The Walking Dead Has Somehow Become a Political Thriller

The Commonwealth’s Lance Hornsby is a person with a plan. A really devious plan. A plan that may very possible show lethal to others. But, above all, it’s a very, very foolish plan, and I’m right here for it.

While The Walking Dead has spent the previous few episodes displaying the various, many, ever-expanding cracks within the Commonwealth’s façade of paradise, it was solely the tail finish of final week’s “Rogue Element” that hinted Deputy Governor Lance Hornsby (Josh Hamilton) would be the last season’s predominant antagonist. And that’s solely as a result of he broke poor Eugene’s (Josh McDermitt) coronary heart by pairing him up with a faux Stephanie to extract details about Alexandria—however as he identified, it’s info Hornsby used to ship assist and assets to rebuild Alexandria, which is objectively a more-than-fair commerce.

Still, it’s a reasonably dick transfer by Hornsby, particularly when it hurts somebody who’s (normally) certainly one of The Walking Dead’s extra lovable characters. In tonight’s episode, “The Lucky Ones,” we study what Hornsby’s diabolical purpose is… and he doesn’t care what number of folks he has to assist to realize it.

The episode begins with Governor Pamela Milton (Laila Robins) making a tour of Alexandria, Oceanside, and even the very beginnings of Hilltop 2.0, accompanied by Hornsby, General Mercer (Michael James Shaw), Daryl (Norman Reedus), and a gaggle of Commontroopers. The first cease is Alexandria, which appears nice—just about all the destruction from the Whisperer struggle, storms, and zombies has been cleaned up, the windmill is again in motion, and neat rows of crops fill the settlement. Again, it appears like Eugene’s ache was completely well worth the profit it introduced the colony.

Aaron (Ross Marquand), understanding how important the Commonwealth’s assist has been and can proceed to be in rebuilding Alexandria, has teamed up with Hornsby to impress Pam in hopes that the colony can be a part of the Commonwealth’s uncomfortably imprecise “Mutual Protection Pact.” Unfortunately for each him and Hornsby, Pam isn’t significantly concerned with buying the colony, particularly after she learns simply how typically it’s been rebuilt through the years, since that additionally signifies what number of occasions it’s fallen.

The subsequent cease is Oceanside (which we haven’t seen since season 10), the place Rachel (Avianna Mynhier, similar) tells Pam she’s concerned with becoming a member of, however since they’ve all the time partnered with Hilltop, Oceanside will abide by no matter Maggie (Lauren Cohan) decides. Hornsby is lower than happy on the rebuff, whereas Aaron worries it’d have an effect on Alexandria’s burgeoning alliance with the Commonwealth.

The crux of “The Lucky Ones” comes all the way down to the assembly of Pam and Maggie, who’re extra alike than Maggie would care to confess, at first. After Pamela’s convoy runs into Maggie preventing zombies en path to Hilltop, the 2 pair off for a searching journey and bond over their roles as leaders, then the governor provides her pitch for partnering with the Commonwealth. The future Pamela needs is a community of protected communities, the place folks can journey and commerce freely, the place pre-apocalyptic society, expertise, and unity return—a life the place Maggie can drop off her son Hershel for his first day of school. It’s a strong argument, and one which Maggie is clearly enticed by—much more so when the governor proves herself to be not only a bureaucratic politician, however simply as succesful at zombie-killing as Maggie is.

When they return to Hilltop, the colony’s wants versus the Commonwealth’s assistance is so stark as to be mildly ludicrous. Hilltop remains to be principally annihilated after the Whisperers’ assault, and it appears only some former inhabitants are concerned with making an attempt to reserve it—definitely lower than the platoon of Commontroopers doing the majority of the reconstruction. It’s an ostentatious show of every part the Commonwealth has to supply, not simply to Maggie and her folks, however the viewers. Hornsby even asks Maggie, with a totally straight face, “It is okay if we hand out supplies?” The Commonwealth couldn’t look extra benign and munificent if it tried (as a result of it’s already making an attempt very laborious). Honestly, it’s no surprise Maggie’s right-hand girl Dianne (Kerry Cahill) decides to go away. “It’s harder than it has ever been and it doesn’t have to be,” she tells Maggie. She’s proper.

If you’ve lived by way of the Wolves, the Saviors, the Whisperers, and 1,000,000 or so zombies, you’d assume shifting to the protection of the Commonwealth should be no determination in any respect. But Maggie nonetheless resists, for 2 causes. First, she’s not thrilled that the Commonwealth is an autocracy dominated by Pamela, which occurs to additionally give her the best lifetime of luxurious the post-apocalypse has to supply. When Pam counters that Maggie has equal energy over her folks, Maggie retorts she’d moderately these folks acknowledge her authority by her deeds, not ostentatious shows of wealth.

The second purpose is extra vital, if apparent. Maggie doesn’t belief the Commonwealth, and particularly not their provide of free support. Maggie’s been a deeply distrustful particular person ever since Meridian was assaulted by the Reapers, however you don’t should be that jaded to surprise what the Commonwealth is getting out of serving to Hilltop and Alexandria. This is the world of The Walking Dead, in spite of everything, and so they’re clearly not doing this out of the goodness of their collective hearts.

Maggie bluntly asks Hornsby the identical query, and he instantly dodges it by mentioning how dangerous off Hilltop is. When she calls him on it, he replies one thing imprecise about creating a greater world for everyone (resulting in the aforementioned “Hershel goes to college” pitch)… which isn’t actually a solution both, however the dialog will get interrupted by a zombie assault. The Hilltoppers use their hand-to-hand weapons, struggling as normal, however then the Commontroopers march over with their assault rifles and mow down the zombies immediately. It’s simply one other oh-so-obvious signal of all the advantages becoming a member of the Commonwealth would deliver.

But Maggie’s nonetheless not going to signal away Hilltop’s potential freedom for an unknown value, no matter how a lot assist it may deliver. “Everything costs something,” she says, echoing a line Pam says earlier within the episode. The governor principally shrugs and prepares to move house, however Hornsby runs after her, claiming he can persuade Maggie finally. Pam wryly however completely accuses him of making an attempt to deliver Hilltop and the opposite two colonies into the fold in order that he could be appointed to run them. Yes, Hornby needs energy.

This is totally hilarious to me. It’s simply… nonsense. Say he does get management of Hilltop, Alexandria, and Oceanside. How a lot “power” does this give him? What may he presumably do with all of the “mighty” assets of those three busted settlements who at present have just about no assets besides those the Commonwealth is at present giving them? What does that degree of authority within the zombie apocalypse even imply, apart from the flexibility to throw lavish, decadent dinner events? Because that’s just about all Pam’s obtained occurring for her.

And Hornsby is working so laborious for this! He has a secret particular ops group within the Commonwealth, whose solely recognized achievement is seducing Eugene. As Mercer says to Daryl, Daryl didn’t put on his Commontrooper armor to go to the colonies due to the optics. Hornsby is making an attempt to finesse the hell out of a scenario that doesn’t appear to warrant any of it. He’s making an attempt to play three-dimensional chess when nobody else even owns a full set of checkers. I’m fairly optimistic he’s immediately or not directly behind the Commonwealth’s fomenting revolution, when each different villain in The Walking Dead would simply shoot Pam and seize the governor’s workplace. My dude, you’ve got the flexibility to repair Alexandria’s windmill; it couldn’t matter much less what Daryl’s carrying.

Honestly, Hornby’s scheming is so overelaborate he might have a deeper purpose in thoughts, as a result of he additionally will get a delightfully unnerving scene to finish the episode. After assembly with the governor, who tells him she’ll solely settle for the three colonies as a bundle deal (for some purpose), Hornsby marches straight into the woods, fires his gun within the air to draw zombies, after which methodically picks them off with headshots. It’s not the weirdest technique to blow off some steam within the zombie apocalypse—actually, a number of characters have tried to exorcize their demons by decimating the undead—however Hornsby managed to make it extra-creepy. When Aaron involves examine in, Hornsby lies, says Pamela nonetheless needs to companion with Alexandria, and so they’ll be bringing even extra folks in, all whereas a zombie shuffles towards him. “We’re going to remake the world,” he says, a manic gleam in his eyes, proper earlier than he whips round and shoots the zombie, point-blank, within the face, in order that the episode’s last picture is of Hornsby pointing his gun immediately into the digital camera.

It’s a pure supervillain second, and after 10-and-a-third seasons of assorted lunatics because the dangerous guys, I couldn’t be happier that The Walking Dead is ending the collection with a really completely different type of battle led by a really distinctive kind of lunatic. I’m positive Hornsby will finally do one thing so reprehensible the present stops being enjoyable once more, however till then, he has my vote.

Assorted Musings:

• I’ve little or no to say concerning the Eugene and Max (Margo Bingham) scenario, apart from 1) Josh McDermitt killed it this episode, and a couple of) it’s extraordinarily bizarre. Max randomly sees Eugene within the Commonwealth, with one other girl calling herself Stephanie, and doesn’t say something? And after Eugene fairly fairly will get upset on the revelation that the “real” Stephanie additionally wasn’t actual, she needs him to apologize for being impolite to her? Cut him some slack! I’ll like it if Hornsby is behind this, too.
• Ezekiel (Khary Payton) learns he’s been moved to the entrance of the surgical procedure ready record. Eugene is conflicted about being moved to the entrance of the surgical procedure ready record. Eugene has the surgical procedure anyway. The finish.
• The zombie that managed to sneak into Alexandria and the zombies that attacked Hilltop appear a bit handy, didn’t they?
• I like that Pam knew Deanna (the all the time fantastic Tovah Feldshuh), the ex-Congresswoman who led Alexandria manner again earlier than she was killed in season six. It’s a pleasant callback.
• Hornsby tells Maggie how his dad gave him a golden coin that Hornsby later found was simply gold-plated and principally worthless. Subtle, TWD. Real delicate.
• Weren’t Rick, Ezekiel, and even Maggie herself the autocrats of their respective colonies? They have been (principally) benign, however in the long run they nonetheless made just about all the selections. Discuss. Show your work.
• Max asks Eugene the laborious query about his ebook: “Was a sepulcher involved? Eugene: “Of course there was.”
• Well, a minimum of Pam is aware of her son fucking sucks.

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