviors" away from the tired Alexandrians. And this was where he asked about a person named Laura.
To recall, in "The Walking Dead" Season 8 winter finale, Laura saw Dwight killing some "Saviors." So she is now the only person who knows that Dwight is a traitor.
The "Saviors" told Dwight that no one had seen her. And he better make sure it stays that way.
There was another callback to earlier episodes in this scene, as one of the "Saviors" commented that he didn't recognize Dwight without his vest. To recall, this is the same vest Dwight stole from Daryl in Season 6 finale, but Daryl eventually swiped it back in this season's winter finale.
Tara's bad memory
While on the topic of Dwight, let's go over his scene with Tara from earlier in the episode. After he apologized for killing Tara's girlfriend Denise with the crossbow through her eye, she replied: "You don't get to switch sides and make it OK." That would be a valid point if Tara isn't a person who switched sides herself. To recall, before she joined Rick's group, Tara was with the Governor.
What did you think about "The Walking Dead" 8x11 "Dead or Alive or?" Did you catch all the references and callbacks? Let us know in the comments below.
