The Walking Dead Season 7 Episode 14 Review

The Walking Dead

The Other Side

Season 7 Episode 14 Review

**SPOILERS FOR THE SHOW, EPISODE AND COMICS FOLLOW, 

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK**

With only three episodes to go, it's looking more and more like they're going to stretch the all out war until the next season, because after an explosive, amazing episode last week were Carol and Morgan both decide to fight, we're given a rather slow, drawn out episode that still has some emotional moments, but with only a few episodes left I expected something as amazing as last week.

The episode begins with a music montage of events at the Hilltop - Enid, Maggie and Sasha are training the Hilltop citizens to fight, Gregory is easily losing power, Rosita arrives and Daryl won't look Maggie in the eyes. 

Maggie and Jesus have a heart-to-heart, where Jesus tells her that he finally has found some people to really open up to (meaning herself, Sasha and Enid) and that he's spent most of his time out on his own scavenging and recruiting, and not trusting people - friends...boyfriends...OMG Jesus is gay?  That's terrible!  Why would The Walking Dead take the gay agenda and ruin my family friendly show by introducing that garbage!  Of course I'm being facetious, as Jesus was gay in the comics as well and it had absolutely no bearing in the comics as it won't on the show. 

Sasha and Rosita are still planning their suicide mission to kill Negan, and even though Jesus and Enid try to reason with her, Sasha won't have it.  Before Enid could tell Maggie and have her stop the nonsense, a group of Saviors arrive unexpectedly, causing Maggie and Daryl to take refuge in a cellar and Sasha and Rosita to leave through a secret door.

Simon, Negan's top man, is there for someone, and it's not clear at first who he's there for.  This was no doubt deliberately done by the writers to convince us that they're for Daryl, but if you remember a few episodes ago Negan killed their only doctor, and said his brother - who's also a doctor - is at the Hilltop, so it's obvious Simon is there for him.

The Saviors take the other Dr. Carson - which will no doubt complicate Maggie's own pregnancy (aside: Maggie does NOT look pregnant at all) - and Maggie and Daryl emerge from their hiding place, and this is the first time the two have been together since Daryl's outburst led to Glenn's death.  The two share a very emotional, heartfelt moment where Daryl breaks down and cries (and a million middle-aged women ran to their television screens and hugged them), saying it was his fault Glenn died.  Maggie, in all her Maggie awesomeness, tells him that it wasn't his fault (although, in all technical respects, it was), and that he was one of the good ones - as was Glenn.  The two share a tear-filled hug and it was a great culmination of something we've been waiting to see since the season began, and Maggie finally released Daryl of his guilt.

Meanwhile, Sasha and Rosita head to the Sanctuary, and Sasha is her normal, annoying self as she barks at Sasha and, after seeing a necklace containing a piece of a taillight Rosita got Abraham, tells her in her very snobby manner that she got that for him.  Rosita then wants her suicide mission to be complete by barging into the Sanctuary guns blazing, but Sasha has a better idea - snipe Negan from an abandoned building a few blocks away.

They arrive at the building and as they wait for their shot, the girls also share a heart-to-heart, where Rosita opens up about her past after the world was turned upside down.  Like her comic book counterpart, she spent the time after the apocalypse shacking up with different men because she couldn't make it in this new world alone.  However, while she was with them, she gleaned different survival skills from each one, and managed to finally be able to be a self-sustaining hero.  She tells Sasha that she only loved Abraham, and he loved her back because she wasn't a needy person anymore, but after finding a home in Alexandria he was able to let his guard down and Sasha picked up on it.  The two girls reconcile, which of course means one - or both - will die.

Finally Sasha is able to take a shot, but she can't get a clear hit, so the girls resort to plan B - take  Negan out from the inside.  They also see Eugene being a leader at the Sanctuary, and are rather surprised by it.  They manage to get through the perimeter and get to Eugene, offering him an escape.  However, Eugene cries instead and says he doesn't want to go, and runs back inside.  I still don't want to believe that Eugene has switched sides, and maybe he doesn't want to go because Negan will obviously go back to Alexandria to find him, and he has some sort of safety at the Sanctuary.  Still, Eugene is a coward and maybe his loyalty really lies with whoever is stronger at the moment, which would be a disappointment.  I guess we'll find out by the end of the season where his true loyalty lies.

Sasha then tricks Rosita by keeping her outside the gate, telling her that Rick will need her for the upcoming war, and she gives one last smile as she runs solo into the Sanctuary.  Rosita seems to finally learn the error of their plan and runs away, but sees a silhouette of a man with long hair and a crossbow.  Is it Daryl, who, after the Saviors left, asked Jesus where the girls went?  Or is it Dwight, finally ready to switch to Rick's side?  Another cliffhanger until next time.

So how was this episode as a whole?  Kinda bland, to be honest, especially after what happened the week before (Benjamin getting killed by the Saviors, Carol finding out what happened to Abraham and Glenn, Morgan snapping and killing Richard in front of the Saviors, Ezekiel deciding to fight, SHIVA LOOKING AS MAJESTIC AS EVER).  We got the emotional resolution we've been waiting for between Maggie and Daryl, found out for sure Jesus was gay (not that anyone really cares), and the first shots have been fired for the war, not to mention Sasha's suicide mission and Rosita finding the silhouetted figure.  Still, with only two episodes left, I expected something with more oomph. 

Going into comic book spoiler territory, Sasha is more and more appearing to be Holly in the comics, since Sasha never existed there.  Holly was the girl Abraham left Rosita for, and when the war began, Rick was about to drive a school bus into the Sanctuary to get inside, knowing it to be a suicide mission. However, before he could do it, Holly throws him out of the bus and goes in herself.  The crash doesn't kill her and Negan takes her hostage, and later goes to Alexandria to drop her off.


Denise (who was still alive in the comics), goes up to Holly (who is wearing a bag over her head), and when she takes the bag off she finds Holly has reanimated and became a Walker, and bites Denise, leading to her death.  I feel that, the next time we see Sasha, she will be brought back with Negan with a bag over her head, and Rosita will be the one to go get her and possibly be bitten by the Walker Sasha.  Calling it here.



The Score: A-