Dwight and Sherry make a rescue. Dwight makes a choice. Alicia and Morgan take a walk. Someone sets sail.

I know I say this a lot but this show does quiet so very well. This episode is one of those moments where COVID restrictions become both visible and an asset as the episode largely features Dwight and Sherry together, Morgan and Alicia together and occasional groups. It never feels forced or non-intuitive and Nazrin Choudhury & Nick Bernardone’s script really drills down on these two partnerships.

Let’s start with Morgan and Alicia. Still pursued by the Walker herd from last week, Morgan meets up with Alicia and they argue over what to do with the herd. Morgan wants to dump them somewhere. Alicia realizes that without them the tower is defenceless and there’s never been a better time to strike. The only problem is, she isn’t sure she can.

This pairing has always been fun and this episode is no exception. Director Gary Rake has a great eye for post-apocalyptic Texas and the pair of veteran survivors walking along, chatting amiably as a herd follows them is the sweet spot of absurd and horrific the show does so well. Even better, neither of them hold absolute viewpoints. Morgan has a kid, and a partner, and friends he left behind (are we looking at an appearance in the core show’s final run?). Alicia isn’t dying. Probably. She’s also realizing she may have to kill one of the few people who truly knows her. Both of them are about to do something difficult. Neither of them are sure they can. They need rescuing.

That’s where Dwight and Sherry come in. Austin Amelio and Christine Evangelista have been the adorably meat-headed heart of the show for a while now. They have a Code, and their redemption narrative is as dogged as it is determined. There’s a moment in this episode where Sherry admits she’s frightened of Dwight becoming who he was during the Negan Years. There’s a pair of confrontations with Wes (the always excellent Colby Hollman) where Dwight begs the other man to not walk a road he’s walked. They screw up. They get their asses kicked. They lie to each other and do stupid things and no power on Earth will stop them from being together. I love them to pieces and their unfolding conversation here, while Lone Wolves and Cubbing it across the wastelands with Morgan’s baby are as adorable as they are heartbreaking. The payoff, that Sherry was using the sub’s raft we see her preparing for Dwight so he wouldn’t be tempted to go bad again, is just flat out brilliant and also speaks to the Code they live by. They spend the episode rescuing each other and, in the end, rescue Alicia and Morgan from themselves. The raft gives Morgan the out he needs. Morgan’s absence gives Alicia the strength she needs to take the lead. Dwight and Sherry just had to crawl through Teddy’s old shelter with Walkers behind them to do it.

Verdict: Dogged, pragmatic, romantic and kind this is a calm before the storm moment in a season prepping for its endgame and it’s great. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart