Following last week’s oversized Walking Dead installment which saw Negan arriving at Alexandria -- taking half of their supplies in the process -- the focus shifts this week to that of Maggie and Sasha, recovering from their respective losses of their loved ones, Glenn and Abraham. Maggie, understandably, is taking it the hardest, worrying about the current state of her and Glenn’s unborn child. Ultimately the baby is fine, and the pair of grieving survivors bury their dead, only to be confronted by an aggravated Gregory, leader of the Hilltop. Greg’s stance is one of of fear and trepidation, though his bumbling is understandable and does grant some levity, like when he calls Rick “Rich.” This dynamic is exacerbated by the fact that Maggie must remain at the Hilltop in order to protect her baby, yet Gregory wants nothing more than to kick Rick’s crew to the curb after their failure to end the threat of the Saviors.
Maggie manages to use this episode as an opportunity to step up, pushing down the horror of the events that befell her late husband. Jesus also makes another appearance, with Tom Payne bringing the sensible rogue back into the fray. The wandering vagabond makes for a nice addition to the cast, offering a perspective of even-temperedness as someone doesn’t want the burden of leadership. He acts as something of a spring board for Maggie, who is coming into her own with a viable path of becoming the top dog of the Hilltop, especially considering Gregory’s steady stream of bungling. No better time than for Maggie to show off her skills when the Saviors decide to give the Hilltop a surprise in a locked car that blasts music attracting zombies to the community. Luckily, Maggie, Sasha, and Jesus manage to take out the undead and disperse with the threat in record time. If anything, this made for a great scene of Maggie hopping into a tractor and mowing down zombies in the slowest way possible.
Following this late night excursion, the Saviors show up to give Gregory and company a visit. Simon acts as one of Negan’s right hand men, and much like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, you can see the charisma oozing out of Steven Ogg as Simon here. What makes the Saviors such great antagonists (arguably the best the show has ever produced) is the fact that not only do you love to hate them, they steal the scenes whenever they appear. Simon has such a way with words that even when he’s asking for Gregory to kneel before him, you still can’t get the idea out of your head that maybe sharing a beer with this guy before the zombie apocalypse wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world. Needless to say, when Gregory is hiding Maggie and Sasha away from the Saviors, you do feel sorry for him as Simon and his crew steamroll over, taking what they want from the Hilltop community. What makes the scenes between Simon and Gregory all the more tense is that we know how horrible of a leader/liar Gregory is, so you couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when he didn’t give up his guests, but rather gave Simon a box of liquor.
Meanwhile, during the Hilltop shenanigans, Carl and Olivia leave Alexandria for a day of zombie killing and roller skating. The two teenagers attempt to come to grips with the current situation they find themselves in with the Saviors, while also taking time to simply be human beings once again. One of the strengths of these post-apocalyptic tales is in small scenes, in this case involving roller skates, where people can have a brief moment to forget their troubles and try to find some glimmer of hope in these seconds of life. Seeing the two become closer, regardless of Carl’s insane idea of taking on the Saviors by himself, was a nice change of pace for the episode, especially seeing as how most of the episode focused on the shattering of two loves with Sasha and Maggie’s losses. The final shot then breaks this momentary peace, as Carl has found a way to stow away on Negan’s trucks carrying supplies from the Hilltop, but at least Jesus manages to join him.
“Go Getters” manages to do a solid job of balancing the loss of Glenn, the ascension of Maggie, and the spirit of youth over the course of its run. It’s also nice to have an episode that focuses on a few different arcs rather than one grand one.
Rating: ★★★ Good
Blood and Guts
- Steven Ogg is actually the voice of Trevor from the video game Grand Theft Auto 5, in case you were wondering if you recognized him from somewhere else.
- Zombie effects continue to be amazing here, especially with the one that zombie hits with his car, with his brain nearly falling out of his head in the process.
- Got a good laugh at the Savior car having a lock in the shape of a middle finger pointing at Sasha.
- Maggie: “Can you say that again?”
Carson: “What?”
Maggie: “Everything you just said.”
- Sasha: “Maggie is pregnant.”
Gregory: “Well that’s her mistake.”
- Jesus: “He was one of the only people I ever met who could make you smile and wince at the same time.”
- Maggie: “He’s a coward, they’re more dangerous.”
- Olivia: “What are you doing here?”
Carl: “Felt like a drive.”
- Jesus: “Hi.”
Sasha: “Sorry!”
- Gregory: “Who the hell is Sasha??”
- Savior: “It means we need to talk!”
- Savior: “Very very dead. Extremely dead.”
- Savior: “Could I just get a kneel out of you? That’s a solid kneel Gregory.”
- Jesus: “We’re all going to be one big dysfunctional family."
