The woman Eugene knew as Stephanie reveals her true identity. Meanwhile, Pamela Milton and Hornsby take a tour of the other settlements that goes differently badly to how you might think.

Poor Eugene. Josh McDermott is bringing his A game this season even more than usual and his hurt and betrayal over these last two episodes is visceral. Margot Bingham as Max is absolutely his equal too, and the way the threads of their connection start to slowly inter-weave again despite their best efforts here is actually really, really sweet. Most importantly, the pair of them ground a major plot element for the season in very human terms: the Commonwealth is a polite, well-dressed dystopia. The fact that Max is Mercer’s sister is impressive. The fact he, the functional leader of the Commonwealth’s armed forces, is so terrified of what will happen that he covers for her is frightening. The fact Hornsby finds out anyway is terrifying. This is a world with a knife behind its back and now Eugene, and Max, both know that. But at least they know it together. Now if I could just shake the fact they don’t have a spinoff. I could stop worrying about them…

Elsewhere the episode gets Big and it’s a perfect counterpart to the A plot. Governor Milton’s journey across the world we’ve spent seasons getting to know allows the show to view everything with new eyes and also to highlight the privilege inherent in the Commonwealth. There’s this incredibly powerful moment where Pamela is out hunting with Maggie and Walkers attack them. Maggie kills the one behind Pamela, all but silently, with a throwing knife. Pamela kills the one behind Maggie with a shotgun which echoes across the countryside and clearly puts them in even more danger. The new world is quiet and careful and deadly. The old world is trying to tarmac it and roll the clock back. Neither are quite right but Pamela’s approach is going to get more people killed and Maggie knows that.

It’s a complex issue, slightly obfuscated by the fact the Commonwealth hasn’t really made clear why it wants Oceanside, Alexandria and Hilltop, but on a thematic and character level it still works very well. Pamela’s heart is in the right place but her mind is in the wrong time. For the Commonwealth to survive, especially with CRM surely out there and getting closer all the time, it can’t live in the past it’s so desperate to return to. Viewed that way, the siren call of the Commonwealth makes so much sense. For Ezekiel it’s the chance to live. For Aaron, it’s the chance to do good. For Maggie, it’s another power group trying to take over the lives she’s given everything to protect. No one is right. No one is wrong enough but the Commonwealth’s fundamental moral dishonesty is what drives every community away and, in the end, what’s going to cause its darkest hour I suspect.

Verdict: This is deeply complex, nuanced stuff and right now The Walking Dead is very much a show not just about how to rebuild but whether you should. It’s a fiercely strong run of episodes and some deeply brave choices for a show to make in its final year and I can’t wait to see where it goes next. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart