Daryl struggles to get Pope’s people to trust him and risks everything. Connie and Virgil discover a horrifying group of survivors.

From the opening Night of the Living Dead-esque shot to nods to The Shining and, I think, The Raid, director Greg Nicotero has a ton of fun here delivering the first legitimate horror movie the show’s done in a while. The Ferals, bestial, filthy, running on all fours, are also a really smart way of providing context for the other characters. They’re reminiscent of a devolved version of the Terminus cannibals, not the sophisticated violence of Pope or even Negan’s old life. The message here is subtle but undeniable; the world has rebuilt and the world has left some people behind.

This plot also gives Kevin Carroll as Virgil and Lauren Ridloff as Connie a chance to shine. Ridloff worked extensively with the writer and director to ensure Connie never feels like a deaf victim. She touches surfaces to sense vibration, hides when she’s in danger and makes smart choices throughout. It’s refreshing to say the least and also emphasizes the danger the pair are in even though they’re being smart. Carroll too is excellent and it’s great to see Virgil pop up again given he was the last person Michonne saw before vanishing off the map.

In fact there’s a real sense of disparate threads drawing together here. Daryl’s impromptu undercover mission finds Negan, Maggie and co, and the two groups only don’t meet because of Daryl’s quick thinking. Combined with Virgil re-entering the scene and Connie’s tearful reunion with her sister Kelly, we’re starting to see the structure of the season now. Oh, as an aside, that scene has real emotion to it because apparently Ridloff and Angel Theory as Kelly met for the first time since the pandemic as they filmed it. Nicely done.

This episode is structure heavy but also feels like everything in it has weight and worth. We get extra context for Daryl’s plot, we get all bar Eugene and company making an appearance and we get a supremely creepy, brilliantly shot antagonist.

Verdict: Superficially a standalone episode this is actually the start of the first of the season’s finales and it’s a really strong hour of TV. Horrific, character driven and smart. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart