Lance begins to go off the rails. Ezekiel is back on them. Connie, Kelly, Eugene and Max compare notes.

I love this. I love any series which is brave enough to have characters working two problems spend some time comparing notes. That’s what we get here as the Connie/Kelly/Eugen/Max/Mercer/Princess knot gets really interesting. The show has such a large cast now and so many of these characters have been together a while that it makes sense for relationships to drive plot. Of course Rosita opens up about the awful stuff that happened with Sebastian and of course she does so with Eugene. Of course Mercer presents a strong front to Max, his sister but trusts himself to come apart a little with Princess. The horrific events of the last episode are haunting everyone who witnessed them and, better still, catalysing action. This is why the ‘I had no idea this show is still on!’ endless chestnut is so exasperating. The choices Walking Dead is making, especially in this middle act of its final year, are smart, grounded, fun and epic in scope while intimate in focus. Plus Max and Eugene are together! Yaaaay!

Which isn’t to say it’s getting everything right, because it’s not. The flipside of the ‘It doesn’t have to be like this’ time jump hits this episode and it’s both pretty pedestrian and not that fun. Pedestrian because of course Daryl isn’t leading a Commonwealth force in to seize control of Hilltop. Not that fun because unfortunately Lance is falling into the Negan trap. One of the things that made the Savior years such hard work was how one note they so often were. Negan would show up, monologue, do violence and leave. Repeatedly. He ended up being one of the show’s most interesting and nuanced characters but Lance is now officially walking the same path and it’s gained no charm. It’s not Josh Hamilton’s fault either; it’s just that the character, especially in this arc, has become ‘Flamboyantly scheming and eeeevil’ and genuinely nothing else. Yes he’s supposed to be coming apart but we still don’t quite know why so it’s difficult to care about how. This is very nearly the only problem the show still has left to solve and I fervently hope its addressed, and soon.

Especially as the C plot is even more fun than the A, and speaks to what was making Lance interesting just a few short weeks ago. Ezekiel, inspired by his new lease on life, sets up a free clinic and charms Tomi into helping. This works three different ways; Ezekiel is very much back in King mode, Tomi is endearingly terrible at subterfuge and Khary Payton and Ian Anthony Dale are a really fun double act. It also speaks to the central moral core of the show: people are fundamentally good and, sometimes, doing something the Establishment is too slow to do or reluctant to do is an act of benevolent and vital resistance. Plus, the fact Carol bails them out and finally talks about working for Lance gives him some of the nuance he’s needed back, badly, for a while.

Verdict: All in all this is a very good episode that’s nearly a great one. This show knows what it is and knows how far it can push. Hopefully it knows how to fix its biggest problem too. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart