The Walking Dead season 7, episode 9 recap: Rock in the Road

The Walking Dead came back with a strong midseason premiere but still left its viewers with more questions than answers.

Even though The Walking Dead suffered a pretty sharp drop-off after the season premiere, things started to ramp up in the season finale. Negan killed Spencer, much to the dismay of Rosita who started to take a liking to him. She had planned to make a bullet for Negan, but everyone knew that he wasn’t really going to get killed off by a character who isn’t even in the comics.

The Saviors also kidnapped Eugene, leaving his future hanging in the balance. There was plenty to work with in this episode, and whatever happened was bound to be a tone-setter for the rest of season 7B. But did it live up to the hype required for a mid-season premiere?

The Walking Dead season 7, episode 9 recap

The episode opens with Gabriel emptying out the pantry, getting prepared to leave Alexandria. Just as they show the car driving off, a head pops up in the back seat. Is it the same person who was spying on Alexandria at the end of the last episode?

At the Hilltop, the group falls out of favor with Gregory, but a new group is willing to fight the Saviors alongside them. Jesus also promises to introduce them to Ezekiel and the Kingdom. While they’re skeptical about the group, they trust Jesus — at least more so than Gregory. Upon arriving at the Kingdom, Tara immediately finds Morgan. Morgan breaks Carol’s promise by telling Rick and Daryl that she left and that he broke his promise to never kill.

During Rick’s meeting with Ezekiel, he tries to convince him that the time is now to fight the Saviors. However, he struck a deal with them and knows the ramifications of doing that for everyone involved. Ezekiel says he’ll deliver his decree in the morning, but it sounds like he’s stalling.

Benjamin spots Carol out in the woods, who tells him not to say anything. However, he goes straight to Ezekiel, where he also convinces him to go to war by telling him to be the hero.

Ezekiel tells the group that he’s not willing to go to war because of his deal. Perhaps he’s trying to get some leverage since he knows they can’t beat the Saviors without him. He offers Daryl asylum, despite the fact that he just escaped from the Saviors. He assures Daryl that they never set foot in the Kingdom, but he remains skeptical. However, Rick convinces Daryl to stay behind while they leave.

It took a full 45 minutes for Negan to show up, and it’s only through a radio. They spot an explosives trap on the road, which Carl figures out is for a walker herd. Rosita disarms the first bomb, but they have to act quickly because Jesus finds out that Negan and the Saviors are searching for Daryl.

They remove all the explosives, then attach the cable to two cars. Rick and Michonne hotwire the cars just as soon as the herd shows up, then take a bunch of them out in style. They later escape into Rosita and Tara’s van, leaving the explosives inside those two cars. As the herd closes in on the cars, they trigger the explosives as the group drives off. That was awesome!

Rick returns to Alexandria, only to find the Saviors waiting for them. They search up and down for supplies, then once they get to the pantry, they find that everything’s missing. They leave disappointed and promise to keep searching for Daryl, no matter how long it takes. Tobin reveals that Gabriel abandoned his post, and the rest of the group figures out he left with everything. However, they find a written note left behind that says “boat.”

Once Rick returns to the Hilltop, they walk into an ambush, as everyone and their children have a weapon pointed at them. But for some reason, Rick is smiling.

Final thoughts

There was a lot to like and not like about this episode. On the one hand, Negan wasn’t there, and we still don’t know what’s happened to Eugene. Hopefully, those questions will be answered sooner than later.

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This episode did feature arguably the best action set piece of the season when Rick and Michonne took out a herd of walkers with a cable. They’re not going to have a scene like that in every episode, although we wish they did, but that should be a sign that season 7B will be a lot faster paced than season 7A.

A big theme in the first half of season 7 is how broken Rick has become thanks to Negan. But this episode should mark a return to form. Not only did he take out 300+ walkers without skipping a beat, but he smiled in the face of danger. It’s great to have this Rick back on the show.